Ex-Apple CEO John Sculley: People Want to See More Than Google and Facebook
Former Apple CEO John Sculley sees big shifts in the ad tech industry, as marketing becomes more personalized. And as smaller companies look to survive, he says they’re turning to Zeta Global, which he co-founded ten years ago.
“There’s so many companies that are for sale because they are too small to be able to compete in the mainstream,” he told Cheddar Monday. “We’ve been constantly approached by companies wanting us to acquire them.”
Just last week, the marketing cloud company bought Disqus, which powers the comment section of websites like TMZ and The Atlantic, services over 4 million websites, and hosts 2 billion monthly unique users.
Sculley also commented on the state of digital advertising, which has been largely dominated by Facebook and Google. He says customers want to broaden their advertising options.
“People want to see other alternatives in addition to Google and Facebook,” he said. “And it’s why you see companies like Zeta Global, and Adobe, and Salesforce.com, and others enjoying so much attention. You have to build out a broader platform.”
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
