Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with” widely diverse viewpoints,” tweeted Elon Musk after gaining control of the company. “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.” The announcement came after Musk fired Twitter head Parag Agrawal, policy executive Vijaya Gadde, CFO Ned Segal and general counsel Sean Edgett.

Two days after a judge slapped Meta with a fine of nearly $25 for repeated and intentional violations of campaign finance disclosure laws, he added $10.5 million in legal fees to Washington state. King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North issued the legal-fee order Friday, ordering the company to pay within 30 days. It was
the maximum fine allowed for more than 800 violations of Washington’s Fair Campaign Practices Act.

Total monthly active users on Spotify grew 20%. to 456 million in 3Q22, 6 million above Spotify’s prior guidance and its largest Q3 growth to date. Spotify Premium subs hit 195 million, a gain of 7 million, 1 million more than forecast and up 13% year over year. “There is a lot of global uncertainty, but our business continues to perform very nicely around the world,” CEO Daniel Ek said in prepared remarks about the quarter. “With one quarter left in a year that has seen war, a lingering pandemic, inflation, supply chain disruption and threats of a global recession, I am really proud of all that we have accomplished and that despite all of this, we are precisely where we thought we’d be.” Spotify reported gross margin in 3Q22 that was below expectations at 24.7%, which the company said was “affected by an accrual adjustment from an anticipated renewal of a large publishing contract outside the US.”

In a blog post, Spotify called out Apple for restrictions that hamper its competitors’ ability to provide seamless user experiences. Spotify cited its recent launch of Audiobooks as an example. “The Audiobooks purchase flow that Apple’s rules force us to provide consumers today is far too complicated and confusing — confusing because they change the rules arbitrarily, making them impossible to interpret,” posted the company. “Bottom line, we’re forced to make users work even harder to listen to an audiobook. This harms not only consumers, but, this time, also authors and publishers who now find themselves under Apple’s thumb.”

Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines have been updated, including new rules regarding NFTs. Apps will be allowed to list, mint, transfer and let users view their own NFTs, but ownership of NFTs shouldn’t unlock more features within the app. In addition, while these apps can let users browse other collections, they shouldn’t show external links, buttons or call to action to purchase NFTs. Users can only purchase NFTs through Apple’s in-app payment system. And apps cannot use other mechanisms to give special access to users. “Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency wallets, etc,” according to the new guidelines.

TV Studios has granted exclusive rights in the metaverse for “The Voice” to the Virtual Brand Group. VGB will collaborate with ITV to develop, build and operate The Voice in the Metaverse, with elements including virtual experiences and social games, a web3 loyalty program and a metaverse global competition. “The Voice was, in many ways, an early version of the Metaverse where anonymity and being whoever you want rule. Today we come full circle,” said Lucie Stoffers, Head of Brand & Licensing at ITV Studios. “VBG is the perfect partner for us because together, we can enable a one-stop activation for all our territories and broadcasting partners around the world.”

Apple raised the monthly prices for Apple TV+ (from $4.99 to $6.99), Apple Music (from $9.99 to $10.99 for individuals), and the Apple One bundle ($14.95 to $16.95 for individuals). While the price hike for Apple Music was attributed to an increase in licensing costs, Apple TV+ is a different case. The service launched “at a very low price because we started with just a few shows and movies,” said a statement from the company. “Three years later, Apple TV+ is home to an extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment.”

YouTube is getting a makeover, with new design elements and product features. Using dynamic color sampling, ambient mode introduces a subtle effect so the app background color adapts to match the video. “We were inspired by the light that screens cast out in a darkened room and wanted to recreate the effect so viewers were drawn right into the content and the video takes an even greater focus on our watch page,” said Nate Koechley, UX Director, YouTube in a blog post. The dark theme has been updated to be even darker, and YouTube links in video descriptions will change to buttons. Also launched is pinch to zoom, enabling users to easily zoom in and out of a video.

TelevisaUnivision has signed a multi-year agreement to use Nielsen One, the company’s cross-platform measurement solution to be released in December. TelevisaUnivision will use the full suite of solutions under Nielsen One, along with Nielsen Marketing Cloud, and Gracenote’s Advanced Discovery suite. The deal encompasses measurement across TelevisaUnivision’s national, digital, local and audio affiliates as well as streamer ViX.

Amazon reported revenue rose 15% to $127.1 billion in 3Q22, while earnings came in at 28 cents per share on a diluted basis. Profit exceeded analysts’ estimates, but the revenue was a bit short of expectations. Not good enough, said Wall Street, sending shares down 20% in after-hours trading.

Meta reported revenue of $27.7 billion, beating estimates of $27.4 billion, but dipped 4% from the year-ago quarter, reflecting the digital advertising slowdown for social media companies.

Alphabet didn’t meet Wall Street expectations for the quarter, posting $69.1 billion in revenue, up 6% from the year-ago period (or 11% when foreign currency issues are factored out), with earnings per share of $1.06. Analysts had expected $70.6 billion in revenue and EPS. YouTube advertising revenue fell $400 million short of estimates.

2022 Tempest Awards

Celebrate with us THIS WEDNESDAY

Gain exclusive access to some of the industry’s top companies and join us at HyperX Arena in Las Vegas for an evening of celebration and networking! Buy your tickets now to secure your spot, and purchase your premium table today!

CELEBRATE AT TEMPEST

ADVERTISING

Premion, the CTV/OTT advertising platform for regional and local advertisers, has achieved the TAG Brand Safety Certified Seal from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). “Brand safety is a top advertiser priority. We built Premion since inception as a trusted platform for advertisers by only sourcing inventory from premium, reputable publisher partners that people know and trust,” said Tom Cox, President of Premion. “We’re proud of achieving this second and distinct recognition from TAG. Premion was already certified against ad fraud, and now we are also brand-safety certified, which requires a separate and rigorous vetting process.”

IAB Tech Lab has released a roadmap outlining the latest Tech Lab standards the digital advertising ecosystem should leverage as they plan for 2023 and remain competitive. It includes recommendations for recent releases like Seller Defined Audiences, ads.txt, the new Digital Video and CTV Ad Format guidelines, and more. “As we enter the last quarter of the year, our team at IAB Tech Lab is busy with strategic planning for next year; and I assume your product and engineering teams are doing the same,” said Shailley Singh, EVP, Product & COO, IAB Tech Lab. “It’s important to regularly review standards updates and make sure you’re incorporating them into your roadmap.”

Blockgraph is going to use their Identity Operating System (IDoS) to allow for direct matching between Kantar’s panel and client data sets, to simplify the matching process while increasing scale in a privacy compliant way. In testing, Kantar match rates with TV partners have increased more than 10x. The Blockgraph Kantar integration is aimed at making it possible to expand addressable TV recruitment capabilities and enable marketers to measure and understand the impact of much lower reach TV media across advertising campaigns.

CTV platform Column6 has integrated FreeWheel’s Beeswax bidder technology to optimize campaigns across Column6 supply. Beeswax customers will have full access to programmatically acquire inventory and extend audiences to new CTV audiences at scale across the Americas in one streamlined workflow.

Hispanics are more likely to be online shoppers than non-Hispanics, according to Adsmovil study: “Embrace the Collective”: The Hispanic Digital Purchase Journey. Other findings include:
· Hispanics are more likely to use retailer sites versus search engines than non-Hispanics.
· Millennial Hispanics are more likely to use social media for product information (versus Gen X & Boomers).
· Younger generations of Hispanics (Gens Z & X) prefer brands that have Spanish content online.
· Hispanics engage in collective behaviors around search and purchase and are more likely to be assisting others with purchases than non-Hispanics.
· Hispanics across acculturation and age cohorts, along with non-Hispanics, rely on mobile for search throughout the day and evening. Hispanics frequently then share search findings with peers.
“Hispanic consumers have been a fast-rising majority for many decades, and it’s imperative that brands understand this is not a homogeneous group,” said Lisa Torres, President, Cultural Quotient, Publicis Media. “This research explores the rich layers of Hispanic consumers across ages and acculturation levels and uncovers the unique ways they’re engaging with advertising and sharing information and recommendations with their communities.”

Viant Technoogy, the people-based advertising software company, is leveraging the data cloud company Snowfake to support data clean rooms. “Snowflake will provide our customers with more secure, efficient and streamlined data sharing,” said Tom Wolfe, SVP Business Development, Viant. “Brand engagements across the new open web require deeper connection of partners across the ecosystem.”

WideOrbit, provider of broadcast TV, radio, and cable ad technology, announced WO Marketplace, an ad industry broadcast TV ad network, and the launch of its Optimizer technology, which will arm broadcasters with controls over maximizing automated ad sales. WideOrbit’s WO Marketplace aims to make local TV ad inventory easily accessible to buyers seeking premium, near-to-air inventory, and integrates with Comscore media measurement for impression and ratings data.

CafeMedia has partnered with Colossus SSP, Direct Digital Holdings’ supply-side advertising platform, to connect advertisers with its multicultural audiences. Since launching the partnership in May, Colossus SSP has become a top five monetization partner and delivered high incremental revenue to CafeMedia’s network of sites.

Xfinity is boosting speeds in Atlanta on its most popular plans beginning this week, providing customers with a better connectivity experience. “Households in Atlanta and across the country continue to see a sharp increase in their connected devices, so faster internet speeds and a more reliable connection have never been more critical,” said Jason Gumbs, Comcast Regional SVP.

MEASUREMENT

Havas Media is partnering with Samba TV to integrate Samba TV’s OTT and linear television viewing data into Converged, HMG’s proprietary audience and data management platform. With this partnership, HMG North America will become the first major agency holding company to fully integrate Samba TV’s television and gaming viewership data. “Modern media is about more than just Reach and Frequency – our approach prioritizes identifying the right environment based on the ability to foster meaningful connections with viewers,” said Mike Bregman, Havas Media Group North America Chief Data Officer. “This partnership allows us to understand how consumers spend time across screens and the ability to analyze the unique value media has for each one of our clients.”

STREAMING

Purpose-led ad platform Good-Loop launched a new CTV ad format that rewards viewers’ attention and time with a free donation to charity. Advertisers can buy the new watch-to-donate format across various CTV channels using Good-Loop’s purpose-powered ad wrapper. Once the ad has been played, it generates a free donation to a charity, funded by the brand. Formats include pre, mid and post-roll.

Eighty percent of US CTV HHs say the living room is now their main TV, according to research from LG Ad Solutions, with viewers feeling that watching video is a better experience on larger CTV screens. Eighty-eight percent of respondents say they prefer to watch movies on TV, as compared to 6% who said mobile. Same with sports – 87% of those surveyed voted for TV, compared to 8% who said mobile. When it comes to TV Shows, 84% preferred TV versus to 10% who preferred mobile. Only Social Video was the preferred choice on mobile (57%).

Samsung TV Plus has added new channels including MotorTrend, Estrella Games, Rovr Pets, new Local News markets, and – back for the holidays – Fireplace 4K. The new channels will be available across the US on Samsung Smart TVs and galaxy devices.

Pluto TV is launching its Seasons Greetings category tomorrow, November 1, featuring nine holiday-themed channels. Offerings include Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies, music, cooking, fireplaces and light displays.

LGBTQ streaming network DivaBoxOffice.tv premieres December 1, with over 100 hours of programming. “The demand for queer programming is only growing with each generation becoming increasingly more fluid in their sexual orientations and gender identities than ever before,” said President and CEO Christin Baker. “As the old adage goes, we are queer and we’re here to stay.”

VIZIO has introduced My Watchlist, a new feature that allows viewers to add their favorite TV shows and movies from different streaming services into one central location on VIZIO SmartCast TVs. To add shows and movies to My Watchlist, users can search for a title, actor or select the “+ Watchlist” button on the content detail page of each title. Once added, a dedicated My Watchlist row will appear on the SmartCast Home Screen. When ready to begin viewing, the user selects the preferred title and is immediately launched into the service.

Cynopsis Team