Ads will be of the interstitial video variety, which The Times launched 18 months ago and has found consistent demand for, as they mirror the kinds seen in Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. Soon, the publisher plans to introduce these same ads to its Watch tab, which debuted in October.
The new app might not transform The Times’ business model overnight, but it points to an increasing comfort with experimentation and rapid product development. If the 173-year-old news publisher can successfully launch standalone mobile games, it might soon set its sights on even more ambitious ventures.
Talking Heds
Daily Front Row Sold (Exclusive): The fashion industry outlet The Daily Front Row was acquired by the talent representation firm The Only Agency earlier this week for a seven-figure sum, said Kent Belden, founder of The Only Agency. The Daily Front Row, founded in 2002, covers the fashion industry, and its portfolio includes industry events, seasonal print products, and editorial assets. In terms of pairing, the tie-up is eerily reminiscent of when Great Bowery acquired Coveteur in 2019, only to shut it down in May 2024. Still, the new, combined entity appears naturally complementary: The Only Agency can plug its talent into The Daily Front Row, while the latter brings sponsorship inventory to the former. “We’ve seen the continued growth of in-person events,” Belden said. “Even if text diminishes, translating that expertise into live experiences is what The Daily Front Row is about.”
Pale Blue Dot: On Tuesday, former Wired and MIT Technology Review editor in chief Gideon Lichfield launched BlueDot Media, a so-called “brand journalism agency.” The firm aims to help technology and finance companies create brand publications and company newsrooms, casting them as definitive information sources within their industry. For many journalists, working in-house for a branded outlet is somewhat of a siren song: The budgets are richer, but the promise of editorial autonomy often runs aground against reality. Lichfield, who teamed up with former Reuters editor Stuart Grudgings on the venture, has split the baby by offering these services from the safe remove of an agency.
SI TV: Sports Illustrated launched a free, ad-supported television (FAST) channel on Tuesday. The channel, SI TV, is available on platforms including Amazon FireTV and DirecTV and will serve as another surface area to distribute its video content, which includes podcasts, docuseries, and live events coverage. The publisher, now owned by Minute Media, is among the many joining the CTV gold rush. In recent weeks, the ecosystem was jolted by the news that Instagram itself had plans to broach the living room. While FAST channels nominally attract viewers by offering exclusive IP, the moat of “free, ad-supported TV” feels increasingly vulnerable given the expanding dominance of YouTube.
Pitchfork Paywall: The Condé Nast publisher Pitchfork, whose staff was diminished and folded into GQ in January 2024, announced its plan to launch a paywall earlier this week. The news invariably sent a subset of the internet into a fit, decrying the privatization of its content, but the truth is that the move is long overdue. Publishers, especially of the lifestyle variety, cannot exist on ads alone, and giving super-fans a way to express their financial support is a new axiom of digital media.
