Monday, October 13, 2014

10.13.14

Entertainment:
·         Netflix to raise the price for users who want 4k video
·         Netflix now works on Linux
·         Maker Studio’s CEO gave a keynote and explained that Disney had to acquire them to remain relevant
·         Sporting News Media, which operates a large sports online video syndication network, has launched a new research service called "Sporting Views” to provide insights about how online viewers engage with sports-related video
·         China has approved of Universal’s $3.27 plan to build a theme park in Beijing
·         Dutch-based Talpa Media to make its way into the German market with the acquisition of 49.9% of local production company Schwartzkopff TV
·         Jim Carrey to host SNL on Oct. 25th
·         Heading into MIPCOM, Revolution Studios has arranged for Miramax to manage global television and digital distribution licensing for all film titles in its library
·         DreamWorks Animation, Disney, Pixar and Sony have been hit with another class action lawsuit over alleged anti-poaching and wage fixing deals
·         Legendary Television and Digital Media has signed a first look agreement with The Littlefield Company to develop content for TV and digital/emerging platforms
·         Relativity Media entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with China-based 3C Media to produce and develop up to four local-language productions per year based on Relativity content
·         21st Century Fox co-COO James Murdoch addressed the MIPCOM audience in a keynote speech that touched on the challenges facing the content and production business and media mega-mergers
·         Samsung and Google Play have partnered to corner the Latin-American streaming market
·         Samsung says it has developed Wi-Fi tech that is 10x faster to watch uncompressed HD video in real time
Tech:
·         Maurice Ashley, a chess grandmaster, has developed a program with MIT’s Media Lab called DeepView to understand, visualize, and explain the dynamics of a match and make it more of a spectator sport
·         See below for an article on why some think that Boston will be the next startup scene
·         Please see below for an interesting article on the Internet of Things
·         SoundCloud posts $29MM loss in 2013 on $14MM revenues
·         Speakr, formerly twtMob, raised $2.9MM to land more brand endorsements for Net influencers
·         Flip Sports is an app that lets users play fantasy sports on their mobile devices while watching TV
·         Ashton Kutcher’s recent Lenovo ad doubled as a commercial for his tech investments
Deals:
·         Keywords Studios, the contractor to the video games industry, to acquire Indian art production firm Lakshya Digital for $4MM
·         NetScout Systems has agreed to buy Danaher’s communications business for $2.6B in stock, Danaher will either split or spin off the business
·         Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square went public and the fund was valued at $6.2B
·         General Electric Co.’s finance arm agreed to acquire helicopter-leasing company Milestone Aviation Group Ltd. for $1.775B
·         Please see below for a wrap-up of last week’s funding headlines
Business:
·         GoPro shares have fallen 10% today after news broke that their cameras could have been responsible for Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident
·         Please see below for an article on why Samsung’s stock could rally by 50%
Exec Moves:
·         Lou Schwartz to be Chief Digital Officer of WWE
·         Dan Nevin to be CEO of Australia’s Indie Trade Body AIR
·         Longtime Reddit GM, Erick Martin, has stepped down
Retail:
·         UK b2b startup Smartzer, has raised $400k in angel funding to launch a fashion-focused video tagging tech that’s designed to make look book, catwalk and other fashion video content shoppable
·         Jimmy Choo is prepping for its IPO which has valued the company at $1B
Startups:
·         Monsieur, a robot bartender company, has raised $2MM in seed funding
Government:
Other:
·         Please see below for a funny video on John Oliver addressing the pumpkin spice obsession
·         Jean Tirole won the Nobel Prize in Economics


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