iWorld
Sky invests in mobile fan engagement & sports marketing company
MUMBAI: After recently investing in programmatic advertising company DataXu and OTT video company TV4 Entertainment, Sky has now invested ?0.3 million in mobile fan engagement and sports marketing company InCrowd in a bid to help accelerate innovation.
InCrowd, formed by the team behind the sports data company, Opta, specialises in developing mobile apps, offering real time content, match analysis and interactive games, providing clubs and rights holders with a direct way to engage with fans.
Sky Sports will work with InCrowd to explore new ways of delivering the best content to sports fans.
InCrowd has also developed its own connectivity software that sits within its apps, allowing phones to share all available connectivity, rather that compete for it. Any information requested by an app user without a signal can be provided by the network, while the more phones that join the network, the better the solution works.
Sky, which offers fast, reliable connectivity to thousands of venues around the country through its Wi-Fi business, The Cloud, will work with InCrowd to develop in-stadia connectivity even further.
Sky director of corporate development & strategic investments Emma Lloyd said, “This is the latest in a series of investments in pioneering technology companies, which we know bring real benefits to customers. We’re really looking forward to working with InCrowd, a company that shares our passion for innovation, and for finding new and exciting ways to deliver content.”
InCrowd co-founder and CEO Aidan Cooney added, “Sky are world leaders in delivering content to sports fans wherever they are. We’re incredibly excited to be working with them to explore new ways of engaging with fans.”
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
