Riot Games signs huge streaming deal
Riot Games announced early this week that the company agreed to an unprecedented seven-year, $300 million deal with BAMTech to stream Riot's smash hit League of Legends. As a part of the deal, BAMTech will develop a free streaming app and handle the broadcasting of LoL tournaments starting in March. [Riot Games]
California's unemployment rate drops to 5.3 percent
At the height of the Great Recession, unemployment in California hit 12 percent. In November 2016, however, the unemployment rate in California dropped to the lowest we've seen in some time. In November, California added 13,600 non-farm payroll jobs, and it doesn't look like the trend is about to stop. Over the last year, California has easily outpaced the rest of the company in job growth, boasting 2.4 percent year-over-year growth compared to 1.6 percent in the other 49 states. [KPCC]
Disney merges Maker Studios with new division
Maker Studios, which was acquired by Disney in 2014 for $500 million (with the potential to make an additional $450 million) is in the process of being merged with Disney's consumer products and interactive media (DCPI) division. The move was made to clear about confusion within the corporation regarding duplication between Maker and DCPI. The new division will be overseen by Andrew Sugerman, formerly the EVP of DCPI. [Variety]
Tuition.io adds former CEO of Yahoo
Tuition.io swung for the fences, and it looks like the Santa Monica-based startup connected. Scott Thompson, formerly the CEO of Yahoo and the president of PayPal was named CEO this week, adding a wealth of knowledge not many can boast. The company, which helps employers aid employees saddled with student loans, adds someone who helped guide PayPal from $1 billion in revenue to $4.4 billion by the time he left. [Press Release]
Ritual adds key team members
Ritual, a health and wellness startup that offers a monthly multivitamin delivery service for women, continues to add to its growing staff. Recently, the company added Liz Reifsnyder, formerly of Dollar Shave Club, as VP of Operations and Strategy, and Dan King, formerly of MeUndies, as VP of Growth. The startup also features Lauren Hayes, employee number one at StartEngine, to its founding members, where she will serve as VP of Marketing. [Ritual]
Ryan Blair sells stake in ViSalus to focus on venture capital fund
Ryan Blair, the CEO of fitness company ViSalus, is selling his stake in the company and stepping down as CEO so that he can focus on his burgeoning career as a venture capitalist. As a founder and partner at HashTagOne, Blair has invested in LA-based Saucey and Heal, among others. This won't be the first time Blair sold ViSalus. In 2012, Blair and his co-founders sold the company for $792.4M, before buying it back in 2014 for $148M. [HashTagOne]
Fundings of the Week
Investors: Shamrock Capital Advisors, Oak View Group, current investors
Appetize didn't wait for the new year to announce a big round of funding. The Playa Vista-based point of sale platform revolutionizing the way entertainment centers handle their concessions plans to use the funds to hire aggressively, and the company said it plans to expand to New York and Atlanta in 2017. [Built In LA]
Images via Facebook, LinkedIn and Shutterstock.
Have a news tip for us or know of a company that deserves coverage? Let us know and like us on Facebook.
