Good morning. It’s Wednesday October 25, 2017 and this is your your first early morning Digital briefing.

TODAY’S CODEBREAKER

Ad Specs: Ad specs (short for advertising specifications) are the technical requirements for ad creative that a publisher will accept on its site. Ad specs include details such as file format, file size, dimensions, animation and asset delivery.

 

JUST IN

 

Mike Hopkins is leaving Hulu. Hopkins, who’s been Hulu’s CEO since 2013, is headed to Sony Pictures Television, where he’ll serve as Chairman. The Chairman role was previously held by Steve Mosko, who left Sony last year. Randy Freer, a Hulu board-member who’s served as President and COO of Fox Networks Group since 2013, will succeed Hopkins as Hulu’s CEO.

 

You can learn a lot from regulatory filings. In new FCC documents first discovered by Variety, AT&T’s DirecTV lays out plans for a new TV set-top box that delivers programming over the internet, instead of through cable or satellite. DirecTV Now – AT&T’s OTT-based TV service – does not appear to be integrated into the new product’s branding. Instead, it’s likely that the device will be geared toward subscribers to AT&T’s or DirecTV’s traditional TV services. AT&T hasn’t commented on the story. There’s no telling just yet when the company will announce the device, but companies often make these sorts of filings shortly before they officially role out a product.

 

APPS + PLATFORMS

 

TiVo unveiled two new devices, both of which can be controlled using voice commands. They’re the first such devices from the company. The TiVO BOLT VOX comes with four tuners, allowing users to DVR up to 4 shows at once. The device also offers connectivity for both cable and over-the-air antennas. (TiVo is also currently making a six-tuner version just for cable subscribers.) The TiVo VOX Mini, meanwhile, can pair with an existing TiVo box, allowing users to stream DVR’d content to other screens in the same household. The VOX Mini also supports 4K content and offers access to streaming apps. Both devices come with a microphone-equipped remote. The BOLT VOX and VOX Mini will both be available to consumers starting on Sunday.

 

Snap Inc.’s wearable Spectacles product hasn’t performed as well as the company had hoped. The Information made that clear enough on Monday, when the site reported that hundreds of thousands of units remain unsold. But what about the 150,000 users who did buy Spectacles? Business Insider, speaking to a source familiar with Snap’s data, found that fewer than half of Spectacles owners continued using the device past the four-week mark. And a significant percentage of users would stop using the glasses after only one week, according to the source. Snap declined to comment on BI’s report.

                                       

 

OTT + SVOD

 

Wizard World is launching an English-language streaming channel in China. The L.A. company, best known for producing fan events related to pop culture and comic books, has partnered with China’s CNLive on the new service. Available across mainland China, the service will run on a 24-hour basis. Details on the service’s programming are still scant. The channel will be subscription-based, according to Wizard World CEO John Maatta. 

                                       

 

ADVERTISING

 

Like other digital ad platforms, Twitter has come under heavy focus for unwittingly hosting Russian-bought ads during the 2016 election. As a result, the company is now launching the new Advertising Transparency Center. The platform is designed to let users see all of the ads running on Twitter; the content of those ads; and how long the ads have been running. In addition, users will be able to see which ads are targeted specifically at them. Twitter also says it’s making changes to political ads that appear on the platform, particularly ones that support a specific candidate or political party. Those ads will now be clearly marked as originating from a political account. Finally, the Transparency Center will have a special section focused on election ads, where users will be able to surface info such as who’s being targeted by a political ad, which organization is behind it, and how much that organization is spending on the ad.

 

 

PROGRAMMING

 

In a new partnership, Amazon will fund the production of three new comedy shorts from Funny or Die. The projects will then come to Amazon through the Amazon Video Direct platform, which gives creators, distributors and studios control over how their content is distributed on Amazon’s video platforms. It’ll be the first time that Amazon Video Direct directly invests in the development of exclusive, original content from a partner. The three shorts will include Lovebird from writer/director Ahamed Weinberg; Soojung Dreams of Fiji from writer SJ Son and director Hye Yun Park; and  The Jury from writer/director Anna Kerrigan.

 

 

RESEARCH

 

From the department of mixed blessings: Global online piracy of Sunday’s The Walking Dead premiere was down 42% from last season’s premiere. That’s according to piracy-tracking firm Tecxipio, which compared the one-day periods following the two premieres’ initial airings on AMC. While reduced piracy may sound like a good thing, it may also indicate that the show is less popular than it used to be. That interpretation is backed up by Nielsen, whose Live+Same Day data found the episode to be the show’s lowest-rated premiere since season 3, and down nearly six million viewers from last year’s premiere. (The show is now in its eighth season.) In fairness, Nielsen found that the show still held onto 11.4 million viewers, and was the highest-rated series on television amongst the coveted 18-49 demo. If any show can handle a ratings dip, it’s The Walking Dead.

 

 

MEASURING UP

 

The ListenFirst Television Interest (TVI) Rating (TM) is a standardized measurement of the most buzzed-about TV programs on linear TV and streaming services. A complement to ListenFirst's other syndicated data products (such as the ListenFirst Digital Audience Rating - TV), the metrics included in the rating capture organic actions that are largely unaffected by paid media. Programs that surface on the TVI leaderboards are the most hashtagged on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr, as well as most searched for on Wikipedia (used as a proxy for organic search volume).
 

Streaming Series  (10/16/17 - 10/22/17) 

Source: ListenFirst. The TVI Rating aggregates metrics that measure organically generated activity by fans of the TV show. The metric includes total volume of official hashtag mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumblr, along with Wikipedia page views (as a proxy for organic search volume) for a show as a percentage of the total volume of the same activities for all shows.

 

 

CYNOPSIS WEBINAR: SOLVING DIGITAL AD MEASURMENT

 

Management of digital ad growth is complex and confusing. That's why we're hosting the November 13 webinar, "Solving the Digital Ad Measurement Challenge." It'll detail best practices for this particular moment in time – things you’ll be able to use on a daily basis. Register here: http://www.cynopsis.com/webinar/steps-effective-digital-ad-measurement

 

 

EXECUTIVE MOVES

 

Branded Entertainment Network (BEN) has made a new hire. Ryan Kernan has been named as Senior Director of Merchandise Licensing for Greenlight, the BEN division focused on rights representation and music clearances. Kernan will now work to develop strategies and execute programs to drive merchandise licensing opportunities for Greenlight. He previously served as Associate Director of Licensing for the Wayfair-owned DwellStudio.

 

Audience data provider Eyeota named Matthew Leger as Director of Agency Sales for the Americas. Leger will work to develop strategic relationships with the region’s holding companies. He’ll report to Elizabeth Christensen, Eyeota’s Managing Director for the Americas. Leger joins Eyeota from Samsung Ads, where he served as Senior Sales Director.

 

Digital media company Chive Media Group has named a new Chief Financial Officer. The role goes to Michael Grisko, who previously served as Vice President at Moelis & Company. Grisko replaces former Chive CFO Doug Chaaf. Girsko will focus on driving business growth through investing and other opportunities.

 

 

TRIVIA

 

Actress Gillian Jacobs (Community’s Britta Perry) currently stars in which Netflix series? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.) 

 

Our Last Trivia Question: There’s a good chance you’ve heard of The Duffer Brothers, the creators of Netflix’s Stranger Things. But what are their first names? Answer: Matt and Ross. Kudos Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/CA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/CA, Lorrie Shilling/CA, and Vincent Salvano-The Walt Disney Company/CA

 

SHORT FORM SPOTLIGHT

 

YouTube set a November 20 premiere date for Best.Cover.Ever., a new original series where aspiring singers compete for the chance to sing a duet with famous artists. The ten episode show will feature appearances from musicians like Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Jason Derulo, and a number of others. The series will run on YouTube’s standard ad-supported platform. You can check out a brand new trailer here.