Disney Has no Plans 💡 to Spin Off ESPN ⚽️
Scott D. Clary | Daily Business, Tech & Finance Newsletter
Scott D. Clary
September 13, 2022
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Here’s whats happening:
- Bed Bath & Beyond is going through a tumultuous period, with its share prices tanking
- Apple hosted its biggest event of 2022 on September 7.
- Avalanche Protocol suffers a $371k loss in the exploit.
- Hebbia raises cash to launch an AI-powered document search tool.
- Amazon has no Plan to Make Employees Return to the Office.
Disney Has no Plans 💡 to Spin Off ESPN ⚽️
Disney has no immediate plans to spin off ESPN, despite calls to sell the sports network.
There was speculation surrounding ESPN’s long-term future under the Disney umbrella after Daniel Loeb of Third Point Capital indicated in a tweet that he’s going to retreat from his push to get Disney to spin off ESPN.
Loeb, who has a stake in the conglomerate, had argued that the move would give ESPN greater flexibility to pursue business initiatives that may be difficult as part of Disney.
The tweet follows comments from Disney’s chief financial officer Christine McCarthy, who immediately dismissed the plans to spin off ESPN.
She said that ESPN remained an important part of Disney, though the company was always on the lookout for new alternatives.
“ESPN is a great business and it is fully integrated into how we think about delivering entertainment [and] compelling content to customers,” McCarthy said.
“We look at ESPN as being part of our overall portfolio,” she added.
EA And Koei Tecmo Partner 🤝 For ‘Next Great Hunting Game’ 🏹🦌
EA and Koei Tecmo are working together on a brand new game that they’re describing as “the next great hunting game.”
The game is described as an original intellectual property and a “truly AAA experience” based in fantasy feudal Japan.
In a press release Yosuke Hayashi, Executive Vice President of Koe Tecmo, said, “It’s an honor to be partnering with EA Originals and to have the support of a team with such an incredible track record of releasing groundbreaking new games.”
“The EA team fully embraces our creative independence and have become invaluable partners offering both development and publishing support,” he added.
“Building on the incredible success of EA Originals, which includes the recent releases of It Takes Two and Knockout City, we’re thrilled to be partnering with the amazingly talented Omega Force team,” said Jeff Gamon, General Manager of EA Partners.
“We can’t wait to introduce their groundbreaking new adventure to the world later this month,” added Gamon.
What’s next? 👀
This new game will carry the EA Originals label, which it used earlier when publishing indie titles like Knockout City.
More details about this exciting new title will be announced later this month.
‘Mean Girls’ is Returning as Crypto? 🎊🎉
The popular girls’ gang and the so-called “chick flick” are making their way to the metaverse.
What?!!
Yes. This news comes as Paramount Pictures Corporation filed for two “MEAN GIRLS” trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), indicating that the “Queen Bees and Wannabes” are ready to bring their NFTs.
According to a Twitter post by licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis, Paramount Pictures filed two trademark applications on September 7.
Details about the trademark:
The trademark applications cover “downloadable multimedia files containing artwork,” which are authenticated by nonfungible tokens (NFTs), as well as “downloadable virtual goods,” including crypto-collectibles and NFTs.
In addition, the application also covers transferring and accessing crypto-collectibles, NFTs, and “application tokens.”
Why does this matter?
This filing suggests that the number of companies filing trademarks for crypto-collectibles, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the Metaverse is continuously growing.
Diveplane Raises Cash to Expand Its MLOps Platform 💰
Explainable artificial intelligence startup Diveplane has raised $25 million in its Series A funding round.
The investors:
The funding was led by Shield Capital, along with participation from Calibrate Ventures, L3Harris Technologies, and Sigma Defense participating.
What will Diveplane do with the funds?
Diveplane will use the fresh capital primarily to grow the company’s roughly 20-person headcount.
In addition, the company will use the funds to create new internal departments, starting with customer success.
About Diveplane:
Founded in 2017, Diveplane offers AI-powered business solutions across multiple industries.
The company’s groundbreaking next-generation AI gives you full understanding & decision transparency in support of your ethical AI policies and data privacy strategies.
Diveplane is an emerging player in the field of explainable AI, which refers to systems that make it possible for humans to understand and trust the results and output created by machine learning algorithms.
It’s used to characterize model accuracy, fairness, transparency, and outcomes in AI-powered decision-making processes.
AppLovin Ends Unity Software Pursuit 🔚
Game developer AppLovin has decided against submitting a revised bid to acquire Unity Software after an initial $20 billion bid was rejected, ending its interest in a takeover.
In a statement, AppLovin said,” Following careful consideration, AppLovin concluded that its path as the independent market leader is better for its stockholders and other stakeholders.”
AppLovin noted that Unity Software would be required to call off its IronSource deal should its own takeover bid move forward.
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