1. Amazon Sets Its Eyes On Podcast Advertising (Bloomberg)

Amazon acquired SmartLess that averages 7 million to 10 million downloads a month, and podcast network Wondery, which is one of the largest podcasting advertising networks, selling ads for more than 100 shows to reach more than 8 million listeners a month. As the market for audio ads is rising, Amazon aims to seize this global opportunity.

2. Google’s Privacy Workshops For Top Digital Publishers On FLoC (DigiDay)

In the wake of criticism on delaying third-party cookies deprecation, Google is quietly holding talks with a select group of top digital publishers each month, since March on its alternative FLoC and other first-party initiatives. Industry looks at these moves as Google’s efforts to appease publishers, who felt left out of the planning process.

3. Video Game Boom Boosts Revenue To $4.6 B YoY In 2021 (MediaPost)

The booming video gaming industry added 10% more revenue in July to $4.6 billion, up from $4.18 billion in July 2020, according to The NPD Group. New versions of video-game consoles continue to see soaring revenues from Nintendo Switch, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Sony PlayStation to $323 million in these months.

4. Hearst Magazine’s Virtual Style Summit Celebrates Black Fashion (AdAge)

Hearst Magazines is launching Celebrate Black: A Virtual Style Summit, a free, three-day streaming series to amplify the voices of Black entrepreneurs, brands, and creators in fashion, beauty, design, and entertainment. The event starts on Tuesday at noon EST. It is a combined initiative of HBC and Hearst Labs, its incubator for women-led startups.

5. Pirated Movies And TV Shows Make $1.3B From Ads (Bloomberg)

Every year, websites and apps that host pirated movies and TV shows earn over $1.3 billion in ad revenue, including large corporations like Amazon. Piracy is also a source of malware, with ads containing links that hackers use to steal personal information. Law enforcement officials have identified at least 84,000 illegal entertainment websites.

6. Afghanistan Takeover By Taliban Presents A Challenge For Social Media (Reuters)

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan presents a new problem for the big US tech companies in terms of dealing with information generated by a group that is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries. Facebook has confirmed the Taliban as a terrorist organization and has banned their content promotion on its platform.

7. Mailchimp Is Open For Sale, Expected to Get $10B Price (MediaPost)

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Mailchimp was open for the sale of all or part of its ownership and observed that the Atlanta-based company could get a $10 billion price or more. In 2019, Mailchimp had reached $700M in annual revenue, with 25% in YoY growth in the last two years, ending up with annual recurring revenue of over $1.1B.

Samien Kidwai

Hailing from an academic background, I have been an Assistant Professor in Mass Communication with an additional decade of experience in creative writing. I’m passionate about music and theatre with an inclination towards movies. Being an avid reader, I love to scribble my thoughts and ideas when I’m not running behind my 8 year old daughter.