APP + PLATFORMS
If you’re talking to a friend on Facebook’s Messenger app, and you say you’d like to see a movie, the app will now usher you toward a ticket purchase. The update, available to U.S. users, comes as part of a partnership with NBCU’s Fandango. If a Messenger user, either in a group or one-on-one chat, expresses interest in a film, the app will automatically suggest opening Fandango’s chat extension. From there, users can get more information about showtimes or even buy tickets. Facebook is using M, its automated AI bot, to power the new feature. Of course, there’s a serious concern that some users will balk at a perceived invasion of privacy. That’s why Facebook is making it possible to mute the suggestions, or even prevent Facebook’s AI from reading their chats altogether.
Facebook’s Messenger app rolled out some other AI-driven updates as well. Following in the footsteps of Google and LinkedIn, the app will now provide brief suggested responses that users can tap on to quickly reply to messages. Like the new Fandango feature, the automated response suggestions come courtesy of Facebook’s “M” AI tool.
Adblock Plus is now letting users block more than just ads. If you’re a Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Android user, you can now add a new filter to Adblock Plus that will prevent third parties from using your device to mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The move seems to be a direct response to an event that took place over the weekend, when a number of users of The Pirate Bay noticed someone using site-visitors’ computers to mine the cryptocurrency Monero.
PROGRAMMING
As a couple of players in their thirties continuing to dominate men’s tennis, it can be tough to remember that there are plenty of youngsters who are trying to break in. In a deal with the ATP World Tour, Amazon Prime Video picked up the live-streaming rights to the Next Gen ATP Finals men’s youth tennis tournament. The deal, which runs through next year, begins with the inaugural event this November. Excluding China, Amazon will hold the worldwide online streaming rights to the event, as well as full exclusive rights in the U.S. The one exception is the ATP’s own OTT channel, Tennis TV, which will also broadcast the event.
ADVERTISING
Facebook is rolling out a new ad product that lets advertisers target consumers who previously visited their brick-and-mortar stores. The tool works by accessing data from people who have the Facebook app on their phone (with location services enabled). As AdAge points out, one of the biggest challenges for advertisers will be figuring out whether their ads actually had anything to do with a customer’s purchase. (After all, if a customer visits a store and later buys a product from the company, that customer may have been planning to buy said product in any event.) At launch, ad buyers include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Macy’s and KFC, according to Facebook.
RESEARCH
According to a new analysis from RBC Capital Markets, the cord-cutting problem could be even worse than many suspect. In a survey of 1,200 U.S. consumers, 55% respondents told RBC that they will continue subscribing to traditional pay-TV. (That’s tantamount to about 68 million homes, if applied nationally.) But 21% of respondents said they were considering a switch to a lower cost virtual service. It’s just one study, of course, but it isn’t an anomaly; eMarketer recently increased its 2017 projections for cord-cutting, estimating a 33% increase among U.S. adults this year. In a research note, RBC analyst Steven Cahall wrote that it “does not seem impossible” for the pay-TV sector to start losing more than five million subscribers annually. Last year’s number, by comparison, was 2 million.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Snap Inc. has been reshuffling the top executives in its hardware unit. As first reported by Bloomberg, Steve Horowitz, a former Motorola exec who had been overseeing the Snapchat parent’s hardware efforts, has reportedly lost his position. Former Googler Mark Randall is now reportedly running the division instead. Snap’s hardware team is behind Spectacles, the company’s video-recording glasses. The company’s hardware interests have also touched on drone technology; Snap bought the drone startup Ctrl Me earlier this year. According to Bloomberg’s report, about a dozen people have been fired under the new restructuring.
Arkadium has made a new hire. The company, which works with publishers to build online content such as polls, games, and interactive data visualizations, has named Dan Martin as its new SVP of Sales and Business Development. He’ll oversee the company’s client acquisition efforts through the introduction of InHabit, a new Arkadium product offering AI and interactive content tools. Martin most recently served as VP, Head of Global Business Development at TripleLift, a specialist in native programmatic advertising.
TRIVIA
Our Last Trivia Question: Season one, episode 2 of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale prominently features a well-known board game. Which one? Answer: Scrabble, AKA the greatest game on the planet. (Okay, there’s some bias here – the writer of this newsletter is a tournament Scrabble player.) Kudos to Stephanie Blair-eMarketer/NY, Bill Graff, beIN Sports/FL, Gabrielle Pedro Fredrick-National Geographic/Washington, D.C., David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union-CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, Alejandro Sacasa-Albavision/FL, Keely Walker Muse-Crazy Legs Productions/GA, Christine Allen-McGee Media/NY, Lourdes Valdez-Pantaya/CA, and Stephanie Ann-Inside Lacrosse/MD
Amazon’s first Indian original series, set in the world of pro cricket, debuted in July. What’s it called? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)
