Thursday, November 6, 2014

11.6.14

Entertainment:      
·         CBS says it will provide its TV shows to Sony's upcoming online TV service, joining Viacom as content providers for the electronic giant's effort to create its own cloud-based TV platform
·         Songkick has begun to sell concert tickets directly to customers, which will allow the company to earn 20X as much as referring users to other ticket sellers, because Songkick gets a 10-15% fee for hosting the transaction
·         CBS has unveiled more details on CBSN, the 24/7 ad supported online news site that it announced yesterday
·         RLJ Entertainment has announced the launch of digital subscription-based Urban Movie Channel (UMC), offering drama, documentaries, comedies, horror, and stage plays
·         Marvel has issued a subpoena to Google to have Google inform them who leaked the “Avengers: Age of Ultron” trailer
·         “Interstellar” raked in $1.4MM Wednesday night in a limited launch
·         Cinemark CEO Tim Warner has expressed interest in acquiring Regal Entertainment
·         Matt Damon will star in Alexander Payne’s geopolitical comedy “Downsizing”
·         Moodswing Management and Crush Music have announced a joint venture to build the next generation of electronic music artists, and will focus on producers from the Newark and New York City areas
·         HBO has partnered with the craft beer makers at Brewery Ommegang to make a “Game of Thrones” beer
·         “Star Wars: Episode VII” will be called 'The Force Awakens'
·         Filmin is increasing its capital through France's independent film distributor Metropolitan and Le Meiulleur du Cinéma in a move seen as being the first step towards the creation of a European VOD movie platform
Tech:
·         Scribd, the all you can read e-book service, now offers more than 30,000 audiobooks, including titles from big-name publishing houses HarperCollins and Scholastic for $8.99 a month
·         Microsoft released Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as three distinct apps for the iPhone, and they handle basic editing tasks for free
·         Lytro is adding a new revenue stream to its business with the launch of the Lytro Development Kit
·         Kik‘s latest feature, Promoted Chats, allows its 150 million-plus registered users to opt-in and connect with brands
·         Opera acquired video optimization service Skyfire last February, and now it is starting to bring some of the service’s features to its mobile browser, starting with Opera Mini 9 for iOS
·         Tesla has delayed its release of their SUV, the Model X
·         Santa Barbara-based ShipHawk, which offers up an online service and marketplace to help businesses and individuals to arrange for packing and shipping of items via shipping carriers, has rolled out a new API
·         WireLurker is a new virus that monitors any iOS device connected via USB with an infected OS X computer and then downloads third-party applications onto the device
·         Amazon is building a speaker, called Echo, which is controlled with your voice
Deals:
·         Marketing firm Dentsu Aegis Network acquires mobile ad agency Fetch Media
·         FilmTrack, a developer of contracts and rights management software for the media and entertainment industry, has raised $10MM in its Series B, and also acquired Dashbox, a developer of cloud-based music asset and metadata management software
·         Cott Corporation has agreed to acquire the parent company of DS Services of America, a direct-to-consumer provider of bottled water, office coffee and water filtration services, for $1.25B
·         Cable and Wireless Communications said on Thursday that it had agreed to acquire Columbus International, a telecommunications provider in Latin America and the Caribbean, for $1.85B
·         British Sky Broadcasting has agreed to acquire 87.45% of Sky Deutschland, including a 57.45% stake held by 21st Century Fox
·         Siemens is selling its hearing-aid unit to private equity firms EQT Partners and Santo Holding in a deal valued at $2.68B
·         Raytheon has acquired privately held Blackbird Technologies, which provides cyber security, surveillance and secure communications to spy agencies and special operations units for $420MM
Business:
·         Please see below for an interesting article on how VCs have contributed over $300MM for ‘Internet of Things’ startups
·         Please see below for today’s top tech funding stories
Exec Moves:
Retail:
Startups:
·         Shippable, which offers a containerized continuous integration and delivery platform based on Docker containers, announced that it has raised $8MM in its Series A round led by Madrona Venture Group
·         Reedsy is a startup that wants to unbundle publishing company’s methods and provide all the services you need to self-publish a book
Government:
·         The U.S. unemployment rate could get down to 4.7% by the end of next year
Other:
·         Alexei Devotchenko, a prominent Russian actor who was vocal in his opposition to Russian president Vladimir Putin, has been found dead in Moscow under suspicious circumstances
·         New Zealand police have charged Phil Rudd, the drummer of AC/DC, with attempting to arrange a murder, threatening to kill, and possession of methamphetamines and cannabis

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