iWorld
Google’s new acquisition of branded content platform will bring marketers to YouTube
MUMBAI: Google, which has been concerned about the monetization for YouTube for a while, released a statement recently about the acquisition of FameBit. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The deal will enable YouTube to increase the number of branded content opportunities available. This will bring in more revenue into the online video community. Google’s vice president of product management Ariel Bardin, said the primary goal was to mainstream YouTube marketing. This would enable to make it a part of every brand’s monthly social media advertising strategy, he added.
FameBit is a tech startup which helps marketers to connect with digital influencers through a video platform. It presents a marketplace for the video creators to contact marketers that would be keen to sponsor their visual content. This deal will prove to be profitable for Google to help the creators on YouTube connect better with brands. It would also enable advancement of their technology for the same.
While Google helps big TV brands connect with its top channels and talent through its three-year-old Google Preferred program, the social media influencer ecosystem is vast, and not limited to YouTube. FameBit can connect brands to talent on Instagram, Vine and other platforms.
This deal is an important step to bring in sponsors not just for YouTube as a whole, but also for its individual creators. YouTube had been working to bring in financial support through its partner program. This succeeded in causing the growth of various multi-channel networks that creators had joined for business resources and ad sales.
FameBit aims to bring more automation and data science in the process of connecting brands with digital talent. This platform has been used to brand 25,000 videos. Digital innovators can use the software of FameBit to set up profiles. After doing so, brands can search for potential matches among thousands of creators which interest them. This is based on various criteria like the innovator’s audience demographics. The marketers can later hire the innovators to mention their brands in the videos or even create videos to advertise their brands.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
