CYNOPSISDIGITAL
12.15.15

Good morning. It’s Tuesday December 15, 2015, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

When book publishing gets stale, you can always go digital. HarperCollins struck a deal with digital studio Insurrection Media to option and develop books into TV shows and digital series. The first book being considered for adaptation is sci-fi thriller Mila 2.0, written by Debra Driza.

Isn’t video streaming a little futuristic for 1989? Apparently not. A free concert special pulled from Taylor Swift‘s recently-concluded 1989 tour is coming exclusively to Apple Music. It will hit Apple Music on December 20, available exclusively to the service’s subscribers. The special will feature footage of an entire November 28 performance, as well as backstage and rehearsal footage.

The VC dollars keep pouring into VR. The virtual reality technology startup Pixvana has raised $6 million in seed financing from Madrona Venture Group, Vulcan Capital, and others. Led led by several VFX and software vets (including CEO and Lucasfilm alum Forest Key), the company is in the process of building a cloud-based VR video streaming platform.

Information services group Experian is doing a bit of divesting. The company has sold Hitwise, its data collection and behavioral analytics company, to digital marketing firm Connexity, Inc. Simultaneously, Experian sold consumer research company Simmons to Symphony Technology Group, a private equity firm and the parent of research firm Symphony Advanced Media.  "The acquisition of Simmons will enhance the value of our service by generating more highly granular and robust consumer insight profiles," wrote Charlie Buchwalter, CEO of Symphony Advanced Media, in an email to Cynopsis Digital. "This will in turn increase sales opportunities for our media clients as well as enrich the media buying and planning initiatives for agencies and advertisers."

Facebook‘s tentacles continue to creep across the streaming video ecosystem. The company says it has released a new API giving developers support for embedding Facebook’s video players directly into apps and websites. The API allows developers to create a customized video player, modified to the needs of their specific apps (as opposed to using Facebook’s model). Facebook also announced that it is supporting oEmbed, an open standard (already used by the likes of YouTube and Vimeo), making it easier to embed public Facebook content by simply copying and pasting a URL.

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AOL Insights took a look at more than 7,300 moments when individuals engaged with specific content. Among other findings, AOL’s study concluded that users’ reasons for engaging with content are fairly evenly distributed between several different motivations, many of them tied in with emotions. "Entertainment" took the top spot with 18%, followed closely by "finding specific information" (16%). "It’s great to see more ad tech platforms highlighting the importance of emotional advertising," Devra Prywes, VP of Marketing and Insight at the ad tech company Unruly, said of AOL’s study in an email to Cynopsis Digital."Academic research and Unruly’s data in this area have long-shown that high-intensity, emotional content that also gives people reasons to share is key in generating engagement, as well as memorability at point of purchase…The key challenge, though, is for advertisers to connect the content with distribution. It’s not enough to make great content – it needs to be discoverable to people, and quickly, in order to kick off a viral cascade." Take a look at the full AOL infographic here.

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 paidmedia. Programs that surface on the TVI leaderboards are the most hashtagged on Facebook, Google+, and Tumblr, as well as most searched for on Wikipedia (used as a proxy for organic search volume).

All Series (12/7/15 – 12/13/15)

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 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.

Shareablee has released its Social Scorecard of the Top Ten TV Networks for November 2015.To arrive at its ranking, the social analytics company measured total social actions (likes, shares, comments, retweets, dislikes, reblogs) across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube (excluding views). Some of the most notable findings:
– The Top Five TV shows by engagement: SportsCenter, ESPN (69.2 million actions),The Walking Dead, AMC (14.4 million actions), Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family (8.5 million actions),The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NBC (7.1 million actions),Today Show, NBC (7.1 million actions)
– The Top Five TV Networks on Facebook: ESPN (34.2 million actions), ABC (32.2 million actions), Fox News (29 million actions), NBC (28.9 million actions), Telemundo (25.3 million actions)
– The Top Five Networks on Twitter: ESPN (13.2 million actions), ABC (3.9 million actions), NBC (3.2 million actions), FOX (2 million actions), Fox News (1.6 million actions)
– The Top Five Networks on Instagram: ESPN (71.7 million actions), E! (14.2 million actions), AMC (9.1 million actions), FOX (8 million actions), Univision (8 million actions)
– The Top Five Networks on YouTube (excluding views): NBC (1.9 million actions), ABC (909.4 thousand actions), FOX (869.7 thousand actions), CBS (483.7 thousand actions), TBS (264.5 thousand actions)

– Source: Shareablee, November 2015

OpenSlate Engagement Data for the News & Politics Vertical, based on the engagement metric for the week ending 12/13.
Channel (Engagement)/Monthly Views/Total Subs/SlateScore
TheYoungTurks(9.5) / 49,373,190/2,438,053/777
RussiaToday (8.9) /38,025,180/1,680,268/711
justkiddingnews (8.8) /42,190,380/1,428,891/711
rtrussian (8.7) /21,925,800/570,312/671
theliptv (8.5)/ 5,143,380 / 167,850 / 553
TheAlexJonesChannel (8.5) /16,716,210/1,188,351/693
WSJDigitalNetwork (8.5) /5,438,670/310,684/561
yahalashow (8.5) /4,003,380/163,928/535
WashingtonFreeBeacon(8.5) /6,481,650/21,332/503
AlHayahTVNetwork (8.5) /21,127,530/576,595/518
Source: The Engagement metric is one ofOpenSlate’s component scores, and is a measure of a producer’s ability to evoke meaningful interaction with their audience. It is calculated on a scale of 1-10 with higher being better. The OpenSlate Engagement score uses a subset of the data incorporated in the SlateScore to perform a set of unique calculations. It factors in views, comments, likes, and more.

Digital news publisher Mic has brought on a new exec. Cory Haik, The Washington Post‘s Executive Producer and Senior Editor of Digital News, is jumping onboard as Mic‘s Chief Strategy Officer. Haik will be working to drive product, revenue, and growth, according to Mic CEO Chris Altchek. The Washington Post was acquired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2013. Since then, its digital audience has grown rapidly; in hiring one of the WP‘s chief digital architects, Mic seems to be hoping to capture some of that magic. 

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Adweek ranked the 10 best ads of 2015. GEICO‘s Unskippable (that’s both the spot’s title and an accurate description of its content) ingeniously sidestepped the limitations of preroll advertising, effectively plugging the company in just a handful of seconds. A hungry dog stole the show for the remainder of the spot. Take a look here.

CYNOPSIS JOBS – For More jobs, visit Cynopsis.com

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/TNT/ATLANTA: Support TNT w/qualitative/quantitative cross platform research creating actionable insights. Min 1+ yrs exp, strong math skills, statistical background. Full info/apply HERE (12/22)

JOB OPENING: COORDINATOR, AD SALES MARKETING/Travel Channel/NYC: Seeking strong communicator to support development and activation of client-specific marketing solutions and maintain communication tools.  www.scrippsnetworks.com #5161 (12/20)

JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC COORD/Tennis Channel/NYC: Proactive ind who takes initiative can work both independently & part of team seamlessly. Analytical & critical thinking skills. Strong knwlg log editing, formatting & copy req’d. 1-2 yrs log editing, exp w/copy pref’d. Res HERE (12/17) 

JOB OPENING: ACCT EXEC/ABC Full Circle/SFO & NYC: (2 needed) ABC Full Circle the business dvlpmnt team of NTVS needs a passionate, career-minded, self-motivated sales professional for team. Min 5 yrs business dvlpmnt exp brdcst & dig platforms. Apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: SR ANALYST/ESPN/Miami: Deliver creative rsrch initiatives. Promote ESPN properties from a qualitative/quantitative rsrch perspective & support dir of rsrch in cross platform projects Min 3 yrs prof exp w/prior agency, ntwrk or media. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: MGR, DIGITAL PLANNING/NBCU/NYC: Mgr, Digital Sales Planning for the News Group. Lead team of Planners & processes to drive revenue. 4+ years exp. in digital planning. Apply: Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: NAT’L SALES PLANNER/Pop/LA: Support Ad Sales team w/proposals, allocating & stewarding of accounts. Work closely w/AE’s, Traffic, Mktg and MGT on all aspects of biz. Must have TV exp. Agency a plus. Media Math, Excellent Comm & MS Office. Email resume HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: SPORTS PROGRAMMING ANALYST/NCC MEDIA/NYC: Collect and maintain sked info; analyze Nielsen audiences; support marketing efforts. Strong knowledge of Sports. Exceptional problem solving skills and adv’d experience with Microsoft Office. Resumes HERE (12/17) 

JOB OPENING: SALES ASSOC, DEMAND/WO PROGRAMMATIC: Candidate to connect w/high quality leads. 1+ yrs exp selling ad solutions or software to Advertisers, Agencies or DSP’s. BA/BS req’d or equivalent exp w/in advrtsng tech ind. NY, SF, LA, Chic, ATL. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: ENGINEERING COORD/NBCU/East Coast: Min 3 yrs; exp in a professional office environment. Ability to partner with management to support the engineering team with administrative operations at WCAU. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: MGR, OPERATIONS/SPIKE/NYC: Rundown/traffic creation. BA deg w/at least 3 – 5 yrs relevant exp & 3+ yrs managing a server and working in Dig Asset Mngmnt on a daily basis. Exp owning onboarding process for a server &/or Dig Asset Mngmnt system. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMING/EDITORIAL/MTV/NYC: Driven, focused & versatile candidate to transform our college brand, mtvU, into a new multi-platform college editorial network. 5-7 yrs exp in Digital Media. BA in Journalism or media comm. Resume HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, LOCAL SALES/WFAA/DFW: Create/execute WFAA sales strategy to meet revenue goals across all station platforms. 3 yrs exp. Mng staff local mgrs., integrated acct execs, acct mgrs. & and sales assistants. Apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: DIR, CROSS-PLATFORM VIDEO YIELD & STRATEGY/Viacom/NYC: Strategic person w/strong quant & analytical skills, ind knwlg, prgrmtic exp. Resp for max ad rev &d yield across full Portfolio of Brands. Min 5-7 yrs relevant exp. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: DIR, AD SALES/Edge Media/NYC: 2 Positions; Multi-platform ad sales for natl sports/entertainment properties. Seek 1 Natl & 1 DR sales pro; 3+ yrs natl tv or digital exp req; excel comm skills; self-sufficient; self-motivated sellers; resumes to [email protected] (12/17)

JOB OPENING: CONTENT MANAGER/CNBC PRIME/Englewood Cliffs NJ: The content manager will oversee development of content and media for CNBC Prime’s entertainment website, cnbcprime.com. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: WEB PRODUCER/CNBC/PRIME/Englewood Cliffs NJ: The web producer is responsible for maintaining, coordinating and updating content for CNBC Prime’s entertainment website. This includes managing numerous digital initiatives. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: SR RESEARCH ANALYST/Latitude/Bos: Design/execute creative, custom, qual & quant studies for media & tech clients. 2+ yrs media rsrch/consumer insights exp & BA deg. Strong knwlg media ind, mainly TV ntwrks & sponsorship/advrtsng. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC COOR/LA/TEMP: Maintain daily operation of the traffic operation for PIVOT. Resolve discrepancies, quality control/inventory, check logs and coordinate Ad Sales. Traffic and/or On Air EXP preferred. Email resume to [email protected] (12/17)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, TALENT DVLPMNT/VH1/NYC FREELANCE: Booking comedic talent. Casting & Dvlpmnt for series, events, specials & tentpoles. Strong connections & relationships within comedy circles a must & able to successfully scout est’d & up & coming comedians. Resume HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: SENIOR ASSOCIATE/FINSBURY/NYC: Finsbury, a WPP Company, is hiring PR/Communications professionals at the Senior Associate and VP levels. Seeking those with corporate, sports, media and brand marketing experience. To send your resume, or for more information, email: [email protected] (12/17)

JOB OPENING: EXECUTIVE ASST/Meredith Viera Show/NYC: To support EP.Liaison between Supervising Producers & prod staff regarding meetings, updates & staffing. 2 yrs professional admin exp req’d. BA deg or equiv work exp. Coord Travel and arrange calendar. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: DIR, MUSIC & PUBLISHING/NATGEO/DC: Draft & negotiate print/digital publishing & music transactions, incl author agmts, life rights, sync, master use, composer, soundtrack & music library. JD & music legal exp req. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: COORDINATOR, INTEGRATED MKTG/TV ONE/NYC: Assist team in dvlpng mktble custom sales opps thru brainstorming & liaising w/prgmng/prod teams to create TV & cross-platform prgrms. 1-2 yrs exp @agency, media co or sales/mktg. Full info/apply HERE (12/17)

JOB OPENING: VIDEOGRAPHER/EDITOR/MINER&CO STUDIO/NYC: Shoot & edit video of audience insights research. Clients Incl the Most Recognizable Networks in TV & Leading Brands. Experience shooting/editing focus groups and in-home mini-documentaries. Apply HERE (12/17)

CASTING CALL: Companies can showcase their casting notices/casting calls here. For information on rates and specs for posting a casting notice, please email Trish at [email protected]

EXPERT SERVICES ADS: These ads are for companies or people who offer an expertise in the field of media by way of production, voice over artistry, writing, set development, etc. For information on rates and specs for posting an Expertise Service ad email Trish at [email protected]

WINTER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: PRODUCTION INTERNSHIPS/MediaPlace/Long Island City: For a digital media agency and prod co. Production/post-production and social media. Min 3 days per week. Unpaid offering credit. Res/cover letters to: [email protected]. / 212-631-9800 x0. www.mediaplace.us (12/20)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED… There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad… for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected]

E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203-899-8459 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

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