ADVERTISING
The task of making YouTube a brand-safe environment won’t fall to YouTube alone. That much is clear from a new Business Insider story, which details independent efforts undertaken by JP Morgan Chase. The financial giant reportedly created an internal tool that automatically selects brand-safe YouTube channels where its ads can appear. The JP Morgan Chase algorithm, created by the company’s own media-buying and programmatic ad teams, considers factors such as language, comments, and subscriber counts. “The model that Google has built to monetize YouTube may work for it, but it doesn’t work for us,” JP Aaron Smolick, JP Morgan’s Executive Director of Paid Media Analytics and Optimization, told BI.
POLICY
The Federal Trade Commission reached a final settlement with Lenovo. The FTC’s initial complaint had accused the laptop-maker of failing to inform consumers that it had included pre-installed ad software in some of its computers. The software, according to the FTC, caused major security issues. The settlement, now finalized, was preliminarily approved back in September. Among other stipulations of the settlement, Lenovo will now have to get consumers’ affirmative consent before pre-loading ad software.
CYNOPSIS SHORT FORM VIDEO FESTIVAL
PROGRAMMING
Facebook has reached a deal with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions to become the official live-streaming platform for 2018 Golden Globes’ red-carpet show. (Last year, that distinction belonged to Twitter.) The broadcast will run on January 7 from 6 PM to 8 PM ET, exclusively on the Golden Globes Facebook page. The page will also feature 360-degree videos captured at the event, as well as other exclusive backstage and red carpet content. Facebook broadcast will feature hosts including AJ Gibson, Jeannie Mai, Scott Mantz, and singer-actress Laura Marano. Also on January 7, Marano will host an Instagram Story on the @goldenglobes Instagram account. The January 7 ceremony will be the 75th edition of the annual awards show.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Could the British government punish the likes of Google and Facebook if they don’t do more to remove extremist content from their platforms? That’s certainly what UK security minister Ben Wallace suggested in a recent interview. “If [tech companies] continue to be less than co-operative, we should look at things like tax as a way of incentivizing them or compensating for their inaction,” Wallace told the Sunday Times. Wallace also suggested that tech companies should share more data with the British government, allowing it to better police radicalization and surveil extremists. Wallace didn’t detail what a punitive tax plan might look like; according to the London Times, any such plan would mirror that of a 1997 windfall tax that the U.K. imposed on privatized utilities in the 1990s.
INFLUENCERS
A recent video from YouTube star Logan Paul ignited a torrent of criticism. The video, in which the 22-year-old vlogger encounters the body of a suicide victim, was posted on New Year’s Eve. It was shot at Japan’s Aokigahara forest, a well-known suicide destination. Paul ultimately deleted the video from his channel, but not before it garnered over a million views. The digital star has since issued two apologies (one in writing, one via video) claiming that he was merely trying to “raise awareness” for suicide prevention. Nonetheless, criticism of Paul – some of it from celebrities like Aaron Paul and Sophie Turner – has been fierce. YouTube, too, has been forced to contend with accusations that it’s done too little to punish bad actors and remove objectionable content. “YouTube prohibits violent and gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner,” the company clarified in a Tuesday statement.
AUDIO + MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES
As Spotify gears up for a public offering this year, a blockbuster lawsuit is certainly not what it was looking for. But that’s exactly what it’s gotten from Wixen Music Publishing, a company that handles titles from artists such as Neil Young, Steve Nicks, Tom Petty, and many others. The suit argues that the service has been streaming thousands of songs without a license to do so. Filed in a California federal court, the suit seeks at least $1.6 billion in damages and injunctive relief. Spotify hasn’t commented.
MEASURING UP
SHAREABLEE SOCIAL TV RATINGS: Top U.S. Streaming Shows Overall by Engagement for the week of December 25-December 31, 2017
Program, Total Actions (000), Total Content, Actions per Post (000), Fans/Followers (000)
The ListenFirst Television Interest (TVI) Rating (TM) is a standardized measurement of the most buzzed-about TV programs on linear TV and streaming services. A complement to ListenFirst’s other syndicated data products (such as the ListenFirst Digital Audience Rating – TV), the metrics included in the rating capture organic actions that are largely unaffected by paid media. Programs that surface on the TVI leaderboards are the most hashtagged on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr, as well as most searched for on Wikipedia (used as a proxy for organic search volume).
All Series (12/25/17 – 12/31/17)
Streaming Series (12/25/17 – 12/31/17)
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Vice Media’s got more problems on its hands. The company has suspended two top executives due to sexual harassment allegations, which were first reported by the New York Times last month. The execs in question are Vice President Andrew Creighton and Chief Digital Officer Mike Germano. News of their suspension was first reported by Emily Steel, the same Times reporter who first reported on the allegations against them. Don’t necessarily expect both suspensions to last: In an internal company memo, COO/CFO Sarah Broderick claimed the allegations against Creighton had already been discredited by an independent law firm. Nonetheless, Vice is still reviewing the matter; Broderick wrote that the company will make a recommendation as to Creighton’s employment status before a January 11 board meeting. Claims against Gerrmano are also being investigated. In the meantime, the Vice-owned agency Carrot Creative – which Germano founded and oversees – will instead be helmed by Carrot President Adam Katzenback.
TRIVIA
Netflix has now released around two dozen original scripted comedy shows. What was the first? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.
Our Last Trivia Question: Gwyneth Paltrow recently appeared in which Apple Music streaming video series? Answer: Planet of the Apps. Kudos to Luke Watson-Essential TV/NY, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/CA, Mathew Tombers-Intermat, Inc./NY, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, and Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA
