The Frenemy Report: The Evolution of Live News

Live updates are coming for your newsfeed. Facebook's shuttering "trending topics," replacing it with "Breaking News" on Facebook Watch, with partners ABC News, CNN, Fox News & more aboard.But we'd be remiss not to mention other "Breaking News" about Facebook: a new wave of data sharing drama (this time with device makers -- even in China), and a study further proving that FB continues to be unpopular with teens, trailing YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat.So it's not shocking that publishers like Hearst are ditching Facebook for video series on YouTube. As video becomes more important to Twitter (and their 30 media partners), the organization is restructuring its live video team. NBC News is doing live its own way, experimenting with a live-streaming video outlet this summer. YouTube Is No. 1 Internet Platform Among U.S. Teens, While Facebook Usage Has Plummeted (Study) [Variety]YouTube leads the pack of internet platforms for Gen Z. About 85% of kids 13 to 17 say they use the video service, followed by Instagram (72%), Snapchat (69%), Facebook(51%) and Twitter (32%). However, Snapchat is the most-used platform for U.S. teens. On Pew’s survey, 35% cited Snapchat as the app they use most often, followed by YouTube at 32% and Instagram at 15%. Just 10% of U.S. teens say Facebook is their most-used online platform.Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends [NY Times]Facebook has reached data-sharing partnerships with at least 60 device makers — including Apple, Amazon, BlackBerry, Microsoft and Samsung — over the last decade, starting before Facebook apps were widely available on smartphones, company officials said.Facebook taps CNN and Fox as news partners, dumps trending news [Ad Age]Facebook is paying television networks and digital publishers to create shows in deals that can amount to millions of dollars over the course of a year, and it is able to run ads during the programs, revenue it splits with the media partners, according to people familiar with the deal structure.Facebook Sets Original News Slate, With ABC News, CNN, Fox News & More Aboard [Deadline]Facebook has unveiled its first slate of funded news shows within its Facebook Watch, with ABC News, CNN, Fox News, Mic, ATTN:, Advance Local and Univision among the networks producing the exclusive content that will hit the platform beginning this summer.Facebook Sets Original News Slate, With ABC News, CNN, Fox News & More Aboard [Deadline]Facebook has unveiled its first slate of funded news shows within its Facebook Watch, with ABC News, CNN, Fox News, Mic, ATTN:, Advance Local and Univision among the networks producing the exclusive content that will hit the platform beginning this summer.NBC News Is Building a Streaming-Video Outlet [Variety]NBC News has begun hiring producers and other staff for an online streaming network that its digital unit will  be experimenting with this summer, according to a person familiar with the matter. NBC News Digital is expected to test some programs this summer, thus person said.Facebook’s ad rules are forcing news outlets to register as political advertisers [The Verge]Aimed at preventing political interference from Russian trolls and other foreign groups, the rules require strict verification for any account promoting political content.Facebook is inching closer to premium news video [Business Insider]Meanwhile, 48% of US consumers prefer news stories to other types of digital video content, per Wibbitz.Hulu Viewers Are Emotionally Involved With Traditional TV Programming [Multichannel News]“Hulu subscribers are voracious consumers of content, no matter where it comes from. This manner of consumption behavior from subscribers pairs quite nicely with the brand’s fan-first market positioning,” said Stuart Schwartzapfel, chief strategy officer at Canvs. “Essentially, Hulu’s subscribers are backing up the company’s branding efforts, which is not an easy thing to do.” Another finding of the Canvs study: Hulu subscribers are incredibly engaged with live programming: The Handmaid's Tale audience sample skewed dramatically toward live TV in terms of other programming they were Emotionally Reacting to—with news and talk shows that aired during early and late-fringe dayparts showing particularly high emotional resonance with THT viewers.Hulu in Major Exec Shakeup: Content Chief Joel Stillerman, Two SVPs Are Out [Variety]Meanwhile — in moves Hulu says will position it for future growth — the company is combining technology and product organizations, under the leadership of newly appointed chief technology officer Dan Phillips, former COO of TiVo. It also has appointed Jaya Kolhatkar, former SVP of global data and analytics platforms for Walmart, to the newly created role of chief data officer.YouTube TV’s digital channels experiment with different ad loads while they still can [Digiday]However, the digital networks’ ability to sell their YouTube TV channels’ inventory will end when YouTube adds YouTube TV to its Google Preferred ad-buying program, according to a YouTube spokesperson who declined to discuss details of the company’s YouTube TV deals. At that point the digital video networks will make money by receiving a share of the revenue from the ads YouTube sells against their YouTube TV channels.YouTube stars' fury over algorithm tests [BBC News]YouTube said the experiment only appeared for a "small number" of people. It stressed the "personalised" feed was optional and that it was not planning to remove the chronological feed. However, YouTube told the BBC that people with the "personalised" feed were watching videos for longer. YouTube has shifted its focus away from the number of "views" that a video attracts to overall "watch time". Video-makers are now encouraged to produce longer videos that keep viewers on the platform for longer.Publishing giant Hearst is betting that YouTube will fill a Facebook-shaped hole, and it’s seeing ‘exponential growth’Some, like NowThis, have turned back the spotlight on their websites. Others, like Condé Nast and Refinery29, have started to take aim at over-the-top (OTT) streaming. And many, have even started to pay more attention to Twitter and Snapchat. For Hearst, the publisher behind magazines like Cosmopolitan and Seventeen among others, the focus has been on ramping up on premium, longer-form episodic video series, with a sharp focus on YouTube over the past six months. The publisher has created more than 34 new episodic video series across four of its brands alone - including Seventeen, Harper's Bazaar, Elle and Cosmopolitan - and has plans to launch six more in the upcoming weeks.Digital publishers with Hollywood ambitions adapt to new economics [Digiday]Given the financial pressures on their advertising businesses, publishers are mindful that their production businesses not come at a large cost. Hearst Originals — Hearst’s team dedicated to producing original shows — has managed to avoid deficit-financing productions while maintaining profitability and ownership of its intellectual property “in most cases,” said Michael Mraz, vp of strategic partnerships at Hearst Digital Media. Alternatively, Vox Media’s Vox Entertainment is navigating how it can sell the rights to its shows in the short term in order to benefit its business in the long run.Twitter Reorgs Content-Partnerships Group, Folds Live-Video Team Into Regional Structure [Variety]At the same time, video has become increasingly important to Twitter’s business. In announcing Q1 2018 results, Twitter said video now accounts for more than half of its ad revenue and was again the fastest-growing ad format in period.Snap is launching a content innovation accelerator [Business Insider]Snap is investing $150,000 into a team of 10 creators through Yellow — a three-month long incubator program — which it hopes to cultivate into a mobile-first, in-house media company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Grey Goose takes a TV approach to distributing new branded show with Group Nine and Oath [Digiday]'Fast Company' Introduces 2 podcasts, YouTube Series [MediaPost]ISUZU DRIVES AWARENESS WITH SKY SPORTS CONTENT MARKETING SERIES [Mobile Marketing Mag]Shed Media teams with Huda Beauty for Facebook Watch series [Realscreen]Yet again, Facebook is being sued over inflated video metrics [Fast Co]Musical.ly is quietly starting another big advertising push [Digiday]Video and mobile advertising lead surge in digital advertising [CMO]Here’s Mary Meeker’s essential 2018 Internet Trends report [TechCrunch]About half of all Hulu subscribers pay for the ad-free version, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch says [Recode]Disney Channels Ups Cornelia Frame To VP Casting And Talent Relations [Deadline]