ZoomerMedia is pushing further into the digital publishing space, acquiring Buzz Connected Media, owner and publisher of Daily Hive. Headquartered in Vancouver, Daily Hive boasts over 3.1 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. The company also operates in-house branded content studio, Hive Labs. ZoomerMedia previously acquired blogTO in January of this year. The multimedia company, best known for operating VisionTV, The New Classical FM (CFZM-FM) and Zoomer Radio (CFZM-AM), says with the addition of Daily Hive it becomes the largest Millennial and Gen Z focused media platform in Canada, “and provides ZoomerMedia a national audience that is unrivaled in terms of demographic, online and social media reach and engagement.” Zoomer acquired Buzz Connected for $16.4 million, comprised of $6 million in cash, a $5 million promissory note, issuance of $3 million in ZoomerMedia shares and assumption of Buzz’s $2.4 million outstanding debt obligation. Read more here.
Frank Magazine Atlantic, the Halifax-based version of the tabloid-style magazine featuring news, satire, and opinion, has shut down. “We regret to announce the death of Frank Magazine Atlantic, 35, which occurred on September 14, 2022,” the publication announced Tuesday on its website. “Stricken with a rogue’s gallery of grievous and irremediable medical conditions, death was quick and (mostly! – ed.) painless.” Owned by Cape Breton entrepreneur and investor Parker Rudderham, the publication had been operating with a small staff in recent years led by Managing Editor Andrew Douglas. Earlier this year, Frank was one of the media outlets that challenged attempts by Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission to suppress publication of video surveillance tapes of the RCMP’s takedown of Gabriel Wortman in April 2020.
Rumble has announced that the video-sharing platform’s user base reached a new record in August, increasing its global monthly active users (MAUs) to 78 million, representing 77% year-over-year growth. A new record of 63 million was also reached for MAUs in Canada and the U.S., representing 103% year-over-year growth. Rumble says a substantial portion of that growth came from users in the 18-24-year-old ‘Gen Z’ age group. The platform has announced plans to launch Rumble Exclusives, a livestreaming lineup featuring independent creators and a two-way dialogue with their audiences. The first daily livestream, hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, will start later this month and see Greenwald stream exclusively on Rumble at 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday to interview guests, discuss current events, and interact with audience questions and comments. Following the Rumble livestream, he’ll continue with a Q&A session exclusively for subscribers on Rumble’s subscription-based community platform, Locals. Greenwald’s “System Update” channel launched on Rumble in Aug. 2021 and currently has more than 200,000 subscribers.
Mike Bendixen, former Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) program director and National Format Director, News & Talk Programming, who parted ways with Bell Media last November, has launched a new newsletter on Substack. The broadcast media veteran promises “analysis of the news of the day and how it’s being covered.” His inaugural post discusses his early experiments with TikTok at CFRB and why research indicates those in the content business should embrace the platform.
12:36, the Toronto-centric pop culture and current events newsletter, is shifting its publishing model as it ends an 88-month run under SJC Media. 12:36, under the leadership of editor Marc Weisblott, will continue to publish weekly roundups on Thursdays for the foreseeable future and has already attracted an inaugural sponsor.
BBTV Holdings has entered into an agreement to provide content management to the Harlem Globetrotters. Vancouver-based BBTV will provide the Globetrotters with Rights Management, Channel Management and Content Development solutions across multiple platforms including YouTube and Facebook. The Harlem Globetrotters will celebrate their upcoming centennial in 2026.
