Latest news with #Mayer
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Katie Taylor offered proposal that could lead to dream fight
Mikaela Mayer has put her name forward to fight Katie Taylor - and offered the Irish great the opportunity to become a three-weight world champion. Taylor is currently considering her future plans after producing one of the best performances of her career to beat Amanda Serrano for a third time last week. The undisputed super-lightweight world champion won via majority decision at Madison Square Garden and, having turned 39 earlier this month, is considering whether she will fight on or hang up her gloves. "I'm willing to come down to 140 for Katie Taylor or she can take her shot at another division and fight me for my 147lb title," wrote Mayer on X. "Either way, I always hoped we would cross paths and this may be our last chance if Katie is looking to retire soon. Still think she's got a lot left tho!" Mayer, who was in attendance for Taylor's most recent win over Serrano, currently holds the WBO welterweight world title, with Wales' Lauren Price holding the WBA, WBC, IBF and Ring Magazine belts at 147lbs. The highest Taylor has weighed in at was 139½ lbs for her two fights with Chantelle Cameron in 2023, as well as her 2019 bout against Christina Linardatou. Mikaela Mayer (Image:) Her last two bouts against Serrano were fought at catchweights of 138 and 136lbs, while their first fight in 2022 took place at lightweight. The Bray Bomber suggested after last week's victory that a Croke Park bout would definitely be enough to keep her in training, but she has previously made no secret of her desire to fight in Las Vegas, where Mayer (21-2) is based and where six of her last 13 bouts have taken place. Taylor was in Sin City for Mayer's last fight against Sandy Ryan, a sparring partner of the 2012 Olympic champion, in March of this year. The Sphere in Vegas was considered as a venue for her trilogy bout with Serrano, before organisers decided on MSG in New York. And while Croke Park remains top of Taylor's wish list to fight in, Vegas might just be enough to tempt her to get back in the ring. "To headline a huge show in Vegas would be absolutely special. Vegas is nearly like the Mecca of boxing," Taylor said last year. "This is where all the big fights happen. I have done Madison Square Garden. I've headlined the two shows back in Ireland but to headline somewhere here in Vegas would be very, very special as well."
CNBC
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNBC
As streaming services chase profitability, kids' content is king
In the battle among streaming services to capture and keep subscribers, kids' shows like "CoComelon" and "Bluey" are becoming powerful tools to help win the war. Retaining customers has proven to be one of the biggest hurdles in the build-out of streaming. When Netflix reported subscriber losses in 2022, it sent a ripple effect through the industry and media companies began leaning into advertising and other business models to focus on profitability. Meanwhile, companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney have been vocal about the need for quality content to drive subscriber growth. Children's programming offers a unique value proposition for the streaming equation: it's less expensive and has more longevity than other forms of content. "Kids' content drives a huge amount of engagement because kids watch it over and over and over and over. They never tire of it," said Kevin Mayer, co-CEO of Candle Media, which owns Moonbug, the distributor of hit kids' shows such as "CoComelon" and "Blippi." Mayer said reducing churn — industry jargon for customer losses — is the most substantial factor in improving streaming services' economics, even more so than gaining new subscribers or generating revenue from those customers. "If you churn, you lose subscribers, your top line diminishes. You have to spend marketing dollars to replenish, either to re-market to lost subscribers or to find new ones," said Mayer. Kids tend to repeat watching shows and movies, and it shows in the data. When there was initially only one season of "CoComelon" on Netflix, kids watched the same episodes multiple times, said Brian Fuhrer, senior vice president of product strategy and thought leadership at Nielsen. The 154 episodes of animated Australian hit series "Bluey," which streams on Disney+, had more than 25 billion minutes viewed in the first half of 2025, according to a Nielsen report released in July. Kids' films in general have been driving both the box office and have been many of the top streamed titles this year, according to Nielsen. Disney's "Moana" is the most streamed movie in history and the sequel, "Moana 2," had 7.2 billion viewing minutes since it was released on Disney+ in March, per Nielsen. Live sports and hit TV series are often credited with drawing the biggest audiences and driving short-term subscriber additions for streamers, but services that feature strong portfolios of children's content offer parents a reason to stick with subscriptions longer term, industry analysts and experts told CNBC. A fourth-quarter video trends report from TiVo found that of nearly 4,500 survey respondents in the U.S. and Canada, those with children use 13.6 services compared with 8.2 for those without. Overall, the report from the fourth quarter of 2024 found that respondents had on average 9.9 services, down from 11.1 in the prior year. TiVo's report found that people were dropping streaming apps due to lack of usage rather than higher pricing. Meanwhile, kids being home from school during the summer has helped to spike both streaming and TV usage in June, according to a recent Nielsen report. Total TV usage among 6- to 17-year-olds was up 27% compared with the prior month, and streaming accounted for 66% of their total time spent with TV in June. The strategy for media companies varies when it comes to using children's content as a retention tool. Disney, Paramount Global and Netflix are among the streaming services with deep libraries of kids content. WBD, however, has stepped back from the genre, most notably with its decision to relinquish the streaming rights to "Sesame Street." The new season of the iconic children's show will be released on Netflix later this year, with two more seasons to follow. Meanwhile, new "Sesame Street" episodes will also be available on PBS KIDS and its YouTube channel. Netflix has reported kids' and family content represents 15% of the company's total viewing. Part of the broader media strategy has also come to mean joining forces with the traditional media industry's biggest competitor — Alphabet's YouTube. Even Netflix, the streaming juggernaut that upended the media industry, is faced with the reality that social media platform YouTube is dominating streaming on the TV screen. YouTube consistently pulls the highest TV viewership among all streaming platforms, according to Nielsen. As of June, YouTube accounted for 12.8% of overall streaming on the TV, surpassing Netflix and Disney+, Nielsen reported. In total, streaming viewership surpassed broadcast and cable TV. "I would say YouTube is part of everybody's media strategy," said Andy Heyward, a longtime media executive in the kids' television industry and CEO of Kartoon Studios. "More kids are consuming YouTube than anything else. But there's so much stuff on there that you have be very, very unique to rise above." YouTube strategy used to be an afterthought for many media companies, but that's since changed, according to Alexia Raven, who spearheaded generational research as a former executive at Warner Bros. Discovery and has since co-founded the research and strategy firm Maverix Insights. "If you're not on YouTube, it's like you don't exist for kids," Raven said. "That's where the eyeballs are." In response, traditional media companies are increasingly working "as close partners" with YouTube -- creating and curating YouTube channels with clips from specific content and TV networks, and even creating shows just for the platform, said Katie Kurtz, the global head of youth and learning at YouTube. "I think we certainly know that some partners think of YouTube as the engine of discoverability. They want to make sure they're meeting users where they are, and so they are on YouTube as a way of connecting with audiences," said Kurtz. The content Disney produces for YouTube serves to complement its long-form series on Disney+ and fuel deeper engagement with its characters and stories, a Disney spokesperson told CNBC. Paramount credits its library of kids programming as helping to establish Paramount+ as one of the fastest-growing streaming services, according to a spokesperson — much of which comes from cable TV network Nickelodeon. Franchises like "Paw Patrol," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Dora the Explorer" have been particularly successful. Still even with that depth in kids' programming, Paramount earlier this year released the original animated series, "Kid Cowboy," exclusively on YouTube. "We also know that a lot of our partners are not really just building large YouTube channels. They are also thinking about building a really great next generation of characters, and some of that involves being YouTube first," said Kurtz, calling out "Kid Cowboy" as an example. Meanwhile, traditional media companies are also looking to YouTube for new forms of content to add to their platform. In recent years, content makers who started out on YouTube have signed licensing deals with top streaming services. "We want to be in business with the best creatives on the planet, regardless where they come from," said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos during Thursday's earnings call with investors. "CoComelon" in particular stands out. The animated series originated on YouTube and still reaches much of its viewers there, but when Netflix acquired a subset of its content in 2020, it was a boost for Netflix's viewership. It has appeared in Nielsen's top 10 list of acquired titles a total of 179 times, with 155 consecutive appearances on the rankings. However, it was last featured on the list in September 2024. Despite its slowdown in viewership, "CoComelon" managed to nab a new subscription streaming home with Disney+ this year, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to speak publicly on the private negotiations. Disney outbid Netflix for the rights to the program beginning in 2027 and Netflix refrained from submitting a higher bid, the people said. Netflix declined to renew its "CoComelon" license due to a decline in viewership, one of the people said. Netflix saw the hours spent viewing "CoComelon" decline nearly 60% from early 2023 — when it started releasing engagement data — to late 2024. A Disney spokesperson said that "CoComelon" continues to be a top destination for preschool-aged children, adding the show fits seamlessly into its preschool ecosystem and supports engagement and retention with its young audiences, which is a key driver of platform health. Despite letting go of "CoComelon," Netflix is still investing in kids content. Earlier this year, Netflix added "Ms. Rachel" content, which is programming from a YouTube creator of toddler and preschooler content of the same name whose channel has nearly 16 million subscribers. The series has been in Netflix's top 10 most watched "shows" globally for 17 weeks, according to the company. "There are some creators on YouTube like Ms. Rachel that are a great fit," Sarandos said on Thursday's call. "If you just saw on the engagement report, she's had 53 million views in the first half of 2025 on Netflix. So she clearly works on Netflix."
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump nominates two lawyers to seal Republican control of US labor board
July 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has moved to install a Republican majority at the federal board that hears private-sector labor disputes and oversees union elections, which has been paralyzed by his unprecedented firing of a Democratic member. The White House sent the nominations of Scott Mayer, opens new tab, chief labor counsel at Boeing Co (BA.N), opens new tab, and James Murphy, opens new tab, a career lawyer at the National Labor Relations Board, to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. The five-member board has lacked a quorum of three members and has been unable to rule in hundreds of pending cases since Trump in January fired NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden. It was the first time since the board was created in 1935 that a member had been removed. The U.S. Supreme Court in May allowed Wilcox's removal pending the outcome of her legal challenge, which could set an important precedent on the president's ability to remove members of agencies designed to be independent from the White House. The board is also facing a series of lawsuits, including cases by and Elon Musk's SpaceX, claiming its structure and in-house enforcement proceedings violate the U.S. Constitution. The White House, the NLRB, Boeing, and Murphy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. If confirmed, Mayer and Murphy would join the board's acting chair, Republican Marvin Kaplan, and Democrat David Prouty. The NLRB hears cases involving illegal labor practices, including interference with union organizing, and decides disputes involving union elections. The board, which by tradition has no more than three members from one party, can adopt rules interpreting federal labor law but typically sets new policies through decisions in individual cases. Without a quorum, the board cannot review decisions by the agency's administrative judges, rendering them unenforceable. Unions and worker advocates have said the hobbling of the board has made it impossible to force some employers to cease even egregious and blatant legal violations, such as refusing to bargain and firing union supporters. A Republican majority is expected to roll back many decisions issued during the Biden administration that were seen as favoring unions and heavily criticized by business groups. That includes a 2023 ruling that created a path to unionize workers outside of the secret-ballot election process for the first time in 50 years, and a decision in a case involving that prohibits employers from requiring attendance at meetings to discourage unionizing. Mayer has been chief legal counsel at Boeing since 2022 and previously worked at InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts International, and Aramark, according to his profile, opens new tab on networking site LinkedIn. Boeing faced a bitter seven-week strike from some U.S. factory workers last year, which ended when workers approved a new union contract in November. Murphy has worked at the NLRB since 1974, when he was hired as a student law clerk, according to the agency. He has served as counsel to dozens of NLRB members, including Kaplan, the current acting chair.
LeMonde
6 days ago
- Sport
- LeMonde
Decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer to miss 2025 season
World decathlon record holder Kevin Mayer said on Wednesday, July 16, he would sit out the entire 2025 season due to the long-term hamstring injury that dashed his Paris Olympics hopes last year. The 33-year-old double world champion said that until two weeks ago he had still hoped to return for the world championships in Tokyo in September, but the "serious" injury had affected him "mentally and physically." "It's my first blank season, the first year that I won't be wearing the French team colours," Mayer told reporters in an online briefing. "I've had some really bad injuries in my career but this is the most serious so it's going to take more time. And I have no doubt that it will heal." Mayer, who also won Olympic silver medals at the 2016 and 2020 Games, said he was "playing his last hand" in choosing to halt his training for the 10-event decathlon to concentrate on specific strengthening exercises. The Frenchman, who set the world record of 9,126 points in 2018, has been dogged by injuries in the past two years. He was forced to drop out of the 2023 world championships in Budapest after feeling pain in his Achilles tendon after the 100m. Then his hopes of performing in front of a home crowd at the 2024 Paris Olympics were crushed when he injured his hamstring in a 110m hurdles race at the Paris Diamond League meeting just weeks before the Games. Mayer said he was still hopeful of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "We all have our cross to bear. Mine is my physical state. I know very well that if I sort out the problem, I can go on for a very, very long time," he said.
France 24
6 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer sits out 2025 season
The 33-year-old double world champion said that until two weeks ago he had still hoped to return for the world championships in Tokyo in September, but the "serious" injury had affected him "mentally and physically". "It's my first blank season, the first year that I won't be wearing the French team colours," Mayer told reporters in an online briefing. "I've had some really bad injuries in my career but this is the most serious so it's going to take more time. And I have no doubt that it will heal." Mayer, who also won Olympic silver medals at the 2016 and 2020 Games, said he was "playing his last hand" in choosing to halt his training for the 10-event decathlon to concentrate on specific strengthening exercises. The Frenchman, who set the world record of 9,126 points in 2018, has been dogged by injuries in the past two years. He was forced to drop out of the 2023 world championships in Budapest after feeling pain in his Achilles tendon after the 100m. Then his hopes of performing in front of a home crowd at the 2024 Paris Olympics were crushed when he injured his hamstring in a 110m hurdles race at the Paris Diamond League meeting just weeks before the Games. Mayer said he was still hopeful of competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "We all have our cross to bear. Mine is my physical state. I know very well that if I sort out the problem, I can go on for a very, very long time," he said. © 2025 AFP
