February saw acquisition news from Unicepta, a change in management at Cision and product news from Burrelles and Signal AI. Meanwhile, Google is looking at changing the way it works with publishers, and Twitter and Facebook act on disinformation.
Unicepta acquire XY Media
Unicepta has acquired UK media monitoring provider XY Media for an undisclosed sum. Unicepta, a leader in media intelligence in its home market of Germany, entered the crowded UK market late in 2019. The acquisition will see all XY Media employees folded into the Unicepta UK business.
Kevin Akeroyd steps down at Cision
Kevin Akeroyd has stepped down as CEO of Cision. The move came just a couple of weeks after the company was sold to Platinum Equity. Brandon Crawley, principal at Platinum Equity, has stepped in as interim CEO. During his time at Cision, Akeroyd continued the company’s acquisition streak, picking up the likes of Bulletin Intelligence, Falcon.io, PRIME Research and Trendkite. He also lead Cision through both its listing on the New York Stock Exchange and subsequent return to private ownership.
iSentia’s revenue continues its decline
The Australasian market leader, iSentia, has reported a 9.1% decline in revenue in its latest financial results. Double digit revenue growth in South East Asia was offset by lower revenue in Australia and New Zealand thanks to tough local competition. On the bottom line the company reported a net profit of $AUD3.6 million. The news saw iSentia’s share price slip by 12% to $AUD0.25.
Google might pay for news content
In news that will surely bring comfort to the media monitoring community, Google is said to be in talks with publishers about paying a licensing fee for content. The content would be packaged in a premium news product. The Financial Times reports that discussions have taken place with French publishers, including Le Monde and Le Figaro. Google has also talked to some US media groups about the plans.
Twitter & Facebook act on disinformation
This year we can expect to hear a great deal about misinformation, disinformation and fake news. After all, there is a US presidential election underway. Twitter and Facebook are both routinely criticised for allowing disinformation to exist on their platforms, and both are taking steps to address the issue. Twitter is said to be experimenting with adding brightly coloured labels directly beneath lies and misinformation posted by politicians and other public figures. While Facebook is taking a more restricted approach and giving researchers access to how its users have shared information and misinformation to on its platform in the past.
Briefings done two ways
February saw some product announcements from a number of providers. The UK-based Signal AI announced the launch of AIQ, an enhancement of the AI technology powering their platform. The first output will be Briefings, which uses AIQ to create a briefing email consisting of key news content within and across industries. Meanwhile, in the US, Burrelles launched the AM Headline Briefing, a human-compiled daily email rundown of the most important news stories being reported in the United States. You can access the Burrelles briefing here.
AMEC Summit 
The winter is almost over in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is time to start planning for spring. The AMEC Summit will take place in Vienna from 2 to 4 June. If you’ve not yet had a chance to fill in the forms, this also a gentle reminder that the deadline for AMEC Award entries is coming up on 16 March. If you need an extra measurement dose ahead of the AMEC Summit, get yourself to Copenhagen on May 6 for the Measurement Days conference. Sponsored by Retriever and organised by Jesper Andersen, it is sure to be an insightful day.
Don’t forget to let us know about your measurement moments. Email us – hello@prmeasured.com.