WEBINAR: SNAPCHAT AND INSTAGRAM STORIES
Snapcha t and Instagram Stories are both essential tools for programmers and marketers – but it’s not always easy to know when to use which. In the new Cynopsis webinar, Snapchat vs. Instagram Stories: A How & When Guide , you’ll learn how to make that decision, and how to optimize programming and marketing content for the respective platforms. Experts from Scripps Networks, Giant Spoon, and Laundry Service + Cycle will be on-hand to answer all your questions; register here .
SOCIAL MEDIA
Publishers can now add closed captioning to their Facebook Live videos, the company confirmed. Facebook suggested back in April that it was working on the feature. The closed captioning feature is available for both mobile and desktop.
WhatsApp is tacking on some new features for iPhone users. As part of a new update, the Facebook-owned messaging app has introduced a new Albums feature that automatically organizes groups of four or more photos or videos into a single collection that’s viewable within a message thread. And a new Filters feature give users a variety of new choices – dubbed “pop,” “cool,” “chrome,” “film,” and “black and white” – that can be used to doctor videos, photos and GIFS directly within the app’s camera. While the new features are only available to iOS users at the moment, WhatsApp says that the update will come to Android in the not-too-distant future.
Pinterest just raised a whole lot of money. The company took in $150 million in venture funding from a group of existing investors. Pinterest’s share price remains the same as it was two years ago, while the company’s valuation has risen to $12.3 billion. (Pinterest was valued at $11 billion as of April 2015, but the number of shares in the company has since grown.) Pinterest’s latest fundraising efforts would seem to suggest that the company isn’t planning to make an IPO just yet. The fundraising likely gives Pinterest some breathing room to retool its features, including its ad offerings, as it tries to catch up with faster-growing rivals like Snapchat and Instagram.
PROGRAMMING + CONTENT ACQUISITIONS
Omnia Media , a digital media network based in the U.S., is trying to reach Canadians. The company has partnered with CBC to create 72 new videos from Canadian social media stars, including four six-episode web series. The shows will include Sew Boss, a DIY sewing show hosted by YouTuber withwendy, and Over Atelier, a French cook series hosted by Tara O’Brady. The videos will run on CBC Life in Canada and on the lifestyle site Makeful in the U.S. While Omnia Media is based in the states, parent company Blue Ant Media does happen to be based in Canada.
CYNOPSIS KIDS IMAGINATION AWARDS
Tomorrow is the deadline for the 6th Annual Cynopsis Kids Imagination Awards – Now with over 50 categories to choose from, including Virtual Reality! This is a great opportunity to ensure that you and your team are recognized for all you’ve accomplished in children’s media this past year. Don’t wait – enter today !
RESEARCH
SHAREABLEE SOCIAL TV RATINGS: Top 10 U.S. Primetime and Streaming Shows for May 29 – June 4. Based on Shareablee’s Video Power Index (VPI), which combines viewing, consumer interactions and audience scale across all active platforms, and includes the video performance of primetime and streaming shows.
Source: Shareablee Inc. The total actions metric includes the total volume of post-level likes, shares, favorites, retweets and comments across social platforms.
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 ListenFirstDigital 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).
Streaming Series (5/29/17 – 6/4/17)
Source: ListenFirst. The TVI Rating aggregates metrics that measure organically generated activity by fans of the TV show. The metric includes total volume of official hashtag mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr, along with Wikipedia page views (as a proxy for organic search volume) for a show as a percentage of the total volume of the same activities for all shows.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
The Axios report wasn’t wrong: Bozoma Saint John is officially leaving Apple, where she served as Head of Global Consumer Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes. Her destination, it turns out, is Uber; she’ll serve as the company’s Chief Brand Officer. (And boy, does the company have to work on its brand right about now.) Her departure comes at a crucial moment for Apple Music, which is on the verge of launching its first two original video series, and is reported to have more ambitious video projects in the pipeline. It remains to be seen who steps in to fill her shoes.
Bustle Digital Group has named Michael Hart as its Director of Research Engineering. In the new role, Hart will oversee engineering efforts to research and implement new technologies to help scale the company. Bustle Digital Group, which is geared toward female millennials, owns properties including Bustle, Elite Daily, and Romper. Hart most recently served as Founder and CTO of SoothBooth, a software consultancy focused on cloud-based development and analytics.
TRIVIA
Before creating Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Bruce Miller served as writer and producer on a CW series. Which one? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)
What production company is credited with producing Orange Is the New Black alongside Tilted Productions? Answer: Lionsgate Television. Kudos to Louis Lewow-Lewow Media Group/GA, Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, and Dan Haberer-Creo Entertainment/CA
