Fabric Notable Stories, July 8, 2016: Fanatical Video Viewers; Facebook Kills Questions, Techxit
David Bloom
Journalist, host, consultant covering the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley
Curated by David Bloom
Wondering where that big bump video views came from in Nielsen’s latest look at who’s watching what? Well, Alex Taussig, a partner with Lightspeed Venture Partners, has a great piece looking at who’s doing the viewing, and where the next (and probably last) big bump will come from: those driverless cars with bored passengers.
Speaking of meals, the Sun Valley Mogulfest continues with expectations of more deal-making, plus the frozen IPO market may be thawing, says a prominent (and decidedly hopeful) investor. And while Facebook grapples with what difficult video will be shown on its site, Snapchat gets sued over partners' allegedly lewd images and TV news remains the go-to source for many (but it’s changing). -DB
Digital Media, Statistics
The fanatics of online video are growing the pie
By Alex Taussig, partner at Lightspeed Ventures
Too often, the discussion of digital media centers around new players stealing share from older ones?—?assuming the pie is fixed. Nielsen recently demonstrated evidence to the contrary. The pie of total video minutes has actually grown substantially due to a group of users I’ll call “internet fanatics.” (I’ll draw much of my data below from Nielsen’s Q1–2016 Total Audience Report, which I’d encourage you to read for more detail.)
This additional hour came almost entirely from increased smartphone (37 min), tablet (12 min), and internet on PC (10 min) usage. Surprisingly, the increase in internet video across all platforms has not cannibalized the older mediums, with the exception of live TV, which continues to drop. Instead, the size of the video pie has grown by 10% in only a year.
The story of the growing video pie is that a small, but extremely active group of smartphone and tablet users are consuming massive amounts of video. Somehow they are finding the time, outside of their other sources of video, to consume this additional channel.
Publishing, Traditional Media, News
For News Content, TV Is Still King
Americans are increasingly accessing news online through websites, apps and social media services also
By Jack Marshall
https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-news-content-tv-is-still-king-1467913265
The Washington-based think tank surveyed over 4,600 U.S. adults between January 12 and February 8 who are members of its “American Trends” survey panel, and found 57% of respondents said they regularly consume TV news. Meanwhile, 38% of respondents said they often get news online; 25% from radio and 20% from print newspapers.
Of all the news media examined in the survey, Pew suggested print newspapers are perhaps in the most precarious position. As of early 2016, just 20% of U.S. adults often get news from print newspapers, Pew’s research suggests, down from 27% in 2013.
MogulFest, M&A, Traditional Media
Media Moguls Talk Deals at Sun Valley
A wave of deal-making may be in the offing at the annual Idaho retreat
https://www.wsj.com/articles/media-moguls-talk-deals-at-sun-valley-1467928553
Getting bigger could help content players get their programming on traditional and new media platforms, giving them more leverage against distribution giants like Comcast and the behemoths that have emerged from the mergers of AT&T Inc. and DirecTV, and Charter Communications Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc.
Potential targets could include the likes of AMC Networks and MGM as well as Scripps Networks Interactive, analysts have said.
Although there is constant speculation that a tech giant will make a play for a media company, Mr. Diller said those who go down that road do so “at their peril.”
Investment, Tech
Unicorns get funding, little start-ups less so
By Jon Swartz
Such is the climate in the venture-capital world that unicorns — dozens of privately-held start-ups valued at more than $1 billion — are gobbling a higher percentage of VC-funded investments in the U.S., according to a report Thursday from market researcher PitchBook Data.
A record 39% of capital investments, or $8.78 billion, went to unicorns in the second quarter, more than double the $4.06 billion (20%) in the same quarter a year ago.
Investment, Tech, Exit
Marc Andreessen Predicts A Lot More Tech IPOs
By Leena Rao
https://fortune.com/2016/06/14/andreessen-horowitz-ipo/
“We believe the pendulum has gone too far against going public,” he said at Bloomberg’s technology conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.
Andreessen, a high-profile Silicon Valley investor and former Netscape co-founder, said that tech IPOs would pick up in 2017 and 2018. Many startups, he said, are already in the process of getting ready and that IPO filings will therefore pick up.
Andreessen also said that artificial intelligence would be the next battleground for both large companies and startups. “Amazon has lapped everyone in AI this year,” he said, referring to the e-commerce giant’s success with its virtual assistant and home automation device Echo. “Amazon has set a new benchmark.”
Livestreaming, Social Media
How to Live-Stream Like a Pro on Facebook Live
By Stephen Baldwin
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/how-live-stream-pro-facebook-live
But let’s say you’re working for an agency, or an educational institution, a ball team, a software company, or a news organization. Chances are that you’d like to create a better, higher quality video impression on Facebook than what's possible via a basic mobile phone or desktop webcam. To do this means using a professional camera, and may also entail a pro audio set up as well (for example, to livecast a panel discussion, you’ll need multiple microphones and a mixer).
Fortunately, Facebook makes it easy to plug the output of your pro-level video and equipment into Facebook, making it viewable by Facebook’s huge audience.
Social Media, Demographics
The winners and losers of Snapchat's new Memories feature
By Garrett Sloane
https://digiday.com/platforms/winners-losers-now-snapchat-growing/
Snapchat is going mainstream. While that might ruffle hardcore users, brands and advertisers should find the app more welcoming. As Fleetwood Mac once sang: Even children get older. And Snapchat’s getting older too.
Social Media, Demographics
Snapchat’s user base is getting older: How should marketers respond?
By Patricio Robles
First, even if the risk of a young user exodus is small, changing demographics could prompt changes in behavior on Snapchat.
For example, older users might exhibit different usage patterns than younger users, or younger users might alter how they use the app to deal with the "my mom is on here" phenomenon.
Some of these behavioral changes could be of importance to marketers as they work to create effective Snapchat campaigns.
Social Media, Litigation
Snapchat Sued for Exposing Kids to Media Partners' "Sexually Offensive Content"
By Eriq Gardner
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/snapchat-sued-exposing-kids-media-909096
The putative class action was filed on Thursday in California federal court by Mark Geragos, the same attorney who is a popular talking head on the media circuit. He's now representing a John Doe and 150 million other Snapchat users in a complaint that alleges violations of the Communications Decency Act as well as other laws.
Specifically, the legal action takes issue with Snapchat Discover, by which users come across content from "media partners" including Buzzfeed, Vice and MTV. According to the complaint, Snapchat helps curate the content and "exercises direct control over its editorial content and what is published to the consumer." The lawsuit adds that Snapchat's "terms of service" lack warnings about offensive content on Snapchat Discover.
DB: Snapchat may be getting older, but clearly not fast enough to avoid this possible class-action suit from a prominent lawyer often seen commenting on TV about legal cases.
Social Media, Censorship
Facebook Decides Which Killings We’re Allowed to See
By Joseph Cox and Jason Koebler
https://motherboard.vice.com/read/philando-castile-facebook-live
As Facebook continues to build out its Live video platform, the world’s most popular social network has become the de-facto choice for important, breaking, and controversial videos. Several times, Facebook has blocked political or newsworthy content only to later say that the removal was a “technical glitch” or an “error.”
In April, for instance, Facebook temporarily blocked six pro-Bernie Sanders groups and five groups supporting Filipino politician Rodrigo Duerte. It elected to leave up a video depicting the murder of its videographer, Antonio Perkins, but removed a live video uploaded by ISIS sympathizer Larossi Abballa, who filmed himself after murdering two people in France. Facebook has also removed images of women breastfeeding and images of breast cancer survivors’ mastectomies.
Messaging
How Facebook's Messenger Became a Popular Mobile Messaging Service
By eMarketer
Facebook Messenger will have 105.2 million active users in the US this year. Four out of 10 mobile phone users will use it, making Messenger the leading over-the-top (OTT) mobile messaging app, as explored in a new eMarketer report, “Facebook Messenger: Strategies for Customer Service, Ecommerce, Content and Advertising” (eMarketer PRO customers only).
Streaming Media
‘How I Sold My Web Series to Netflix’: The Director of ‘EastSiders’ Explains His Secret
By Kit Williamson
https://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/eastsiders-lgbt-web-series-sold-netflix-kit-williamson-1201701822/
After the first two episodes went viral, we launched a Kickstarter to finance the remainder of the first season. We were then approached by Viacom’s LGBT cable channel Logo about premiering the new episodes on their digital platform. Shortly after debuting on Logo, we were picked up for DVD and VOD distribution by Wolfe Video, an LGBT indie film distributor, and Logo broadcast the entire season on cable as a TV movie. We returned to Kickstarter to raise over $153,000 to shoot a second season. We’ve been able to broker TVOD (Transactional Video On Demand) deals for both seasons, including an exclusive window on Vimeo On Demand, and SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) deals with several services for Season 1, and I’m thrilled that Season 2 will be exclusively available on Netflix, the world’s largest SVOD service. Through this process, I’ve learned a great deal about the world of acquisitions, and these are the four biggest pieces of advice I can offer anyone looking to sell a series to these platforms.
Techxit, Brexit, International
What startups should expect from the Brexit fallout
Some tips from Index Ventures.
By Noah Kulwin
https://www.recode.net/2016/7/6/12106142/startups-expect-brexit-index-ventures
- London was previously the startup capital of choice in Europe. Index cautions that tech companies should look elsewhere for talent and office space as events proceed; think Dublin, Amsterdam or Berlin.
- Index is advising that the most likely (but hardly guaranteed) outcome is that the EU will negotiate with the U.K. to allow the free movement of labor, if not necessarily the free movement of people. The worst-case scenario, however, is that the negotiations stall out before the exit is supposed to happen and the U.K. loses access to the all-important EU single market.
- Though it might be more costly to do business in the U.K. because it’ll be harder to get other European talent, the flip side is that certain costs — property and currency, in particular — might go down.
- In order to compensate for Brexit, the U.K. government might offer startups and other firms a bunch of carrots for opening offices in the country.
Digital Marketing, Online Media
5 Top Trends for Digital Marketing in 2016
What the Experts Say Will Happen in the Rest of the Year
By Jonathan LaCoste
https://www.inc.com/jonathan-lacoste/5-top-trends-for-digital-marketing-in-2016-.html
Consumers no longer think personalized marketing is creepy. In fact, 73% of them prefer brands that use information to personalize their shopping experiences. Why? Because consumers demand immediacy and expect brands to meet their context.
"Personalization can result in a better user experience," Berke said. "Whether it be marketing or in-app or on-site experiences, you can tailor those based on what you know about that user and that can result in a much better relationship with that customer."
Personalization also gives marketers more freedom with their content - they don't have to stick to a rigid content schedule organized by theme. And that freedom is a good thing, according to Brian Solis, a top analyst at Altimeter Group.
Traditional Media, Olympics of Challenges
NBC Sports Execs Express Optimism in Spite of Problem-Plagued Rio Olympics
By Marisa Guthrie
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/zika-protests-dismembered-body-parts-907913
There were "concerns about security, concerns about infrastructure," Tirico told THR. "And the reality of a city that has opulence in one spot and a very short distance away families living in favelas and the moral question of spending for a global event. As we got closer to the game there was a very pull-it-together spirit from the Brazilians. They don’t want their country to look bad on the global stage. They’re very proud of their heritage and their country."
The sports division currently has 150 on the ground in Rio; that number will swell to about 2,600 once the network is fully staffed. All employees have been given detailed tutorials on local customs, regulations and information on how to remain safe.
Traditional Media, Advertising
NBC Packages 'SNL' With Primetime Programming in Upfronts, Wins Big Price Hikes
By Jeannine Poggi
https://adage.com/article/special-report-tv-upfront/nbc-puts-snl-ad/304860/
The peacock is selling the 42nd season of "SNL" as part of its primetime package during the upfronts, instead of grouped with other late-night fare, where it has previously lived, according to several media buyers and people familiar with negotiations.
Advertisers aren't balking at "SNL" hikes in the cost to reach 1,000 viewers, an industry standard known as CPMs, up as much as 20% to 40%, according to a media buyer and person familiar with the negotiations.
Digital Media, Music
Fusion is launching a new website about music news and social justice called TrackRecord
By Noah Kulwin
https://www.recode.net/2016/7/7/12118002/fusion-univision-launch-music-news-site-track-record
TrackRecord will be overseen by Univision Music exec Jordi Oliveres, and the site’s managing editor is Jeff Ihaza. Ihaza has previously written for places like The Fader, Gawker and the Awl (including this excellent piece on the content farms of rap stars like Waka Flocka Flame).
TrackRecord is just the latest in a series of digital plays from Univision, including the $27 million it paid for a majority stake in satirical news site the Onion late last year. Univision kicked the tires on investing in Gawker Media late last year as well, and the company has been frequently floated as a potential bidder in Gawker’s bankruptcy auction this summer.
Publishing, Fintech, Acquisitions
Digiday Media acquires Tradestreaming, a B2B fintech publication
By Paul Kontonis
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/digiday-media-acquires-tradestreaming-b2b-fintech-paul-kontonis
According to CB Insights and KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech 2015 in Review Report, $13.8 billion in VC funding was deployed to fintech companies globally, more than double the value of VC investment in fintech in 2014. Fintech investment has continued its ascension in 2016. According to Accenture, global investment in fintech startups in the first quarter of 2016 grew 67 percent year-over-year to $5.3 billion. Since 2010, over 2,500 companies have received $50 billion in investments to change the flow of money.
Tradestreaming is for those obsessed with the changing nature of money including banks, asset management, brokers, collaborative finance, fintech investors and lending institutions. The media brand will chronicle, analyze and understand technology’s impact on finance and how it’s changing the business through creating content, services and community that foster interaction between finance and technology industries.
Conferences of Note
O’Reilly Artificial Intelligence, Sept. 26-27, New York City https://conferences.oreilly.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-deep-learning-bots-ny
