Wednesday, March 18, 2015

3.18.15

Entertainment:
·      CBS Corp CEO Les Moonves approached Time Warner chief exec Jeff Bewkes about the possibility of merging the two media companies
·         Tube Centrex has launched a new iOS app called Product TV, which brings together product videos from across the web
·         Please see below for an interesting article on Popcorn Time and piracy in Hollywood
·         Sony is showing off its PlayStation Vue cloud-based TV service, which is aimed at competing with cable TV, largely by providing both your favorite entertainment channels as well as local TV programming
·         DreamWorks Pictures and Fox 2000 Pictures' upcoming Cold War thriller directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks has been titled “Bridge Of Spies”
·         UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne unveiled improved incentives for the film, TV and videogame business as he delivered his final budget before the country’s general election May 7
·         Lionsgate officially entered into a multiyear deal with China’s Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary for co-financing, distribution, development and production
·         STX Entertainment entered a deal with Huayi Brothers is expected to include a bare minimum of 18 pictures in an overall funding deal with the Chinese concern
·         Campaign Performance Audit (CPA), is CBS’ biggest research investment yet to support TV advertising as broadcasters gird for an upfront season struggle to keep dollars from shifting to less expensive digital platforms
·         New comedy network LAFF is beefing up its programming assets ahead of its April 15 launch, setting film licensing deals with Sony Pictures TV, The Walt Disney Studios and Miramax
·         Ooyala subsidiary Videoplaza has announced a partnership with TubeMogul to create a premium programmatic marketplace for global brands and broadcasters
Tech:
·         Live video broadcast app Meerkat is edging away from being so reliant on Twitter’s network to power its own - the company announced a new “light follow” feature that works via the web, making it easy for anyone to follow users quickly without following them on Twitter
·         LinkedIn’s self-service widget — where people can add qualifications to their LinkedIn profiles without actually visiting LinkedIn — will now appear on websites for colleges and universities
·         Facebook unveiled a new payments feature for Facebook Messenger that lets you connect your Visa or MasterCard debit card and tap a “$” button to send friends money on iOS, Android, and desktop with zero fees
·         Twitter’s own dedicated music app never really took off, but a new partner integration with Rhapsody brings 30 million full tracks to the app via new Rhapsody audio cards
·         Foremost 'Apple will make a TV' analyst thinks Apple's TV service will lead to an actual TV set
·         A former Facebook employee is suing the company for a number of claims, including sex discrimination, sexual harassment and race/national origin discrimination
·         StoryCorps has amassed more than 65,000 recordings of ordinary individuals interviewing one another and telling extraordinary stories
Deals:
·         Aliso Viejo-based Microsemi and Camarillo-based Vitesse Semiconductor said this morning that Microsemi has agreed to buy Vitesse, in a deal worth $389MM
Business:
·         General Motors’ announcement that it will buy back $5B worth of stock raises the question of whether the stock buyback has turned into a shareholder activist shakedown
·         Microsoft is making its biggest push into the heavily pirated Chinese market this summer by offering free upgrades to Windows 10 to all users, regardless of whether they are running genuine copies of the software
·         Japanese shares rose today after data showed exports rising at a faster-than-expected pace in February and Nintendo jumped on its entrance to the smartphone gaming industry
·         Shares of Goldman Sachs' business-development company are set to begin trading on the NYSE under ticker symbol "GSBD"
·         Oracle reported flat third-quarter revenue and slightly lower profit as the U.S. dollar strengthened, but raised its quarterly dividend 25% and provided satisfactory forex-adjusted FQ4 guidance
·         American Express is teaming up with big-name companies such as Macy's, Exxon Mobil, AT&T and Rite Aid to launch a loyalty program, called Plenti, which will operate similar to drugstore-rewards programs
·         Chinese mobile entertainment and online services giant Tencent said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter results grew by double-digit percentage figures
Exec Moves:
·         Please see below for an interesting article why Emily White left her role at Snapchat
·         Pinterest has hired Kamran Ansari, a principal at Greycroft Partners, to work on corporate development
Startups:
·         Dealyze is launching a service that aims to offer a Starbucks-loyalty app experience to any business, but at a lower price point than its competitors in the mobile loyalty space
·         Gumroad, a startup that helps creators sell digital goods, now allows those creators to make items (even movies) available for rent
·         Draft is announcing today that it has raised $3.5MM to fuel its fantasy-sports mobile-game business
·         InsideSales, a SAAS platform with a machine learning, integrated approach to accelerate sales, raised $60MM in its Series D
·         DoorDash, which enables small businesses to provide its customers with local delivery services, raised $35MM in its Series B
Government:
·         Aaron Schock, a rising star in the Republican Party, who had his eye on a seat at the House leadership table, has announced his resignation following questions about reimbursements and improperly used funds
·         Gunmen in military uniforms stormed Tunisia's national museum, killing 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians in a country that has largely escaped the region's "Arab Spring" turmoil
·         Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party unexpectedly pulled ahead of his main rival in Israel's election, putting him in a leading position to form a governing coalition
Other:
·         Astronauts have captured vivid Aurora display from International Space Station


No comments:

Post a Comment