When Rafat Ali of Skift suggests that you make a correction, your ears perk up a bit. That’s exactly what happened when I published a short editor’s note in Monday’s edition:
Two key developments, from over the past few months, shaped this week’s announcements at Toronto’s Shopify Unite 2019. The first: in the last year, BuzzFeed left Shopify to utilize fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). This was certainly a blow to Shopify; just months prior Shopify began working with BuzzFeed to drive demand to its many stores. But the most important of these developments? The second: Adobe’s burgeoning partnership announcement with Amazon.
With news of BuzzFeed considering a merger with Group Nine Media, mergers and acquisitions are suddenly back in the limelight for digital publishers. But the industry that stands to help the most from the current consolidation trend is sports media. The year ahead stands to be one primed for M&A discussion, as three companies have committed to exorbitant spending to capture customer attention: ESPN+, DAZN, and The Athletic. From Aryeh Bourkoff, CEO of LionTree in his year-end letter to investors:
