10.3.14

Entertainment:

·         The Rightside Group (spin off of Demand Media) has sponsored KCRW’s Left, Right, and Center podcast

o   http://www.socaltech.com/rightside_backs_kcrw_s_left_right_center/s-0057226.html

·         Bob Iger has extended his contract to be Disney’s Chairman/CEO until June 30, 2018

o   http://seekingalpha.com/pr/11211625-the-walt-disney-company-board-of-directors-extends-robert-a-iger-s-contract-as-chairman-and-ceo-through-june-30-2018?ifp=0

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/disney-extends-bob-iger-contract-2018-844915/

·         Martha Stewart has partnered with AOL to launch an online webisodic reality competition called ‘Shriek or Chic’

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/martha-stewart-halloween-fashion-competition-aol-845236/

·         The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation has donated $6MM to the Motion Picture & Television Fund to establish a new behavioral health center for its entertainment industry members

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/motion-picture-television-fund-samuel-goldwyn-donation-mptf-charity-845181/

·         Please see below for Pixar’s trailer for its 2015 film ‘Inside Out’

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/inside-out-disney-pixar-trailer-844827/

·         Riders were trapped on Disney California Adventure’s Ferris Wheel for over an hour yesterday

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/riders-trapped-disney-california-adventures-737847

·         Fantex plots a trading exchange for real people, where shares of future revenue could give stars a big payday now – intriguing for celebrities

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/should-jennifer-lawrence-have-an-737528

·         Please see below for an interview with Netflix’s Ted Sarandos on the Adam Sandler and ‘Crouching Tiger’ deals

o   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-ted-sarandos-explains-adam-737840

o   http://www.thewrap.com/what-netflixs-movie-deals-with-adam-sandler-crouching-tiger-are-really-about/

·         ‘Star Wars’ toy documentary launched exclusively on Vimeo

o   http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/star-wars-toy-documentary-launches-exclusively-on-vimeo-1201320341/

·         AFI has honored Steve Martin with a Lifetime Achievement Award

o   http://www.indiewire.com/article/afi-honors-steve-martin-with-lifetime-achievement-award-unrelated-to-banjos-20141003

·         Apple is in talks with major record labels for cheaper music

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/6273870/apple-reportedly-in-talks-with-majors-for-cheaper-music

o   http://recode.net/2014/10/02/apple-asks-the-music-labels-for-a-price-cut-on-streaming-subscriptions/

·         ATM and Paragon to form Connected Artists, which will be Europe’s largest indie EDM agency

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/6273821/atm-and-paragon-combine-to-form-connected-artists

·         Deezer is broadening its U.S. presence with the release of its standard premium tier of music subscription services through a global partnership with home audio company Bose

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/6273796/deezer-expands-us-presence-with-bose-partnership

·         Michael Caine is hinting at retirement if he doesn’t get a new script he likes

o   http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/269264/speedreads-michael-caine-if-i-dont-get-a-new-script-i-like-ill-retire-from-acting

Tech:

·         Please see below for an interesting article by the VP of AOL On Originals about online video

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/03/where-does-online-video-go-from-here/

·         Amazon has launched WriteOn to compete against WattPad and other crowd-writing sites

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/03/amazon-launches-writeon-to-compete-against-crowd-writing-sites-like-wattpad/

·         Dash launched Chassis API, a connected car platform that gives other developers access to fuel consumption and efficiency data – ‘Internet of Cars’

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/03/dash-launches-chassis-an-api-to-build-the-internet-of-cars/

·         Twitter has unveiled a handful of photo-sharing features and other improvements that bring the desktop application more in line with what’s available on the web and on mobile

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/02/twitter-for-mac-gets-multiple-photo-sharing-support-for-photos-in-messages/

·         Google’s Projects Lab is developing screens that connect to form a seamless image

o   http://online.wsj.com/articles/google-working-on-large-scale-display-technology-1412346897?mod=WSJ_hppMIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

·         Groupon unveils a cash-back grocery shopping app called SnapSaves

o   http://recode.net/2014/10/02/groupon-unveils-cash-back-grocery-shopping-app/

Deals:

·         The EU has finally approved of Facebook’s $19B acquisition of WhatsApp

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/03/eu-oks-facebooks-19b-whatsapp-acquisition-clearing-the-last-antitrust-hurdle/

·         Adaptive Path, a SF-based design firm that offers user experience consultancy, was acquired by Capital One

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/02/adaptive-path-acquired-by-capital-one/

·         The GoPro founders announced that it will move more than 5.8 million shares to a charitable group after the stock lock-up conundrum from yesterday

o   http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/02/gopro-drops-following-news-that-its-founders-will-move-5-8m-shares-to-charitable-group/

·         Yodlee, a hub for financial apps, has raised $75MM in its IPO

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/yodlee-a-hub-for-financial-apps-raises-75-million-in-i-p-o/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=I.P.O./Offerings&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

Business:

·         Google’s Eric Schmidt has outlined 8 effective email tips, please see the below link for the list

o   http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/03/googles-eric-schmidt-explains-the-1-email-habit-of-the-most-effective-people/

·         The British online bank, Aldermore, expects its IPO will pin the company’s valuation at $1.29B

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/i-p-o-could-value-british-online-bank-aldermore-at-1-29-billion/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=I.P.O./Offerings&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

·         UBS could be hit with a fine as large as $6.3B for tax evasion in France

o   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-03/ubs-drops-on-report-of-potential-6-2-billion-fine-in-france.html

·         Guggenheim Securities has lowered its price target of buy-rated CBS stock to $64 from $70

o   http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB51517841841143733463604580190512396022640?mod=BOL_hp_oe

Exec Moves:

·         Village Roadshow has hired Bonni Lee as SVP of Production

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/village-roadshow-names-bonni-lee-as-svp-production-844981/

·         Turner Broadcasting has hired Pascal Desroches as its EVP/CFO

o   http://deadline.com/2014/10/turner-broadcasting-pascal-desroches-as-cfo-844943/

Retail:

·         Sears to raise up to $380MM by offering the rights in its Canadian unit by early November, giving it a much-needed cash infusion ahead of the holiday shopping season

o   http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/sears-to-sell-rights-to-most-of-its-stake-in-canadian-unit/

·         Bloomingdale’s plans to launch smaller stores for expansion

o   http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/department-stores/calif-unit-model-for-bloomingdales-future-7967138?module=hp-topstories

Startups:

·         Building Robotics, a software company providing office workers a method of controlling the temperature at their office work stations, has raised $5.5MM in its Series A

o http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/building-robotics

·         Roost, a developer of affordable smart home tech, has raised $975k in seed funding

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

Government:

·         The US has lost its first soldier in the fight against ISIS

o http://www.businessinsider.com/the-first-us-death-in-the-fight-against-isis-2014-10

·         The US unemployment rate has hit a six year low

o http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/03/us-usa-economy-idUSKCN0HS09020141003

·         Hillary Clinton will headline a Hollywood-centric fundraiser on Oct. 20th for Democratic Senate candidates, with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Casey Wasserman as hosts

o http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/hillary-clinton-to-headline-hollywood-centric-fundraiser-for-2014-senate-candidates-1201320354/

·         According to Vox, Kansas Senate candidate Greg Orman is 2014's most cynical politician

o http://www.vox.com/2014/10/3/6900001/greg-orman-kansas-pat-roberts-cynical-senate-2014

Other: