VIRTUAL MVPDs
Why aren’t Turner’s networks on YouTube TV, Google’s OTT TV service? According to Turner CEO John Martin, it’s because YouTube turned them down. “We said, ‘We would like you to carry us,’ and they said, ‘No,’” Martin reportedly told investors at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications summit. (The conversation was first relayed by Forbes.) Martin said that YouTube TV simply didn’t have it in its budget to pay for more content, likely because its live sports costs were astronomical. Martin added that YouTube TV could still potentially carry Turner in the future.
SOCIAL MEDIA
As if Vine’s fate wasn’t already ignominious enough. Data from Twitter’s now-defunct video app may have been exposed to malicious third parties, the company confirmed in a mass email to users. “ [W]e discovered that the email address and phone number linked to your account were exposed,” Twitter wrote. The company emphasized that the information can’t be used to directly access people’s accounts, and that there’s no evidence that any of it has been misused. Still, Twitter advised users to look out for phishing attacks from unknown senders.
Business Insider is out with a new article exploring Facebook’s escalating foray into the IT market, saying Voyager, Facebook’s new “white box” telecom system, has the telecom industry spooked. The product threatens to upend a market that traditional telcos have dominated, without much competition, for years on end. Voyager has already been tested by both Facebook and Telia, a European telecommunications company. German equipment maker ADVA Optical Networking is currently tasked with manufacturing the device. You can learn more here .
RESEARCH
The Recording Industry Association of America tore into a recent study, funded by Google, which concluded that YouTube plays a positive role in spurring music industry growth. Industry executives, trade groups and major labels have, of course, always felt some hostility toward YouTube; rampant music piracy pervades the site, and YouTube isn’t held legally accountable for it. “The RBB study tries very hard to show that YouTube is really good for artists, even if they don’t know it,” the RIAA said in a statement. “But it isn’t for YouTube to tell artists what’s good for them, or how they should promote their music.” The study was conducted by the London-based RBB Economics.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Twitter recently hired ad tech veteran Bruce Falck as its GM of Revenue Product. Falck most recently served as CEO at the video ad tech company Turn, and had previously served as COO at BrightRoll. He also spent eight years working on ad tech products at Google. He’ll now be tasked with revamping Twitter’s advertising tools. Falck will report directly to CEO Jack Dorsey.
Digital media company Defy Media has made a few new promotions. Chris Willey, previously Defy’s VP of Development, has been upped to SVP of Television and OTT Development. Alex Lin, previously Defy’s Director of Development, has been promoted to VP of Television and OTT Development. And Kevin Sabbe, who recently joined Defy from Disney’s Maker Studios, has been upped from VP of O&O Development to SVP of O&O Programming.
UPCOMING DIGITAL PROGRAMMING
… for the week of Monday, May 22 , through Sunday, May 28
– People Now at People.com , Monday-Friday at 8:30a ET and 11:30a ET. Guests include actress Yael Grobglas (The CW’s Jane the Virgin), actor Brian d’Arcy James (Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why), and model and actress Kelly Rohrbach (Paramount Pictures’ Baywatch)
– Acorn TV: Season three of BBC sitcom Count Arthur Strong premieres today, May 22
– Hulu: Season 3 of Casual debuts Tuesday, May 23
– Netflix: Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King, a new comedy special, debuts Tuesday, May 23
– Acorn TV: Season one of U.K. drama series Delicious debuts Friday, May 26
– Amazon Video: Kids series Dino Dana debuts Friday, May 26
– Netflix: The third and final season of Bloodline debuts Friday, May 26
– Netflix: Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, a new documentary film, debuts Friday, May 26
– Netflix: The bio-pic War Machine, starring Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and Ben Kingsley, debuts Friday, May 26
TRIVIA
Our Last Trivia Question: If you saw the film Get Out this year, then you’re familiar with Daniel Kaluuya, who played the lead role. He also starred in one of the best episodes of Black Mirror. Which one? Answer: Fifteen Million Merits , the second episode of season one. (It’s stunning – go watch it.) Kudos to Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Taryn Stansbury-TCM/GA, Kayla Baines-PR Newswire/MD, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, and Ryan Harpole-Postscript Industries/CA
Jessica Brown Findlay , who co-starred in Fifteen Million Merits, now co-stars in a Hulu original series. Which one? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)
