Mary Meeker is right — most online ads suck (Recode)
You don’t have to be a millennial to know that the ads on your phone suck and that no one watches them. Mary Meeker says, via a report from Unruly about millennials: 93 percent will consider using ad-blocking software, 81 percent mute video ads they find irrelevant, and 62 percent are put off by a brand that forces pre-roll viewing.
Analyst: Charter, Comcast Could Help Solve Netflix Woes (Multichannel)
The inclusion of a Netflix app on cable set-top boxes could unlock one of the few demographic segments that have so far been relatively immune to the Netflix streaming video phenomenon and help solve what some critics have said is a sluggish growth outlook for the SVOD, according to Morgan Stanley media analyst Ben Swinburne.
NAB Takes Aim at Mega-Merged MVPDs (Broadcasting & Cable)
The National Association of Broadcasters says that given the size of MPVD behemoths like the newly combined Charter/Time Warner, the recently combined AT&T/DirecTV and the not-so-recently merged Comcast/NBCU, the FCC is obligated to either repeal or loosen local ownership regs to allow them to better compete.
Powell Pitches Rosenworcel on Device Competition (Broadcasting & Cable)
MVPDs and studios brought out the big guns last week, including National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Michael Powell, to make their pitch for why the current video navigation marketplace does not need the goosing of an FCC set-top disaggregation regime.
Supreme Court Rejects Google’s Appeal In AdWords Battle (Media Post)
The Supreme Court refused to hear Google’s appeal of a decision that granted pay-per-click marketers class-action status in a long-running AdWords battle. The move means that Google must now face a class-action from marketers who say their ads were placed on “low quality” sites.
Traditional TV Beats Pure-Play Digital Media In Audience Usage (Media Post)
When it comes to average audience per minute metrics — the main measure that traditional TV shows use to show performance — TV is still way ahead of pure-play digital media platforms. Looking at all total day TV multiscreen platforms, the average audience per minute comes to 30.9 million for those 18 years and older.
Tech Lobby Urges Republicans to Defend Open Internet, User Privacy in 2016 Platform (Inside Sources)
Influential tech lobbyists partnered to pressure Republicans to support broad internet policy goals in their platform the party has traditionally opposed. Tech policy groups wrote to the RNC and DNC Chairs asking them “to ensure that conversations about internet and technology policy include the voices of public interest advocates.”
Google, Facebook, Yahoo, rights groups oppose FBI expansion of surveillance powers (Network World)
Google, Facebook and Yahoo and industry and civil rights groups have opposed legislation that would extend the categories of Internet records that the U.S. government can collect without court approval through administrative subpoenas known as National Security Letters.
FUTURE OF TV MUST NOT SACRIFICE MINORITY MEDIA (USA Today- Commentary)
News coverage of the snarling dogs, water hoses and church bombings in the American South were the catalysts to exposing the ugly truths of racism and bigotry in the 1960s. Local news outlets gave new meaning to what the struggle looked like. That is why a proposal at the FCC to regulate “set top boxes” has raised so much concern.
FBI WANTS ACCESS TO BROWSER HISTORY (Washington Post)
The Obama Administration is seeking to amend surveillance law to give the FBI explicit authority to access a person’s Internet browser history and other electronic data without a warrant in terrorism and spy cases. FBI Director James Comey has characterized the legislation as a fix to “a typo” in the Electronic Comm Privacy Act.
THE INTERNET OF THINGS HAS A CHILD PRIVACY PROBLEM (Washington Post)
Parent bloggers have touted the device’s family-friendly uses when it comes to child care and household tasks. Many of these posts are sponsored by Amazon in an ad campaign explicitly geared toward families. But what about the realities of bringing an “always on” device that records children’s voices into the privacy of one’s home?
Cutting the Cord: A streaming saturation point? (USA Today)
The battle for streaming video subscribers is about to intensify. That’s because even though U.S. consumers continue to spend more on subscription services such as Netflix, the growth in spending is on the downswing. Spending on video-streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime is expected to be $6.62 billion this year.
You’ll soon be able to watch people play video games from your Facebook News Feed (Recode)
Facebook is about to get its hands on more livestreaming video content, the kind of video it has been aggressively seeking out for months. Blizzard Entertainment announced that it will soon implement the social network’s livestreaming API into its video games so that people can broadcast their gaming sessions directly to Facebook.