APPS + PLATFORMS
Okay, this is pretty nifty: Snapchat is set to launch Crowd Surf, a new feature that uses AI to glean when large groups of people are filming the same musical act. Crowd Surf can then edit the user stories together so that the song they’re taping remains smooth and unbroken, while the camera angles of the performance change. (Unlike most Snapchat videos, the Crowd Surf video will stay consistent for more than 10 seconds.) It might be noted that Crowd Surf can only work when huge numbers of people are gathered – at a concert or parade, for instance. It’ll be available for use at public events in the not-too-distant future.
Vudu, the streaming entertainment service owned by Walmart, is coming to Apple TV. The Vudu app is set to launch on Apple’s connected TV box on August 22. It was already possible to watch Vudu content on Apple TV using Apple’s AirPlay feature, but this is the first time a native Vudu app will be available on the device. The service was already available on other connected devices, including Google Chromecast, Roku, Sony PlayStation 3 and 4, and numerous others.
Facebook and Instagram have implemented some significant redesigns. Among other changes, Facebook updated Newsfeed, making it easier to tell where threads begin and end in comments. (You can learn about the full list of changes here.) And in a new update from Instagram, comment reels will now be threaded, enabling users to have public sub-conversations.
Unlike Instagram, Facebook’s flagship app has struggled to boost the popularity of its own Snapchat-inspired Stories feature. The company is hoping to change that with some new updates to its Camera. For one, users can now use the Facebook Camera to broadcast stories live. They can also shoot-two second GIFS and share text posts on colored backgrounds. Facebook first introduced its new Camera and Stories features in March. While Facebook has loudly trumpeted the growth of the 250-million-user strong Instagram Stories, the company has stayed notably silent about how many people use the Facebook Camera and Stories products.
OTT + SVOD
Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT TV offering, is finally viewable through a web browser. The company has launched an in-browser player for Google Chrome. The service, which launched in early 2015, was already available through numerous connected TV platforms, game consoles, smart TVs, and mobile devices. A desktop app was also available. The new web player is still in beta; it will work for both Mac and Windows devices.
There may soon be another skinny bundle on the market. Clikia Corp, a company that offers OTT subscription services, recently announced that it has secured the rights to create a new TV package. According to Clikia, the package will feature more than forty cable channels, including ESPN, CNN, Fox News Channel and others. The company says the new offering will debut by mid-September.
OWNZONEs Media is launching a new specialty SVOD service. Called Best Westerns Ever, the channel will feature over 400 film and TV titles in the western genre. Best Westerns Ever will be available through both Roku and Amazon devices for a price of $1.99 per month. The service is the latest entry in OWNZONES’ plans to introduce a number of niche services. The company recently rolled out Best TV Ever, a service devoted to vintage television shows.
PROGRAMMING
Fullscreen Media has unveiled its programming slate for fall 2017. The digital media company announced five new shows in total. Some of those shows include Fox Tossing a series in which digital media stars Scotty Sire and Elton Castee “play all the ridiculous sports that have been lost to history”; Alive in Denver, a comedy starring Nathan Kress and Danielle Campbell; and “Jay Versace Is Stuck in the 90s,” in which the titular teenage star travels to the past and must adjust to using ‘90s technologies. (Heavens!) Fullscreen is owned by the Chernin Group/AT&T joint venture Otter Media. Its streaming service costs $5.99 per month.
Netflix is giving Ozark a second season. The crime drama premiered less than a month ago, on July 21.
MEASURING UP
Source: Shareablee Inc. The total actions metric includes the total volume of post-level likes, shares, favorites, retweets and comments. Total content includes all posts, tweets and media posted by each TV property across all platforms. Actions per post metric notes the average e number of actions garnered by each property. Total fans/followers includes Facebook and Twitter and Instagram followers.
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 ListenFirst Digital 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 (8/7/17 – 8/13/17)
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
Verizon continues to reformulate Go90, its mobile video service. Chris Castallo has joined Verizon as Go90’s Head of Development. He left CBS earlier in the year, where he’d served as EVP of Alternative Programming. Castallo’s hire is the latest move in a flurry of executive shuffling at Go90. The service’s former GM, Chip Canter, left the company in the spring. The service is now headed up by Richard Tom, the CTO of Verizon-owned video start-up Vessel. Back in April, Verizon also hired Ryan Blood – formerly of AT&T’S DirecTV – to serve as Go90’s Director of Content Strategy and Acquisition.
Pocket.watch, a kid-oriented digital media startup, has a new Chief Revenue Officer. The job goes to Stone Newman, the former President of Global Consumer Products at the multimedia entertainment company Genius Brands International. Newman will now oversee licensing, merchandising, brand integrations, and sponsorships for Pocket.watch’s owned-and-operated YouTube channels and creator partners. He’ll also oversee sales of content to streaming services and TV networks.
TRIVIA
Our Last Trivia Question: Jason Bateman stars in two Netflix shows, and they’re very, very different. What are they? Answer: Arrested Development and Ozark. Kudos to Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Matthew Wilson-RXR/NY, Dan Quitério-Understood/NY, Peter Steckelmna-Tennis Channel/CA, Len Appel-Branded Entertainment Network/NY, Leora Borzak-Showtime/NY, Brianna Barbieri-A+E Networks/NY, Alejandro Sacasa-Albavision/FL, Sheena Das-Disney Media/NY, Susan Nessanbaum Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/CA, Bill Graff-Bein Media Group/FL, Preston Metz-Horizon Media/NY, Christine Allen-McGee Media/NY, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, Anjali Desai-Departure Films/NY, Andrew Bellamy-Produers Guild of America/NY, Kristie Wakefield-Go To Team/SC, Mark Garner-A+E Networks/NY, Shannon Henley-FOX/CA, and Bruce Trotter-CoxReps/CA
Follow-up: Who plays Wendy Byrde, the wife of Bateman’s character, on Ozark? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)
