Entertainment:
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Sony has officially cancelled the release of ‘The Interview’
o
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/sony-s-costs-from-the-interview-seen-near-200-million.html
·
Comcast has launched a limited set of programming in Ultra HD,
available on 2014 Samsung 4K TVs, becoming the latest distributor to stake out
a beachhead in the next-generation video format
·
Telltale Games has announced on its blog that it’s working
with Minecraft developer Mojang to create a series of games set in the world of
the blocky hit franchise
·
Plex is available for PlayStation 4 and PS3 in the U.K, Europe
and Asia, with an app live in the PlayStation Store
·
U.S. officials have positively identified North Korea as being
central to the hack on Sony Pictures
·
NBCU is looking to boost awareness of TV Everywhere access for
its 14 different networks with a new multi-platform ad campaign
·
In one of Hulu's biggest content deals to date, the multi-year
licensing agreement with 20th Century Fox TV Distribution will grant the
streaming service exclusive SVOD rights to new and upcoming FX and FXX
primetime comedy, drama and miniseries produced or co-produced by FX Prods
·
Now that Sony has yanked ‘The Interview’ amid threats of
violence from hackers, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's Dallas theater has
programmed a Christmastime replacement — ‘Team America: World Police’
·
New Regency has scrapped a project that was to be set in North
Korea - the untitled thriller, set up in October, was being developed by
director Gore Verbinski as a star vehicle for Steve Carell
·
KipstR, which notices when you fall asleep and then records
the TV show you were watching, was developed by teenagers in conjunction with
TV and broadband provider Virgin Media
·
Please see below for an interesting article on Vimeo building
a bigger online business
·
Walmart has decided to close down its video-on-demand (VOD)
platform Vudu in Mexico as it hasn't produced the expected results
Tech:
·
Amazon has just launched Prime Now, a one-hour delivery option
for Amazon Prime members in NYC
·
Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel today released a
powerful statement about privacy, a day after the latest batch of emails
released in the massive Sony Pictures hack exposed a number of Snapchat’s
company secrets
·
Google announced that it was working on an email encryption
Chrome plugin that would make it very easy for anybody to encrypt their emails
- now it looks like this tool is getting a bit closer to launch
·
Truly Wireless, a new company launching with a fresh $1.4MM in
seed funding, is trying to bring all the same functionality of the classic
enterprise telephony system, to the phone you actually use every day
·
Pandora has launched a new application for Xbox One
o http://venturebeat.com/2014/12/18/pandora-launches-its-first-native-game-console-app-for-xbox-one/
·
Deezer today announced that it has added a new lyrics feature
to its streaming music service through a partnership with LyricFind
·
FireChat, which allows users to text each other regardless of
whether they have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, disclosed that it has raised
more than $10MM
·
Video of Steve Jobs' deposition in the just-wrapped iPod
class-action lawsuit will not be released to the public, a California judge has
decided
·
Michael Jackson's estate has renewed its long-standing
partnership with BMI for representation of the late pop icon's catalog
·
An Uber driver has been charged with rape in Boston
·
Google is now bigger than the entire Russian market
·
The new YotaPhone 2 is a dual screen phone and the battery last
much longer compared to other smart devices
Deals:
·
Line, the messaging firm, will buy
Microsoft’s MixRadio
·
Mega VC firm Khosla Ventures is
raising a new $400MM seed fund as it looks to enter the new year
Business:
·
A former Countrywide Financial executive who became a
whistle-blower is collecting more than $57MM for helping federal prosecutors
force Bank of America to pay a record $16.65B penalty in connection with its
role in churning out shoddy mortgage and related securities before the
financial crisis
Exec Moves:
·
Greylock Partners is making a
commitment to design, as it’s hired former Facebook product designer and angel
investor Bobby Goodlatte to join its consumer team
·
Deezer, the Paris-based music
streaming service that competes against the likes of Spotify and Rdio, has recruited
Dr. HanserHolger Albrecht to be its new CEO
Retail:
Startups:
·
Hampton Creek is now planning to
sell its “scrambled egg” mixture in Asia, after securing $90MM in additional
funding, much of it coming from large Asian food companies and other Asian
investors
·
Expect Labs has raised a $13MMin a
Series A round led by IDG Ventures, to give apps better voice controls
·
Piccing, the Zurich-headquartered
‘social-shopping’ platform, has secured $3.62MM Series A round from undisclosed
investors
·
MixPanel has raised $55MM from
existing investor Andreessen Horowitz at a $865MM post-money valuation
·
Redfin, which provides real estate
search and brokerage services through a combination of real estate web
platforms and access to live agents, raised $167.8MM in its Series G
Government:
·
World shares are on the rise today following a vote of
confidence from the Fed on Wednesday that the U.S. economy was on track
·
Addressing Russia in his annual speech today, Vladimir Putin
said that the country's current economic difficulties could last for the next
two years but the situation could improve faster
Other:
·
Recently a Microsoft employee
published a blog post on the company’s Office blog - the missive, under the
name of Tim Carroll, a “senior product manager on the Office 365 team,” is
perhaps the worst and best corporate blog post of all time
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