Bending Reality
Bending Spoons, an Italian digital media conglomerate, filed for IPO this week.
In a world overcome by AI, Bending Spoons is a bet on good-old web properties like AOL, Eventbrite, Vimeo and others. BS buys these properties on the cheap, while the aggregate data and services improve performance across the fleet.
The idea isn’t unheard of. System1, for example, is a marketing engine that owns web standbys like MapQuest, info.com and HowStuffWorks, if those ring any bells. Viant acquired Myspace back in 2019.
Bending Spoons, though, is less about profiting from ad tech. It does farm out inventory to the programmatic ecosystem, and its ad revenue was 12% of the company’s earnings as of Q1 2026. The bulk of revenue, 84%, comes via subscriptions, which are the main revenue source for every Bending Spoons business aside from Eventbrite (where the company collects a fee on tickets sold).
On the subscription side, Bending Spoons isn’t betting the farm on advertising either. Its relatively low user acquisition budgets (in Q1, 10% of new customer revenue came via advertising) are no coincidence.
Per the filing: “We favor businesses with lower dependence on paid advertising for customer acquisition. Given the volatility of advertising dynamics, this approach supports revenue predictability.”
New Kids On The Block(list)
Reuters and Time have declared bots guilty until proven innocent.
Which is to say, they now block all AI bots by default with a designated whitelist approved to access content. People Inc. and The Atlantic have taken the same approach, as publishers explore a balance between the value of making content accessible and what LLM scrapers provide in return.
“Our content costs money to create,” Josh London, Head of Reuters Professional, tells Digiday. “It has significant value, and the access to it, we feel, must be earned.”
Bot-blocking mechanisms aren’t entirely effective, but they can “slow down unauthorized scrapers and increase the cost of scraping, thereby incentivizing companies to come to the negotiating table,” says Lindsay Van Kirk, People’s Inc.’s SVP of innovation.
On the flip side, publishers are saving money by serving far less content; People Inc., for one, went from blocking roughly 2,100 user agents to over 30,000 when it shifted to a limited allow list.
Of course, that doesn’t solve the problem of companies deploying incognito bots, says Van Kirk, and “they’re doing that for an economic benefit on the other side of it.”
“Toot”le-oo!
Subscription bundles aren’t just for TV, apparently. At its WWDC event this week, Apple revealed plans to bring bundles to its app store.
Apple already has an App Bundles feature to encourage discounts. But those bundles are limited to apps created by the same developer. Now, apps with different owners can partner to bundle too. The rationale is similar to why TV bundles regained popularity despite the decline of cable, TechCrunch reports. App owners have a better subscriber retention numbers when they offer deals and more ways to access content.
Apple’s new app bundles should also benefit advertisers trying to centralize their media spend to fewer partners.
Apple’s App Store cleanup also includes plans to nix low-quality apps. Think simple timers, burp and fart sound effects and other apps with other overly simplistic functions. According to Apple’s updated App Review Guidelines, new app proposals will be rejected if they do not provide “a meaningfully different or improved experience.” So you can stop waiting around for Burp and Fart Piano 2.0.
AI made it trivial for anyone to develop an app, but that doesn’t mean any of those hasty creations are even worth the App Store shelf space.
But Wait! There’s More!
Meta will start using the off-platform behavioral data sent by its advertising partners to customize users’ content feeds and AI responses. [The Verge]
In other Meta news, the company deleted facial recognition code from its Meta AI smart glasses app after the feature was exposed by reporters. [Wired]
Hot on the heels of Anthropic, OpenAI confidentially files for IPO. [CNBC]
The FCC wants telecom companies to store a government-issued ID number and physical address for all mobile phone users, which would effectively kill off anonymous “burner phones.” [404 Media]
The EU orders Meta to halt policies that allegedly block rival AI firms from operating on its WhatsApp messaging service for businesses. [Bloomberg]
Polymarket execs used a personal Paypal account to send at least $350,000 to political influencers without sponsorship disclosures. [Politico]
You’re Hired!
Canadian intimates and apparel brand Knix names Cyntia Leo as new CMO. [Adweek]
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