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| Monday, November 25, 2019 |
| By unanimous vote, the FCC cut off broadband subsidies to companies deemed a threat to national security. First to go: federal funds spent on buying or maintaining products from Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. “We take these actions based on evidence in the record as well as longstanding concerns from the executive and legislative branches about the national security threats posed by certain foreign communications equipment manufacturers, most particularly Huawei and ZTE,” said FCC chair Ajit Pai. “Given the threats posed by Huawei and ZTE to America’s security and our 5G future, this FCC will not sit idly by and hope for the best.” In related news, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the National Security and Personal Data Protection Act , aimed at curbing the flow of data to countries that pose national security threats. “Current law makes it far too easy for hostile foreign governments like China to access Americans' sensitive data,” said Hawley in introducing the bill. “If your child uses TikTok, there's a chance the Chinese Communist Party knows where they are, what they look like, what their voices sound like, and what they’re watching.” Viewbix, provider of video analytics and engagement platforms used by brands, agencies and networks, announced a partnership with global supplier of touchscreen solutions, Elo. “Elo’s state-of-the-art touchscreen solutions are the perfect complement to the Viewbix platform,” said Jonathan Stefansky, CEO and co-founder of Viewbix. “The breadth and scope of Elo’s point-of-sale products empowers our customers to deploy Viewbix-enabled content at point-of-sale, on digital signage - virtually anywhere. For retailers, video marketing is a significant resource to drive engagement with holiday shoppers.” Interactive music video platform XITE has partnered with video ad management platform Beachfront to manage, deliver and track XITE’s IPv6-enabled set-top-box video inventory. “Beachfront has become a tech and monetization problem-solving lab for us,” said XITE co-CEO Cees Honig. “Beachfront is addressing a major issue for XITE, allowing us to unlock and monetize inventory that was previously under-performing due to broken IPv4-based targeting.” Beachfront’s IPv6-enablement technology surfaces tracking from IPv6 devices to IPv4 environments, which effectively enables more reliable ad delivery and tracking against both types of IP addresses for media buying and selling partners. T-Mobile and Comcast have teamed with telecommunications company Inteliquent to announce a technical breakthrough that should help eliminate robocalls: the first call routed across three networks using the SITR/SHAKEN cryptographic security framework. Caller Verified is now available to all T-Mobile customers on 17 (and counting) smartphone models. “Scammers and spoofers are a scourge on the industry, and at T-Mobile, we're using every tool available to fight against these bad guys on behalf of consumers,” said CEOJohn Legere, CEO. Users of opt-in app Facebook Dating can now add their Facebook or Instagram Stories to show potential dates their everyday interests and activities – or what they look like currently. Users have control over what Stories are shared. |
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| In YouTube’s quarterly letter, CEO Susan Wojcicki said the company is responding to concerns over policies around violent gaming videos. “We’ve heard loud and clear that our policies need to differentiate between real-world violence and gaming violence,” Wojcicki said. “We have a policy update coming soon that will do just that. The new policy will have fewer restrictions for violence in gaming, but maintain our high bar to protect audiences from real-world violence.” The letter also said there would be updates to address creators’ concerns over kids’ content. Vobile, provider of video content protection services to entertainment studios and TV networks , announced the completion of its acquisition of Zefr's Rights ID and Channel ID businesses. The acquired Rights ID and Channel ID businesses focus on content monetization and viewer engagement maximization. “This is an exciting milestone for Vobile, as we round out the world's leading video content protection and monetization platform at a time when major media companies are redefining video distribution models with the launch of direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription services,” said Yangbin Wang, CEO and Founder of Vobile. “Stopping online piracy to minimize subscription revenue loss and leveraging social media influencer marketing to maximize subscriber base are critically important to the success of DTC businesses.” Applicaster teamed with WGN America to build its first mobile experience . The app enables users to experience WGN America content outside of traditional linear environments with enhanced capabilities to browse and view programming, as well as explore widgets like the WGN trivia game. “Media consumption is continually changing, and our work with Applicaster has enabled us to extend viewership and interaction beyond the historical viewing experience,” said WGN America CMO Brian Dollenmayer. Microsoft announced an update to the privacy provisions in the Microsoft Online Services Terms in its commercial cloud contracts. The updated OST will reflect contractual changes developed with one of the company’s public sector customers, the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security. The changes are aimed at providing more transparency for customers over data processing in the Microsoft cloud. Microsoft notes it is currently the only major cloud provider to offer such terms in the European Economic Area and beyond. Redhead Pictures released a new budgeting and actualizing tool for short form media productions . True Budget works within Microsoft Excel and runs on both Windows & Mac operating systems; the first version is free to all users until the end of 2020. “I had two main reasons for creating True Budget,” said Matt Compton, an LA-based producer and production supervisor. “The first was that, as a Windows user, I was frustrated that I could not use one of the more established budgeting programs used by many of my peers. I wanted to create an Excel-based solution that worked not only on Mac, but also on Windows. Secondly, I wanted to make my job easier.” NBC, Verizon, and Macy's will amplify the excitement of the livestream of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with next-generation 5G technology powering an immersive, augmented reality and hologram experience. A 5G Portal can be experienced in the Verizon activation area at Bryant Park throughout the duration of the parade, and for those who can’t make it to NYC, the broadcast will feature Virtual Balloons that will animate and transform based on fan feedback with fun facts that appear alongside physical Parade floats and performers. The livestream will also feature holographic celebrity appearances throughout the Parade route. How will 5G transform the video experience? Alex Wallace, GM of News, Entertainment, and Studios at Verizon Media offers her take in Cynsiders . Snapchat is growing faster than some top researchers expected. By the end of 2019, eMarketer expects the app to boast about 293 million users worldwide. That would represent about 14% growth year-over-year, which is more than the research film had been expecting. According to eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson, a redesigned Android app and some new features are responsible for the increase. By 2023, eMarketer forecasts Snapchat to add more than 63 million users, worldwide. That’s up from the previously predicted 53 million users. Smart speaker maker Sonos acquired Paris- and Tokyo-based voice assistant startup Snips. Snips has been developing a platform for dedicated voice assistants for smart speakers and other devices. |
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| ADVERTISING Connected TV continues to dominate video advertising, according to the latest Video Benchmarks Report from Extreme Reach. In 3Q19, CTV maintained its steady growth, accounting for 51 percent of all video ad impressions served by ER's AdBridge platform, continuing the climb from 49% in Q1 and 50% in Q2. The report also shows that premium publishers continue to attract the lion's share of impressions across all advertising categories and that the dominance of 30-second ads signals the proven power of a long-time favorite to tell a richer story that resonates. The quarterly report, based on the latest aggregate performance metrics from AdBridge, tracks campaigns for a diverse set of brands across multiple categories Prevailing trends include:
"It's interesting to see just how much has changed in the past year, and it's all been driven by consumers' embrace of CTV as a new and better viewing experience," said Mary Vestewig, ER's Senior Director, Video Account Management. "As more AVOD players emerge and the streaming wars heat up, it's best for brands and their agencies to remain nimble in the ever-changing video advertising ecosystem .” Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable formerly known as Comcast Spotlight, launched full-service creative agency Mnemonic, as well as a self-service creative portal through Effectv Ad Planner. Mnemonic is led by Joe Alesi, executive creative director, who was hired in 2018 by Effectv to develop its creative services offering to meet the evolving needs of local advertisers. Mnemonic will focus on the development of linear TV and digital video advertising campaigns for Effectv clients, including a multichannel approach extending the advertiser’s brand message for optimal impact. Although the 2020 election is year away, political ads are already seeing lots of engagement. LiveIntent analyzed political ad campaigns across their platform, which reaches 250 million each month, and found that political ads are performing with a 10x higher conversion rather and a 3x CTR compared to typical ads. Additionally, mobile is giving these ads 2x CTR and 50% higher conversion rate as compared to PCs and tablets. Amazon opened up availability of its free music streaming service with ads to anyone who uses the Amazon Music app on iOS and Android devices, Fire TV and Amazon Music on the web, in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. The ad-supported service, which was previously only free on Echo devices, offers the same 2-million song catalog as Prime Music. However, Prime Music is ad-free and requires a Prime membership. |
Cynopsis Team
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