Media

Acast completed its $20 million acquisition of Backyard Ventures on August 11, 2026, paying $16 million in cash at closing and deferring $4 million in shares over two and three years. The acquired network reported $16.1 million in 2025 revenue at a 65% CAGR since 2023 and brings creators including Ryan Holiday, Piers Morgan, Cal Newport, and Mark Manson. Acast says the deal will not materially affect short-term financials but disclosed no specific synergy targets, integration timeline, or post-acquisition U.S. revenue figures.

Apple has approached news publishers about multiyear agreements that would pay them when Siri uses their content, with a reported budget starting at $100 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. As of mid-August 2026, no deal has been confirmed, no publisher has publicly acknowledged being approached, and key terms including per-use rates, audit rules, and what counts as Siri 'use' remain undefined. The talks coincide with Apple's planned fall 2026 beta rollout of Siri AI features that would let the assistant access current web information.