Entertainment:
·
Please see below for an article on how VR films/tech will be
at Sundance
·
Video ad startup Viewbix, which wraps videos in a custom
player - so if you’re an advertiser, the player can include your branding, as
well as the ability to collect contact information - is announcing that it has
raised $3MM in funding
·
Disney just unveiled its digital learning initiative
Imagicademy, which will launch on December 11
·
Aaron Paul, the Breaking Bad star, has launched his own app
that competes against ‘Yo’
·
RealD said this morning that it has cut its headcount, and
will be downsizing its facilities, as part of an expense reduction move
·
The Philadelphia 76ers owners said that the team has been
losing on purpose to get a higher draft choice
·
Stephen Colbert announced last night he'd booked President
Obama for Monday's special episode of his Comedy Central show
·
CBS has issued a one-line statement saying its programming
remains on Dish Network for now as negotiations continue into the evening past
a 4 PM PT deadline that CBS had imposed
·
The Doha Film Institute has launched a film fund designed to
support Qatari filmmakers
·
Fox Television Group is creating a power cable series
supplier by combining prolific units Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios into one
entity named Fox 21 Television Studios that will have a portfolio of 20 cable
series and pilots
·
Many staffers at the venerable Washington, D.C. journal ‘The
New Republic’ announced Friday that they would leave the publication rather
than go along with a radical restructuring of the outlet
·
Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor are among the contenders for
Record of the Year honors at the 57th Grammy Awards
·
Please see below for all of the Grammy nominees
·
Please see below for an article on Fullscreen’s CEO talking
about paid content
·
Attn:, a new media company targeted at Millennials, has raised
$4.1MMin funding from Ryan Seacrest’s Seacrest Global Group, as well as other
Los Angeles-based investors such as Troy Carter and Ross Levinsohn
·
BT TV service has become the UK's first TV platform to offer
buy-to-keep films on multiple devices in addition to the set-top box
Tech:
·
GitHub is slowly navigating the tricky waters of Internet
censorship in Russia, using its own platform to track how it’s doing it in an
effort to remain transparent, but also agreeing to block pages that the regulator
says offend content regulations
·
The U.S. Marshals Service has completed the second auction
of bitcoin seized from the original Silk Road, which consisted of 50,000 BTC,
is the latest in a seized BTC sell-off that began in June.
·
Say Media to focus on it publishing platform and exit the
media business
·
Facebook took yet another swipe at Snapchat with the
re-release of its ephemeral sharing app Slingshot for iOS and Android
·
NASA’s Orion had a successful launch and landing today (this
spacecraft might one day carry people to Mars)
Deals:
·
Please see below for an
interesting article on why LiveRail agreed to be acquired by Facebook and not
go public
·
Qualcomm has invested $7MM in a
new, Internet-of-Things startup called Qterics, as part of a strategic
investment, according to Qterics' parent Silicon Image
·
Canada’s government on Thursday
approved Burger King’s takeover of the doughnuts-and-coffee chain Tim Hortons
·
Keurig Green Mountain has agreed to
acquire the rest of the drink system maker Bevyz for about $220MM, adding to
its technology capabilities ahead of the introduction of its planned cold-drink
platform
Business:
·
SiriusXM agreed to pay $3.8MM as part of a settlement with
the attorney generals in 46 states who were investigating the company for
allegedly engaging in misleading advertising and billing practices
·
Please see below for today’s top tech funding stories
·
Jamie Dimon who was given a diagnosis of throat cancer last
summer, sent an email to his staff on Friday saying a new round of tests “came
back completely clear.”
·
With backing from Bain Capital, Virgin Cruises aims to shake
up the staid cruise industry, though it will take a number of years to build
the ships
·
The Australian mining products maker Bradken said it was
weighing a cut-price $730MM takeover proposal from Bain Capital and Pacific
Equity Partners, underscoring the urgency the sector faces as commodities
prices fall
·
RadioShack will stop matching employees’ retirement-fund
contributions as it continues to look at cost-saving measures
Exec Moves:
·
UMG has appointed Mike Tunnicliffe
as its first US Head of Brand Partnerships
Retail:
·
Bebe is confirming a security incident that took place over
the busy holiday shopping period in November which saw attackers stealing
customer’s names, account numbers, expiration dates and verification codes from
cards swiped in stores
Startups:
·
SoftBank has invested $7MM in
Altaeros Energies, which is based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and makes airborne wind turbines
·
MetaMind, a deep-learning startup,
has launched with $8MM in funding
Government:
·
The A-10 Thunderbolt II—better known as the Warthog —has
performed a crucial role: attacking hostile targets that threaten troops on the
ground (a task called close air support) is going back into battle
Other:
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