Friday, February 20, 2015

2.20.15

Entertainment:
·         YouTube will launch a new, child-friendly version of its service for mobile devices on Monday
·         Machinima, a digital video site that is dedicated to fandom and gamer culture, has raised $24MM in funding from Warner Bros. Entertainment and existing investors
·         Hulu said today that it has obtained the exclusive, video-on-demand rights to ‘CSI’
·         The social media Oscar winner was ‘American Sniper,’ which added 17.9 million mentions on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube during the final voting, according to social media consultancy RelishMix
·         Danielle Steel has signed with Paradigm and will develop original material for TV and film projects along with mining her extensive catalog
·         ABC has pacted with Facebook to live-stream “The Oscars Backstage” on Facebook
·         TLC's Kickstarter ended Thursday, raising more than $430,000 for the group's fifth and final album
·         The ‘Two and a Half Men’ series finale was a masterpiece of contempt
·         The NFL Scouting Combine, a week-long tryout for more than 300 NFL-hopefuls that kicked off this week ahead of April’s NFL Draft – many athletes are using wearables to track their performance
·         MCB Network Corp.'s MiCasa Network and European Television Guild have expanded their global relationship to develop the International distribution and marketing of MCB Network channels to DTT, OTT, IPTV and mobile platforms
·         Cloud-based video production system provider Aframe has had its core platform certified for the third year by FACT, the Federation Against Copyright Theft
Tech:
·         Stripe, the intriguing startup that helps drive payments on everything from Facebook to Lyft, is now handling bitcoin
·         Apple is offering a new repair program that extends coverage for certain MacBook Pro models made between 2011 and 2013 that are exhibiting problems related to video
·         Today at Yahoo’s first mobile developer conference, the tech giant unveiled its new Yahoo Mobile Development Suite that combines Yahoo App Publishing for monetization, Search In Apps, and App Marketing with its Flurry Analytics acquisition made last year
·         After moving to a fully ad-supported model earlier this month, popular photo-sharing site Imgur is today introducing a new feature designed to make it easier for visitors to explore images that relate to subjects of interest to them
·         Rumor has it that Apple plans to launch a public beta for iOS 8.3 through its AppleSeed program in March
·         Uber said Thursday that it is launching its carpooling service, uberPOOL, in Los Angeles, in an effort to help residents help reduce traffic and pollution in the city
·         Varick Media Management, which specializes in programmatic ad buying, has chosen Tremor Video's demand side platform, powered by VideoHub, as its preferred partner for premium programmatic campaigns
·         Less than a year after Snapchat was valued at about $10B, the hunt is on for the next proverbial “unicorn,” a nascent business worth $1B or more — on paper, at least
Deals:
·         BuzzFeed just announced that it’s acquiring San Francisco startup GoPop - the startup was originally known as Zeega, and it was part of the first class at Matter, the Knight Foundation- and KQED-backed incubator for media startups
Business:
·         The biggest refinery strike since 1980 continues after the United Steelworkers union instructed members to reject a seventh labor contract offered by Royal Dutch Shell
·         After years of widespread criticism over its low pay structure and increasing reliance on part-time workers, Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is raising the minimum wage for all of its U.S. workers to $9 an hour by April and at least $10 by next February
·         A US judge said American Express can’t stop businesses from asking customers to use their Visa or MasterCard instead due to antitrust laws
Exec Moves:
·         Universal Pictures International announced today that Rob Huber has been appointed managing director for the UK and Ireland
·         Former AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips has been tapped as CEO of Global Entertainment, a newly-launched U.S. division for London-based Global, the Media and Entertainment Group
Retail:
Startups:
Government:
·         Greece and its Eurozone creditors are poised for another round of tough negotiations over extending the government’s bailout program, after Germany summarily rejected a request for an extension sent by Athens on Thursday morning
Other:
·         Ferrari has unveiled a new concept car that is a political statement about the problems with Formula One
·         Time Warner Cable calls customer 'c*nt' in letter, apologizes with free year of service
·         Three teenage girls from London are missing and feared to be traveling to Syria to potentially join ISIS, Scotland Yard announced Friday
·         Screenwriter, comedian, producer, actor, and author Harris Wittels passed away yesterday at the age of 30

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