1.6.15

Entertainment:

·         Fandango is partnering with Hulu for their first TV show

o   http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/06/fandango-hulu-partnership/

·         Billing itself as “the world’s first cross device mobile and digital platform,” startup Tube Centrex is planning to help YouTube stars, media companies, and others build and monetize apps for their online videos

o   http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/05/tube-centrex-launch/

·         The new Dish Hopper will support 4K video and will work with all 4K TVs

o   http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/05/dish-updates-its-hopper-set-top-box-with-4k-support-streaming-video-and-music-partners/

o   http://www.videonuze.com/article/5-reasons-dish-s-new-sling-tv-ott-service-will-be-a-tough-sell

·         CNBC said today it is unplugging from Nielsen for its Business Day programming and, instead, will partner with financial research provider Cogent Reports

o   http://deadline.com/2015/01/cnbc-business-day-cutting-the-nielsen-cord-network-says-1201342090/

·         Mark Gordon has set up the next chapter for his Mark Gordon Company, partnering with Entertainment One to create an independent studio that will finance and produce film, network, cable, and digital content

o   http://deadline.com/2015/01/mark-gordon-entertainment-one-studio-film-television-1201341607/

·         Samsung is doubling down on 4K TV and virtual reality based on its opening day presentation at the International CES consumer electronics confab

o   http://deadline.com/2015/01/mark-gordon-entertainment-one-studio-film-television-1201341607/

o   http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2015010636669/ces-2015-samsung-unveils-its-suhd-future-with-next-gen-4ktvs-and-uhd-alliance.html#axzz3O42MDq00

·         Sony Corp. CEO Kazuo Hirai addressed the Sony Pictures hack at the beginning of his address to attendees Monday at the International CES 2015 confab

o   https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/ces-sony-ceo-kaz-hirai-breaks-silence-on-studio-hack-in-keynote-address-1201393183/

o   http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/6429489/sony-corp-ceo-breaks-silence-on-the-interview-hack

Tech:

·         Sony is making a push for 4K to be the status quo at this year’s CES event

o http://www.wired.com/2015/01/sony-ultrahd-tvs-4k-camcorders/

·         Kickstarter announced today that it’s partnering with payments service Stripe, which will now collect and process all payments for projects hosted on Kickstarter’s site

o http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/06/kickstarter-drops-amazon-payments-for-stripe/

·         Square Cash, Square’s Venmo competitor that lets you use the app to transfer money to other people, has added a new feature to its iOS app that some might say is long overdue: users can now authenticate money transfers using the Touch ID feature

o http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/06/square-cash-integrates-touch-id-to-send-money-using-your-fingerprint/

·         Mobile app usage continued to see significant growth over the past year, with overall app usage up by 76% in 2014

o http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/06/app-usage-grew-76-in-2014-with-shopping-apps-leading-the-way/

·         Indiegogo’s new InDemand feature will allow all successful campaigners to continue selling “perks” after their project’s time is up

o http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/06/indiegogo-elbows-its-way-into-ecommerce-with-the-launch-of-indemand/

·         Glassdoor secured $70MM from Google Capital and Tiger Global

o http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoor-secures-70-million-google-capital-tiger-global/

Deals:

·         Facebook today acquired Wit.ai, a Y Combinator startup founded 18 months ago to create an API for building voice-activated interfaces

o http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/05/facebook-wit-ai/

·         Coach to acquire Stuart Weitzman for up to $574MM

o http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/coach-to-buy-luxury-shoemaker-stuart-weitzman-for-up-to-574-million/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Mergers%20&%20Acquisitions&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body

Business:

·         Verizon has approached AOL about a potential acquisition or joint venture to expand its mobile-video offerings, Bloomberg reports

o http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-05/verizon-said-to-approach-aol-about-possible-takeover-or-venture.html

o http://recode.net/2015/01/06/verizon-ceo-says-video-effort-to-debut-in-second-half-aol-acquisition-report-inaccurate/

·         Fast-growing Chinese tech firm Xiaomi Technology booked 74.3 billion Yuan ($11.9B) in pre-tax sales last year, up 135 percent from 2013

o http://recode.net/2015/01/04/xiaomi-revenue-doubled-to-12-billion-in-2014/

Exec Moves:

·         RealD said today that it has named Anthony Marcoly as the company's new President, Worldwide Cinema

o   http://www.socaltech.com/reald_names_exec/s-0058389.html

Retail:

Startups:

Government:

·         The U.S. Coast Guard is increasing patrols between Florida and Cuba in response to a "surge" in migration attempts since Obama announced renewed relations between the two countries

o   http://mashable.com/2015/01/06/coast-guard-cuba-migration-surge/

·         California is finally breaking ground on the nation’s first truly high-speed rail project at a ceremony attended by Governor Jerry Brown in Fresno today

o   http://www.fastcoexist.com/3040231/construction-begins-on-the-nations-first-high-speed-rail-but-its-already-behind-the-times

Other: