Feds gain access to iPhone in N.Y. drug case, drop Apple pressure (USA Today)
Government lawyers announced they had gained access to data on the iPhone of a New York City drug conspirator, and abruptly ended their effort to force Apple to help bypass the phone’s password. The surprise news was similar to the outcome of the previous battle to compel the tech giant’s assistance in retrieving data.
GroupM Questions Digital’s ‘Integrity,’ Estimates Ad-Blocking Averaging 22% (Media Post)
Singling out ad-blocking in particular and fraud and viewability issues in general, GroupM this morning released a report calling for an “industry-wide collaboration” to address a variety of “integrity” issues plaguing the digital media marketplace.
Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ comes to iTunes (Recode)
Beyoncé debuted “Lemonade” via an HBO special, then began streaming the album exclusively via Tidal. But if you wait a few hours, you’ll be able to get “Lemonade” on iTunes. The album, including the accompanying videos that Beyoncé debuted, will be on sale via Apple’s download store at midnight ET.
Virtual Reality is Growing, But How Can It Make Money? (Media Shift)
SpaceVR’s camera will capture immersive virtual reality video of space-related content, from rocket launches to views of earth from space, which subscribers can access and watch on their headsets and smartphone apps. “The same exponential growth that came from the computing era is going to happen again in VR.”
ANA to FCC: Cable-Box Competition Is Bad for Advertisers (Ad Age)
Saying it would allow blocking and alteration of advertising, the Association of National Advertisers has asked the Obama administration to drop a proposal that would open the door to cheaper competitors to cable company “set top” boxes that deliver video content.
Studios, Unions Share Set-Top Concerns (Broadcasting & Cable)
Some major content creators, unions and associations are joining together to give the FCC an earful of their concerns with chairman Tom Wheeler’s set-top box “unlocking” proposal. Major studios, joined by Independent Film & Television Alliance and others signaled they were not happy and were letting the FCC know it.
Paramount Offers Concessions in EU Antitrust Probe of Studios’ European Pay TV Deals (Hollywood Reporter)
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures has offered the European Union antitrust regulator concessions in a high-profile probe of geographical restrictions in film licensing deals between the British arm of European pay TV giant Sky and the six Hollywood studios, the European Commission said.
Myths of the internet: Instant gratification (Media Life- Commentary)
Gray hairs will surely remember the First Great Period of Atonement. That came after the internet crash of 2001. Web companies, most contrite, confessed that they had oversold advertisers on the value of the click and vowed never to do it again. Some even vowed to stop sending click reports to advertisers entirely.
Former FCC Economist Says Unlocking the Set-Top Box Will Hurt the TV Market (Inside Sources)
Final comments are in at the FCC on the agency’s proposal to unlock the set-top box — a move supporters say will create healthy competition in the pay-TV market, and one opponents — including a former FCC economist — say will do the opposite.
Streaming, Smart TVs Outnumber STBs In US (Variety)
There are now more internet-connected TVs and streaming devices in U.S. households than pay TV set-top boxes, according to a new report from the Leichtman Research Group. Sixty-five percent of all U.S. TV households have at least one streaming device connected to their TV or a smart TV set connected to the internet.
AT&T IS REACHING OUT TO LOW-INCOME AMERICANS WITH $10 INTERNET SERVICE (Washington Post)
AT&T says it is now offering discounted Internet service to low-income Americans who receive food stamps, following in the footsteps of some of its biggest rivals. The program, called Access from AT&T, lets eligible households sign up for basic wired broadband that starts at $5 a month for download speeds of 5 Mbps.
GOOGLE FIBER (Bloomberg)
Google Fiber has yet to bring its super-fast broadband service to the city of Atlanta. But Comcast and AT&T know it’s coming, and they’re offering the 1 gigabit Internet speed Google promised — and signing up new customers. It’s been six years since Google announced it would lay a fiber network to compete with cable providers.
Personal info of all 94.3 million Mexican voters publicly exposed on Amazon (Network World)
The personal details of every Mexican voter were accessible online after the database was hosted on Amazon without the benefit of any password or other authentication to protect it. And it has been publicly accessible since September 2015.