Monday, October 6, 2014

10.6.14

Entertainment:
·         Online native advertisements are held to higher standards than TV ads
·         Redbox to shut down its streaming service after being in business for 18 months
·         The Plex, a media-streaming app, is now available on the Xbox One
·         Please see below for Jerry Seinfeld’s Clio acceptance speech, in which he insults the ad industry
·         Walt Disney Company will inject cash into Euro Disney as part of a recapitalization plan worth about $1.25 billion, in hopes of improving the theme park operator’s financial position
·         The NBA has reached long-term media rights contracts with Walt Disney and Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting, which more than doubles the current $485MM and $445MM fees the companies pay annually
·         Ben Affleck argued with Bill Maher and author Sam Harris last night on HBO’s ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’ over their broad generalization of Muslims
·         The British Film Institute is partnering with Aardman Animations to launch a £1 million lottery to help support the development and production of new animated feature films
·         Upstart indie distributor A24 said it has secured a $50MM line of credit from Comerica and Union Bank of California
·         The NFL could be returning to Los Angeles within the next two years, according to NBC Sports
·         'Twin Peaks' miniseries is coming to Showtime in 2016
Tech:
·         Zelda fans are giving ‘Ocarina of Time’ a 2-D look
·         Square raised $150MM at a $6B valuation to transition Square from a payments company to more of an all-purpose ally for merchants
·         Google has announced a new campus in Spain for entrepreneurs
·         Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to separate its personal-computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operations
·         Virgin Mobile is offering the option for smartphone owners to use their devices without a data plan
·         FBI Chief stated that China has hacked every major US business
·         Jeff Bezos wants to turn the Washington Post into a national publication by offering the app for free on the Kindle
Deals:
·         Thrive, which has invested in start-ups like Instagram and Warby Parker, plans to announce a new $400MM fund
·         Yahoo! acquire-hired MessageMe for nearly $12MM, a Whatsapp-like service (Snapchat was interested in acquiring the company as well)
·         Yahoo! is allegedly investing $20MM in Snapchat
·         German software company, Nemetschek, has acquired Bluebeam Software for $100MM
·         Becton, Dickinson & Company, a medical technology firm, to acquire CareFusion, which provides products and services to hospitals, for $12.2 billion in cash and stock
Business:
·         Bill Gross told rival Gundlach: ‘I am Kobe, you are LeBron’
·         Private-equity firms Blackstone and Carlyle are considering big takeover deals outside of their client funds
Exec Moves:
·         Oaktree Capital Group has announced Jay Wintrob as its CEO
·         Jim Urie is stepping down from Universal Music Group Distribution
·         Goop, the online lifestyle and e-commerce website founded by Gwyneth Paltrow, has named Lisa Gersh as its new CEO
Retail:
Startups:
·         Azalead is a French startup that tells you which company recently visited your website and sends you alerts in real time
·         Yoogaia, an online home exercise/yoga platform, has raised $630k to expand outside of Finland
·         Alteryx raised $60MM to boost data analytics app-building platform
Government:
·         The Supreme Court declined to hear legal appeals from five states against same-sex marriage on Monday, legalizing it in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin
Other:


No comments:

Post a Comment