SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter unveiled a new redesign, which rolled out across its website and apps yesterday. The updates include reformatted profile pictures (they’re now round), and a new reply button (it’s now speech bubble instead of an arrow). As some have observed, both of those new updates are reminiscent of Instagram.
Combating “fake news” has been a hot topic this year, and Facebook has long been at the center of the discussion. The social giant is confronting the public conversation head-on, announcing that it will release a series of posts describing its internal debates and overall thinking when it comes to news-related policies. The first post on the subject explored how social networks can fight the dissemination of online terrorist propaganda.
ADVERTISING
Viacom announced the formation of what it’s calling the Advanced Advertising group. Focused on advanced analytics and ad product innovation across all platforms, the team will be headed up by Bryson Gordon, who previously led Viacom’s Data Strategy efforts. His new title will be EVP of Advanced Advertising. The team working under him will include data scientists, engineers, product managers, and researchers.
BRAND INSIDER
Video analytics company Tubular Labs announced the launch of DealMaker, a new product that provides insights on branded and sponsored content around the globe. According to Tubular, DealMaker will track more than 140,000 sponsored videos, 15,000 brand sponsors, 15,000 content partners, and 30,000 campaigns on YouTube and Facebook. Tubular predicts that, in 2017, there will be more than 24 billion views on sponsored content, amounting to more than $1.2 billion in media impressions.
APPS + PLATFORMS
Two days after announcing widespread layoffs, Time Inc. announced the launch of a new video brand. A beauty-focused property called The Pretty, the brand will be geared toward Facebook and Instagram. Time Inc. says that The Pretty will publish about ten videos weekly, three of which will be sponsored. At launch, the brands first two sponsors are L’Oréal Paris and Maybelline New York.
OTT + SVOD
This isn’t the kind of thing you do when business is booming. AT&T is now offering free Roku Premiere set-top devices to new DirectTV Now subscribers. The OTT-based TV service, which initially launched in November, has reportedly seen its growth stall over the course of Q1. The service pulled in over 200,000 subs in Q4 of last year, but AT&T was offering discounts and other incentives at the time. The service experienced a number of technical glitches in the interim. But even more significant is the industry-wide competition AT&T finds itself facing; rival TV services from YouTube and Hulu have debuted in the months since DirectTV Now’s launch.
VC FUNDING + INVESTORS
Scopely is doing quite well for itself. The mobile game developer just announced that it’s raised $60 million in Series C financing, bringing its fundraising total to $160 million to date. The company, which is based in L.A., says that its valuation is now more than $600 million. Revolution Growth led the new funding round, with contributions from Greenspring, Cross Creek Advisors, and others. Scopely says it will use the funds for acquisitions, commercial partnerships, and new strategic investments.
AUDIO
Music streaming service Spotify saw massive user growth in 2016, according to new filings. The company said that its total subscriber count grew to 126 million in 2016, an increase of 38%. Moreover, the company’s revenue rose to 2.93 billion euros, an increase of 52%. Now the bad news: Spotify posted a net loss of 539.2 million Euros. In 2015, net losses sat at 231.4 million euros. The company attributed much of the increased losses to growing financing costs.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Digital product studio Postlight has named Gina Trapani as Partner. Trapani will help Postlight’s executive team oversee strategy, operationalization, and delivery of all digital services and products. Trapani has been at Postlight for about 15 months, previously serving as Director of Engineering.
TRIVIA
In the recently released Netflix original film War Machine, Brad Pitt plays a four-star general named Glen McMahon. The character is based on a real-life U.S. general; who is it? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)
The eight main characters of the (recently-canceled) Netflix series Sense8 come from which seven countries? Answer: One of the characters begins the series living in the U.K., but originally hails from Iceland (either answer suffices). Two come from the United States, and the rest hail from Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, India, and Germany. Kudos to Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Sean Gupta-BET Networks/NY, Peter Steckelman-Tennis Channel/CA, Matthew Wilson-RXR/NY, Kayla Baines-PR Newswire/MD, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg/M and S Entertainment/CA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, and Caroline Pinto-Audible/NY.
