A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

Cyn opsis: DIGITAL
05.29.13

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, May 29, 2013, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

CNN is partnering with BuzzFeed to launch a news video channel on YouTube. The CNN BuzzFeed channel will feature current and archival video footage from CNN as well as original “mash-up” news videos created by the BuzzFeed video team. The two organizations will also collaborate on original list-based posts (something that BuzzFeed is pretty famous for). These lists, as well as CNN/BuzzFeed YouTube content, will also be available on CNN.com. The channel is part of a larger BuzzFeed strategy (for which it has partnered with YouTube) to expand video operations and production. BuzzFeed plans to build a “social video studio” in LA with a focus on developing shareable news and entertainment video content exclusively for YouTube. In addition, BuzzFeed says it will expand its video team (which is led by EVP/Video Ze Frank) to 30 people in the coming months, as well as launch new channels, including a shareable video news format.

Sports Illustrated is launching a daily online talk show called SI Now on June 4. Covering the top sports stories of the day, the 30-minute talk show will begin every weekday at 1pm ET (when traffic peaks) on SI.com. Hosted by Maggie Gray, SI Now will feature appearances from SI writers and editors. Being an online talk show, it will allow viewers to submit questions to Gray and show guests. SI also plans to make the show available on demand, by distributing different clips to relevant areas of SI.com. Ford has signed on as title sponsor of the talk show, which is officially called SI Now Powered by Ford.

Smosh is the first YouTube channel to top the 10 million subscribers. In January, the comedy channel created by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox (and under the Alloy Digital umbrella) became the #1 channel on YouTube when it surpassed Ray William Johnson and 6.8 million subscribers. Four months later, Smosh is sitting in the eight-digits (which gives you an idea of its current growth trajectory).
— In other words: The first to 10 million subscribers on YouTube is an impressive milestone all by itself. But Smosh has been an incredibly strong property for Alloy Digital and its advertisers. A few months back Smosh launched a mobile gaming app, Super Head Esploder-X, which was a top 10 paid app on iTunes within 48 hours of its launch. Last week I wrote about a custom video Hecox and Padilla created for Dr. Pepper soda brand Sun Drop. That video has close to 3.5 million views on YouTube (and should surpass it by the time you read this). Overall, Smosh has 16.6 million total subscribers across five channels.

WE tv plans to offer viewers of its upcoming reality show, Pregnant & Dating, additional video content online on wetv.com. The reality show follows five single, pregnant women as they search for love. One of the women is Rachel, a TV producer in LA who is pregnant with twins. WE tv will share additional content from Rachel’s storyline on the web. The network’s decision to extend a TV story to the web stems from a successful turn at doing exactly that with its highest-rated series, Braxton Family Values. During the third season of that show, WE tv made 10 videos available online, including a five-part original video series that followed one of the stars as she went from learning how to ride a motorcycle to buying her first bike. This storyline actually began on the show, finishing with a cliffhanger to drive viewers to watch the rest online. According to WE tv, from April 1 to May 16, the 10 videos outperformed other content-related videos on the site by 45% (in terms of views) and 69% (in terms of average minutes viewed). Pregnant & Dating premieres on WE tv this Friday, May 13 at 10pm ET.

You still have time to submit to Cynopsis Digital’s Model D Awards, taking place this November, to honor the excellent creators and companies powering the online video content and advertising industries. If you did something cool in the past year, you should submit.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Video ad tech provider Videology has raised $60 million in Series D funding led by Catalyst Investors. Other participants in the round include existing investors Comcast Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, and Valhalla Partners, as well as new investor Pinnacle Ventures. The new funds will go toward international expansion as well as continued investment in the video ad start-up’s products and services, which are designed to help advertisers extend their TV campaigns to web and mobile video. Videology currently operates in 12 counties and services multiplatform video ad campaigns for roughly 900 brands globally.

Hearst Magazines Digital Media has launched five native ad productsspanning a variety of content types, including mobile, social, and video. They are:

• Video Playgroup: Aggregates short-form, themed videos into a single page, with advertisers having the ability to include ads or other branded videos.
• Mobile Flipbook: An image-based ad unit that highlights the top content on the site. Marketers receive placement in the unit, which directs users to a sponsored flipbook.
• Social Live Stream: A scroll that curates selected tweets, Pinterest pins, and other social media posts onto a sponsored page, all centering on a theme. Marketers can push social media posts from their experts.
• Developing Story: A page that surfaces stories revolving around specific material. This page can live on multiple sites across the Hearst network, with advertisers having the ability to pair contextually relevant content.
• Trend Collage: A Pinterest-like branded photo grid. The content can be curated by editors or built with advertiser images. The Collage supports e-commerce by enabling click-to-buy links.

A new IDC forecast puts worldwide tablet shipments at 229.3 million units for all of 2013, which would equal a 58.7% year-over-year growth from the 144.5 million tablet units shipped last year. This is bad news for the PC market, as IDC predicts worldwide tablet shipments to surpass those of “portable PCs” this year and to outpace the entire PC market by 2015. This “marks a significant change in consumer attitudes about [computing] devices and the applications and ecosystems that power them,” said Ryan Reith, Program Manager for IDC’s Mobility Trackers service. IDC credits the current tablet market expansion to the growth of low-cost Android devices. In 2013, IDC expects the worldwide average selling price (ASP) for tablets to drop 10.8% to $381.

A new study from Harris Interactive on behalf of online video site Telly finds that social networks are more influential than search engines in mobile video discovery. Per the results of the study, which surveyed 2,066 adults ages 18 and older, among mobile video watchers, 45% of respondents said they watch videos that are shared by their “friends/connections” via their social networks’ mobile apps. In comparison, 41% of mobile video watchers employ search engines on their device to find videos. As for those who don’t watch videos on their mobile devices, 60% of don’t because they have no interest, 28% don’t because they feel the screen is too small, and 18% don’t because they worry about draining the battery. Overall, the study finds that 35% of US adults who own and use a mobile device indicate that they watch videos on it. Here’s a link to the results (via Brafton).

Turner Sports has launched the Bleacher Report’s Team Stream app for BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Available for free via the BlackBerry World store, Team Stream offers sports news and content from the Bleacher Report and across the web, all of which can be personalized by users’ favorite sports teams.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The behind-the-scenes action at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is not unlike the political intrigue and maneuvering that goes on in HBO’s Game of Thrones, or so argues this video created by the NBC late-night program as part of its running Late Night Digital Originals series. If you’re a fan of either show, check the video out. Game of Desks.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Later – Sahil
Sahil Patel, Editor for Cyn opsis Digital
05.29.13

Roberta Caploe: Editorial Director
Denise O’Connor: Group Publisher, Cynopsis Media
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP Sales & Marketing | 203-218-6480
Classifieds Sales: Trish Pihonak | Director of Operations & Content | 888-702-3858

Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here .

JOB OPENING: DRTV Buyer/PrecisionDemand/NYC: Buyer with exp in national cable and syndication. 3-5 yrs exp. Established industry contacts. Campaign mgmt & optimization. Contact [email protected] (6/4)

JOB OPENING: MGR, SCHEDULING/WETV/NY: 3+ yrs cable/brdcst scheduling, strong Nielsen ratings b’ground. Execute/facilitate short term linear & Multiplatform sched strategy, competitive analysis, & oversee operat’l sched in systems CLICK HERE (6/4)

JOB OPENING: CONTENT PRODUCER/CBS/Studio City: The Content Producer shoots and edits video assets for CBS programming and distributes to media outlets. Up to 10% of travel on the job. To apply and full details CLICK HERE (6/4)

JOB OPENING: SR. ANALYST RESEARCH/ESPN/MIAMI: 3+ yrs. exp. wrkng w/multi-platform data & sales positioning. Exp. w/IBOPE,TGI & ComScore preferred. Strong analytical & presentation required. To apply: www.espncareers.com Job-109868 (6/1)

JOB OPENING: START UP/PRIORITY HIRES/STUDIO CONTROL/STUDIO TECH OPS: Univision/ABC hiring for N ew Network FUSION/Miami: Show Dir, Media Mgr, Asst Dir, Acquis Satellite/Audio/VCO-Lighting-Robotics/Camera Jib and Steadicam Operators needed! Apply; [email protected] (6/1)

JOB OPENING: SR. ANALYST RESEARCH/ESPN/MIAMI: 3+ yrs. exp. wrkng w/multi-platform data & sales positioning. Exp. w/IBOPE,TGI & ComScore preferred. Strong analytical & presentation required. To apply: www.espncareers.com Job-109868 (5/31)

JOB OPENING: START UP/PRIORITY HIRES/STUDIO CONTROL/STUDIO TECH OPS: Univision/ABC hiring for New Ntwk FUSION/Miami: Show Dir, Media Mgr, Asst Dir, Acquis Satellite/Audio/VCO-Lighting-Robotics/Camera Jib & Steadicam Operators needed! Apply here (5/31)

JOB OPENING: MGR, CONSUMER MKT/Nat Geo Channel/DC: 5-7 yrs. Marketing exp. req. TV network exp req. Excellent project management skills with ability to multi task. Must be strategic and have strong consumer mkt exp. Degree req. http://bit.ly/10xdYWY (5/30)

JOB OPENING: AD SALES PLANNER/NYC/DIRECTV: Support ad sales. Developing proposals, reports. Partner with ad agencies to ensure accurate billing. 2 yrs ad/media buying/planning experience req’d. http://bit.ly/1a6SoOl (5/30)

INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free, and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected] .

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].

SITUATION WANTED: INTEGRATED MARKETING POSITION: 6 years marketing/ management experience; Integrated marketing strategies; Social Media; Consumer Insights; Data Analysis; Event Planning, Recent MBA Grad. [email protected]

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.

Copyright Cynopsis 2013

All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2013

To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here .
To unsubscribe from this edition, click here. Or for further assistance please email [email protected].