Digital Media

FTI Consulting uses a disciplined, data-driven approach to achieve revenue growth and cost reduction. Drawing on databases of operating metrics, industry best practices and the expertise of our industry professionals, we deliver practical solutions to improve pricing strategies, inventory segmentation, audience engagement, sales funnels, cost per thousand rates and other operating metrics. Our technology professionals help companies improve their digital infrastructure to fit seamlessly into digital ecosystems and integrate analytics throughout a company.

FTI Consulting specialises in leveraging its considerable experience in the traditional media, entertainment and publishing industries to support clients with achievable digital strategy implementation and digital transformation. We cultivate a culture of innovation and agility in a company and develop a set of transformational steps adapted to fit the company’s digital maturity, market needs/urgency and economic constraints.

To help companies and their constituents reach new markets and serve existing markets better, our Digital specialists focus on migrating consumer engagement models and advertising revenue streams from legacy to digital media. We provide in-depth expertise in all aspects of digital strategy and implementation, including:

• Content generation and monetisation
• Consumer engagement
• Advertising ecosystem development
• Audience development and segmentation
• Organisational design
• Information technology
• Compensation system alignment
• Customer care

Company challenges may be strategic, operational, financial or market driven, but, inevitably, they will lead to loss of investor confidence if not managed optimally. Investors and management engage FTI Consulting for interim management to assist them through critical periods of transition or to achieve specific critical goals. Our healthy company and our Turnaround and Crisis Management teams provide a broad array of experience within the C-suite: They know how to manage risk, reduce costs, improve liquidity and communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Some engagements are short term, requiring a fully staffed team to execute a business plan quickly or stay the course while a company negotiates a sale or merger. Others are long term, requiring one or two professionals with specific skills to oversee change.

We combine extensive industry experience and company-specific financial/operational knowledge with execution expertise to explain value drivers and risks critical to a transaction outcome.

We have been distinguished among financial advisers for assisting clients in the development of business plans and financial forecasts to consummate merger and acquisition and financing transactions, and potential buyers, sellers and financing sources count on our analyses and valuation estimates in a way few investment bankers can match.

Through our FINRA-regulated investment banking subsidiary, FTI Capital Advisors, LLC, we leverage knowledge of our clients and their markets to provide insight and answers that drive value and overcome obstacles to help complete sale, acquisition and capital raise transactions and to provide valuation and fairness opinions.

Utilising our extensive experience in identifying and quantifying merger synergies, we develop operational integration and project management implementation plans that reduce the time needed to speed up integration and achieve synergies.

To help management frame issues that ensure that integration objectives and timetables are met, the FTI Consulting Merger Integration group draws upon extensive operational process management experience in carve-outs, detailed integration and operations planning and best practices.

We use a disciplined approach to creating sustainable, measurable improvements in return on investment, cash flow and enterprise value. To maximise effectiveness, FTI Consulting draws on the perspective gained from work on more than 200 engagements, understanding of industry best practices for key operating metrics, our proprietary company database and the knowledge of how to adapt and adopt those experiences to the specific situation at each individual client company. In the rapidly changing, competitive newspaper environment, FTI Consulting approaches profitability improvement in two broad categories:

Revenue accelerators

• Customer segmentation and profitability analysis
• Channel development
• Organisational design (traditional and digital)
• Sales processes and salesforce effectiveness
• Customer satisfaction scoring and retention
• Service delivery process efficiency
• Price optimisation
• New product development

Cost efficiencies

• Organisational cost structures (traditional and digital)
• Strategic outsourcing
• Performance management
• Financial planning and analysis improvement/key performance indicator dashboards
• Working capital optimisation
• Information technology rationalisation/operating model
• Change management

FTI Consulting has a highly respected track record of assessing operations, developing strategic alternatives and contingency plans, stabilising over-leveraged companies, restructuring debt and equity, selling distressed companies and maximising value to constituents. Representing companies, funds, banks and trade creditors, our teams are active worldwide: North America and Mexico, South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Our experts are certified as trustees and examiners in most jurisdictions around the world.

With our team’s in-depth, media-specific operational experience and world-class restructuring expertise, FTI Consulting has led the restructuring league tables quarter after quarter. We have represented one of the major constituents in almost every significant telecom restructuring since the millennium began.

The Media industry team within our Strategic Communications practice includes sector experts with experience representing a broad range of organisations and companies, from start-ups to multinationals. Our clients benefit directly from our comprehensive suite of integrated communications services enhanced by the team’s relationships with key influencers, including:

• Corporate and employee communications
• Financial communications
• Public affairs
• Creative engagement
• Strategy consulting and research
• Crisis communications

With more than 1,350 transactions completed, our valuation experts understand the complexities of analysing assets and businesses in both dynamic and declining markets. Our professionals bring a unique depth of financial and practical experience to all our valuation engagements. By leveraging our significant industry expertise, we also specialise in assessing the value of intellectual property and intangible assets.

Financial opinions and valuation services include:

Transaction-Based Opinions

Fairness, solvency, collateral valuation, intellectual property and intangible asset valuation and going concern opinions

Media Financial Reporting Opinions

• Purchase price allocation and goodwill impairment (ASC 805)
• Portfolio valuations for private equity funds, hedge funds, banks and other capital market constituents (ASC 820)
• Incentive compensation, options and “cheap stock” (ASC 718)
• Revenue recognition for multi-element licensing arrangements (ASU 2009-13)
• Derivative valuation opinions (ASC 815)

Tax Planning and Reporting Opinions

• Estate and gift tax opinions
• Enterprise, minority interest and asset valuations
• Equity/share-based incentives and compensation for services (IRS Sec. 409A