[ad_1]
Ozy employed a workforce to make a chat present for A&E — “The Carlos Watson Present,” hosted by Ozy’s co-founder and chief government. Company had been informed the present would air on A&E, and the present’s government producer was informed it might premiere in August 2020 in prime time.
The issue: A&E mentioned there was no such deal. The manager producer resigned after discovering out, writing to Ozy’s leaders: “You might be enjoying a harmful recreation with the reality. The results of providing an A&E present to friends after we don’t have one to supply are catastrophic for Ozy and for me.”
That’s the newest revelation concerning the embattled media firm from The New York Occasions media columnist Ben Smith. It adopted his report on Sunday that raised questions on Ozy’s enterprise practices, together with an incident wherein an government apparently impersonated a YouTube government as Ozy was making an attempt to boost cash.
Right here’s what we all know.
Mr. Watson mentioned the present was being produced for A&E, then YouTube Originals. Neither occurred.
When the chief producer, Brad Bessey, resigned, he informed the present’s workers that this system was not, in truth, going to be proven on A&E. Mr. Watson then informed the individuals on the Zoom name that “The Carlos Watson Present” would ultimately wind up on A&E, in response to Mr. Bessey and one different particular person on the decision. Till that point, Mr. Watson added, the present would seem on YouTube as a part of its YouTube Originals, a slate of programming made by skilled studios and paid for by YouTube.
“The Carlos Watson Present” ended up showing on Ozy.com and on YouTube, though not as a YouTube Unique. A YouTube official confirmed that the present was not a YouTube Unique. Mr. Watson and an Ozy spokesperson didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Learn extra concerning the proposed A&E present →
The chairman of Ozy’s board stepped down.
Marc Lasry, the chairman of Ozy’s board and a hedge fund supervisor who can also be a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, resigned on Thursday, 4 days after The Occasions reported that somebody from Ozy appeared to have impersonated a YouTube government throughout a convention name with Goldman Sachs bankers whereas the corporate was making an attempt to boost $40 million.
“I imagine that going ahead Ozy requires expertise in areas like disaster administration and investigations, the place I don’t have explicit experience,” Mr. Lasry mentioned in an emailed assertion. “For that motive, I’ve stepped down from the corporate’s board. I stay an investor within the firm and want it the very best going ahead.”
Learn extra concerning the resignation of Mr. Lasry →
Ozy misplaced a star anchor.
Katty Kay, who left her job as a BBC anchor and correspondent to hitch Ozy in June, mentioned on Wednesday that she had resigned. “The allegations in The New York Occasions, which caught me unexpectedly, are severe and deeply troubling, and I had no selection however to finish my relationship with the corporate.”
Learn extra concerning the resignation of Ms. Kay →
It additionally misplaced a key investor.
SV Angel, led by the enterprise capitalist Ron Conway, knowledgeable Ozy on Tuesday that it was giving up the shares it had acquired within the firm in 2012, in response to an adviser to SV Angel. (Axios first reported that SV Angel was giving up its shares.)
The board is investigating.
The board mentioned on Tuesday that it had employed Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, a big worldwide agency with headquarters in New York, to conduct a evaluation of Ozy’s enterprise actions. The board additionally mentioned it had requested Samir Rao, the chief working officer of Ozy and the one that apparently impersonated the YouTube government, “to take a depart of absence pending the outcomes of the investigation.”
[ad_2]
Supply- nytimes