08/24/16: Comcast’s “Watchable” launches exclusive shows; Google’s Daydream VR platform to feature digital media apps; Netflix closes Paris office



CYNOPSISDIGITAL
08.24.16

Good morning. It’s Wednesday August 24, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

TODAY’S CODEBREAKER

 
Ad Server: ‘Ad server’ refers to the technology and service that places ads on websites. Ad serving technology companies generally provide software to advertisers and websites to help serve ads, count them, choose the ones that will make the website or advertiser the most money, and monitor the progress of different campaigns.
 
 

TOP NEWS

 
Watchable, Comcast’s ad-supported short-form digital video service, is launching nine new short-form series that will be exclusive to the service. The shows include Logan Paul Vs, a reality series starring the titular Vine-celeb, and Ballinon a Budget, an unscripted series from Refinery29 starring rapper-comedian Awkwafina. Watchable now has more than 50 content partners, including Vice Media, Defy Media, and BuzzFeed.
 
 

VIRTUAL + AUGMENTED REALITY
 

According to Bloomberg, Google plans to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in exclusive content projects for Daydream, the company’s upcoming VR platform. That will include several videos created by YouTube stars like iJustine and The Dolan Twins, according to the report. In addition, Google plans to partner with other digital media players, such as HBO Now, Hulu, and pro sports leagues like the MLB and NBA, all of which intend to launch apps for the Daydream platform, according to Bloomberg. There will, of course, be a YouTube app as well.

 

The L.A. studio STX Entertainment announced that it’s acquiring Surreal, a company that specializes in producing and distributing immersive content. With the acquisition, STX will launch its first full-fledged VR division. Surreal’s two co-founders, Rick Rey and Andy Vick, will be brought on-board.
 
VentureFuel, a national advertising sales rep for new technology and emerging media companies, has partnered with the VR content studio Studio Transcendant. VentureFuel will represent Studio Transcendant as it seeks to partner with brands on VR content. “VentureFuel is the clear leader in emerging new media and first-to-market brand partnerships, and we are thrilled to tap into its creativity and deep connections to help brands embrace VR at the highest level,” said Aaron Nicholson, Studio Transcendant’s Co-Founder, in a release.
 


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PROGRAMMING + CONTENT ACQUISITIONS

 
Acorn Media Enterprises, the development arm for RLJ Entertainment’s Acorn brand, announced that it will co-produce Striking Out, a four-part Irish legal drama series. Amy Huberman, Rory Keenan, Emmet Byrne, Fiona O’Shaughnessy, and Neil Morrissey will co-star. The series will make its U.S. premiere on the Acorn TV streaming service next year.
 
 

SNAPCHAT BOOTCAMP

 
We’re excited to announce that we’ll be offering a Snapchat Boot Camp on October 27 in New York City! Visit our event site for more info.
 
 

OTT + SVOD
 

Netflix will soon shutter its Paris office and movie its French operations to its headquarters in the Netherlands, according to a report from Variety. Variety’s source declined to state the reasons, but insisted that the move wasn’t a tax dodge; the source pointed out that even after relocation, Netflix will still have to pay a VAT of nearly 20% on French VOD sales. Netflix has faced some challenges in France; as Variety points out, the country’s mandatory content window – no releases allowed until 36 months after a theatrical roll-out – has hampered the company’s efforts in the region. Netflix has also struggled to compete with the popular Canal Plus service. Futuresource Consulting has estimated that, as of September 2015, Netflix had about 750,000 French subscribers.
 
 

RESEARCH
 

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 are the purest form of showing interest digitally, since they’re organic actions that are largely unaffected by paid media. Programs that surface on the TVI leaderboards are the most hashtagged on Facebook, Google+, andTumblr, as well as most searched for on Wikipedia (used as a proxy for organic search volume).
 
Streaming Series (8/15/16 – 8/21/16)
 
[] 
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, Google+, and Tumblr, along with Wikipediapage 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.
 
To determine the TV ads generating the most digital response, iSpot.tv measures digital actions across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all major search engines. Below, a final look at the brands that backed Olympics TV coverage on NBC and sibling networks NBC Sports, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC and USA Network.
“The Ironman Nun”
“As life in Rio begins to return to normal and Ryan Lochte continues his apology tour, we’ve got a final report on the biggest backers of U.S. television coverage of the Rio Olympics: In the end, GEICO came out on top, followed by Chevrolet, Samsung Mobile, BMW and VISA, in that order, ranked by estimated spend. But when it came to digital engagement, only two of the biggest ad spenders (Samsung Mobile and GEICO) make the top 5. Nike lands the No. 1 position, thanks to the charming ‘Unlimited”’ series of ads it ran throughout the Olympics, including an ‘Unlimited Youth’ spot starring an 86-year-old nun, Sister Madonna Buder, who competes in Ironman World Championship triathlons.” -iSpot.tv

 

[] 
According to an analysis from MoffetNathanson Research, traditional U.S. advertising rose 2.5% in Q2 of 2016, down from the 4.3% gains in both Q1 of 2016 and Q4 of 2015. “This was the first sequential decline for traditional advertising in over a year,” MoffetNathanson noted. Nonetheless, total advertising was up 11.5% in Q2, up from 10.8% in Q1; the growth was largely fueled by digital advertising. MoffetNathanson Research suggested that industry observers shouldn’t reach hard-and-fast conclusions yet, advising that “trends in the second half of 2016” will likely be “more indicative of the long-term health of TV versus online advertising spending.”
 
The TV ratings for the Rio Olympics may have been down versus four years ago, but brands have been doing pretty well for themselves online. The video ad tech company Unruly finds that half of the most shared Olympics ads of all time were from the Rio Games. For instance, Channel 4’s We’re The Superhumans was the most shared ad of the Rio Olympics. The ad, which promoted the TV channel’s coverage of the upcoming Paralympic Games, was shared over 1.46 million times across social media. That’s almost a million more shares than the ad’s closest competitor, Under Armour’s Rule Yourself. Meanwhile, using an analysis from Unruly Pulse, Unruly’s analytics tool that explores the emotional trends of video advertising, the company found that Olympic ads are almost twice as likely to make viewers feel inspired – and almost three times as likely to make a viewer feel proud – as an average ad.
 
 

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Amazon Studios has named Matthew L. Ball as its new Head of Strategy. In the newly-created position, Ball will define strategy for Amazon Prime Video’s original and licensed content. He’ll also work to grow the service’s user base. Ball joins Amazon from the Chernin Group, where he was closely involved with Otter Media, Chernin’s online video joint venture with AT&T. Variety was the first to report the new hire. It’s understandable why now might seem like a good time to invest in the strategic future of Prime Video: Amazon’s recent earnings quarters have been extremely lucrative, and Amazon Video has played a role by driving new Prime subscriptions and, in turn, driving more product purchases.

 

TRIVIA
 

John Goodman starred in which Amazon original series? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone.)
 
Our last trivia question. In the Hulu series Deadbeat, what does the main character do for a living? Answer: He’s a medium. Kudos to Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment Inc./CA, Matt Meachem-Gracenote, Inc., and David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA.


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DIGITAL SPOTLIGHT
 

The Warner Bros.-owned video venture DramaFever has broken Moodica, its latest video site, out of beta. (You can check out Variety’s exclusive on the subject here.) The site isn’t exactly Netflix. Rather, it features atmospheric, mood-setting videos, such as a close-up on the internal gears of a wrist-watch, or a shot of a frog peacefully lazing in a natural setting. Check out an early Moodica video, a gorgeous time-lapse of Manhattan, here.

See you on tomorrow,
David Teich
08.24.16

Roberta Caploe: Publisher @robertacaploe
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

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JOB OPENING: DIR, MEDIA RIGHTS & LICENSING/MSG/NYC: Negotiate/draft music license agreements & secure licenses from performing rights organizations. 5+ yrs of relevant exp inc contract drafting/negotiating, knwldg of music, TV, film, industry & intellectual property issues. Full info/apply HERE (9/2)

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JOB OPENING: ENTERPRISE SALES DIRECTOR/Sportradar/San Francisco: Build/mng a deal pipeline of high-rev customer accts. At least 5 yrs exp in a sales “hunter” role & exp selling B2B solutions into leading enterprise companies, fortune 500 co, strategic accts & emerging mkt players in media. Full info/apply HERE  (8/31)

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JOB OPENING: EXECUTIVE ASST/LA: Fast paced LA Based prod company looking for Exec Asst for its 2 Exec Producers. Candidate must be a seasoned asst & comfortable going above and beyond the avg asst duties. Candidate must be a multi-tasker. Resume to: [email protected] (8/31)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT/NYC: TV & film prod co that works across all genres (comedy, reality, game, scripted, doc). Must have creative ideas, strong ntwrk connections & able to follow thru on projects, from ideation to pitch. Ample dvlp exp @ production company essential. CVR/Res: HERE (8/31)

JOB OPENING: PRODUCER/DAILY LIVE SHOW/LA: Plan & produce field and lifestyle segments for daily live television show, brainstorm and pitch ideas daily, write scripts, attend set visits/red carpets when necessary. 5+ yrs exp. Resumes to: [email protected] (8/28)

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JOB OPENING: TEMP COORD, AD SALES PLNG/Smithsonian Channel/NYC: Maintain ad schedules, ensuring accuracy. Input ad schedules, handle schedule changes, and make-goods. Provide admin. support and assist with client presentations. 0-1 yr ad sales coord exp. Full info/apply HERE: http://tinyurl.com/zxrgmwo (8/26)

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JOB OPENING: SVP DIGITAL AD SALES/Discovery/NY or LA: Digital sales vet to lead the strategic development and prospecting of digital sales offerings across all Discovery digital properties. Navigate digital marketplace to keep Discovery in front and innovative. Full info/apply HERE (8/26)

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JOB OPENING: HR BUSINESS PARTNER/DISCOVERY/LA: Strategic partner to provide client support to Discovery Digital Networks & Global Enterprises. Expertly navigate employee related challenges while maintaining bal between bus. partner to leadership & employee champion. 7+ yrs exp. Full info/apply HERE (8/25) 

JOB OPENING: EDITOR IN CHIEF/Discovery Digital Networks/San Fran: Editor in Chief to play a key leadership role in the voice and editorial strategy of Seeker’s science, news and exploration website and publishing platforms. Oversee and lead a best in the biz creative team. Full info/apply HERE (8/25)

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