07/31/17: YouTube TV clears 2 million downloads

Good morning. It’s Monday July 31, 2017 and this is your your first early morning Digital briefing!

TODAY’S CODEBREAKER

Sequential Messaging: In digital marketing, sequential messaging – also known as sequential targeting – refers to targeting a consumer with a series of messages in an effort to guide them toward making a purchase or taking some other action. Effective sequential messaging often involves reaching consumers across multiple digital properties and screens, which requires cross-device capabilities.

JUST IN…

Emerson Collective, the nonprofit founded by Laurene Powell Jobs in 2004, is acquiring a majority stake in The Atlantic. (An investor and philanthropist, Jobs is also the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.) Emerson Collective will officially acquire the stake in one month, according to a memo that Atlantic Media owner David Bradley sent to employees. Atlantic Media owns both print and digital properties, including Quartz and National Journal Group – and while EC will acquire a majority stake in the company’s flagship publication, Bradley will continue to own the others. The Atlantic was founded as The Atlantic Monthly in 1857.

ADVERTISING

Amazon has launched a new review of its global media buying business, according to Adweek. The company reportedly issued an RFP (request for proposal) seeking a media agency to handle campaigns in North American and other international markets. IPG Mediabrands’ Initiative gained agency-of-record status on the Amazon account in 2013, though U.S. digital buying duties stayed within WPP’s MEC network. It’s not known just yet which agencies are taking part in the new Amazon pitch. It’s safe to say that whoever wins the account will be pretty happy; according to the advisory group COMvergence, Amazon now spends over $1 billion on global advertising every year.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Registration is NOW open for the Kids !magination Awards
The 6^th Annual Cynopsis Kids !magination Awards Breakfast

Tuesday, September 19 | The Yale Club | NYC

Don’t miss the ultimate event for children’s media innovators honoring the best in children’s, tween and family programming across platforms, technology, marketing and prosocial campaigns. Check out our finalists and reserve your seat today !

For questions, contact Cathy Pearson .

APPS + DEVICES

If you haven’t heard of YouTube Go, there’s a good chance you don’t live in an area of the world with poor internet connectivity. The app, which launched in India back in April, is designed to save data and provide offline access to users in such places. Now it’s coming to a new country: A beta version will launch in Nigeria later this year. Google CEO Sundar Pichai made the announcement himself, at an event in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

PROGRAMMING

Hulu announced that it has renewed Harlots, its British period drama series centering on an 18th-century brothel, for a second season. In addition, the company announced that it will begin development on a documentary focused on the origins and cultural significance of the Barbie doll. The Untitled Barbie Documentary is slated to debut sometime next year.

OTT + SVOD

When it comes to the burgeoning “virtual MVPD” industry, there are plenty of skeptics; it’s not surprising that a top executive at the world’s biggest cable giant would be one of them. During Comcast’s Q2 earnings call, NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke didn’t sound worried. “As we’ve said before, we’re skeptical it’s going to be a very large business or profitable business,” he said. “They’re off to a slow start.” Someone at Comcast didn’t get the memo; the company has indicated plans to launch its own skinny bundle of OTT channels, quite possibly by the end of the year.

YouTube TV seems to be doing pretty well for itself. The Google-owned live TV service, which first launched in five markets back in April, has now seen 2 million app installs, according to the app store analytics firms App Annie and Sensor Tower. 700,000 of those downloads have come since just last week, when the service launched in ten additional markets. This doesn’t necessarily mean the service has 2 million subscribers, of course; some people might never get past the free trial phase, while others might simply be downloading the app out of idle curiosity. Nevertheless, it’s an impressive number – especially given that the service has yet to launch throughout much of the U.S.

Baeble Music TV, a linear-style digital music channel, has debuted on Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT TV service. Baeble is powered by Wurl, a company that specializes in integrating OTT channels into set-top guides. “As digital-first networks like Baeble migrate to TV, they bring new programming and enormous audiences that are unserved by legacy cable channels,” said Wurl CEO Sean Doherty in a statement.

VIRTUAL + AUGMENTED REALITY

The VR industry has one of its first major casualties. AltspaceVR, whose “social VR” app allows users to meet and interact in virtual spaces, is shuttering its service. The company has raised more than $15 million from big-name firms like Comcast Ventures and Tencent, but now the funding has dried up. “We’ve been out fundraising but have run out of time and money,” the company said in a statement. AltspaceVR plans to shut down its app in early August, after holding a (virtual) farewell party for its users on August 3.

UPCOMING DIGITAL PROGRAMMING

… for the week of Monday, Monady, July 31, through Sunday, August 6

– People Now at People.com, Monday-Friday at 8:30a ET and 11:30a ET. Guests include actress Jane Lynch (Discovery’s Manhunt: Unabomber), TV personality Shannon Beador (Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County), and actress and TV personality Raven-Symoné (Disney Channel’s Raven’s Home)

– Netflix: Maz Jobrani: Immigrant, a new comedy special, debuts Tuesday, August 1

– Netflix: Icarus, a new nonfiction thriller film, debuts Friday, August 4

– Netflix: Message from the King, a new thriller film, debuts Friday, August 4

– Netflix: The new season of animated kids’ series Voltron: Legendary Defender debuts Friday, August 4

– Netflix: Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, a new comedy miniseries, debuts Friday, August 4

– Amazon Video: Lost in Oz, a new animated kids’ series, debuts Friday, August 4

– Amazon Video: Comrade Detective, a new cop-focused comedy series, debuts Friday, August 4

TRIVIA

Our Last Trivia Question: Which American actor plays Winston Churchill on Netflix’s The Crown? Answer: John Lithgow. Kudos to Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/NY, Louis Lewow-Lewow Media Group/GA, Andrew Bellamy-Producers Guild of America-NY, Luke Watson-Essential TV/NY, Mathew Tombers-Intermat/NY, Matt Willence-ITN Networks/NY, Alejandro Sacasa-Albavision/FL, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, and Dorry Ewing-Loch Lomond Partners

Netflix canceled The Get Down, its drama series about the origins of hip-hop and disco, earlier this year. But the show had been much-hyped the year before, largely because of the talent behind the camera. One of the co-creators was playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis; the other was a well-known filmmaker. Who? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Are you an advocate for digital innovation?

You belong on Cynopsis Digital’s “It List”

Cynopsis Digital believes in recognizing the creative trailblazers working tirelessly and sometimes thanklessly to elevate the industry with state-of-the-art contributions to technology, ad campaigns and branded and original content. Don’t let your accomplishments go unnoticed, take a few minutes to nominate yourself for this esteemed honor: The Cynopsis Digital “It List.” (take a peek at last year’s honorees).

Nominate by Tuesday at 11:59pm!

DIGITAL SPOTLIGHT

Even Funny or Die is getting into VR now. The digital media company teamed up with VR specialists Felix & Paul Studios to produce Miyubi, a new virtual reality comedy film. The movie centers on a Japanese toy robot, which is given to a boy as a gift before falling victim to major technical problems. The film is available on the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR headsets. It’s the first time that Felix & Paul has worked in the comedy genre. Watch the trailer here.

David Teich
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