If this (from VC Ratings) is correct Google’s health portal plans, the subject of some speculation, may be more extensive than originally thought.

The BBC’s annual report is out and among other things it confirms that 36p from our £126.50 licence fee was spent on bbc.co.uk (over £72m.)

BtoB Magazine has a list of the top 100 people in the b2b space. Don’t be too disappointed if you find you aren’t on it…. 🙂

PaidContent is quoting the JEGI database reporting that there were 315 deals totalling more than $37bn in value in the first half of 2006, more than a third up on the same period last year (by value). More detail from PaidContent here.

FT To Axe 50 As Online-Print Merger Happens – from PaidContent.org

The Financial Times plans to cut 10% (about 50) of its 500-strong editorial staff as it merges its online and newsprint operations…the job losses will be mainly in production, as the reporting operation was integrated several years ago.

Some thoughts from Rafat following the publication of The Long Tail which coincided with the all-time-record opening weekend of Pirates of the Caribbean which brought in $132m.

The conclusions: Blockbusters will continue to succeed even as niche media proliferates…a long-tail world doesn’t threaten the whales or the minnows…It threatens those who cater to the neglected middle, such as writers of “mid-list” fiction and producers of adult dramas. Also, competitive economics aren’t going away. As long as people herd, there will be blockbusters in one form or the other.

Wired News report that Condé Nast is buying…. Wired News

Lycos is selling its Wired News unit to Condé Nast Publications for $25 million, Lycos parent Daum Communications announced in Korea late Tuesday, a deal that brings Wired.com and Wired magazine under the same owner after an eight-year separation.

Lycos acquired Wired News as part of its June 1999 acquisition of Wired Digital in a stock transaction valued at about $83 million at the time. Since then, Wired News has published Wired magazine articles on the web under a contractual relationship, while reporting independently on technology and science news.

Tuesday’s deal includes all the assets of Wired News, such as the website, news content and domain name, but leaves Lycos in control of former Wired Digital properties such as HotBot, Hotwired and Webmonkey. Upon completion of the transaction, the assets of Wired News will be operated as part of Condé Nast Publications’ web division, CondéNet. No layoffs at Wired News are planned as a result of the deal.

Penton’s Up For Sale; Hires Banker  says PaidContent.org

The B2B media firm Penton Media, taking advantage of the uptick in the B2B media M&A, has put itself up for sale. It has hired Credit Suisse Securities and Allen & Company to help in the process of exploring strategic options, including sale.
The official reasoning given on the move: said CEO David Nussbaum: “it is an opportune time to evaluate strategic alternatives was based on a number of factors, including that management has successfully improved operating income since the industry recession in early 2001 and the board’s belief that the market is currently very attractive for business-to-business media assets.” The company is among the oldest in existence: it was founded in 1892 by Canadian immigrant John Augustus Penton.

In case you missed it this week. DMGT continues its online buying spree paying $31 million for three classified sites, reports PaidContent.org

The three websites include car dealer site AutoExposure, and two recruitment web firms, Interbase and The Appointment.

Auto Exposure provides car dealers with services to publish and advertise their vehicle inventory online. Interbase Limited operates Productionbase.co.uk, a subscription based recruitment website for freelancers in the TV broadcasting and film production industries in the UK. The Appointment Limited runs the retail recruitment sites Inretail.co.uk and Retailcareers.co.uk as well as the retail magazine “The Appointment”. The three new acquisitions, which have a combined turnover of approximately $8.25 million.
In May, Associated spent $85.3 million in buying dating website Allegran, and Data Media Retail, which owns Carsource.co.uk. All of the acquisitions will form part of the AN Digital network of online assets.

From PaidContent.org:-

Times, the UK newspaper owned by Murdoch, has done an editorial overhaul of its online division, Times Online: In another change, Richard Caseby, the managing editor of the Sunday Times, will become assistant editor of Times Online. Anne Spackman, the managing editor of the Times, has been editor-in-chief of Times Online, as part of a move to further integrate the paper’s print and website operations. Peter Bale, previously editorial director for Times Online, will become editorial director of digital strategy, reporting to Spackman and leading the development of the website.