Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Mike Shields
July 5, 2016 7:16 a.m. ET

GOLDEN GOOSE: An executive at a budding digital startup is making a job move. Typical for a millennial, right? But he also happens to be one of the top professional basketball players. Kevin Durant, the deputy publisher of The Players’ Tribune, the digital outlet started by Yankees legend Derek Jeter that regularly features content by a slew of professional athletes, shocked the sports world Monday by announcing that he’s leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors, reports The Wall Street Journal. The fact that Mr. Durant posted his news directly to The Players’ Tribune is noteworthy because not so long ago, it would have been almost unheard of to not give this scoop to a traditional media outlet. (Remember LeBron James’s love letter to Cleveland when he announced he was coming back to the Cavaliers, delivering Sports Illustrated a huge traffic spike?) But as Mr. Durant told WSJ last year, The Players’ Tribune can “give you your own voice.”

TIME TO CHANGE: The first step in solving a problem is recognizing you have one. Time Inc., which Chief Executive Joe Ripp has long preached should no longer be thought of as just a “magazine company,” is reorganizing its leadership structure to push toward a less print-dominant reality, reports CMO Today. The restructuring, which could include layoffs, means more live events, original digital content and social media distribution, as well as collaboration between magazines with similar coverage. Rich Battista, who was installed last year as executive vice president of Time Inc. and president of People and Entertainment Weekly, is expected to lead that charge and gain responsibility for several more titles currently overseen by Executive Vice President Evelyn Webster. One Time Inc. exec recognized that unlike digital-born companies like Vox and Vice, Time Inc.’s inherent fiefdoms can be problematic. “We’re competing with digital-first attackers structured differently from us,” the executive said.

GOOD STREAM: Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is like every other YouTube star and native digital media publisher—she, too, is experimenting with Facebook Live. And she wants to make money on the burgeoning streaming platform, reports CMO Today. Right now, Facebook Live doesn’t have a standard ad offering, though some creators like Ms. Stewart are incorporating product placements and seem confident Facebook will eventually figure out more steady revenue streams. After all, Facebook is paying a long list of celebrities and media companies—including Martha Stewart Living publisher Meredith Corp.--to experiment with live content. But it’s also a leap of faith. Just last week Facebook reminded the world that it can change its algorithm at any time, saying it will prioritize posts from friends and family over publishers. Ms. Stewart is still enjoying Facebook Live. “You can let loose and have fun,” she said. “I miss my daily [TV] show but not the expense or difficulty of making it.”

REVIEW SEQUEL: Remember that wave of marketers reviewing—and many deciding to dump—their ad agencies last year? Turns out those relationships in the ad industry are still just as tenuous. According to a new study from Advertiser Perceptions that surveyed the attitudes of more than 300 marketers, 58% of respondents said they plan to review their agencies in the next 12 months, reports CMO Today. Marketers want agencies that are at the forefront of digital change, and there’s always pressure to cut costs. But the recent report from the Association of National Advertisers regarding transparency—or the lack thereof—in the media-buying world has put a serious strain on the trust between agencies and their clients. As Perceptions Group Chief Executive Ken Pearl put it: “We’ve probably seen more change and more negativity in the marketplace than ever before.”

Snapchat is starting to attract more “olds,” i.e. adults over the age of 25, which is threatening to alienate the mobile app’s core teen user base. [WSJ]

Comcast has extended the contract of Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Roberts through June of next year. Mr. Roberts has signed one-year contract extensions for the past several years. [Variety]

IBT Media has laid off half a dozen staffers at Newsweek, following last week’s layoffs at the company’s sister publication IBTimes. [Politico]

The YouTube cooking-themed channel Sorted Food talked to CMO Today about how not to overdo it with branded content videos. [CMO Today]

A new report from the research firm Enders Analysis says that the economic impact of the U.K.’s decision to exit the European Union could stifle the country’s economy for five years, leading advertisers to pull back on spending in the near term. [Business Insider]

After barely running any online ads during the primary season, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has begun gradually ramping up web advertising of late. [Ad Age]

The music industry is starting to look for talent on live-streaming mobile apps like the increasingly popular YouNow, which according to the company delivers 50 years’ worth of video each month. [New York Times]
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