T-Mobile has held talks to purchase Vistar Media, as the U.S.’s third-largest telco seeks to strengthen its non-traditional revenue streams by further expanding its footprint in the advertising sector, sources told Digiday.
Such discussions are understood to have taken place amid what would appear to be an ongoing sales process from Vistar Media, which is said to have fielded several inbound inquiries since late 2024, and come as parties in the space anticipate a flurry of mergers and acquisitions.
T-Mobile and Vistar Media declined to respond to Digiday’s requests for comment, but later confirmed the deal.
Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.
Clearwater Analytics is set to acquire Enfusion in a $1.5 billion cash-and-stock deal aimed at strengthening its international presence and stepping into the hedge fund market. Under the acquisition agreement announced Monday, Enfusion shareholders will receive $5.85 in cash and […]
Both antitrust lawsuits have the same basis – that Apple is abusing its monopolistic control over the sale of iPhone apps to charge excessive commissions …
Adobe is launching new generative AI tools that can automate labor-intensive production tasks like editing large batches of images and translating video presentations. The most notable is “Firefly Bulk Create,” an app that allows users to quickly resize up to 10,000 images or replace all of their backgrounds in a single click instead of tediously editing each picture individually.
The tool was created by combining several of Adobe’s Firefly-powered APIs for developers, with the aim of making them more accessible to creatives who lack technical coding experience. Bulk Create is launching in beta today, and split into two separate tools on Adobe’s Firefly web app: “Remove Background” and “Resize.” The first is pretty self-explanatory — users can upload image files into the tool from their computer, Dropbox, or Adobe Experience Manager, and quickly remove the backgrounds.
It should work on any image, but looks especially useful for product marketers. Alongside just removing the background, users can also set the tool to replace backgrounds with a specific image or color (defined by HEX codes) to get variations of each image that are ready for further editing. The file batches can be saved as either PNG or JPEG for now, with Adobe saying that support for Photoshop PSD files will be added in the future.
Image: Adobe
The background expansion for “Resize” might work fine for abstract images like this, but the tool seems to struggle with photographs.
The “Resize” tool presents a selection of preset options for popular ad banner sizes and platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. It uses generative AI to stretch the backgrounds of images to fit these required dimensions, but the demo I saw wasn’t particularly inspiring — there was a lot of obvious warping, with one example strangely copying and blurring wine glasses together that were in the foreground. For simple backgrounds, though, it could spare graphic designers from having to manually resize their marketing assets for each platform. While services like Canva and Adobe Express also have tools that make this easier, Bulk Create can do so in a single click.
Adobe is making some new developer APIs for Firefly Services generally available in the coming weeks that developers can use to speed up video and print production workflows. “Dubbing and Lip Sync” can translate and edit lip movement for video audio into 14 different languages, and a new InDesign tool can automatically format text and images for print and digital media using predefined templates. “Digital avatars” created using text descriptions and voice recordings will also be available in beta this month, which can be used to present videos and product explainers.
The power required to edit batches of 10,000 images is presumably expensive. Adobe says there will be a fee to use these new tools based on “consumption” — which likely means users will need to pay for a premium Adobe Firefly plan that provides generative credits that can then be “spent” on the features.
Speaker manufacturer Sonos is seeing some significant changes. Patrick Spence, the company’s chief executive officer (pictured above), is leaving the company after eight years in the job. Tom Conrad, the co-founder of Pandora and a Sonos board member, is stepping in as interim CEO starting today. Last year was complicated for the speaker manufacturer. The […]
A KNBC reporter is taking internet heat for interviewing Dennis Quaid as he was getting out of the way of one of the approaching the LA area wildfires. Quaid was loading his car when KNBC's Robert Kovacik stopped by for a roughly16 minute chat where he spoke of Quaid in the third person. Quaid was...
Ad industry veterans Kai Deveraux Lawson, Simeon Coker, and Tracey Busch saw the need for industry action when it comes to culture, one that could move needles rather than tick boxes. Enter Valerie, a woman-owned, Black-owned creative strategy agency and cultural consultancy, launching officially today to be a white-label partner for brands and agencies. The...
The jingle from CeraVe's "Hey It's Me" commercial has become meme fodder on social channels like TikTok--sometimes with an air of mockery. But instead of feeling embarrassed, the L'Oreal brand is getting in on the joke by remixing the tune with dozens of influencers. In the latest chapter of its "Moisturize Like a Derm" campaign,...
Amazon is shutting down its “Prime Try Before You Buy” service, a feature that allowed Prime members to try on clothes, shoes, and accessories before committing to a purchase. The service will end on January 31, 2025, according to a […]
In just one week, Donald Trump will be sworn in to serve his second term as president of the United States. Since Trump won the U.S. presidential election, media headlines have been dominated by how he won and why, his controversial cabinet picks, and what issues he will take on as soon as he enters...
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has been replaced in his role and is leaving the company. Its interim CEO says this is because the company “let far too many people down.”
Customers have been calling for Spence to be sacked ever since the disastrous launch of a new app left many of them struggling with connectivity problems and broken features …
The upcoming change in the presidency has seen a number of companies make changes to long-standing policies, in fields spanning content moderation to DEI policies.
As we reported on Friday, however, Apple is holding firm on its own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, urging shareholders to reject a resolution to abandon them …
Decentralized social network Mastodon has announced plans to transfer its ownership to a new nonprofit entity. Ownership of Mastodon will move away from the control of CEO Eugen Rochko, in contrast to the power exerted by other social media CEOs like Meta cofounder Mark Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk.
“Simply, we are going to transfer ownership of key Mastodon ecosystem and platform components to a new nonprofit organization,” Mastodon says in a blog post, “affirming the intent that Mastodon should not be owned or controlled by a single individual.”
Rochko, who founded Mastodon in 2016, will take on a new role with a focus on product strategy while ownership moves to a new not-for-profit entity based somewhere in Europe, with the exact location still to be finalized. The organization is currently headquartered in Germany, where it was a nonprofit until its charitable status was stripped last year. This move is a way of restoring Rochko’s original intent for Mastodon.
“When founder Eugen Rochko started working on Mastodon, his focus was on creating the code and conditions for the kind of social media he envisioned,” Mastodon says. “The legal setup was a means to an end, a quick fix to allow him to continue operations. From the start, he declared that Mastodon would not be for sale and would be free of the control of a single wealthy individual, and he could ensure that because he was the person in control, the only ultimate decision-maker.”
In the short term, nothing should change for users. Mastodon will continue to host the mastodon.social and mastodon.online servers and support its federated network. Routine code development and bug fixes are ongoing, though the announcement adds that “changes are definitely in the pipeline.”
“Our core mission remains the same: to create the tools and digital spaces where people can build authentic, constructive online communities free from ads, data exploitation, manipulative algorithms or corporate monopolies,” Mastodon says.
Nvidia is cozying up to the incoming Trump administration after criticizing a new AI framework just announced by the Biden administration. The rules are meant to keep advanced chips and AI models under the control of the United States and its allies, but the President-elect will have the final decision on whether to enforce them.
If implemented, the “Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion” announced today would place new limitations on how many artificial intelligence chips companies can send to different countries without making special agreements with the US government. Nvidia will be impacted the most by this, given its estimated 90 percent share of AI chips.
The new rules aim to close loopholes that would allow countries like China and Russia — which are already subject to existing semiconductor trade restrictions — to obtain or develop their own AI technology. The Biden administration wants to keep transformational AI development under the control of the US and 18 of its allies, which include the UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. All other countries will be subject to caps that restrict AI chip imports.
“In the wrong hands, powerful AI systems have the potential to exacerbate significant national security risks, including by enabling the development of weapons of mass destruction, supporting powerful offensive cyber operations, and aiding human rights abuses, such as mass surveillance,” the White House said in a statement. “Today, countries of concern actively employ AI – including US-made AI – in this way, and seek to undermine US AI leadership.”
Nvidia says that the new “AI Diffusion” restrictions threaten to derail worldwide “innovation and economic growth,” and undermine the prior Trump administration’s efforts to create a successful environment for AI development.
“In its last days in office, the Biden Administration seeks to undermine America’s leadership with a 200+ page regulatory morass, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review,” Nvidia said in a statement. “This sweeping overreach would impose bureaucratic control over how America’s leading semiconductors, computers, systems, and even software are designed and marketed globally.”
“The first Trump Administration laid the foundation for America’s current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment where US industry could compete and win on merit without compromising national security,” reads Nvidia’s statement. “Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America’s global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the US ahead.”
“We look forward to a return to policies that strengthen American leadership, bolster our economy and preserve our competitive edge in AI and beyond,” Nvidia says in its MAGA conclusion.
In addition to curbing AI chip exports, the rules also set security standards to control the “weights” for AI models — the unique parameters that determine how each AI model makes its predictions. Companies like Microsoft and Google that operate data centers can also apply for special government accreditations that allow them to trade AI chips with fewer restrictions, in exchange for following security standards outlined by the Biden administration.
New data center rules aim to keep the development of the most advanced AI models within the borders of the United States and its partners. According to the New York Times, Microsoft says it could “comply fully with this rule’s high security standards and meet the technology needs of countries and customers around the world that rely on us,” in a statement attributed to Microsoft president Brad Smith.
Tom Conrad, a longtime veteran of the tech industry who joined Sonos’ board of directors in 2017, has been appointed interim CEO following today’s ouster of Patrick Spence. And in his first letter as the (temporary) new boss, Conrad hits on a number of things that will likely be music to the ears of rank-and-file Sonos employees.
“I’ve heard from many of you about your own frustrations about how far we’ve drifted from our shared ideals,” he says in the letter. “There’s a tremendous amount of work in front of us, including what I’m sure will be some very challenging moments, decisions, and trade-offs, but I’m energized by the passion I see all around me for doing right by our customers and getting back to the innovation that is at the heart of Sonos’ incredible history.”
Conrad says he has already relocated to Santa Barbara — where Sonos is headquartered — and will be in the office daily as he works to reenergize employees after an ordeal that has cratered morale. “I think we’ll all agree that this year we’ve let far too many people down. As we’ve seen, getting some important things right (Arc Ultra and Ace are remarkable products!) is just not enough when our customers’ alarms don’t go off, their kids can’t hear their playlist during breakfast, their surrounds don’t fire, or they can’t pause the music in time to answer the buzzing doorbell.”
In a separate letter to employees, Sonos board chair Julius Genachowski said, “Tom’s mandate is to improve the Sonos core experience for our customers, while optimizing our business to drive innovation and financial performance,” and he noted that Conrad has left his job as CEO of Zero Longevity Science to give his full attention to Sonos. Perhaps the interim pick already has an eye on making this appointment more permanent.
Below is Conrad’s full letter to employees:
Team,
Nearly 18 years ago, in May of 2007, I stepped onto the stage at SFMOMA to launch Pandora for Sonos to an audience of tech journalists. I was 37 years old and my love of Sonos was in its earliest days. Over the decade that immediately followed, and through many ups and downs, we built Pandora into a streaming phenomenon. In those same years Sonos became the most beloved way to enjoy music throughout my home and millions of others.
Eight years ago, I was honored to be asked to join the Sonos board. Five months ago, as the team worked through the app recovery, I was lucky enough to get to know a wider swath of you personally – and to see firsthand your dedication to setting things right.
Last week, I was asked to step in as interim CEO.
Perhaps the most important thing for you to know today is that I’m here because I love this company, this product family and this brand. For nearly two decades, I’ve listened to music throughout my home on Sonos every day. In the last decade, I’ve binged every streaming phenomenon with dazzling surround from our Sonos soundbars. In recent years and when I was traveling, it was a Sonos Roam that made its way into my backpack. These days, every night I’m careful not to wake my sleeping family by watching audio-swapped television on my Sonos Ace.
I know as well as anyone the incredible power of what we can do. A Sonos Move was playing in the delivery room when my daughter (11 months just last week!) was born. Sonos provides a similar soundtrack for millions of lives throughout the world every single day. When it all works, it’s absolute magic.
It’s also true that when it doesn’t work, our customers are taken out of the moment and are right to feel that we’ve let them down. I think we’ll all agree that this year we’ve let far too many people down. As we’ve seen, getting some important things right (Arc Ultra and Ace are remarkable products!) is just not enough when our customers’ alarms don’t go off, their kids can’t hear their playlist during breakfast, their surrounds don’t fire, or they can’t pause the music in time to answer the buzzing doorbell.
I’m here to get us back on track. But is getting back on track enough?
I think the answer is clearly no. Getting back to basics is necessary, but clearly not enough to unlock the future we all envision for Sonos. So as delighted as I’ll be when every Sonos customer I meet tells me “You work at Sonos!? I love my Sonos!”, what really gets me up in the morning is the idea that we can expand the Sonos platform well beyond “out loud audio at home.”
I’ve heard from many of you about your own frustrations about how far we’ve drifted from our shared ideals. There’s a tremendous amount of work in front of us, including what I’m sure will be some very challenging moments, decisions, and trade-offs, but I’m energized by the passion I see all around me for doing right by our customers and getting back to the innovation that is at the heart of Sonos’ incredible history.
While I’m here today as “interim” CEO, please make no mistake: I’m here to move us forward. This is not a time for Sonos to be stuck in limbo. I’ve relocated to Santa Barbara and my family will join me here shortly. I’m in the office today and for as long as the job is mine. I’m counting on your help in making today the first day in our collective future. I’ll greet you all live tomorrow (see calendars for the meeting invite). It will be recorded and shared with those who aren’t able to attend. I’ll also be visiting our offices outside of California in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to meet all of you and start building towards a new chapter for Sonos.
Onward!
Tom
PS: As you get to know me in the coming weeks and months, you’ll find that I have many of the clichéd interests of an aging technology hipster, including an arm full of tattoos (see also: “Can I tell you about my interest in light roast espresso, vinyl records and Leica photography?”). While all of this rightfully might inspire some eye rolls (including from my wife), I hope it will make at least some of you smile to know that my most prominent tattoo is a pair of Sonos Ace on my left forearm.
