9.26.14

Entertainment:

·         MoviePass, a subscription service to make it cheap for movie goers to attend theaters, has raised $2.2MM

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/26/offering-a-subscription-service-to-make-movies-cheaper-moviepass-premiers-2-2-million-financing-round/

·         Fred Seibert has joined forces with Betaworks to create a video technology incubator called Thirty Labs

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/25/fred-seibert-thirty-labs/

·         Universal has unveiled the trailer for ‘Blackhat’ starring Chris Hemsworth

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/blackhat-trailer-chris-hemsworth-michael-mann-841186/

·         John Legend has signed an overall deal with Legendary TV

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/john-legend-legendary-tv-deal-get-lifted-production-company-841325/

·         Obama has named CAA’s Bryan Lourd to the Kennedy Center Board

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/bryan-lourd-kennedy-center-board-member-president-obama-caa-841384/

·         Mobile First is a new app that aims to help social media celebs make money from their online audiences

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/mobile-first-entertainment-social-media-app-840630/

·         Endemol Beyond and Tubular Labs have announced a partnership to offer advanced technology to its talent and channel partners

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/global-showbiz-briefs-fremantle-international-sets-mipcom-slate-canal-group-pacts-with-showbox-more-841269/

·         Starz launches two episodes of its Lebron James comedy titled ‘Survivor Remorse’

o   http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/starz-tries-two-free-throws-for-lebron-james-comedy-survivors-remorse-1201314460/

·         YouTube star, Michelle Phan, has launched her own music label in partnership with Cutting Edge Group

o   http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/youtubes-michelle-phan-launches-music-label-1201313733/

·         Denzel Washington’s ‘The Equalizer’ opened to a strong $1.5MM Thursday night

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-denzel-washingtons-equalizer-735889

·         Chinese movie ticket sales allegedly rose 43% last year

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinese-online-movie-ticket-sales-735881

·         Please see below for a list of new titles coming to Netflix this October

o   http://www.indiewire.com/article/django-unchained-catching-fire-and-more-available-to-watch-on-netflix-this-october-20140925

·         Netflix streaming traffic has increased by 350% during the last 10 quarters

o   http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2014092635425/netflix-streaming-grows-by-triple-digits.html#axzz3ERNbuYoX

Tech:

·         Facebook has tapped Stripe to power its buy button

o   http://www.fastcompany.com/3036310/fast-feed/payments-company-stripe-to-power-facebooks-buy-button

·         Thom Yorke’s new album is the first ‘paygated’ bundle from BitTorrent

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/26/bittorrent-paygated-bundle/

·         RogerVoice is a new app that will help deaf people make their first phone calls

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/26/with-rogervoice-deaf-people-can-make-their-first-phone-calls/

·         SevenVentures Pitch Day offers startups to win €7MM for a 7 minute pitch

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/26/sevenventures-pitch-day-offers-startups-e7m-in-prizes/

·         Tesla has just opened its 200^th supercharger station in Oxnard, CA

o   https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/515293273749856256

·         Easel TV has launched an ad engagement platform tool

o   http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2014092635439/easel-tv-launches-ad-engagement-platform-tool.html#axzz3ERNbuYoX

Deals:

·         Blackhawk Network, a leading pre-paid and payments network, has acquired Parago, a marketing solution company that drives customer acquisition, for $290MM

o   http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NY21572.htm

·         Starboard Value LP, a company that holds a significant stake in Yahoo!, is pushing for Yahoo! to partner with AOL

o   http://online.wsj.com/articles/starboard-pushes-for-potential-yahoo-aol-tie-up-1411748457?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

·         Intel to invest up to $1.5B in two Chinese mobile chipmaker companies

o   http://recode.net/2014/09/25/intel-to-invest-up-to-1-5-billion-in-two-chinese-mobile-chipmakers/

Business:

·         Amazon is diligently working on making its own deliveries

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/09/amazon-takes-big-step-toward-competing-directly-ups/

o   http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-26/amazons-grand-plan-to-avoid-holiday-delivery-snafus-again#r=hpt-ls

·         Please see below for an article on the current state of venture capital innovation

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/09/venture-capital-for-innovation/

·         Marc Andreessen went on a tweet storm yesterday ranting about startups’ burn rates

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/25/andreessen-goes-on-tweet-storm-about-burn-rates-and-says-worry/

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/marc-andreessen-sounds-warning-on-start-ups-burning-cash/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Venture%20Capital&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

·         Jim Mazzo, AMC’s former CEO, has been indicted over insider trading

o   http://www.socaltech.com/former_amo_ceo_jim_mazzo_indicted_over_insider_trading/s-0057124.html

·         Activision Blizzard has won its patent lawsuit against Planet Blue

o   http://www.socaltech.com/activision_blizzard_gets_patent_win/s-0057115.html

·         KKR has restructured its Asian arm to expand its asset platform

o   http://blogs.wsj.com/privateequity/2014/09/25/kkr-restructures-asian-arm-as-it-expands-asset-platform/

Exec Moves:

·         Bill Gross is leaving PIMCO to join Janus Capital

o   http://www.businessinsider.com/cnbc-bill-gross-was-going-to-be-fired-2014-9

Retail:

Startups:

·         Nubank, a financial services startup in Brazil, has raised $14.3MM in its Series A from Sequoia Capital and others

o http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/nubank

o http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/sequoia-capital-returns-to-investing-in-brazil/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Venture%20Capital&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

Government:

Other:

·         Derek Jeter played his final game at Yankee Stadium yesterday

o   http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/09/25/derek-jeter-final-home-game-game-winning-rbi/16242129/

o   http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/26/viral-video-of-the-day-derek-jeter-leaves-the-bronx-a-hero.html

·         George Clooney will get married in Venice, Italy this weekend

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooneys-4-day-wedding-735886

·         At least 850 flights were cancelled by a fire in Chicago’s airport set by a FAA contractor

o   http://mashable.com/2014/09/26/fire-chicago-airports/