PROGRAMMING
On August 12, Kylie Jenner will have yet another way to tell people about her personal and professional life. That’s when a new show produced by E! will debut on Snapchat’s Discover platform. Ask Kylie is set for six episodes, leading up to the newest installments of Life of Kylie on E!.
APPS + PLATFORMS
Facebook has begun countering bogus reports on its platform by linking to more reliable reporting from third-party fact-checkers. The company is using a combination of artificial intelligence and expert fact checkers to identify and debunk potential hoaxes. Users can find the fact-checked reports in Facebook’s related articles section.
Nickelodeon has launched Nella the Princess Knight: Kingdom Adventures, an exclusive international app featuring a suite of games based on social-emotional lessons taught in the hit Nick Jr. series Nella the Princess Knight. In the spirit of the show, the game leans on princess-and-knight heroine Nella to inspire girl empowerment, self-confidence, resilience and compassion among players.
ADVERTISING
Converged TV and video advertising software provider Videology has completed its addressable integration with Tru Optik, the audience measurement and data management platform. The integration allows advertisers to use Videology’s platform to send targeted one-to-household messaging, based on hundreds of third-party data segments or their first-party data segments, to nearly 100 million households.
CNN is debuting its live ads format during the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, with Volvo rolling along for the ride. The Swedish automaker will run live ads as the cable news net endeavors to make the format available across all of its distribution points. CNN’s brand studio Courageous will have four cameras around the U.S. to capture the perspectives of science, space and history specialists who arrive at the scene in a 2018 Volvo XC60.
INFLUENCERS
South African YouTube star Caspar Lee has taken equity in influencer marketing agency Influencer and joined the London startup as Chief Innovation Officer. Influencer describes itself as a data-driven platform that takes briefs from brands and matches them with relevant content creators from its roster of more than 1,000 influencers in categories like fashion, technology and food.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
LiveXLive Media has tapped Internet celebrity Amanda Cerny to head a newly launched digital talent division. A former Playboy centerfold model, Cerny has more than 30 million followers across social platforms.
Funny or Die’s Los Angeles commercial division, Gifted Youth, has added Zoe Lister-Jones to its roster of talent in an undisclosed role. Lister-Jones is best known for her starring role in the CBS comedy Life in Pieces.
The IAB Technology Laboratory has a new General Manager. He’s Dennis Buchheim, who last fall took over as the IAB’s Senior Vice President of Data and Ad Effectiveness. Buchheim replaces Alanna Gombert, who resigned to move to the private sector.
Digital video tools and workflow solutions provider Telestream has appointed Chris Drake as Vice President of Business and Corporate Development. He most recently was Vice President of Business Development at Comcast Technology Solutions.
OTT TV startup fuboTV has named Ben Grad as its new North American Head of Content Strategy and Acquisition. In the newly created role, Grad will oversee content acquisition strategy, as well as affiliate relations, packaging, and contract negotiations with fuboTV’s North American content partners. He’ll also oversee the development of a new viewership analytics platform. Grad joins the company after a decade at Verizon, where he mostly recently served as Executive Director of Content Strategy and Acquisition.
TRIVIA
This actor who gained prominence on “Guiding Light” co-stars in a new Amazon original based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)
Our Last Trivia Question: Who co-created the Netflix original series The OA with Brit Marling? Answer: Zal Batmanglij. Kudos to Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX,
Louis Lewow-Lewow Media Group/GA, Dan Quitério-Understood/NY, Shree Swaminarayan-NBCUniversal/NY, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/CA, Andy Bellamy-Producers Guild of America/NY, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA.
