CYNOPSISDIGITAL
10.14.15

Good morning. It’s Wednesday October 14, 2015, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

 
Well, it’s official: Twitter is laying off part of its workforce. About eight percent, to be exact. That’s 336 of its 4,100-plus employees. The severance costs will run the company between 10 and 20 million dollars. “Thank you all for your trust and understanding here,” wrote recently-christened CEO Jack Dorsey in a letter to his staff. “This isn’t easy. But it is right. The world needs a strong Twitter, and this is another step to get there.”
 
Snap Channel lasted only slightly longer than a Snap. The channel, introduced in January, was Snapchat’s destination for self-generated content, including the original series Literally Can’t Even. Snap Channel was removed from Snapchat over two weeks ago, but the company had suggested it might return in some form. Now, the company has announced that Snap Channel’s gone for good. Many members of Snapchat’s 15-person in-house production team have been laid off -though Deadline suggests some junior execs may be reassigned within the company. Marcus Wiley, Snapchat’s recently-hired Head of Program Planning and Development, is among those leaving the company.
 
Facebook is set to begin testing some mobile video updates. The new features include a designated video section for Facebook’s mobile app: Users can browse shared videos, recommend content, and save videos to view later. The features also include a new video player that can take over a whole page, as well as a picture-in-picture video option that allows users to continue watching videos while scrolling through their newsfeeds. Facebook says that only “a small number of people” are testing the features as of now, and cautions that “this isn’t something most people will see on Facebook right away.”  For a closer look at the feature, check out our Digital Spotlight.
 
If you want access to the New York Times digital edition, all you have to do is…buy the newspaper? As of yesterday, hard copies of the New York Times now come equipped with promotional codes granting readers day-long access to The New York Times’ mobile apps and NYTimes.com. The codes will expire at 11:59pm each evening.  In addition to articles, the Times’ digital offerings include video, interactive content, and blogs.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM WICT NEW YORK

 
Shareablee knows TV. The social media analytics company measured the total social actions (likes, shares, comments, retweets, favorites, and dislikes) across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, between September 8 and October 8 and used what it found to create its Social Media Scorecard of the Top Ten New Fall Primetime TV Shows. Among the findings:
 
Scream Queens (Fox) vastly outpaced other new fall primetime series, garnering 6 million actions. The Muppets (ABC) came in second with 1.1 million.
 
Scream Queens also dominated in Share of Voice (the number of social media conversations surrounding the show) among new fall primetime series. The series garnered 57% of the share of voice. Again, The Muppets was second, with 10%.
 
But Scream Queens doesn’t look quite so dominant when you compare its social media performance to that of all fall primetime series, as opposed to just new ones. In total actions, it clocks in at fourth. Empire is at #1 with 8.2 million actions, followed by Grey’s Anatomy with 6.5 million and American Horror Story with 6.1 million.
 
It’s a similar story with Share of Voice: Empire’s at #1 with 16%, followed by Grey’s Anatomy with 13%. Scream Queens garners 12%, placing it in a three-way tie with American Horror Story and Dancing with the Stars.
 
(Courtesy of Shareablee, check out the full statistics for actions and Share of Voice here.)
 
Shareablee also found the following:
 
Dr. Ken and Heroes Reborn had the highest fan loyalty of any new Fall TV shows, with 34% of Dr. Ken’s (ABC) users returning to engage on Facebook and Heroes Reborn (NBC) seeing 33% of users returning on Twitter.
 
The Muppets (ABC) captured nearly 178 thousand shares during this time period, the most of any new Fall TV show.
 
Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (NBC) is the most engaged new Fall TV show among women, who account for 95% of the show’s engagement on Facebook and 91% of its engagement on Twitter.

 
And yet again, a major talent agency lands a digital star. This time it’s United Talent Agency (UTA) and YouTube makeup artist Kandee Johnson. Johnson, who has over 3.3 million YouTube subscribers, also hosts Skin Wars, a makeup-artist reality competition on GSN, and serves as lead beauty editor for Conde Nast Entertainment. UTA will work to create opportunities for Johnson across both linear and digital platforms, as well as in book publishing. 
 

 
Deadspin’s Twitter account died, if only briefly. Shortly after the Gawker-owned sports blog tweeted some GIFs of NFL game highlights, Twitter disabled its account. The move led to some heated social media debate over the issues of fair use and copyright infringement. While the NFL admits to sending takedown notices to Twitter, the league says it did not explicitly ask for the account to be disabled. It’s possible (as Variety speculates) that the account was disabled due to the sheer volume of takedown requests Twitter received. Deadspin’s account was reinstated a few hours later.
 
Season 3 of USA’s reality series Chrisley Knows Best returns November 10, but the Chrisleys got started on social media well ahead of time. All day yesterday, Savannah Chrisley took over the Chrisley Knows Best Instagram account (@chrisley_usa), giving fans a peak into her new college environment. Meanwhile, Todd Chrisley launched a Periscope from his Twitter handle (@toddchrisley), responding to questions from fans. According to USA, Todd Chrisley plans to hold a new Periscope talk each Tuesday until the November 10 premiere of Chrisley Knows Best.

 
What a strange, strange career Kal Penn has had. First he played a pothead, then a doctor, then a White House staffer. (Oh wait, that last one really happened.) Now he’s set to return to his cannabis-soaked roots. Penn will co-star in season 3 of Deadbeat, Hulu’s original comedy about a New York City medium (Tyler Labine).  Penn will appear in all 13 episodes as the main character’s business partner. According to Hulu, Penn’s character will be a “stoner entrepreneuer and all around good guy.” Which is slightly less altruistic than working for the president, but still admirable.
 
 

Music-oriented video-hosting service Vevo is in the midst of significant personnel restructuring, according to VideoInk. Over the last few weeks, Vevo has let go of about a dozen members of its tech and product teams, including David Rice, the company’s (now former) Chief Product Officer. In addition, the company’s Head of Content, Doug McVeheil, will be replaced next week by Andy Parfitt. In the past, Parfitt held various positions at the BBC for over 30 years, most recently at Radio 1 from 1998 to 2011.
 
Advertising vet Steve Elliott has a new home: Comedy Central has named him Vice President of Branded Entertainment Development. In the newly created role, Elliot will oversee branded creation, including episodes, specials, short-form, and social media content for Comedy Centeral’s pages. Elliott will report to Jim Sharp, EVP of Original Programming, and Chris Ficarra, SVP of Integrated Marketing. Previously, Elliott served as Creative Director at the production companies Pilot and Triple Double.
 
Conde Nast Entertainment, Conde Nast’s branded video division, announced a new hire. Jennifer Salant will serve as VP of Business Development. Among other responsibilities, Salant will oversee syndication and distribution strategy for the company’s digital video network. Most recently, Salant was an SVP at the digital media company Mode Media.
 
Digital production company Defy Media has hired two new execs. Christopher Willey will serve as VP of Development, while Alex Lin will serve as Director of Development. Most recently, Willey served as Head of Development, Digital Networks at Conde Nast Entertainment. Lin most recently served as Manager of Comedy Development at NBC Entertainment. Defy produces over 35 weekly series. According to the company, over 29 of them average over 500,000 views per episode. Defy’s production slate includes three original series set to launch on Verizon’s go90 streaming service in early 2016:
 
Super Fan Builds”: Hollywood prop-makers surprise fans with one-of-a-kind, iconic recreations of an element from their favorite franchise;
 
Clevver Weekly Hollywood Rundown: A take on the week’s entertainment news and celebrity gossip; and
 
100 Things”: Inspirational series that follows Australian world traveler Sebastian Terry as he helps others achieve goals on their “100 Things” lists.
 
 

 
Cynopsis Digital’s Model D Awards, dedicated to innovators who have demonstrated continued excellence in engaging audiences and spurring online growth, are exactly one month away. What does it mean to be singled out for the honor?
 
“As a young company, winning the Model D for Best Informational Web Series was extremely gratifying for Philo.  Not only did our nomination put us in great company with the likes of media giants like CNN, NBC & Syfy, winning validated our business model as our series for Porsche was one of our earliest projects.” – The Philo Media Team, 2014 Model D Winners ·     
 
“We’re thrilled that the great work of the entire team is being recognized. Red Carpet and entertainment are both areas where our brand excels. [When I found out we were finalists], “I walked around and starting telling anyone within shouting distance.” – John Najarian, EVP and GM, E! News and Digital, 2015 Model D Finalist

Register for the November 13 Model D ceremony here.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Social media influencers have never been more important to marketers, but how do you find, and nurture, these crucial opinion shapers? The latest Cynopsis webinar, Finding the Social Media Influencers to Boost Ratings & Brands, on Thursday, October 29, will show you how to identify and reach the tastemakers who can raise awareness and drive engagement.

 
As mentioned, Facebook is set to begin testing some new mobile video features. Cynopsis Digital described those features up top, but, as painful as it is for a writer to admit, reading is rarely as good as seeing. Take a closer look at the new features here.

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