Cynopsis: DIGITAL
11.20.12

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, November 20, 2012, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

Rewards-based social TV service Viggle has agreed to acquire GetGlue for $25 million in cash and 48.3 million shares of stock. Under the terms of the deal, Viggle will now operate both the Viggle and GetGlue brands. GetGlue Founder and CEO Alex Iskold will join Viggle in a senior executive capacity and as a member of its Board of Directors. Viggle will take in all 34 GetGlue employees. Launched in January 2012, Viggle rewards users for checking into their favorite TV shows by offering them points, which can be redeemed for real-world prizes from places like Best Buy, Amazon, Fandango, Hulu Plus, and iTunes. GetGlue is a social TV service that has been around since 2007. It currently boasts over 3.2 million registered users and more than 500 million entertainment ratings and check-ins to date. The combined company has a reach approaching 4.5 million registered users.

WIGS, the women-centric drama channel on YouTube from Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia, is debuting a new eight-part series next Monday, November 26, called Kendra. Starring Sarah Jones (Alcatraz) in the title role, the show follows a post-op nurse and the interactions she has with her patients, including one played by Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter). Written and directed by Jon Avnet, new episodes will air Mondays and Fridays.

IFC has premiered a new animated series that will serve as a companion show to its original TV program, Whisker Wars. Titled Total Bearding Network, the series spotlights the world of “competitive bearding.” The voice cast includes comedian Jim Santangeli as veteran former champion Ken Guntruck and IFC’s 2012 “Adopt-A-Comic” Chris Gethard (The Chris Gethard Show, The Other Guys, This American Life) as his facially hair-challenged co-anchor. Written and directed by Dan Meth (CollegeHumor Originals), the series has premiered exclusively on IFC.com. New episodes will roll out every week through December. The second season of Whisker Wars premieres on IFC this Friday, November 23, at 10pm ET.

Dyle Mobile TV and Elgato have launched a new ATSC-Mobile tuner that will allow iOS device owners to watch live local TV via the EyeTV app. The tuner connects to iOS devices via the dock connector allowing consumers to watch live programming on-the-go from participating Dyle stations, such as FOX and NBC, depending on the market. Dyle says the tuner receives the broadcast signal from an antenna, which means it does not require a Wi-Fi connection and doesn’t use up any mobile data. The free EyeTV app also offers playback capabilities and an electronic programming guide. The EyeTV Mobile tuner is priced at $99.95, available from Elgato online via its own website and Amazon, as well as other retail locations. Dyle Mobile TV comes from the Mobile Content Venture, a joint venture of 12 major broadcast groups including FOX, NBC, Cox, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, Hearst, and Meredith, among others, to bring live television to mobile devices.

Banijay Group is partnering with multiplatform French producer Mediatic System to launch a 24-hour celebrity and entertainment news channel on the CanalSat platform called Non-Stop People. The partners say that the continuous coverage will be powered by a team of 30 journalists reporting from regional hubs like Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and London. Non-Stop People will feature news bulletins every 15 minutes, which will be complemented by assorted features and packages that dive deeper into the top stories. Digital extensions will include smartphone and tablet apps as well as a dedicated website that will run breaking news and offer exclusive video content. Banijay and Mediatic will work together on operational and editorial oversight of the channel.

Transmedia production company beActive has launched the beActive TV app for iOS and Android devices. Available for free in Apple’s App Store and Google Play, the app allows users to access on-demand content produced by beActive in recent years, mostly powered via a network of YouTube channels the company launched earlier this year. Some of the content that will be available on the app include a web series based on the feature film The Knot, other series such as Girl Heart Boy, Beat Girl, and Collider, as well as documentaries like Road to Revolution and 350 South. Aside from letting users watch the content for free, the app also allows users to subscribe to individual series in order to get updates on when new episodes are available, as well as share episodes via social networks. beActive is currently beta testing a similar app for connected TVs.

The IAB, MMA, and MRC have released updated mobile web ad measurement guidelines for public comment. The guidelines seek to “provide a framework for governing measurement of mobile web-based ads across the mobile interactive ecosystem.” They’re primarily designed for mobile marketers, wireless operators, mobile publishers, and ad-serving companies, and can be used by mobile media planners and buyers to determine measurement quality. The public comment period closes on December 21. Two important things to note within these revisions: The guidelines now require client-side counting for mobile web ad impressions, which the partners say will increase consistency with computer-based ad measurement and may help to reduce mobile discrepancies. And while they do not require measuring viewable impressions in the mobile web just yet, the guidelines do say that mobile media needs to be prepared to make viewable impressions a key aspect of the currency, as soon as it’s technically feasible.

Live online video solutions provider Streamworks International has become the content delivery service for RUPTLY, a new global video news agency headquartered in Berlin and a fully owned subsidiary of Russia Today Television. Per the deal, Streamworks will design, build, and manage a video news content management delivery system for RUPTLY, as well as provide streaming videos to the agency’s commercial customers. The company will supply software, proprietary hardware, and platforms to RUPTLY so customers can access the new contents. Streamworks notes it will be a key partner of RUPTLY’s launch as the agency plans to shoot, edit, and distribute video on a “digital first” basis.

Shazam and Frank N. Magid Associates have released the results of a study that measured the differences in second-screen advertising between groups of people who used the Shazam for TV capability versus those who didn’t. It was conducted over the course of three weeks, during which participants were recruited to watch a primetime TV show live. The study measured the participants’ interaction with a Shazam-enabled ad that ran during the broadcast. The study found that people who used Shazam to tag the ad on TV were three times as likely to interact with the brand through desirable follow-up actions after seeing that ad (68%), versus those who didn’t use Shazam (23%). People who used Shazam were also more than twice as likely to talk about the brand or the ad with others (55% versus 25%). “Since the launch of Shazam for TV advertising in 2011, we have seen people use the app to dramatically shift how they consume advertising,” said Evan Krauss, Shazam’s EVP/Advertising. “In every industry vertical, from auto to finance to retail, we have seen mobile engagement using the second screen extend people’s interactions with the brand or product from a 30-second ad to several minutes of engagement.” Other findings from the study include:

• 55% of people who tagged the ad cited that one of the reasons they did so was to bookmark it to check it out later in addition to the immediate post-viewing engagement. For those who were in the market for that product, the number jumps to 65%.
• People who used Shazam had a higher recall of the ad and its message versus those who didn’t.
• 71% of people who tagged the ad liked the brand, compared to 61% for those who did not tag it.

In a head-to-head comparison of “incentivized” video ads versus pre-rolls conducted by opt-in video ad solutions provider Jun Group, incentivized beat out pre-rolls in categories such as completion rates, viewer engagement, brand favorability, and purchase intent. In terms of completion rates, the findings show that viewers are 50% more likely to complete an incentivized video ad then a pre-roll (98% versus 67% CRs). In addition, viewers are twice as likely to interact with a brand after watching an incentivized video ad and three times as likely to share them. Among the other findings, Jun Group says that incentivized video ads are more successful at driving brand favorability and purchase intent, whereas pre-rolls function better at boosting brand awareness. The findings are based on a sample of 7.7 million incentivized video ad views from Jun Group campaigns running between May and August 2012, as well as industry pre-roll data.

AOL has appointed Jack Bamberger as its new Head of Agency and Industry Relations. He will work with the company’s largest advertising clients, the holding companies, and agencies. He will be responsible for advancing AOL’s ad partnership efforts, building creative solutions across platforms and identifying new revenue opportunities for agencies and their clients. Bamberger will also oversee AOL’s industry relationships with the likes of the 4As, IAB, AAF, ANA, as well as the company’s Digital Content NewFront next year. Based in NY, he will report to Jim Norton, SVP/AOL Advertising.

Digital ad solutions company Undertone has named Robert Schwartz its new SVP/Corporate Strategy and Business Development. In the newly created position at the company, he will oversee its global corporate strategy, business development, and financial planning and analysis, as well as lead growth initiatives and mergers and acquisitions.

Anthony Faulise has joined Publishers Clearing House Digital as General Manager of the Play and Win division. At work in the newly created role at the company since October 22, Faulise is tasked with leading a team of game developers and marketers to constantly refresh and grow PCH Digital’s portfolio of casual gaming properties on the web, mobile devices, and social channels. The Play and Win portfolio is comprised of PCHGames.com, PCHLotto.com, PCHSlots.com, and Candystand.com. Faulise will be based in NY.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Here’s something different from WIGS: Yesterday the YouTube channel premiered a short film called Gumdrop. As is the custom with any original content on WIGS, Gumdrop is also the name of the main character. What’s different is that Gumdrop is an actress, and a CGI robot. Written and directed by Kerry Conran (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow), and co-directed by Stephen Lawes, the film goes inside the casting room as Gumdrop auditions for a new role, while also detailing her “history” as a robot actress. The filmmakers digitally replaced actresses from movies like The Gold Rush with Gumdrop, instantly awarding her a pretty impressive filmography, which includes roles alongside Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire.

The creative design team behind Gumdrop is pretty impressive: Concept Designer Iain McCaig (The Avengers, Star Wars) and Art Director Venti Hristova (The Avengers, Iron Man 2). Hristova also gives voice to the robot. Give it a look.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Associate Editor for Cynopsis Digital
11.20.12

Denise O’Connor: Group Publisher, Media Entertainment
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

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