9.9.14

Entertainment:

·         Amazon adds Prime Instant video to Android phones

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/09/amazon-finally-adds-prime-instant-video-to-android-phones/

·         Top ten NFL games outranked the top TV series ratings on Twitter

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/nfl-twitter-tv-ratings-stand-up-to-cancer-831466/

·         Patrick Stewart signed with ICM Partners

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/patrick-stewart-signs-icm-partners-star-trek-x-men-831288/

·         DreamWorks Animation, Disney, and Sony hit with a class action lawsuit over wage suppression deals

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/dreamworks-animation-disney-sony-lawsuit-class-action-wage-supression-831302/

·         Lionsgate firmly believes in the digital diversification/distribution of its film and TV products

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-touts-benefits-digital-diversification-731403

o   http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/lionsgate-shareholder-meeting-ceo-dont-fear-change-1201301712/

·         Calvin Harris becomes Spotify’s top solo artist in the UK

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/6244049/who-just-became-the-uks-top-solo-artist-on-spotify

·         Celebs usually have their assistants post on their social media accounts as a promo tool

o   http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/8/6121985/celebrity-twitter-adam-levine

Tech:

·         QuickFire TV claims it can transcode video ten times faster than its competition and aims to make video playback easier for news and sports organizations

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/08/quickfire-tv-helps-broadcasters-get-the-news-out-faster/

·         Open Garden expands into the Internet of Things by allowing devices to talk to each other over its mesh networking technology

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/08/open-garden-expands-its-mesh-network-to-the-internet-of-things/

·         Mobile video ad spend to reach $1.5B by the end of this year

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/08/mobile-video-ad-spend-will-reach-1-5b-by-the-end-of-the-year-report/

·         Man whose head was crushed in an accident gets a 3D printed titanium skull

o   http://www.businessinsider.com/3d-printed-titanium-skull-in-chinese-man-2014-9

·         Facebook video is becoming more of a competitor to YouTube

o   http://recode.net/2014/09/08/with-a-big-push-from-facebook-facebook-video-is-booming-heads-up-youtube/

Deals:

·         Rakuten acquired ebates.com for $1B in cash

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/09/rakuten-buys-ebates-for-1-billion/

·         General Mills to buy Annie’s, the organic food company, for $820MM in cash

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/general-mills-to-buy-annies-for-820-million-in-cash/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Mergers%20&%20Acquisitions&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

Business:

·         Please see below for a live analysis of Apple’s iPhone 6 launch event

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/09/apples-iphone-6-launch-event-a-live-analysis/

o   http://live.fastcompany.com/Event/Live_Coverage_of_Apples_Media_Event_on_September_9_2014

·         Venture capital investments in crowdfunding platforms have doubled this year

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/08/investments-in-crowdfunding-platforms-have-already-doubled-this-year/

·         Tinder settles with former executive, Whitney Wolfe, over sexual harassment charges

o   http://www.socaltech.com/tinder_settles_with_former_exec_over_sexual_harassment_charges/s-0056822.html

·         Home Depot’s payment system has been breached, it could rival Target’s breach last year

o   http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/09/us-usa-home-depot-databreach-idUSKBN0H327E20140909

·         Liberty Global states it has no plans to raise its stake in ITV

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/liberty-global-has-no-current-731387

Exec Moves:

·         Ex-Nickelodeon exec, Jeffrey Dunn, was named president and CEO of Sesame Workshop

o   http://deadline.com/2014/09/sesame-workshop-hires-jeffrey-dunn-sesame-street-831589/

Retail:

Startups:

·         Teleport, a startup that is building an infrastructure to help nomadic workers move from place to place, raised $2.5MM from Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, and others

o http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/08/teleport-2/

·         Cord Project, a one tap voice chat platform, raised $1.8MM in seed funding

o http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cord-project

Government:

Other:

·         Ray Rice’s wife defended her husband over knocking her unconscious in an elevator – she accused the media of pushing the story to gain ratings

o   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09/ray-rice-s-wife-defends-husband-blames-media-in-instagram-post.html