FOR THE ARTICLES: A few months ago, Playboy Enterprises Inc. put the company's legendary mansion on the market with a $ 200 million asking price. During that process, potential bidders emerged for the entire company, and now Playboy has enlisted the help of Moelis & Co. to explore selling the legendary magazine brand, The Wall Street Journal reports. People familiar with the matter say the whole thing could fetch north of $ 500 million, but it could also be broken down and sold for parts, between the licensing business, magazine and mansion. Playboy, which first published with Marilyn Monroe on the cover in 1953, helped spark a sexual revolution and define American hedonism, but the iconic publication has been particularly hard hit by the rise of easy-to-access Internet porn. Now its most valuable asset might be its name—and bunny logo.
FULL THROTTLE: Consumers were recently outraged to learn that AT&T and Verizon have poorer quality Netflix streaming on their wireless services. But it turns out those carriers aren't to blame. WSJ reports that Netflix is actually the one doing the "throttling," lowering the quality of its video on those carriers "to protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps," at which point customers face extra fees. Netflix doesn't limit its video quality with Sprint and T-Mobile because those mobile providers tend to just slow connections when people exceed data caps, as opposed to charging fees that can discourage people from watching more Netflix. And it's no wonder, because watching Netflix can eat up some serious data: streaming two hours of HD video would rack up 6 gigabytes, or an entire month's worth of data under an $ 80 plan on Verizon.
PLATFORMER: One of the biggest topics in digital media over the past few months has been the growing importance of "platforms" like Facebook, Snapchat and Apple, which have introduced ways for media companies to distribute their content within those apps—as opposed to publishers using them as a way to send people back to their own websites. As CMO Today reports, that trend has led to the creation of a new role at media companies: platforms specialist. Conde Nast International, for instance, is looking for a "platform relationships manager." Vox Media recently hired Choire Sicha, the co-founder of the Awl, to shore up its ties with distribution companies. "It's become so important that it really does require a dedicated expert," said Melissa Bell, Vox Media's vice president for growth.
BUSINESS TIME: A round of layoffs hit the International Business Times on Thursday, with at least 15 employees being let go, and Peter S. Goodman, global editor-in-chief, is also heading out the door in a planned departure, Re/code reports. The publisher, whose parent company IBT Media bought Newsweek magazine from IAC in 2013, recently racked up some journalism awards as it jockeys to compete in the already-crowded business media space. In a memo obtained by Politico, the company's co-founders said the strategic restructuring was needed amid "these ever shifting and challenging times" and is now concluded.
Elsewhere
TiVo is in advanced negotiations to be sold to Rovi, a large owner of patents for digital entertainment devices. [NYT]
Canadian radio broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi was acquitted in a sexual-assault trial. He was fired by CBC in October 2014, and faces another trial in June stemming from a separate alleged sexual-assault incident. [Globe & Mail]
Marketing agency the Shipyard and consultancy Tomorro are forming a joint venture called Mediopolis, which bills itself as a "media engineering firm" that can use data to steer media planning and buying. [WSJ]
Jeff Bezos has taken a hands-on role at the Washington Post, making suggestions on publishing technology and even going so far as to personally retrieve correspondent Jason Rezaian when he was freed from an Iranian prison. [Fortune]
Snapchat has agreed to acquire Bitstrips Inc., maker of the popular Bitmoji app that lets users send customized cartoon avatars. The takeover signals Snapchat may be stepping up its deal making to compete with Facebook. [WSJ]
Apple is working with musical artist will.i.am on an unscripted program about apps for Apple TV. The company is already planning programs for its subscription video service, namely a six-episode series featuring Dr. Dre. [WSJ]
One potential buyer for Yahoo could be Microsoft, whose executives have been meeting with private-equity firms to mull over bids. [Re/code]
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