The Frenemy Report: Putting Stakes in Pixels, Banning Bitcoin

Talk to any Millennial and you'll hear the biggest Facebook news of the week-- Zuck's banned all crypto-currency ads across Facebook and Instagram. Not cool, man!Historically, the likes of BuzzFeed, ATTN, and The Dodo have boasted their disruptive digital capabilities, remaining way too cool for TV. But in the wake of the 2017 (and 2018, let's be real) digital media shakeups, those TV dollars are looking rather appealing. Reuters reports on digital publishers ramping up TV content in pursuit of more viewers and ad dollars. This trend goes both ways-- TBS launched Conan's Team Coco on Snapchat last year and now is launching a web series based on an Instagram account.It's a great big new world out there-- who owns what? Recode and Variety break it down...

Via: Here’s who owns everything in Big Media today [Recode]

Via: Big Media, Silicon Valley Battle for Multibillion-Dollar Sports TV Rights [Variety]

 NBC is airing BuzzFeed and Complex shows before the Super Bowl [Digiday]Across both the Super Bowl and the Olympics, we’ve done a great job of aggregating audiences on social, on our website and on TV,” said Lyndsay Signor, senior director of consumer engagement at NBC Sports Group. NBC Sports has also embedded a social team member in the on-air production team this week to produce additional athlete interviews and segments with NBC Sports on-air talent, including Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya. Planned segments here include a “Minnesota slang video” with Minnesota native Tafoya and a “Super Bowl newlywed game” with Michaels and Collinsworth, according to Signor.Digital publishers ramp up TV push to nab viewers, ad dollars [Reuters]Group Nine’s The Dodo will premier its first TV series, “Dodo Heroes,” featuring people who save animals in need, with Discovery’s Animal Planet this year. ATTN has sold a pilot of a documentary-style news show to CBS Corp’s Showtime and is co-producing a series called America Versus with Paramount Television. BuzzFeed is shopping a game show to a number of broadcast networks, which would be the first time it has a show outside of NBC networks, said Matthew Henick, head of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. BuzzFeed recently announced a documentary series with NBC’s Oxygen network. Inside Jeffrey Katzenberg’s billion-dollar bet to crack the code on mobile video [Digiday]While the big-budget fare will be core to the New TV product, Katzenberg and co. are not ruling out lighter, episodic fare in areas such as music, news, lifestyle and entertainment to round out the mobile app, sources said. In this context, New TV could be the next big hope for digital video makers looking for a place to sell shows to — even if some digital producers have grown weary of companies trying to build a consumer platform for short- and mid-form video.TBS Launches Web Series Based On An Instagram Account [Tubefilter]Turner-owned cable channel TBS has recently adopted a forward-thinking approach to content, and as part of that effort, it has launched a new series based off an Instagram account.Nielsen adds Instagram to social TV content ratings [Axios]Nielsen already measures Facebook and Twitter engagement with TV shows.It’s Local News’ Turn for a Facebook News Feed Algorithm Boost [Adweek]“People consistently tell us that they want to see more local news on Facebook. Local news helps us understand the issues that matter in our communities and affect our lives. Research suggests that reading local news is directly correlated with civic engagement. People who know what’s happening around them are more likely to get involved and help make a difference.”Twitter’s #BrandBowl Will Curate Super Bowl Ads and Dish Out AwardsAn advertiser can hijack the conversation on Twitter to win the Interception award, landing Super Bowl attention without dropping millions of dollars. It leverages the fact that Twitter is one of the only social media networks that sees its active user base and engagement levels go up in the Super Bowl rather than down (a 19 percent gain in unique visitors, says Twitter, citing Comscore statistics). Finally, it recognizes and encourages the growth in Twitter video, both in overall consumption and as a component in Twitter advertising campaigns.Facebook updates branded content policy to clarify what qualifies as content [MarketingLand]When the change takes effect in March, Facebook will curtail the reach of branded content on Facebook and Instagram that violates the policy and, if publishers or creators continue to violate it, may eventually limit or eliminate their access to Facebook’s monetization tools, such as the labeling tool used to tag a piece of branded content and enable a brand to track its performance and run it as an ad.Facebook is banning all ads promoting cryptocurrencies — including bitcoin and ICOs [Recode]Ads that violate the company’s new policy will be banned on Facebook’s core app, but also in other places where Facebook sells ads, including Instagram and its ad network, Audience Network, which places ads on third-party apps.Instagram now allows businesses to schedule their posts [Tech Crunch]Instagram today made a long overdue change to its product that social media managers have wanted for some time – it will allow businesses on Instagram to schedule their posts.Snapchat enhances Bitmoji with 1.9 septillion avatar options [Tech Crunch]That could pave the way for brand-sponsored Bitmoji clothing, accessories, make-up and more, though Snap tells me it has nothing to share about the Bitmoji sponsorship idea for now.Ad-spend on YouTube, Facebook to grow 130% in 5 years [Advanced Television]Recent changes to YouTube’s Partner Program means that it will only accept channels with more than 1,000 subscribers, and 4,000 viewing hours acquired across a year, to its shared advertising revenue programme. This change in strategy results from increased advertiser pressure following several high-profile, offensive, video posts by users. Nevertheless, Juniper forecasts YouTube to account for almost a quarter of all FVoD ad spend by 2022.Facebook Watch may be finding its groove thanks to Tom Brady and Stephen A. Smith [Business insider]Moreover, "Tom vs. Time" has the potential to get people to think differently about the Facebook video experience, since it looks far more polished than the typical web series. That could give viewers, and advertisers, a reason to take the rest of Watch more seriously. In ESPN's case, it's old-fashioned programming tactics and powerful promotional marketing that it's looking to transfer to Watch. On January 29 the network is rolling out "First Take: Your Take," a three-days-a-week series that is essentially a Facebook-tailored version of the popular ESPN debate series "First Take."NFL Star Von Miller to Host Live Comedy-Variety Show for Facebook Watch [Variety]Denver Broncos star Von Miller is heading to Facebook Watch as the host of a live weekly comedy-variety series to originate from his mansion in the Mile-High City. “Von Miller’s Studio 58” is described as a mix of comedy bits, celebrity guests and conversations between Miller and his brothers — Vins, Tony, and Cyrus — and some of his NFL teammates as well as interaction with fans via Facebook. The series hails from High Noon Entertainment, known for producing TLC’s “Cake Boss” and HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.” Facebook Watch has ordered eight episodes of the series, which bows Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.Why Tom Brady, Niecy Nash and Claire Novak Are TV’s Social Media MVPs of the Week [TheWrap]The Wrap has partnered with Canvs, the emotion measurement company, for a weekly look at some of the characters and personalities that have TV viewers the most worked up on social media. The NFL AFC Championship game on CBS between the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars was the most emotionally reacted-to program during the period measured, with a whopping 638,077 Emotional Reactions (ERs). Predictably, Patriots quarterback and fan-favorite Tom Brady was the most-mentioned player during the game, inspiring conversation early on about his hand injury and then later prompting an avalanche of love with some last-minute touchdown passes that secured a win for New England.How YouTube's War With Netflix Led to a 'Step Up' Series [Thrillist]After Step Up, YouTube will release the Karate Kid series Cobra Kai, starring William Zabka and Ralph Macchio. Thrillist spoke with Susanne Daniels, YouTube's Global Head of Original Content, about how the platform landed on these two shows, and how YouTube's original series can compete for eyeballs (and dollars) in a crowded digital streaming landscape. Ad quality rises to the top of the agenda for media agency reviews [Digiday]Media strategy consultancy ID Comms sees the growing confidence among advertisers manifesting itself in recent pitches that are far more “strategic.” Brand marketers are building pitches around strategic planning and the added value the agency can bring by targeting the right client at the right time with the right message in a transparent way, said Tom Denford, chief strategy officer at ID Comms, which is helping Mars consolidate its $1.4 billion (£1 billion) media duties. Agencies Don’t Expect to Spend More on Snapchat With New Content-Sharing Tools [Adweek]According to a spokesperson, the feature is squarely aimed at consumers—not advertisers—and there will be no impact on ad units. “With the launch of this new Story-sharing feature, we’re excited that now Snapchatters will be able to share more of those Stories with friends and family outside of Snapchat too,” Snap said in a statement.