A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM ESPN

Cynopsis: DIGITAL
05.14.13

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, May 14, 2013, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

Disney/ABC Television Group is launching a “special open access preview” today for its upcoming Watch ABC authenticated service, which will offer a live, 24/7 stream of ABC station programming. The preview, which will run through the end of June, will be available to all viewers in the NYC area (WABC-TV) and Philadelphia (WPVI). “Our mission with this special preview is to gather key learnings about the service and the consumers who utilize it in order for our Watch products to be the gold standard experience of authenticated multiplatform viewing,” said Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks, and President of Disney/ABC Television. Following the preview, the plan is to roll out Watch ABC to six other ABC-owned station markets: LA, Chicago, SF, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno. Disney/ABC has also inked a deal with Hearst Television to launch Watch ABC in their 13 ABC station markets in the coming months. Disney/ABC says agreements with other station groups will be announced in the lead-up to the fall TV season, at which point the service should be available in all ABC-owned station markets.

Watch ABC, much like the other Watch-branded apps from the Disney/ABC portfolio, will also offer on-demand access to full episodes of ABC shows to authenticated customers of Comcast, Cablevision, and AT&T U-verse, among others. Initially available online and on iOS and Kindle Fire devices, the Watch ABC app will arrive on Samsung Galaxy devices this summer.

CNET is premiering the fourth season of Always On with Molly Wood today. Hosted by the CNET Executive Editor, the tech-review show puts devices like the Galaxy S4 and the Surface Pro, as well as gadgets like iPhone 5 underwater cases, through a series of real-world tests to see how durable they are. Segments include “torture test,” which recreates viewer-submitted tech horror stories such as forgetting a smartphone in the washing machine; and “road test,” which brings in various professionals to perform product tests as part of their daily lives. With summer on the horizon, this season of Always On will include seeing if the devices and gadgets can survive vacation-related activities such as surfing in Hawaii, skiing in Colorado, or road-tripping from Anaheim to Las Vegas. Always On can be found on CNET.com, AOL On, Yahoo, and CNET’s YouTube channel, as well as the site’s apps for smartphones, tablets, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and other devices.

The Fine Brothers, content creators with more than 730 million views on their flagship YouTube channel, have renewed their transmedia sitcom, MyMusic, for a second season. MyMusic is a part of YouTube’s original programming initiative. The sitcom, which follows a group of people at a successful music studio, is available on The Fine Brothers’ main YouTube channel, with extensions that include ancillary content on a second YouTube channel and social media accounts for the fictional characters in the show. The first season, which ran from April 2012 to January 2013, generated more than 26 million views. The second season is bringing back the full cast, which includes Adam Busch (Men at Work) and Grace Helbig (Daily Grace), as well as new additions Lee Newton and Paul Butcher (Zoey 101). Guest stars for the second season will include other YouTube stars, including Freddie Wong and Joey Graceffa. Production has already begun, with a premiere scheduled for mid-to-late summer 2013.

The second season of The LeBrons, an original animated series from Believe Entertainment Group (BE Group) and the basketball star’s production company Spring Hill Productions, has premiered exclusively on MSN, Xbox, and Windows 8. The family-friendly show focuses on providing positive messages to children and young adults on topics such as family, teamwork, and giving back to the community. LeBron James himself voices one of the show’s main characters, Business. A partnership with the US Army brings a new character into the fold: Bryce, who exemplifies the Army’s values of leadership, education, and training. Viewers can watch new episodes every Friday through June 21 via a dedicated hub on Xbox Video and MSN Video. The first season captured more than 50 million views across the web.

Animal Planet has launched Turtleman Takes Manhattan, a new web series tied to its TV show Call of the Wildman. In this fish-out-of-water reality web series, Ernie Brown, Jr., the star of Call of the Wildman, leaves the backwoods of Kentucky to get a taste of what New York has to offer, including going to a Broadway show, ice-skating in Central Park, and eating at Katz’s Deli. Turtleman Takes Manhattan is part of a slate of new original web series — all associated with an Animal Planet TV show — that the network plans to launch this year. A new season of Call of the Wildman premieres on June 2 at 9pm ET/PT on Animal Planet.

Pemberley Digital has launched a sequel to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a web series that reinterpreted Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Welcome to Sandition, based off of Austen’s unfinished novel Sandition, takes place in the beach town of Sandition, California as it tries to reinvent itself as a modern-day resort destination. The web series features an interactive component via a partnership with Theatrics, which offers a collaborative storytelling platform that allows viewers to interact with the story via YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr posts. This will apparently be done organically, as the show’s narrative includes a beta test for a “life-revealing” app called Domino. Users will be allowed to create their own characters and “perform” as part of the beta-test. Welcome to Sandition is created and executive-produced by Jay Bushman and Margaret Dunlap.

Kin Community has added Coral from RTR Media to its multichannel YouTube network for women. Coral is Kin Community’s first Canadian media partner, and offers entertainment and how-to videos on topics such as finance, health and wellness, household, culture, beauty, and technology. The partnership is described as a way to expand Kin Community’s presence in Canada, which currently brings in 10 million monthly views across the Kin portfolio. Owned and operated by DECA, Kin Community currently reaches more than 6 million subscribers across its network. DECA also owns Pemberley Digital and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Aereo is dropping the $1/day and $80/year pricing options as it preps the launch of its streaming service in Boston. The new pricing structure will start at $8/month, which will offer full streaming access to a bunch of live TV channels plus 20 hours of cloud-based DVR storage. For $4 more, subscribers will have up to 60 hours of DVR storage. Aereo is also offering a one-month free trial to all new subscribers. The new pricing plans go into effect tomorrow, the same day it debuts in Boston. Aereo is currently available on iOS devices, all of the major web browsers, and Roku devices.

Disney Junior’s multiplatform “Pirate and Princess Summer” programming event includes premiering new episodes of Sofia the First and Jake and the Never Land Pirates online (via WatchDisneyJunior.com) and on mobile devices (via Watch Disney Junior iOS apps) a week before they air on television. New episodes of each show will premiere on alternating Fridays from June 14 through August 23. The Watch Disney Junior TV Everywhere service will also offer a live feed of the Disney Channel.
— In other words: If kids no longer differentiate between the screens they watch their favorite shows on, then it makes sense to put up new episodes on the Watch Disney Junior app. Though, by offering new episodes a week in advance, this also feels like a way for Disney to get those young users acclimated to using the app. “Over 70% of households with kids have app-enabled devices in their homes,” said Lauren DeVillier, VP/Digital for Disney Channels Worldwide.  “Having the ability to watch shows is second nature to them so it’s important that we make our shows available on these devices.  Offering ‘Sofia the First‘ and ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates‘ on WATCH Disney Junior before they air on the network is a nice reminder to parents that a majority of people can access the live WATCH services for free as part of their pay tv subscription.”

Netflix has added a slew of Disney and Disney/Pixar titles to its streaming service in the UK and Ireland. Right now, the newly added titles include recent live-action and animated fare such as The Chronicle of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Ratatouille, and Wall-E, as well as Disney classics like Dumbo and The Aristocats. Netflix says in the coming months members in the UK and Ireland will also have exclusive access to titles from Disney, Marvel, and DreamWorks SKG, including The Help, War Horse, People Like Us, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Next year, the selection will expand to Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, John Carter, and The Muppets.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

REGISTER TODAY – ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT!

Date: May 21, 2013 // Time: 1:30-3:00pm ET

Speakers:
Joann Wolferman: Product Leadership, Ad Effectiveness [Nielsen]
Matt Timothy: President, [VINDICO]
Joseph White: Director, Research & Account Planning [Blip]

Peanuts Worldwide has inked a deal with stop-motion animator Khoa Phan to produce 12 new Vine videos for the Peanuts characters. Each of the videos will be based on 12 recognizable themes and elements of the Peanuts brand: the kite-eating tree, Schroeder’s music, Linus’ blanket, Lucy’s psychiatry booth, Snoopy’s dog house, Snoopy himself, the Red Baron, Woodstock, baseball games, football games, the Great Pumpkin, and the Little Red-Haired Girl. Phan is a noted Vine user: to date, he has created more than 100 short-form videos for the app, attracting more than 24,000 followers along the way. Two of his Vines were shortlisted in the “Animate” category for the Tribeca Film Festival’s #6SecFilm competition; he was the only filmmaker to have more than one “film” in the finals.

Join me for Cynopsis Digital’s next informative webinar on online video measurement. We have a wonderful lineup of speakers ready to provide you with the latest data and insights on exactly how people are measuring digital video, and what’s in store for the future as the industry continues to evolve.

News video start-up Wochit has raised $4.75 million in a Series A round from Redpoint Ventures, Cedar Fund, and Greycroft Partners. Wochit produces “hundreds” of news videos every day that publishers can choose from and place on their sites/apps based on what’s relevant to their audiences. The start-up is now working on an initiative with some of its publishing partners to produce, syndicate, and monetize news videos “about any topics as news happens.” Wochit says funds from the Series A round will go toward such new, go-to-market initiatives.

SapientNitro has appointed Tabitha Geary as the VP of its Washington, D.C. office, which serves as the base for the agency’s Mid-Atlantic business. She will oversee the growth of the agency’s Mid-Atlantic business and will report to Ron Shamah, Managing Director for SapientNitro’s New York and Mid-Atlantic regions.

NCM Media Networks has named Beth Hoff as its new SVP/Marketing Partnerships. In her new position, Hoff will focus on new business development as well as oversee campaigns for existing advertising partners. She will report to Bennett Fogel, EVP/Sales and Marketing Partnerships. For seven years Hoff was the SVP/East Coast Sales at NCM Media Networks, a role that will now be filled by Dan Thomas. He will report to Dave Kupiec, EVP/Sales and Marketing with NCM.

Saban Brands has named Jack Sorensen as the new President of The Playforge, the company’s SF-based mobile social games division. He will lead promotional and monetization efforts for The Playforge’s digital intellectual property, including its flagship title Zombie Farm, through transmedia extensions with traditional media, licensing, and merchandising.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The fourth season of Arrested Development debuts exclusively on Netflix all-at-once on May 26. You already know this. But just in case you’ve been living in the woods the past couple of days, Netflix debuted the first full-length trailer for the new season. The good news: it’s funny. But even better news: if you’re in New York City this week (and let’s face it, with it being Upfront season for broadcast networks, you probably are), Netflix has opened up an Original Frozen Banana stand at Columbus Circle. Check out the trailer, but also stop by the stand. Remember: there’s always money in the banana stand.

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Editor for Cynopsis Digital
05.14.13

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JOB OPENING: WRITER, NIGHTLY NEWS/Fox Sports 1, LA, CA: Writes creative, appealing teases & opens. Work w/talent and producers to maintain script. Heavy news writing exp. Min 3+ yrs exp req’d, exp w/INews. Apply http://goo.gl/WHrDr (5/21)

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JOB OPENING: RESEARCH MANAGER/TELEMUNDO/NBCUNIVERSAL/NYC: Sales + media research, analytical guidance for Telemundo. Nielsen tools req. Scarborough, Claritas, Kantar pref. Min 3 Yrs exp. Apply: www.nbcunicareers.com (9937) (5/21)

JOB OPENING: ANALYST, BRAVO PROGRAM RESEARCH/NBCUniversal/NYC: Media research bckgrnd in broadcast/cable ntwrk. Passion for TV, unscripted programming pref. Knwldge of Nielsen system pref. Apply: www.nbcunicareers.com (10093BR) (5/21)

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JOB OPENING: CONTENT PRODUCER/Fast Growing Education-Tech Company/Brooklyn: Dedicated to content production, kwldg of pedagogy and system capabilities. 7+ yrs exp/w digital media prod. wrk kwldg of CSS, HTML, XML pref’d. Apply: Here (5/17)   

JOB OPENING: MGR, CONSUMER INSIGHTS/VEVO/NYC: Support in designing and managing custom research studies across VEVO, incl sales, prgrmmng, product. Req: 5+ yrs primary research exp. Apply/learn more: http://tinyurl.com/cdfwtrv (5/17)

JOB OPENING:  DIRECTOR PR/PUBLICITY/BEDROCKET MEDIA NYC: Lead press & outreach strategy in digital media: fashion, comedy, action sports channels+ corporate. 7+ yrs PR exp w/online entertainment bckgrnd. Resumes: [email protected] (5/17)

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