CYNOPSISDIGITAL
06.10.16 Good morning. It’s Friday June 10, 2016, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.
First Look: In programmatic video, first look refers to a situation in which the media-seller gives certain buyers first priority in access to ad inventory. For instance, a publisher selling its inventory through two ad networks might give the first ad network a chance to buy the inventory first. If the network passes, the publisher would then offer the inventory to other buyers.
TOP NEWS
Unlike most people, Tony Goncalves doesn’t want to get any skinnier. During his keynote at the TV of Tomorrow Show, AT&T’s SVP of Strategy and Business Development said that AT&T and its subsidiary DirecTV aren’t looking to launch so-called “skinny bundle” packages anytime soon. Goncalves argues that skinny bundles – i.e., cheaper packages with fewer channels – simply can’t be scaled. “This notion of skinny is fine, until the economics don’t work,” he said. Time will tell if the Sling TVs of the world can prove him wrong.
Just as Bloomberg News reported in April, Apple has confirmed that it will soon introduce paid search ads to the U.S. App Store. The product could particularly be a boon to lesser-known or niche apps: Developers and brands will have access to a variety of targeting tools to help them reach specific users. Much like with Google’s search ads, developers will be able to bid on an advertising slot at the top of a search results lists. The new features will be available this fall, though a beta version will launch next Monday.
When you’re an ad publisher, credibility is everything. That’s why third-party measurement firms like Moat have proven increasingly vital to platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and now Snapchat. Moat will partner with Snapchat to help advertisers better understand the effectiveness of their campaigns. Among other things, a new Moat Score for Video will score ads (on a 0-100 scale) to help advertisers gauge an ad campaign’s effectiveness. The ranking will calculate screen real estate and time exposed to video and audio. Notably, Snapchat says it will place a heavy emphasis on audio advertising, which platforms like Facebook have downplayed. Snapchat’s reasoning: Unlike the average Facebook viewer, Snapchat users tend to view most videos (two thirds, to be more precise) with sound.
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The Weather Channel announced the launch of Local Now, its very first mobile content app. The ad-free app provides precise localized news, weather, traffic, and sports information from both The Weather Channel and other content providers. Local Now, which initially launched in January as part of Sling TV’s “Best of Live TV” offerings, will also offer a live video stream of The Weather Channel to users who authenticate as pay TV subscribers. “With Local Now, we aspire to serve our viewers with up-to-the-minute local weather, traffic, news and sports no matter where and when they want to consume it,” Freddy Flaxman, The Weather Channel’s COO, told Cynopsis Digital. “A mobile app is especially important to satisfy this mission.”
According to CNBC, Verizon’s latest bid for Yahoo’s core Internet business came in in at $3.5 billion. But as it happens, Verizon’s bid may be on the stingy side (at least as far as multi-billion-dollar takeovers go). According to the CNBC report, multiple other bids came in at over $5 billion. One key difference: Verizon has no interest in acquiring Yahoo’s patent and real estate holdings. According to some analysts, those two areas of Yahoo’s business could easily account for the $2 billion difference. Aside from Verizon, other suitors have reportedly included AT&T, private-equity firm TPG, and Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, with backing from Warren Buffet. Yahoo plans to review the second-round bids today. Perhaps the most surprising news from CNBC’s report: The sales process is likely to finish up in mid-July.
If you’ve never seen a 360-degree photo, don’t worry, you will soon. The photo format has launched on Facebook, and will come to the Facebook Newsfeed soon. Facebook-compatible 360-degree photos can be taken with a dedicated virtual reality camera. They can also be stitched together from multiple photos. At the moment, you can’t actually create 360-degree photos through Facebook. The company advises that people use a 360-degree photo app. The photos can be explored on a smartphone (all you have to do is tilt the phone), on a desktop (where you’ll need to click and drag), or through the Samsung Gear VR headset.
Good news – You can get an ALL-ACCESS PASS for two of the most important events in the sports industry in the same day! The Sports Business Summit and the eSports Conference will be held on 6/23 at Three Sixty in NYC. Your ticket will include admission to both conferences, 90+ minutes of networking, executive summaries of both events, a free ticket to ESL One NY in October, a chance to win a photo-taking drone, & much more.
There have been a handful of recent reports demonstrating Snapchat’s shocking user growth. Well, here’s another one: According to the app analytics company App Annie, U.S. users now spend more time using Snapchat than any other app, with the lone exception of Facebook. (Instagram clocks in at third.) In a separate, semi-annual survey by the investment bank Piper Jaffray, a 28% plurality of U.S. teens said that Snapchat was their most important social network. Instagram comes in at 27%, marking the first time that it hasn’t led the survey.
Yet more on Snapchat: A study from consumer neuroscience research company MediaScience found that the app’s video ads command more visual attention than that of any other digital video platform. According to the study, which analyzed 320 people over 552 sessions, Snapchat users are likely to look at the screen for, on average, 78% of an ad’s run-time. That compares to 60% for YouTube, 47% for Instagram, and 30% for Facebook. TV just barely outpaces Snapchat with 83%. More surprising: The study found that Snapchat ads are more than twice as likely to drive purchase intent than ads on TV, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook. If that’s really true, it’s likely to have significant implications – for both Snapchat and the advertising industry as a whole. It’s only one study, to be sure, but it’s worth being aware of. Read it here.
It’s always good to have someone with a sense of humor on board. Facebook has named Ricky Van Veen, the Co-Founder of the digital media company CollegeHumor, to the newly created position of Head of Global Creative Strategy. Since IAC’s 2006 acquisition of CollegeHumor, Van Veen has taken on a broader role, overseeing the creative side of IAC digital media, film, and TV businesses, and running IAC’s unscripted TV production company Notional. In his new position, Van Veen will be tasked with with connecting Facebook to content creators. It’s an important role at an important time; Facebook may be an unrivaled social media juggernaut, used by both brands and individuals to spread content far and wide. But Facebook lags behind the likes of YouTube and Snapchat in a key area: It boasts less content from prominent creators that’s designed to run first and foremost on its own platform. Facebook has been making efforts to change that (a growing glut of Facebook Live content comes to mind), and Van Veen is likely to help accelerate efforts.
Well, that was fast. Twitter has already found a replacement for Nathan Hubbard, its VP of Global Media and Commerce, whose impending departure was announced last week. As initially reported by Re/code and subsequently confirmed by Twitter, the company’s new media chief will be Ross Hoffman, who has been with the company since 2010. He most recently served as Twitter’s Senior Director of Global Brand Strategy. It remains to be seen whether Hoffman can put a stopper on the revolving door that is his new position; he’ll be the third person to hold the job in the past six months.
BidSwitch, a platform designed to help programmatic ad-tech and media companies manage a complex market, announced a new hire. Barry Adams will serve as VP of Commercial Development. He’ll focus on driving new business and strategic partnerships, and strengthening customer relationships. He joins BidSwitch from the audience data company Eyeota, where he served as CRO. BidSwitch was engineered by IPONWEB, a specialist in customized real-time media trading platforms and technologies.
Last year, German publisher Axel Springer acquired an online publication in a deal that valued the publication in question at almost $450 million. Which publication was it? You can find the answer in Monday’s newsletter.
Yesterday’s Trivia Question: In January, Netflix commissioned an original series based on which famously pliable action figure? Answer: Stretch Armstrong
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Virtual reality is exciting folks across the pond as well. The BBC announced that it’s launching 360-degree video projects for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets. Called the BBC Taster experimental platform, the new initiative will offer access to numerous VR and 360-degree video projects. So why did the BBC decided to dive into VR? BBC Research & Development Controller Andy Conroy has some thoughts on the subject. Check those out here.
See you Monday,
David Teich
06.10.16
Roberta Caploe: Publisher @robertacaploe
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JOB OPENING: SR SOFTWARE ENGINEER/Zenith R & D/Santa Clara CA: Help design and deliver a comprehensive suite of libraries and tools enabling developers to build native-quality web apps.
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JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT/Zenith Optimedia Group/NYC: Newcast, seeks exp’d dir. to develop and execute non-traditional, cross-platform solutions for key accounts that create incremental revenue opportunities and deepen relationships with our clients. Full info/apply HERE (6/12)
JOB OPENING: SR DIRECTOR FP&A/Discovery/LA: Strong leader to work closely w/network leadership of Discovery Channel, Science and Animal Planet to guide nets towards achieving all financial targets/metrics. Provide budgetary oversight of all ntwk controllable budgets. 10-12 yrs exp, familiarity w/SAP & BPC preferred. Full info/apply HERE (6/12)
JOB OPENING: HEAD OF PRODUCTION/MEGALOMEDIA/AUSTIN TX: Lead over large slate of series at proco/reality. Mng budgets/teams/schedules, coordinate w/all staff. Strong network relationships a must. [email protected] (6/11)
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JOB OPENING: UNIT PUBLICIST/National Geographic Channel EXPLORER/NYC: Resp for driving communication & publicity efforts the franchise & associated talent. Min 10 yrs exp in TV publicity & public/media relations w/solid social media exp. Knwldg of current events a +. To apply send resumes to [email protected] (6/11)
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