Wall Street Journal
Fates of TV Shows Tied Up in Merger Mania
Potential deals between 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney (or Comcast), Viamcom and CBS, and AT&T and Time Warner have producers wondering just who the TV programming honchos will be. New ownership or management could lead to changes in programming strategy, determining which shows get renewed or canceled, where they fall on the schedule, and what kind of resources and marketing budget they get. The uncertainty adds to the other challenges facing the industry including competition for talent and viewers from deep-pocketed streaming services.
Release of Thousands of Russia-Linked Facebook Ads Shows How Propaganda Sharpened
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee made public for the first time the full cache of more than 3,000 ads that Facebook said were purchased by a pro-Kremlin group, the Internet Research Agency. The ads, fewer than 50 of which had previously been revealed, offer the clearest window yet into the evolving tactics used by the group as it sought to amplify social and political tensions in the US. The Russian-backed pages initially deployed relatively simple techniques, buying ads targeted to reach large segments, such as all Facebook users living in the US.
Spending at SoftBank’s Vision Fund, World’s Biggest Tech Fund, Exceeds Even Its Own Ambitions (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 05/10/2018 - 05:41Unlockd, a Startup that Takes on Google With a New Approach: Pay You for Clicking (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 05/10/2018 - 05:40Facebook Shuffles Management Team (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 06:49AT&T made consulting payments to Michael Cohen’s company in 2017
AT&T said it made payments to Essential Consultants LLC, a company created by Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, in 2017 for “insights” into the Administration at a time when the telecommunications giant needed government approval for an $85 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc. Cohen used Essential Consultants LLC in October 2016 to make a $130,000 payment to former adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, who had alleged she had a sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006. AT&T made four payments to Cohen’s firm totaling
Cable TV Cord-Cutting Pain Spreads to High-Yield Bond Market (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 06:36Leave Google’s planet of intertwined products and services, and you’ll be surprised at how many strong alternatives you’ll find (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 05/08/2018 - 14:06Hot US Import: European Regulations
Wireless speaker company Sonos, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter have updated their global privacy rules in anticipation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR is the latest sign of the EU’s growing power in global regulation. With increasing frequency, EU rules targeting industries within the bloc—from consumer products to financial services—have set international benchmarks. Some are taken piecemeal, as with GDPR, from which non-EU companies are cherry-picking elements. Other rules have become de facto world-wide references.