10.28.14

Entertainment:

·         Please see below for the new ‘Blackhat’ poster starring Chris Hemsworth

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/10/blackhat-poster-michael-mann/

·         Please see below for an interesting article on Kirk Goldsberry, a guy who tracked nearly every shot in basketball to create ‘Moneyball’ stats for basketball

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/10/faster-higher-stronger/

·         YouTube is considering an ad free subscription service

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/youtube-considering-an-ad-free-subscription-based-version/

o   http://www.videonuze.com/article/youtube-considers-new-ad-free-subscription-service

·         The Regal Entertainment Group, which operates the country’s largest theater chain, said it was exploring “strategic alternatives” that might include a sale of the company

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/regal-entertainment-says-its-considering-a-sale-sending-shares-up/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Mergers%20&%20Acquisitions&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/regal-entertainment-explore-sale-862978/

·         The Madison Square Garden Company it exploring a potential breakup that would separate the New York Knicks and Rangers from the company’s live entertainment business, which would also include its MSG TV network

o   http://investor.msg.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=878482

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/msg-plan-split-entertainment-sports-assets-863232/

·         Viacom has expanded program offerings to Hulu

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/hulu-viacom-program-offerings-863915/

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hulu-expands-partnership-viacom-adds-744413

·         HBO plans to cut 7% of its workforce this week – 150 employees

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/hbo-layoffs-staff-cuts-863828/

·         ‘Big Brother’ will debut in early 2015 on digital video platform Youku Tudou which reaches 500 million active users in China

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/chinese-big-brother-endemol-youku-tudou-863653/

·         Pitbull is developing two reality TV series with The Weinstein Co

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pitbull-developing-two-reality-series-744357

·         Studios will make $6.8B in SVOD syndication in 2015

o   http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/svod-syndication-to-pump-6-8-billion-into-studios-in-2015-1201337738/

·         YouTube to launch a music streaming service in the near future

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/6296898/youtube-optimistic-its-music-streaming-service-will

·         Vimeo plans to sell video subscriptions

o   http://recode.net/2014/10/28/vimeo-says-its-going-to-sell-video-subscriptions-too/

·         50% of YouTube’s traffic is from mobile

o   http://recode.net/2014/10/27/youtube-code-mobile-1/

·         Complex Media is targeting urban Millennial males with the launch of its official YouTube multichannel network

o   http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2014102835824/complex-media-launches-youtube-network.html#axzz3HSVr0len

Tech:

·         Tim Cook states that Apple Pay’s market share is already larger than all of its competitors combined

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/10/apple-pay-already-bigger-competitors-combined-says-ceo-tim-cook/

·         Facebook Rooms is Facebook’s new app where you can chat with other like-minded people about most anything in anonymous fashion – similar to old IRCs

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/10/facebook-rooms-future-anonymity-internet/

·         Twitter Player card lets users view videos full-screen, or they can dock it to the bottom of the screen so it continues playing as you surf around the Twitter app

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/27/picture-in-twitter/

·         Nimble VR aims to let users use their hands with their VR device

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/28/nimble-vr-aims-to-let-you-use-your-hands-in-virtual-reality/

·         Atari launches social casino game with its classic video game brands

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/28/gaming-pioneer-atari-launches-social-casino-game-with-its-classic-video-game-brands/

·         Tidal is a music streaming startup that costs $20 per month for better quality music

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/28/is-sound-quality-a-deciding-factor-in-choosing-a-streaming-music-service-tidal-is-betting-yes/

·         Pasadena-based image sensor and mixed signal IC developer, Forza Silicon, announced it has rolled out a new, reconfigurable image sensor design aimed at the Internet of Things market

o http://www.socaltech.com/forza_silicon_rolls_out_image_sensor/s-0057584.html

·         Multiscreen video ad campaigns running on Videology's platform in the U.S. in Q3 surged to 35% of total campaigns

o   http://iq.videonuze.com/article/report-multiscreen-video-campaigns-surge-to-35-of-total

·         Verizon and Motorola took the wraps off the latest smartphone in its Droid line, the Droid Turbo

o   http://mashable.com/2014/10/28/verizon-droid-turbo/

·         Taco Bell has rolled out its own ordering app

o   http://mashable.com/2014/10/28/taco-bell-social-media-app/

o   http://www.fastcompany.com/3037632/taco-bells-slick-new-app-lets-you-build-the-franken-taco-of-your-dreams

·         Please see below for live updates from ReCode’s Mobile Conference

o   http://recode.net/

Deals:

·         BuzzFeed acquired Torando Labs to create a new data engineering team

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/buzzfeed-acquires-torando-labs/

·         Yelp acquired Cityvox, a review site in France that lets users review nearly everything from restaurants to cinemas

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/yelp-cityvox-france/

·         NewCall has taken a 70% stake for $175MM in Nimbuzz, an early mover in messaging that currently has 200 million+ users with a large number of those in India

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/big-in-india-messaging-app-nimbuzz-goes-to-uks-new-call-in-250m-deal/

·         Snapdeal, an online marketplace offering best priced deals on branded products such as mobiles, electronics, apparel and accessories, raised $627MM in private equity from SoftBank

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

o   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-28/softbank-invests-627-million-in-india-s-snapdeal.html

Business:

·         Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder, vows to invest in Silicon Valley startups

o   http://www.wired.com/2014/10/alibaba-ceo-jack-ma-vows-pour-cash-silicon-valley/

·         Venture capitalists are investing more in real estate tech

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/venture-investors-splurge-on-real-estate-tech/

·         AliPay might partner with Apple Pay

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/27/jack-mas-alipay-might-partner-with-apple-pay/

o   http://recode.net/2014/10/27/alibabas-jack-ma-very-interested-in-possible-apple-partnership/

·         Twitter beats Q3 expectations, but the stock is down nearly 10%

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/27/twitter-beats-in-q3-with-revenue-of-361m-but-slowing-user-growth-drags-its-shares-down-8/

·         Please see below for today’s top tech funding stories

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/28/funding-daily-todays-tech-funding-stories-in-one-place-9/

·         Blackstone is looking to raise around $13B for its next flagship global real estate fund

o   http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/27/us-blackstone-realestate-idUSKBN0IG2A520141027?feedType=RSS&feedName=innovationNews

·         SiriusXM added 432,817 net new subscribers in Q3 with a total of 26.7 million users

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/radio/6296874/siriusxm-sees-growth-in-earnings-subscribers-in-third-quarter

·         Please see below for a live link to Wall Street Journal Digital conference in Laguna Beach

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

Exec Moves:

·         Tim Hicks is named President of Endemol, Shine, and Core Media joint venture

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/tim-hincks-president-endemol-shine-core-media-joint-venture-862654/

·         Toby Byrne is named Ad-Sales Chief of Fox Networks Group

o   http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/toby-byrne-named-ad-sales-chief-for-entire-fox-networks-group-1201341033/

Retail:

Startups:

·         ContactSaver turns email signatures into address book contacts

o http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/ios-app-contactsaver-turns-email-signatures-into-address-book-contacts/

·         Adsquare raised $4.3MM in funding to serve ads based on location

o http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/28/adsquare/

Government:

·         Hilary Clinton has made a comment on job creation that has ruffled quite a few feathers as she stated businesses don’t create jobs

o http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/hillary-clintons-comment-about-corporations-and-job-creation-raises-wall-st-s-eyebrows/?_php=true&_type=blogs&module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=DealBook%20Column&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body&_r=0

Other: