Cynopsis: DIGITAL
01.23.13

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, January 23, 2013, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

Netflix has made a big push in the last year to produce and distribute original TV-like programming of its own. It’s a way for the leading SVOD service to grow its subscriber base by offering exclusive content that would definitely not be available anywhere else, as well as a way for it to fend off the growing list of companies that want to chip away at its market lead. Now, one of Netflix’s biggest competitors, Amazon, is also kicking it up a notch when it comes to original online programming. The company is planning a new series based on the hit 2009 horror-comedy Zombieland, according to a report from Broadcast Now. More likely than not, the show will be available through Amazon Prime and/or Instant Video. The report from Broadcast Now suggests that each episode will be roughly 30 minutes long, while casting sheets leaked by Gawker Media’s io9 indicate the show will keep the main characters from the movie. Until recently, there had been rumors that a TV adaptation of the feature film was in the works. It now looks like Amazon has snagged those rights up, though don’t expect the show to be ready anytime soon. The film version of Zombieland starred Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin (and featured one of the greatest cameos of all time).

Screen Media Ventures, the company behind the online streaming service PopcornFlix, has launched a new horror film channel on Roku called FrightPIX. Much like PopcornFlix, HorrorPIX is a free, ad-supported channel. It’s launching with over 100 feature-length horror films, spanning a wide range of sub-genres including Creature Feature, Slasher, Splatter, Zombie, Supernatural, Creepy, Cult, Demon, and Gothic, and will look to add 30 new films every month. Screen Media Ventures is also launching a new horror film label through the company’s Screen Media Films division called Screen Media Darkside. The label will focus on the development, production, and worldwide acquisition of new genre films. The FrightPIX Roku app was developed by Float Left Interactive.

Crackle, is now available on smart TVs from LG, Samsung, and Vizio, as well as on Samsung Blu-ray players. The network’s lineup content includes the FX drama Rescue Me, films such as District 9, Underworld, Snatch, and Walk Hard, and original web series like Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and Milo Ventimiglia’s Chosen. Crackle had already been available on Sony’s line of connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has launched a new YouTube channel called Food Tube. It won’t surprise you that the new channel, which is one of the 60 new European channels that received an advance from Google/YouTube, will focus on food-based programming. Content will include recipes from around the world, Q&A sessions between Oliver and his fans, and “Jamie Presents” segments that will feature other celebrity chefs.

Digital First Media, the operator of MediaNews Group, Journal Register Company, and Digital First Ventures, now has access to content produced by world news site GlobalPost’s network of more than 50 journalists. GlobalPost’s reporting, which spans more than 50 countries each month, has received a number of major media awards, including a Peabody and two Edward R. Murrow Awards. The site’s On Location video reports, a collection of 75 video reports from 34 countries, earned both the Peabody and Murrow Awards.

Cross-channel attribution provider Adometry has raised $8 million in a new financing round led by Shasta Ventures, with participation from Austin Ventures and Sierra Ventures. Per the deal, Shasta Ventures’ Jason Pressman is joining Adometry’s Board of Directors. The Austin-based start-up says it will use the new funds to accelerate its product roadmap, make additional hires, and expand into new territories. Its Adometry Attribution platform is designed to help marketers analyze their cross-channel marketing campaigns and then optimize their media spend accordingly. To enable this for active campaigns, Adometry’s platform is integrated into several programmatic buying platforms, including those from Invite Media, MediaMath, and Turn.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Elevate Digital is partnering with Media Ventures Group to expand its network of street-level of interactive digital displays in the US. In a joint release, the companies said Elevate Digital will tap Media Venture Group’s expertise in out-of-home advertising to grow revenue as well as to “create a major market footprint” of interactive displays through a combination of client and agency relationships, channel partnerships with media owners, licensing deals, and capital investment. “The Media Ventures Group and Elevate Digital relationship will accelerate and expand the distribution and use of this innovative product across numerous categories for advertisers, property owners, and municipalities,” said Bill Apfelbaum, Chairman of Media Ventures Group. Per the deal, Apfelbaum is also joining Elevate Digital’s Board of Directors.

In Q4 2012, 40% of connected TV owners in the US watched Netflix content, according to the Connected Intelligence, Application & Convergence Report from The NPD Group. When breaking it down by different age groups, NPD finds that 51% of 18- to 34-year-olds who have a TV connected to the web watched Netflix content on TV during Q4 2012. These include those who own TVs directly connected to the internet as well as those who have another device hooked up to the TV in order to access Netflix content. What’s more, NPD says it appears Netflix users are migrating to the TV set. 21% of connected TV owners surveyed said they have shifted from using OTT video services on the computer to now accessing them via the TV instead. Following the TV screen, The NPD Group findings show that among those surveyed, 14% watched Netflix content through laptop/desktop computers in Q4, while 13% did so on tablets, and 8% via smartphones.

This week in the smartphone wars: iOS is the top-selling smartphone platform in the US with a 51.2% share of sales for the 12-week period ending on December 23, 2012. This data comes from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, which also found that Android held steady year-over-year, only slightly dipping from 44.8% to 44.2% share of smartphone sales for the same 12-week period. Coming in at third was Windows with a sales share of 2.6%. That’s not the only bad news for Android phone manufacturers. According to Mary-Ann Parlato, Analyst at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, while Apple’s strong showing can be attributed to the iPhone 5 and older models attracting various consumer groups, Kantar did find that 19% of iOS sales last year were derived from Android users, compared to 9% in 2011. In other words, the proportion of Android users moving to Apple is increasing.

Per Nielsen‘s 2012 Year in Sports report, which was released yesterday, nearly 60% of smartphone and tablet owners who access sports on their device check this content at least once a day. 12% of smartphone owners and 10% of tablet owners did so more than three times a day during the same timespan. Obviously, when it comes to sports content on mobile devices, the most dominant type is scores and stats. According to Nielsen, among owners of multiple connected devices, smartphones and laptops were the preferred device for checking sports scores (16% each), followed by internet-connected TVs (12%), tablets (9%), and gaming consoles (7%).

Don’t forget to join Cynopsis Digital and a terrific group of experts on January 24 for our Webinar, Capitalizing on Mobile Video: Strategies & Tactics to Drive Revenue. For more information and to register, click here.

Telemundo Media has appointed Mike Rosen to the position of EVP/Ad Sales & Integrated Marketing. Coming over from Starcom MediaVest Group, Rosen will be responsible for leading network, cable, and digital sales teams for Telemundo and mun2, as well as overseeing all ad revenue generation, including Telemundo Media cross-platform sales initiatives and multiplatform integrated marketing solutions. Based in NY, he will report to Jacqueline Hernandez, COO at Telemundo.

Digital management consultancy The 614 Group has named Julia Smith and Eric Urdahl as Partners. Both will collaboratively head up the NY-based company’s European operations. The 614 Group provides consultation and subject-matter expertise on a range of categories, including general business and financial advisory, digital advertising compliance best practices for regulatory and self-regulatory programs, and digital marketing solutions providers. Smith and Urdahl are based in London and Berlin, respectively.

Entertainment marketing agency Trailer Park has hired Leila Amirsadeghi to be its new VP/Client Engagement. In the newly created role, she will be in charge of business development and strategic client partnerships.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

If you’ve been keeping track of any of the YouTube Original Channels charts (whether it’s the one produced by AdAge or the one published by Deadline), you’ll notice that the music concert genre of programming seems to be very sticky on the web. Those kinds of channels/shows are usually up there in terms of audience online. Even if you move away from YouTube’s lineup of original programming channels, music holds a firm place in online content. One of my personal favorite music/performance series happens to be on Crackle. From the Basement, which comes from Grammy-winning producer Nigel Godrich, features performances from a range of popular musicians and bands. The show just wrapped up its third season with new episodes spotlighting the Scissor Sisters and Thundercat. While I’m not too familiar with either act, the third season has featured a number of acts holding prime real estate on my Spotify playlists — Moby, Foster the People, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Feist. If you’re into this sort of thing, check the episodes out.

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Associate Editor for Cynopsis Digital
01.23.13

Denise O’Connor: Group Publisher, Media Entertainment
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