A roundup of the week's key news from MediaVillage member companies and the wider media industry. This week, more leaks from that hotly anticipated ANA kickbacks report, a new twist in the Gannett takeover battle with Tribune, Univision makes a big digital programmatic change, Sony Television reshuffles management after Chairman's surprise exit and data suggests bad news for print, good news for podcasts and a longer tail for TV measurement.
ANA Probe Said to Find Rebates Lurking Behind U.S. Ad Deals
"There was some belief that this was just one bad apple, but it seems to be pervasive," said one marketer who attended last week's briefing. (via WSJ)
+ The Vision Thing: What It Means for Marketers
Tribune Rebuffs Gannett Again, Gets Sued, Changes Name to Tronc
Newspaper chain says it is now a "content curation and monetization company" and new name stands for "Tribune online content." (via Fortune)
+ Gannett Is Leaning Toward Dropping Bid to Acquire Tribune (via Bloomberg)
Warner Bros. Forms Warner Bros Digital Networks Unit
New division focused on building the studio's owned digital and OTT video services will be led by Craig Hunegs, current President of Business and Strategy at Warner Bros. (via Deadline)
Univision is Going Big on Programmatic Advertising Across All Properties
Mosaico trading platform will target display and video ads at Latino and Millennial viewers across Univision's digital properties, including The Onion. (via Adweek)
+ The Ad Automation and Programmatic Confidants: Jon Mandel of Dogsled Enterprises
Digital to Take Over Print as the Biggest Advertising Medium for Luxury Brands
Zenith Optimedia predicts print will account for 28.6% of total luxury ad spend in 2017, down from 31.9% in 2015, and TV's market‐share will also decline over the same period. (via The Drum)
+ The Scariest Chart in Mary Meeker's Slide Deck for Newspapers Has Gotten Even a Tiny Bit Scarier (via Nieman Lab)
+ Print Media: Conflicting Priorities for Sales Execs
comScore Says People Prefer Ads in Podcasts Over Any Other Digital Medium
The study of 2,000 U.S. respondents ages 18-49 found that not only do listeners not mind hearing them -- they act on them. (via Adweek)
+ Video-Metrics Firm Tubular Labs Raises $10 Million to Take on comScore, Nielsen(via Variety)
Most Networks Plan to Use C7 in Upfront
Video Advertising Bureau poll finds majority expected to use C7, rather than C3, as the primary metric for sales during this year's Upfront. (via Broadcasting & Cable)
+ Introducing Live-Plus … 35-Day Ratings(!) as TV's New Normal Struggles (via Hollywood Reporter)
+ The ARF's Gayle Fuguitt Announces the 2016 Audience Measurement Conference
Fox's Murdoch: MVPD Out-of-Market Streaming "Inevitable"
"We think that most of the big MVPDs in the U.S. will probably seek to go out-of-market, competing with each other on an over-the-top basis." (via Multichannel News)
+ Fox, Disney, OTT, Upfront and More -- RBC Capital Markets
Mondelez Makes Moves to Look More Like a Media Company
Planned media partnerships will acquire, develop and distribute content to promote "power brands" in effort to reach consumers who increasingly avoid advertising. (via WSJ)
Facebook's Using Its Muscle to Remake the Ad Tech World
Last week alone, Facebook shut down its last pure programmatic ad exchange FBX, put the final nail in the LiveRail platform, and expanded its Facebook Audience Network. (via Digiday)
IBM Watson is Now Offering AI-Powered Digital Ads that Answer Consumers' Questions
Campbell Soup Company, Unilever and GSK Consumer Healthcare are some of the brands that will run the ads on Weather.com and the Weather mobile app. (via Adweek)
Verizon's Multi-Billion-Dollar Play to Take on Netflix, Amazon, Google and Facebook
The telecom giant, which is in talks to acquire Yahoo, wants a piece of the digital content revolution. (via Fast Company)
Self-Driving Cars Will Seriously Disrupt Advertising. Here's How
Google didn't spend years investing billions in developing self-driving technology for the fun of it; it did so because it's fundamentally an advertising company. (via VentureBeat)
People on the Move
Sony Sets New Leadership Structure for TV Division in Wake of Steve Mosko's Exit
Reporting directly to Michael Lynton, CEO, will be Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, Presidents of Programming and Production; Andy Kaplan, President of Worldwide Networks; Keith Le Goy, President of Distribution; and Amy Carney, President of Advertiser Sales & Research (via Deadline).
+ Steve Mosko on His Sony Pictures TV Exit: "It's Been Brewing for a While" (via Hollywood Reporter)
NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Names Val Boreland EVP Content Strategy
In the newly created role, Boreland will oversee content scheduling and acquisitions for USA Network, Syfy, Chiller and Cloo. (via Deadline)
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