The Frenemy Report: That New New
Cats, crossword puzzles and crypto, oh my! Those are just some of the content-creation kindling that's been touted at the NewFronts so far, sparked by an Instagram Petfluencer, The New York Times and Wired, respectively. And it's just the tip of the iceberg -- Twitter has 30 content collaborations lined up for 2018, including exclusive content with the Mouse House.Speaking of kindling, how bout that Tinder? The flame's competition is heating up now that Facebook announced a Dating Section launch at F8 today... TBD on the popularity of being able to cyberstalk suitors back to 7th grade. But before going full-steam into the future, Facebook took a moment to say sorry in its largest brand marketing campaign to date. Furthermore, the Book is introducing a "Clear History" privacy feature.It's a new age of media, with ad blockers and brand safety issues abound. YouTube's selling TV inventory while influencers are running the shows. We still have Hulu, Refinery29, Group Nine, YouTube and more on the horizon...to infinity and beyond. Shorter NewFronts Highlight Bigger Content Players [Broadcasting & Cable]While digital video has some issues to address, traditional TV players are working to eliminate their own disadvantages in terms of measurement and advertising technology. At the same time, they are taking an “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach by getting into the digital content business themselves. In addition to digital giants like YouTube, Twitter and Vice, NewFront attendees will hear presentations from units of The Walt Disney Co., Discovery Inc. and Viacom.Twitter Unveils 30 Collaborations For 2018 Including NBCU, Will Packer, Vice & More – Newfronts [Deadline]The news comes after Disney and Twitter announced a new advertising and content deal today. It joins new pacts with the likes of NBCUniversal and Viacom (for video clips and content); adding to a Live Nation Concert Series partnership; Hearst Magazines and news sites including Vice and BuzzFeed; and gamer-focused Gamespot, Call of Duty World League and IGN.Disney, Twitter Team Up to Create Content for Social Network [Bloomberg]Walt Disney Co. is working with Twitter Inc. to create live sports programming and other content for the social-media platform, part of a push to turn Twitter’s service into a destination for premium streaming video. Twitter and the Disney-owned ESPN sports network will announce specific live shows in development this week at their NewFront presentations in New York later Monday and on Wednesday, the companies said in an emailed statement.Condé Nast Unveils Plans For Wired, GQ Bon Appétit OTT Channels, 35 Returning Series, 60 Pilots – NewFronts [Deadline]Wired’s OTT service will launch later this year on AppleTV, Roku and Amazon Fire, with the other two launches slated for 2019, the company said during its pitch to digital ad buyers held at 100 Barclay.Studio71 To Expand Content Slate, Including Three New Shows For Fine Bros Entertainment [Tubefilter]The new programs, like many of the 25 shows FBE produces each week, will be based around reactions, internet culture, and trending topics.Viacom Digital Studios Makes Digital Content NewFronts Debut [Beet.TV]Viacom Digital Studios was unveiled this week at its first Digital Content NewFronts. It’s the latest in a series of “really big investments” by Viacom that include WHOSAY in the influencer marketing space and the VidCon talent and fan event. “What we really want people to walk away with is that Viacom has amazing capabilities,” Viacom Digital Studios President Kelly Day says in this interview with Beet.TV at the Digital Content NewFronts 2018.Would You Watch a Game Show Based on the New York Times Crossword Puzzle? [Adweek]First out of the gate at the 2018 Digital Content NewFronts this morning, The New York Times announced a reimagined Business section, an expansion into TV and film productions, touted its investments in new news desks and its blockbuster podcast The Daily.NewFronts publishers seize on brand safety as a selling point [Digiday]“We absolutely are seeing dollars move our way for that reason, particularly on YouTube, given we’re the largest brand-safe publisher on most, if not all, the leading platforms,” a BuzzFeed rep said. Brand safety also is central to Hearst Magazines Digital Media’s pitch, said Todd Haskell, svp and chief revenue officer for Hearst Magazines Digital Media. As an example, he cited a campaign that Saks Fifth Avenue is running across Hearst titles to reach the women’s publisher’s audience in a “100 percent safe environment".YouTube Red Hopes This Karate Kid Revival Series Becomes Its Own House of Cards [Adweek]The series premieres one day before YouTube’s annual Brandcast extravaganza on Thursday, part of this year’s NewFronts, during which the company will attempt to put its brand-safety issues behind it and dazzle buyers with new ad offerings centered around TV, the living room and its original shows. YouTube Red Orders Adam Pally Comedy From ‘Happy Endings’ Producers [Variety]YouTube Red has ordered 10 episodes of the untitled series. Maurice Marable is on board to direct the first episode and serve as co-exec producer. The series is targeted for debut in 2019.Facebook Watch Adds More Light Fare: Shows From Nala the Cat, Tamera Mowry-Housley [Variety]Facebook is getting more cat videos — from Instagram-famous feline Nala the Cat — and an interactive, reality TV-style wedding show from television personality Tamera Mowry-Housley. The two shows embody the kind of programming that has been most popular on the still-nascent Watch platform: viral videos and personality-driven lifestyle series. Google to Sell YouTube TV Ads Through ‘Google Preferred’ Network [WSJ]The move to add premium TV content will be part of Google’s pitch to marketers on Thursday as part of the annual digital ad sales season known as the NewFronts. During the weeklong event companies such as Vice, Oath and Twitter make presentations to marketers in an attempt to secure advertising commitments for their upcoming slates of programming. The firms are also trying to lure in TV ad dollars just weeks ahead of the annual TV “Upfronts,” when TV networks preview new programming for the coming season and year.YouTube Exec Says Three-Month-Old Brand Safety Measures Have Been “99% Effective” [Tubefilter]YouTube announced its plan to review Google Preferred videos two months after a Business Insider report revealed that some advertisers were wary of brand safety concerns on YouTube’s premium ad tier. The report cited several videos that advertisers deemed sexually suggestive or racially insensitive. In response, YouTube vowed to double-check the safety of Google Preferred videos by employing a force of humans that it said would grow to 10,000 people in 2018.YouTube May Bring An Abbreviated Version Of Its Content ID Copyright Tool To The Masses [Tubefilter]Macdonald said that Copyright Match may roll out to more creators beyond the initial pilot test in coming weeks. Content ID, on the other hand, is only available to select applicants who “must own exclusive rights to a substantial body of original material that is frequently uploaded by the YouTube user community,” according to the company’s ‘Help’ pages. (You can check out the application to receive Content ID access here, and read more about how to qualify right here).Facebook Says Sorry (Sort Of) In Its Biggest Ever Ad Campaign [FastCo]The company is hoping it’ll show how it’s taking a broader view of its responsibilities, that it takes those responsibilities seriously, and is working to improve Facebook. The first TV spot will air during the NBA Playoffs on Wednesday night.Facebook to introduce Clear History privacy tool in coming months [The Verge]But Facebook seems to think that having information about your activity and likes are critical to providing a good end user experience. Zuckerberg says as much later in his post.Facebook and Instagram Stories open to sharing from other apps [TechCrunch]Starting with Spotify, SoundCloud and GoPro, third-party apps can now let their users share to Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories. Rather than screenshotting, users will be able to hit a button to share a photo or video of a playlist, song or mini-movie from another app into Facebook or Instagram’s Stories camera, where they can embellish it with effects and post it to their friends. GoPro’s integration actually lets you edit your movies inside Facebook’s apps, while you can immediately start listening to songs shared from Spotify and SoundCloud. Facebook’s CPO Chris Cox announced the feature at Facebook’s F8 conference, saying that he’s excited to see what developers build. Other launch partners include selfie editor Meitu, lipsyncing app Musically, Indian streaming music service Saavn and more.‘It’s about time’: Facebook tests news feed trailers to drive people to Watch shows [Digiday]Facebook’s algorithm has been boosting Watch shows in people’s news feeds, and now the company is testing a way to convert that heightened attention into intentional viewing. Facebook plans to test running trailers in people’s feeds that preview Watch shows, hoping to make people more interested in the shows.Facebook, Very Busy, Working On A Dating Service And AR For Messenger [Ad Age]Facebook Messenger is launching a new augmented reality feature for brands where, for the first time, they can show off products through the Camera Effects Platform. Facebook currently lets brands and advertisers build other AR experiences through the effects platform, which competes with Snapchat's Lens Studio, Apple's ARKit and Google ARCore.Facebook is shrinking fake news posts in the News Feed [The Verge]Facebook is making fake news posts in the News Feed harder to see by shrinking the size of the links to content that has been verified by third-party fact-checkers as inaccurate, according to a report by TechCrunch.Twitter Sold Data Access to the Researcher at the Center of Facebook's Cambridge Analytica Scandal [Fortune]Twitter sold data access to the Cambridge University academic who also obtained millions of Facebook users’ information that was later passed to a political consulting firm without the users’ consent. Aleksandr Kogan, who created a personality quiz on Facebook to harvest information later used by Cambridge Analytica, established his own commercial enterprise, Global Science Research (GSR). That firm was granted access to large-scale public Twitter data, covering months of posts, for one day in 2015, according to Twitter.
