iWorld
Culture Machine adds a new category to the leader board for publishers across India
With the beginning of the New Year, India’s largest digital media company, Culture Machine has made an addition of ‘Food’ category to the existing established leader board for publishers in India.
Culture Machine’s patent pending tech IP ‘Intelligence Machine’ tracked the month on month performance of Indian channels on YouTube and Facebook to provide a comprehensive view of which publisher has maximum engagement in terms of views, likes, comments, shares and subscribers.
Continuing to make use of proprietary algorithms and exclusive partnerships with Google and Facebook, Intelligence Machine has the unique ability to track 3 billion videos and categorize and rank publishers extensively. The current report provides insights on three different categories including Food, Entertainment and News.
For more information visit: https://culturemachines.com/im/leaderboards/
Also, please note:
· The rankings are based on the number of views clocked only for the respective month
· Only India based top YouTube and Facebook pages are considered for the analysis
· Top channels from YouTube and pages from Facebook are carefully chosen using Intelligence Machine Influencer section based upon several factors such as subscriber count /page likes, overall viewership, engagement and consistency of video uploads
· Top 100 channels/ pages belonging to food, 500 channels/pages from the entertainment genre and 300 news channels/pages categorized by Intelligence Machine are incorporated in the analysis
· Food category includes pages/channels publishing food recipe related videos like Hebbar’s Kitchen, Curly Tales, Cooking Shooking etc are a part of the report
· The Entertainment category for December’ 18 includes GEC’s like Star Plus, Sab TV, Zee TV along with digital channels like BB Ki Vines. It also covers popular celebrities, music labels, regional TV channels and movie production houses
· News category comprises TV news channels, print newspapers and digital news portals like Buzzfeed, NDTVKhabbar.com, Bollywood Now etc.
iWorld
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square makes $64 billion bid to acquire Universal Music Group
Ackman pitches NYSE relisting plan as UMG board weighs unsolicited offer
The hedge fund has proposed a business combination that values UMG at €30.40 per share, representing a hefty 78 per cent premium to its current trading price. The offer includes €9.4 billion in cash alongside stock in a newly formed entity, with shareholders set to receive €5.05 per share in cash and 0.77 shares in the new company for each UMG share they hold.
Under the proposal, UMG would merge with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd and re-emerge as a Nevada-based entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The move is designed to boost investor visibility and potentially secure inclusion in major indices such as the S&P 500.
Pershing Square Capital Management ceo Bill Ackman argued that while UMG’s operational performance remains strong, its market valuation has lagged due to external factors. “UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,” Ackman said, pointing to concerns ranging from shareholder overhang to delayed US listing plans.
Ackman also flagged what he sees as untapped potential in UMG’s balance sheet and a lack of clear capital allocation strategy. He added that the market has not fully recognised the value of UMG’s €2.7 billion stake in Spotify, alongside gaps in investor communication.
The proposed transaction would also result in the cancellation of around 17 per cent of UMG’s outstanding shares, while maintaining its investment-grade balance sheet. Pershing Square has said it will fully backstop the equity financing, with debt commitments secured at signing. The deal is targeted for completion by the end of the year.
UMG, however, has struck a measured tone. The company confirmed that its board has received the non-binding proposal and will review it with advisers. It reiterated confidence in its current strategy and leadership under Lucian Grainge, signalling no immediate shift in stance.
The proposal comes at a time when global music companies are navigating evolving investor expectations, streaming economics and capital allocation pressures. For Pershing Square, the bet is clear: sharpen the financial story, relist in the US, and let the music play louder in the markets.
Whether UMG’s board is ready to change the tune remains to be seen, but the spotlight on its valuation just got a lot brighter.
