Monday, September 22, 2014

9.22.14

Entertainment:
·         Amazon is trying to upend the TV ratings system by allowing audiences to determine and rank the shows they want renewed, rather than TV execs and focus groups
·         James Caan will star in Crackle’s second full-length feature “The Throwaways”
·         “The Lion King” has surpassed “The Phantom of the Opera” as Broadway’s highest grossing show of all time by passing $6.2B at the box office
·         Peter Chernin and AT&T’s Otter Media to acquire a majority stake in Fullscreen
·         Joseph Gordon Levitt is interested in playing Edward Snowden in Oliver Stone’s next film
·         Paula Deen has reportedly bought Food Network footage for a digital venture
·         “Maze Runners” brought in $32.5MM over the weekend
·         Brazil’s Globocast and Colombia’s Caracol TV to launch a Hispanic pay-TV channel
Tech:
·         Tech M&A was up 55% over last year, soaring to its highest level since 2000
·         Respected venture capitalist, Bill Gurley, is worried about the amount of money being poured into Silicon Valley and is comparing it to 1999’s bubble
·         DuckDuckGo, the private search engine, has been blocked in China
·         Mobile app marketing automation is on the rise as it is generating a significant amount of money for app-makers
·         The Des Moines Register is launching an interactive journalism package today using Oculus Rift
Deals:
·         Yahoo! acquired Bookpad, makers of Docspad, an online service aimed at developers looking to add document viewing and editing within their own apps
·         Mosaic Ventures has launched a $140MM fund in Europe aimed at Series A investments
·         Siemens has agreed to buy Dresser-Rand for $7.6B
·         Merck to acquire Sigma-Aldrich Corp for $17B
Business:
·         Apple sold 10 million iPhone 6 and 6+ devices during its launch weekend, which set a new record for the iPhone launch
·         Silver Lake, a tech private equity company, invested $500MM in Alibaba in 2011 and 2012, and now that stake is worth more than $5.1B
Exec Moves:
·         Peter Kujawski has been named MD of Universal Pictures International Production
·         Snapchat has poached a top Google Communications exec, Jill Hazelbaker, to run its PR and policy arms
Retail:
Startups:
·         Realty Mogul, a startup that allows accredited investors to back real estate projects, has received a capital commencement of $73MM from Direct Lending Investments
·         CurbStand, a LA-based startup which helps users pay for valet parking, has raised $3MM
·         HoneyBook, an event organization business, has raised $10MM in its Series A
Government:
·         Muslims have launched a powerful social media campaign against ISIS with #notinmyname
Other:
·         A top FIFA official has stated that the 2022 World Cup won’t take place in Qatar


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