8.28.14

Entertainment:

·         VHX rolls out new admin updates to make it easier for indie producers to self-distribute their films

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/28/vhx-admin-updates/

·         Netflix acquires ‘The Blacklist’ for $2MM an episode

o   http://deadline.com/2014/08/the-blacklist-netflix-deal-2-million-825836/

·         Lionsgate to re-release ‘Saw’ for its tenth year anniversary

o   http://deadline.com/2014/08/saw-re-release-10th-anniversary-lionsgate-825810/

·         Lebron James pulls out of a few of his Hollywood projects

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lebron-james-pulls-back-hollywood-728674

·         Netflix plans to launch its first original French series ‘Marseille’

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-orders-first-french-original-728789

·         MipTV and Mipcom is launching MipCancun to target Latin America TV markets

o   http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/reed-midem-launches-mip-cancun-1201292855/

·         Rdio partners with Toronto Film Festival to announce a free Ellie Goulding show

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/6229453/rdio-partners-with-toronto-film-festival-announces-free

·         Please see below for a breakdown of how YouTube is going Hollywood

o   http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-28/youtube-hollywoods-hit-factory-for-teen-entertainment#r=hp-ls

Tech:

·         Twitter opens its analytics dashboard so everyone can track the performance of their tweet

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/27/how-many-people-see-your-tweets-twitter-opens-its-nifty-analytics-dashboard-to-everyone/

·         Google is allegedly searching for a new office space in Playa Vista

o   http://deadline.com/2014/08/tech-bits-google-searching-for-huge-new-space-in-playa-vista-825723/

·         Vine rolls out a new suite of editing tools to compete against Instagram’s videos

o   http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/vine-fights-back-against-instagram-with-new-video-editing-tools-1201292070/

Deals:           

·         Vivendi is in exclusive talks to acquired Telefonica’s Brazilian unit for $9.8B

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/telefonica-and-telecom-italia-competing-for-vivendis-brazilian-business/?_php=true&_type=blogs&module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Mergers%20&%20Acquisitions&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body&_r=0

·         Chapman University and HID Global pair up to create a new ‘Internet of Things’ incubator

o   http://www.socaltech.com/chapman_university_hid_global_tie_on_incubator_effort/s-0056679.html

Business:

·         Alibaba’s profits nearly tripled in its last quarter

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/morning-agenda-hackers-hit-u-s-banks/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Morning%20Agenda&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

·         HP is recalling six million laptop cords because they could start fires

o   http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/28/6078501/hp-laptop-power-cord-recall

Exec Moves:

Retail:

·         Heidi Klum partners with New Balance

o   http://www.wwd.com/footwear-news/retail/heidi-klum-for-new-balance-7851494?module=hp-fn

Startups:

·         Acorns has been dubbed the Tinder of investing, by investing a percentage of each transaction on Wall Street

o http://www.wired.com/2014/08/acorn-app/

·         SeatGeek, ‘the web’s largest ticket search engine’, raised $35MM in Series B from led by Accel along with Carmelo Anthony’s fund and Boston’s Celtics CEO’s fund

o http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/28/seatgeek-series-b/

o http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/28/seatgeek-nabs-35m-from-athletes-and-musicians-whose-tickets-it-helps-sell/

·         KKBOX, a Taiwanese music streaming service, raised $104MM to expand overseas

o http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/27/taiwan-based-streaming-music-service-kkbox-raises-104m-to-expand-overseas/

·         Wikia, a user-generated publishing site/content portal, raised $15MM to expand into the Japanese and Asian markets

o http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/27/user-generated-content-portal-wikia-raises-another-15m-to-crack-into-asia/

Government:

Other:

·         AIG’s CEO, Robert Benmosche, has roughly a year left to live

o   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-28/benmosche-sped-up-aig-exit-amid-year-to-live-prognosis.html

·         Joan Rivers was rushed to NYC’s Mount Sinai hospital when she stopped breathing during throat surgery

o   http://deadline.com/2014/08/joan-rivers-hospital-cardiac-arrest-826191/

·         Brad and Angelina got secretly married in France

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-are-728810