This week’s round-up of the latest mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and account moves includes ITV, Disney, EA, and Paramount.
Deal Desk rounds-up the latest moves across the global affiliate and digital marketing industry and why it matters.
This week, ITV pairs with Snack Media; the CMA clears Paramount’s Warner Bro’s merger; Disney exits A+E; and the EA sale has been finalised.
ITV pairs with Snack Media
ITV has partnered with sporting body digital rights representative, Snack Media to push its YouTube sales offering further.
The first partner in this agreement is the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). ITV will represent ad opportunities across the PDC’s YouTube channel, and will give brands access to high-engagement, broadcast-quality, brand safe content around major sporting events.
This follows on from ITV and YouTube’s partnership formed in late 2024, which lead to partnerships with 1,300 brands and products.
Abul Noor, head of YouTube sales at ITV, said: “This partnership with Snack Media is a key step as we continue to grow and evolve ITV’s YouTube sales house capabilities. By partnering with the PDC and Snack, we are bringing premium, high-engagement sports content to our commercial partners, reinforcing our commitment to building a destination for advertisers seeking broadcast-quality content.
“This collaboration creates a strong foundation for us to explore further partnerships within the sports sector, and we look forward to opportunities to broaden our sports portfolio in the future.”
Leaders take
ITV has long offered premium sports content as part of its sell, and the new partnership will give brands an opportunity to deliver scale with an engaged audience base.
Darts is a fantastic first example of what’s possible – with a passionate fan base and impressive engagement, which advertisers can lean into across all digital platforms.
The CMA approves Paramount-Warner Bros deal
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery following a phase one merger investigation.
The CMA assessed whether the deal is likely to harm competition in the UK in the distribution of films and TV production, as well as in relation to the “wholesale supply of children’s channels and the supply of streaming services”.
A CMA spokesperson told Affiliate Leaders: “We have cleared this deal as it does not raise competition concerns in the UK. The evidence shows that, after the merger, Paramount will continue to face sufficient competition in the various areas it operates in, including the production and distribution of films and TV content, the supply of children’s channels to pay-TV providers and the supply of streaming services.”
Leaders take
This is a surprising development, as the Paramount-Warner Bros deal has garnered a lot of negative attention – and from a wide range of industry players. A-list actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong co-signed an argument against the merger, which urged Britain’s culture secretary to intervene.
The two giant studios both control significant portions of the market, and the merger presents a serious antitrust risk.
EA finalises sale to Saudi-led group
Electronic Arts (EA) has been sold to a group of buyers, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The game-maker is best known for games like EA FC (formerly known as Fifa), The Sims, and Mass Effect.
The investors include Affinity Partners, which is led by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The deal, just finalised, is thought to be one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history with a significant part paid for with borrowed money, which the company will have to pay back.
Leaders take
The finalisation of this sale, while not unexpected, is a shame. Private equity buyouts are often followed by mass-layoffs and cost-cutting measures, which can suck the soul out of a business. EA has brought joy to many through its creative output, so it would be a waste to see it turned into a potential ‘sequels and mega-franchise’ machine, or worse, to see it stripped of its assets and sold off for parts.
For advertisers in particular, it means less public financial transparency and potential shifts in how in-gaming advertising opportunities and even brand safety guidelines.
Tabcorp to acquire Betmakers
Tabcorp has made a £140m bid to acquire Betmakers Technology Group in a move to overhaul wagering capacity for horseracing across Australian states and new markets.
The transaction carries an equity value of approximately AUD$283m (£148m) and an enterprise value of AUD$267m (£140m).
Tabcorp chief executive, Gillon McLachlan, said: “The acquisition of BetMakers will accelerate our strategy across multiple areas. BetMakers has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years and built impressive wagering technology and a talented team.
“Accessing those advantages will uplift our own tech capability and fast track our product ambitions, particularly for our unique media and tote offering.”
Leaders take
This deal has been rumoured for a long time, and will likely enhance Tabcorp’s offerings in Australia and beyond. If the deal is successful, Tabcorp should be able to bring in more revenue from existing media and build a foundation to expand on its B2B wagering.
Other notable news
Hearst has struck a deal to acquire Disney’s 50% stake in A+E Global Media. This is reported to have closed for roughly $1.2bn in cash, and gives Hearst full ownership of the content firm.
In the UK, a coalition of broadcasters, news publishers, and audio producers along with other media businesses, have asked the British government to rule out “damaging” proposals, which would allow the BBC to run ads on podcast and audio content for the first time. This would lead to “negative consequences” for audiences.
Solverde Group, one of Portugal’s most established gaming and hospitality companies, has renewed its partnership with NetRefer for its affiliate marketing platform. This continues a ten-year collaboration between the two firms.
Bodog has seemingly made a return. The former operator looks to be returning as an igaming publisher, and will earn commissions through affiliate partnerships.
