In 2 Seconds, Millennial Media Stumbles

2018's approaching: time to slim down and look ahead. Media's experiencing some growing pains. Like teenagers, consumers are unpredictable with awkward habits.  What are the kids watching-- or rather, where are they watching it? Will Snapchats's redesign win over Gen Z? Do young adults still read? Do influencers give a damn about Amazon Spark or YouTube Reels? Where is everyone going?Lots of people on the move: BuzzFeed lays off 100, Vice fires three, Tumblr's CEO says goodbye, and Marni Walden finishes her time at Verizon. Fullscreen and Refinery29 welcome new talent.And it wouldn't be the season without a splash of storytelling: Group Nine and Hearst doubling down on video while Facebook’s deals for Watch are changing. Ever feel like streaming video is just a pixel in the pan? Nielsen finds that, actually, 38% of brand recall is driven by video impressions shorter than two seconds. Time Inc. Sells Itself to Meredith Corp., Backed by Koch Brothers [NY Times]Adding Time Inc.’s portfolio will give Meredith even more national scale, which will help it continue to appeal to advertisers on both the print and digital sides.BuzzFeed is laying off 100 employees after missing its revenue goals [Recode]That’s about 6% of its workforce. President Greg Coleman is also out.Bustle Eyes More Deals With Revenue On Pace to Rise 50% [WSJ]Female-focused site is on track to hit its target of $45 million in revenue this year, says founder Bryan Goldberg.Thrillist Owner Group Nine Raises $40 Million to Fuel Video Push [THR]Across its brands, Group Nine receives over 5 billion monthly video views and reaches 40 million unique users each day.How Brands Can Still Win Over Customers as Attention Spans Decrease on Social [Adweek]However, research from Nielsen has shown that 38 percent of brand recall, 23 percent of brand awareness and 25 percent of purchase intent is driven by video impressions shorter than two seconds, so decreasing attention spans aren’t necessarily a bad thing.Bigger budgets, fewer shows: Facebook’s deals for Watch are changing [Digiday]Facebook’s original content team has also told media partners in these conversations that it’s looking to spend more per show, while buying fewer shows overall...Facebook is willing to spend up to $1 billion on content through 2018, which could include live sports deals, according to an earlier Wall Street Journal report. Now, Facebook is focused on renewing shows that drive repeat viewers, as well as new projects that look and feel more like YouTube and TV than news-feed videos.What the new Snapchat update gets right about social media [Mashable]With the revamp, the app is more clearly separating your interactions with friends from the things you read: Your snap conversations and your friends' Stories will be on the left, and publisher content (like Mashable's Discover channel) and public, curated Stories are over on the right.Facebook rolls out AI to detect suicidal posts before they’re reported [TechCrunch]Facebook previously tested using AI to detect troubling posts and more prominently surface suicide reporting options to friends in the U.S. Now Facebook is will scour all types of content around the world with this AI, except in the European Union, where General Data Protection Regulation privacy laws on profiling users based on sensitive information complicate the use of this tech.TBH: FACEBOOK'S LATEST APP FALLS FAST IN RANKINGS [Ad Age]The last time the hot teen polling app TBH was No. 1 on the daily-download charts was the day after Facebook bought the company. That was on Oct. 17. Facebook had just announced the surprise purchase of the hit app, which had seemingly come from nowhere to capitalize on the polling phenomenon. On Tuesday, the app was not even in the top 500 for daily downloads in the U.S., and was only No. 40 in the social category, according to App Annie rankings.Hearst has a 5-person team to develop shows for platforms [Digiday]Hearst’s decision to create a development team for digital shows is driven by the fact that all of the major video platforms are looking for this type of content.Facebook prototypes Messenger Broadcast for businesses [TechCrunch] The company has internally developed “Messenger Broadcast,” a self-serve mass-messaging interface that lets businesses send marketing messages to usersMedia Brands Bet On OTT To Lift Legacy Businesses [MediaPost]Sports Illustrated this month announced plans to launch a branded OTT streaming service through the Amazon Channels service. SI joins sister publication People Magazine’s PeopleTV, a celebrity-centric OTT service that first launched in 2016. Magazines like Motor Trend and Outside already offer streaming products.Apple Projected to Spend $4.2 Billion on Original Content by 2022 [Variety]The rationale behind the spending increase is making good on Apple’s pledge to grow its Services business, which Munster estimates will account for 14% of the company’s revenues in 2017.Univision is making original shows for YouTube [Digiday]Univision continues to publish clips from its linear programs and content with social media stars, through its 2-year-old multichannel network, Univision Creator Network. But these two new shows were designed specifically for YouTube, knowing that most people arrive there through search and watch longer than they do on other platforms, even though Facebook is trying to get there with Watch, its new tab for TV-like shows.This Media Studio Is Bringing Multicultural Content to Families Around the World [Adweek]Recently, Encantos Media closed a deal with Nickelodeon to produce first collection of consumer products for infants and toddlers inspired by Canticos, the first creator-led brand from Encantos that launched in 2016. These products and more short-form content from Canticos will launch in springRockYou debuts Vocally lifestyle and entertainment site for millennial women [VentureBeat]RockYou Media is branching beyond social games with the launch of Vocally, a new digital property for multicultural millennial women….take advantage of RockYou’s existing base of 75 million monthly users, said Lisa Marino, CEO of RockYou, in an interview with VentureBeat.'Seventeen' Launches LGBTQ-focused 'Here' [MediaPost]Here will live primarily on Facebook and Instagram, which is already loaded with fun and inspiring memes and photos, such as one featuring sneakers with rainbow-colored laces. But it also gets its own vertical on Seventeen.com for articles and essays, and is located on the main navigation bar.YouTube is launching its own take on Stories with a new video format called ‘Reels’ [TechCrunch]Instead, creators make new Reels by shooting a few quick mobile videos of up to 30 seconds each, then adding filters, music, text and more, including new “YouTube-y” stickers.And unlike Stories on other platforms, YouTube creators can make multiple Reels and they won’t expire.Since Reels are posted to a separate tab on the creator’s channel, similar to Community itself, viewers could choose to go watch these new videos or not.Is the Spark Missing Between Amazon and Influencers? [Adweek]Just over 74 percent of influencers reported being unsure if they’ll have a presence on Spark this holiday season, while only 22 percent plan to be on the network. Those figures are a far cry from the 99 percent active rate for influencers on Facebook and Instagram, along with 97 percent for Twitter and Pinterest.Refinery29 has hired a Facebook exec to help it compete against Facebook [Recode]Sarah Personette, a former VP of marketing, will be the digital publisher’s new COO.Tumblr Founder David Karp Steps Down as CEO [THR]The decision, announced Monday in an internal email to employees, comes five months after Tumblr parent company Yahoo completed its sale to Verizon. Funny or Die CEO on the Secret to Viral Video and the Future of 'Billy on the Street' [THR]Because we are still independent, we get to have all these different things going on with Amazon, IFC and CBS.Fullscreen Names Digital Marketing Vet Kevin Roe SVP Of Client Services [Tubefilter]The appointment illuminates Fullscreen’s focus on ad-driven revenue, reports Variety, following the termination of its subscription video service earlier this month amid the layoff of 25 staffers.Verizon is moving slowly to exploit consumer data for ads because it doesn't want to freak people out [Business Insider]Verizon is still moving forward with go90, the ad-supported web video app that has struggled to gain traction. She said that early on Verizon almost had too big a library of content available via the app, and the focus going forward will be on live sports and short-form original content aimed at younger audiences.Verizon's Marni Walden Opens Up About Her Exit, Talks Media M&A Frenzy [THR]During her short time on stage, Walden also addressed the increasing appetite for M&A in the media space over the last year, though she declined to reveal specifics about Verizon's plans. She said she would not be revealing what deal McAdam was hinting at this September when he said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, "I wouldn't be surprised if sometime before the end of September you hear about one of" Verizon's new content deals.”“Hero Shows” Like ‘Ball In The Family,’ ‘Returning The Favor’ Among Facebook’s First Renewals For Watch Tab [Tubefilter]The tech giant has begun to renew certain shows within its premium content lineup, and in doing so, it has reportedly shied away from partially-funded programs in favor of those it owns. The Hollywood Reporter, citing Facebook sources, claims the latter group is known internally as “hero shows.”Amazon Expands Its Influence On Video Infrastructure, Releases Publisher Workflow Tools [AdExchanger]Several publishers, including the sports OTT service FuboTV, broadcast network Fox Sports Australia and Amazon’s own Prime Video, are beta testing the solution. Other beta partners include video content and services companies M2A Media, Cinepolis, BT, Pac-12 Networks, Nine and Imagica.