Paramount Global to Cut 3.5% of US Workforce Due to Decline of Cable-TV Industry
Paramount Global plans to cut several hundred employees on Tuesday due to a continuing decline in the cable-TV industry and the broader economic landscape.
The move will affect about 3.5% of the media company's US workforce, according to an internal memo sent to staff reviewed by Bloomberg.
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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Influencer Marketing Gains Ground as Global Ad Budgets Tighten
(Bloomberg) -- Ashton Hall's morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall's brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that's fantastic news. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space 'We're so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,' Saratoga-owner Primo Brands Corp.'s Chief Executive Officer Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall's morning routine video went viral. 'He really helped put our brand on the map.' Primo Brands, which wasn't affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer co-signs. Handbag-maker Coach, once synonymous with mall discounts, has become a Gen-Z status symbol and saw sales soar thanks to TikTok influencers expanding their collection of purses adorned with little cherry or pretzel charms. With economic turmoil squeezing ad budgets, content creators are seen as better value than other marketing areas. 'While it's true we are seeing brands begin to pull back in marketing expenditure as a whole, the creator economy is surging,' said Kenny Gold, head of social, content and influencer at Deloitte Digital. The global influencer marketing industry is projected to grow 36% between 2024 and 2025 to reach $33 billion, Statista data shows. 'This year will be the first year that advertising revenue on user generated content and platforms actually outpaces the ad revenue on professionally produced content,' said Kate Scott-Dawkins, WPP Media's global president of business intelligence. 'That's a big deal.' Unilever Plc's recently appointed CEO, Fernando Fernandez, said he will hire 20 times more influencers as part of a social-first marketing strategy because consumers are 'suspicious' of corporate branding. The owner of Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise plans to dedicate as much as 50% of its ad budget to social media, up from 30% before. While fashion, beauty and accessories lead the way in employing influencer marketing, the strategy is gaining ground among consumer goods companies amid economic turbulence who are increasingly relying on influencers to position their products as premium, said Ruben Schreurs, CEO of media analytics firm Ebiquity Plc. With the expense of TV advertising, brands are starting to look at maximizing their reach more effectively, according to Alex Burgess, global president of The Goat Agency, which counts Unilever as one of its biggest clients. Globally, brands increased investment in influencer partnerships by 49% in 2024 and content creators topped social media marketing budgets, taking up a quarter of the total annual spending on average, according to Deloitte research. Influencer marketing spending is expected 'to continue to accelerate,' said Scott Morris, chief marketing officer of social media management company Sprout Social Inc. Within the last year, Publicis Groupe SA bought Influential, the largest influencer marketing company in the world by revenue, and BR Media Group, a leader in Latin America that works with 80% of the region's biggest influencers. Publicis' backing of players like Influential is a 'strong indicator' that influencer marketing is no longer a niche, said Oliver Lewis, CEO of The Fifth, an influencer marketing agency recently acquired by digital media company Brave Bison Plc. 'They have to be very acquisitive because if they don't acquire these capabilities across their network, they'll be left behind,' Ebiquity's Schreurs said. Companies often favor smaller, independent, topic-specific influencer agencies that can connect them to creators with a strong reach and a defined audience. Attracting Gen Z The appeal is the direct line to consumers. 'It works because it feels personal, relevant and real,' Sprout Social's Morris said. 'These are qualities that traditional advertising often lacks.' 'People trust people more than they trust brands,' said Rahul Titus, global head of influence at WPP-owned Ogilvy. 'Authenticity sells.' This resonates with Gen Z digital natives in particular, a cohort with $450 billion in global spending power. Micro-influencers – creators with 10,000 to 100,000 followers – 'exert great influence' on the 'the savvy and cynical' Gen Z, Jay Sinha, an associate professor of marketing at Temple University's Fox School of Business, wrote in a paper. As social commerce — where people buy and sell on social media platforms like TikTok Shop — becomes mainstream, brands want to create content with an 'easy onward journey to purchase,' said Jessica Tamsedge, EMEA CEO of Dentsu Group Inc.'s influence division. That flexibility, affordability — they're cheaper than celebrities — and direct impact, compared with the uncertain results of shooting a TV ad or setting up billboards, is appealing. 'Unlike more traditional channels, we're not weighed down by long lead times or heavy production guardrails,' said Nick Rogers, founder of influencer marketing agency The Cast, adding that campaign messaging can be adjusted, influencers recast and creative direction altered very quickly. That immediate feedback loop comes with a key risk: 'When it goes wrong, because it's social, it goes wrong very quickly,' Ogilvy's Titus said. German sportswear maker Adidas AG was forced to publicly cut ties with Kanye West in 2022, highlighting the risk of trusting a public figure with unlimited access to a phone. One way around that may be the emergence of AI-generated influencers, some of which have large followings on Instagram, TikTok or OnlyFans. Meta Platforms Inc. plans to fully automate ad creation with AI, including imagery, video, text and audience targeting, the Wall Street Journal reported. 'It's going to be very interesting to see how much value there is in being human versus an AI when it comes to engaging audiences,' Ebiquity's Schreurs said, adding that influencers' livelihood may be at risk from the shift. When it comes to concerns over brand safety, clients could look more favorably on an AI-generated influencer where everything can be controlled and there are no skeletons in the closet, WPP Media's Scott-Dawkins said. For now, the growth runway remains clear for influencer marketing. 'What used to be seen as a bolt-on is now right at the center,' The Fifth's Lewis said. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Steel Sale to Nippon Steel Poised to Close After Trump Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Nippon Steel Corp. won conditional US approval for its $14.1 billion purchase of United States Steel Corp., capping a lengthy saga in a tie-up that will create one of the world's largest steel companies. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space In a release Friday, the companies said they've committed to a national security agreement proposed by the Trump administration, which earlier cleared the deal subject to those terms. As part of the $55-per-share deal, the Japanese company will invest an additional $11 billion by 2028, including an initial commitment in a greenfield project that would be completed after 2028. Nippon had previously raised its pledged additional investment in an effort to win President Donald Trump's approval. Nippon Steel will also spend an extra $3 billion after 2028 for a new steel mill, according to people familiar with the matter. That would push the total additional investment — on top of the purchase price — to $14 billion. Earlier Friday, Trump formally opened the door to approving the sale of US Steel by submitting the agreement to the companies and amending former President Joe Biden's move to block the agreement in an executive order. The president's action cleared the sale so long as the companies comply with the government's terms. 'President Trump promised to protect American Steel and American Jobs — and he has delivered on that promise,' White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a written statement. 'Today's executive order ensures US Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security.' Nippon Steel and US Steel in the release said they had received regulatory approvals and that 'the partnership is expected to be finalized promptly.' The deal is expected to close by June 18, the merger agreement deadline, Japan's Nikkei reported on Saturday, without saying where it got the information. Trump earlier this week said the US would receive a so-called golden share in the post-transaction company, though it's not clear what that would entail. The companies confirmed that the US would get a golden share but didn't elaborate. The terms of the security agreement include significant and unprecedented US control measures, as well as certain control over some board seats and requirements that some leadership roles go to American citizens, according to a person familiar with the pact, speaking on condition of anonymity. The golden share does not include an equity stake in the company, the person said. Earlier: Nippon Steel Plans $6 Billion Investment in Its Japanese Mills 'The Japanese government believes that this investment will strengthen the ability of the Japanese and US steel industries to generate new innovation and lead to the strengthening of the close partnership between Japan and the US,' Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yoji Muto, said in a written statement. 'We welcome the decision of the US government.' Trump and Biden as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned against the deal, before the former president blocked it in January. Trump has since reversed his position, insisting that the agreement would preserve steel jobs in the US. The text of the security agreement hasn't been released. Trump and others have previously announced other elements of the deal, including bonuses to steelworkers, a requirement to keep existing blast furnaces running for a decade, and government veto power to retain control over the board of the US Steel subsidiary. Trump has also hailed the accord as vindication of his trade policies, which have seen the administration levy tariffs in a bid to pressure companies to shift more manufacturing to the US. Japan has been engaging in negotiations with the US over trade in a bid to avoid higher levies Trump has threatened. Trump's decision to champion Nippon Steel's bid offers to provide fresh momentum for those talks. Trump held a rally in Pennsylvania two weeks ago, at US Steel's iconic Mon Valley facility, celebrating the deal with a crowd of steelworkers, even though it had not yet been finalized. Earlier: US, Mexico Near Deal to Cut Steel Duties and Cap Imports Trump also used that event to announce he was doubling his tariffs on steel and aluminum, raising them to 50% from 25%. Since that rally, government officials, company executives and deal advisers worked to hammer out the finer details and get the final signatures. The deal creates a combined company that will be the world's second-largest steelmaker. It will become a formidable domestic competitor to Nucor Corp., which for a generation has dominated the American steel industry. The acquisition also clears the way for enhanced steelmaking in areas the US has lagged in recent years, including the type of steel critical to bolster ailing electric grids across the country. The Japanese steelmaker's takeover became a political lightning rod after the leadership of the United Steelworkers – based, like US Steel itself, in Pittsburgh – staunchly opposed the tie-up. Biden sided with them, as did Trump. The deal has taken a winding path with extensions, a Biden block, a legal fight, and then Trump's decision to reexamine it before ultimately clearing it. Nippon Steel and US Steel have steadily tried to address worries, with Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori making repeated visits to the US to clinch the deal. Divisions within the union were laid bare through the process, with local union leaders expressing support for the deal and breaking with their national leadership. Trump's reversal was a few months in the making. In February, he surprised the parties by blessing some kind of a minority stake — an announcement they hadn't been privy to and didn't understand. The deal, then and now, was built on Nippon Steel buying US Steel entirely. The question was mitigation measures. The president said he supported a 'planned partnership' between the companies on May 23, without providing details of an announcement that appeared to bless the original deal with additional mitigation measures. --With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Meghashyam Mali and Yoshiaki Nohara. (Updates with potential closing timeframe in eighth paragraph.) American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
CNET
34 minutes ago
- CNET
Should You Buy or Rent Your Router? The Wrong Choice Set Me Back Nearly $1,000
I've been writing about the internet for six years, and for most of them, I carried around a shameful secret: I rented a Wi-Fi router from Xfinity. Even though I've always advised readers to buy their own equipment, my rented modem and router worked fine. But all that time, in the back of my mind, I knew it was a waste of money. A monthly charge of $15 for internet equipment doesn't seem too bad when you're first signing up for internet, but after a few years of paying that monthly fee, you'll quickly rack up hundreds of dollars for a cost you could have avoided. When I looked through my old bills and added up the cost of renting internet equipment, I found I spent $873 on Xfinity's equipment fees over those six years. Buying your router and modem may seem like a hefty upfront cost, but it will likely pay for itself in the first year. With the money I've spent renting Xfinity equipment, I could've bought the most advanced router CNET's ever tested and then bought another as a backup. I could've doubled the internet speed I was getting. I could've booked a flight to Oslo. I was finally ready to enter the world of modem and router ownership. Locating local internet providers As satisfied as I was with my Xfinity gear, owning your own equipment is almost always the better option. You'll often get better performance -- my upload speeds increased by more than 2,000%. As I said, it'll usually pay for itself within the first year or two. The average internet bill in the US comes in at $78 per month -- and that's before you add the extra taxes and fees, which you should be able to see on your ISP's broadband nutrition label. Some of these are unavoidable, but equipment rental fees don't fall into that category. You might be perfectly content to pay a bit extra for the convenience of not having to buy and set up your own equipment. But if you're looking to save money in the long run and are comfortable purchasing and managing your own gear, it's a far better deal to shell out for your own router and modem. You may also be able to take advantage of any low-income discounts available in your state if you qualify. Here's what I've learned about making the switch from rented equipment to my own, and here's how you can make a similar change as painless as possible. How to choose the right modem and router The best internet is the internet you never notice, and I can't remember the last time my connection went out or I saw a buffering wheel in my home. And this is all with a device from 2017 that Xfinity describes as an "old Wireless Gateway with limited speeds and functionality." This goes to show how much the type of internet user you are has to do with what kind of equipment you need. I live in a 750-square-foot apartment, and my internet needs are mostly limited to video calls and TV streaming. If you live in a larger home with multiple floors, the same router likely won't cut it. Similarly, activities like online gaming hinge on split-second reactions. If this instantaneous responsiveness is important to you, it's probably worth investing in a gaming router that minimizes lag. Wi-Fi routers run the gamut from entry-level models like the TP-Link AC1200 for $30 to ultra-advanced mesh systems like the Netgear Orbi 970 Series for $1,500. To test each Wi-Fi router, CNET runs three speed tests in five different rooms in our testing facility, logging results for download speed, upload speed and latency. That process is repeated six times, accounting for variations in network performance at different times of the day. Ry Crist/CNET After consulting our picks for the best Wi-Fi routers, I decided to go with a budget pick: the TP-Link Archer AX21, of which my former CNET colleague and router connoisseur Ry Crist wrote, "It's nothing fancy, but it offered near flawless performance for small- to medium-size homes in our tests, and it's a cinch to setup." I get only 200Mbps through my Xfinity plan, so the 700Mbps speed the TP-Link hits at close range is more than enough juice and only cost $85 when I bought it. (Several government agencies have since opened investigations into TP-Link for ties to Chinese cyberattacks. But I don't have any plans to replace my TP-Link router just yet.) A cable modem like the Hitron CODA connects your home to your internet provider through a coaxial cable. Hitron Do you need to buy a modem? Depending on your internet connection, you may need to purchase a cable modem in addition to your router. Some ISPs, like Spectrum, include the modem for free but charge extra for a router. The main thing to look for in a modem is compatibility. Your internet provider will have a page on their website that lists all the models that it works with, and you shouldn't stray from this. You may also have a choice between DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1; the newer standard provides faster speeds, but DOCSIS 3.1 modems are typically more expensive. (Note: Although some ISPs have DOCSIS 4.0 modems available to rent, most are not yet widely available for purchase.) Other things to consider are the modem's speed limits -- make sure they're equal to or above your internet plan -- and the number of Ethernet ports. Xfinity doesn't provide a free modem, so I had to buy one in addition to a Wi-Fi router. I opted for the Hitron CODA Modem -- a DOCSIS 3.1 model that's one of the cheapest Xfinity-compatible models I could find for $100 at the time I purchased it. It supports download speeds up to only 867Mbps, but that's still far more than my Xfinity plan. How to set up your new modem and router Ordering the equipment is the easy part; the ordeal of setting up third-party equipment is what keeps many customers on the hook for years. The process is largely the same whether you're starting service fresh with a new provider or swapping out old equipment. Here's everything you'll need to do. 1. Activate your new modem with your ISP The modem is the piece of equipment that brings the internet to your home through a coaxial cable connected to your internet provider's network. Before it can work, ISPs need to tie your specific modem to your account. If you're replacing old equipment, they will also turn this off as they activate the new modem. ISPs do this by logging your MAC (media access control) number, which can be found on the bottom of the modem. You can typically do this through your internet provider's app, in a live chat or by calling a customer service number. 2. Connect the coax cable to your modem After your new modem's MAC address is registered with your ISP, you'll be prompted to connect your modem to the cable outlet in your wall and plug it into a power outlet. You may have to wait up to 5 minutes, and your modem's lights will tell you when it's receiving the internet signal. Once the indicator lights are on, you're ready to set up your wireless router. This TP-Link router offers wireless access to your modem's connection with the web (hence the antennas). Ry Crist/CNET 3. Set up your Wi-Fi router Each Wi-Fi router has its own setup process, so you'll want to follow the instructions provided. In the case of the TP-Link Archer AX21, that meant unplugging the modem's power, connecting the modem to the router's WAN port via an Ethernet cable, powering on the modem and then plugging the router into a power outlet. From there, I set up my new network through the TP-Link app. That's the short version. There's a lot more to consider when setting up a wireless router, including choosing the optimal location, setting up parental controls and protecting your privacy. For my purposes, though, I was ready to start testing out my new internet connection. Speed comparison: Which setup is fastest? I wanted to see how my new modem and router would compare with my old equipment, so I ran speed tests before and after I was connected: one from my desk next to the router and one from the furthest corner of my apartment (regrettably, the bathroom). My old modem and router returned 164/5Mbps speeds from my desk and 143/5Mbps from the bathroom -- not bad for an internet plan that advertises 200/10Mbps speeds. But the speeds with my new equipment were eye-popping: 237/118Mbps at both my desk and my bathroom. I didn't just save money by purchasing my own equipment -- I'm actually getting a significant speed boost, too. Joe Supan / CNET I have no idea why my new equipment picked up 10 times the upload speeds of my old one. I subscribe to Xfinity's Connect More plan, which is supposed to get only 10Mbps upload speeds. In 2022, Xfinity announced that it was increasing upload speeds on my plan to 100Mbps -- but only for customers who pay for its $25-per-month xFi Complete equipment. Apparently, I'm reaping those same benefits with my new modem and router. My best guess is that the upgrade from a DOCSIS 3.0 to a 3.1 modem is the main reason for the jump in upload speeds. How to save yourself some headaches I eventually got my modem and router set up properly, but I made plenty of mistakes along the way. Here's what I would do differently: Buy your modem and router on day one. Moving is a pain, and no one wants to make their to-do list even longer, but this is one task where the extra effort pays off (nearly a thousand dollars in my case). A technician Use your ISP's list of compatible modems. Routers aren't tied to specific providers, but if you have to purchase your own modem, you'll need to make sure that it works with your ISP. Don't cut corners here. I searched Amazon for a modem that said it was compatible with Xfinity and ended up having to return it a week -- and several hours of phone calls -- later. Your provider should have a page where it lists all the modems that it works with -- don't stray from this. Pay for only the speed you need. Internet equipment is expensive, and there's no reason to pay for a modem certified for 2,000Mbps when you're getting only 200Mbps with your plan. The same goes for routers -- you don't need to pay top dollar for a gaming router with exceptional latency if you're just streaming TV and scrolling the internet. My final thoughts Setting up a new modem and router is not fun, but it's absolutely worth it. My internet speeds have dramatically improved, and I'm paying significantly less for them. I'm saving $15 per month on equipment, and somewhere along the line, an Xfinity agent bumped my plan price down for the following year. My monthly bill went from $78.54 to $50. That's far more than I expected to save, and my new equipment paid for itself within the first six months. My only regret is that I didn't make the leap sooner.
