Vevo Investing In More Original Programming

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Considering the heavy investment into original programming for various streaming services (including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime), it shouldn’t be a surprise that Vevo wants to amp up its own content as well.

The channel, usually devoted to music videos and similar programming, has decided to take a gamble on original programs, as it’s preparing 100 new episodes of original episodes that will make their debut on the channel this fall.

Fan Showdown and High Fives, both in production at L.A.-based Kids at Play, will get fans involved, providing access to a number of prizes. Meanwhile, High Fives will focus more on comedians as they perform music video countdowns. The debut episode will feature Josh Levya, better known under the moniker YoMuscleBoii.

In addition, the animated series A.K.A. is rolling right along, as the debut episode featuring performer Iggy Azalea already premiered. Other recent premieres, Day Off With and Vevo DSCVR, are also generating some interest, especially with Fuze sponsoring Day Off, which follows musicians when they aren’t performing. Vevo DSCVR, in the meantime, takes place in the Dream Downtown’s Electric Room, and features artist Betty Who on the premiere episode.

More episodes will continue into the year, including Lyric Lines, Guess the Video, Lift, Go Shows, Tour Exposed and Hot This Week. Fashion show Stylized will eventually make a return as well, but with a makeover sponsored by Milk Studios, Made and Legs Media.

With this newest season of programming, Vevo’s senior vice president of content and programming Doug McVehil believes it’s seeing the “biggest season of original series to date.” That’s quite a change from when it first started in 2009 as a devoted music channel.

What do you think Will this programming help give Vevo a boost online, or should they stick with more traditional music videos

Source: The Video Ink, Digiday

140 Proof Unveils Socially Conscious Mobile Video Ad Tech

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By Sahil Patel

Mobile ad-tech startup 140 Proof has unveiled a new product designed to improve mobile-video ad targeting by relying on users’ interests and actions across their social media accounts.

With its Blended Interest Graph technology, 140 Proof says video content can be selected for like-minded users based on public data about who they follow, what they like, where they “check in,” what they share, and other activity on social platforms. These ads, which are autoplay enabled, are then delivered across an app network that 140 Proof’s tech is plugged into.

Founded in 2010, 140 Proof now claims a distribution reach of 62 million monthly uniques across its network of apps and mobile websites.

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Steam Introduces Discovery Service

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As a video game player, sometimes you want to find something new to play, but can’t quite nail down specifically what you’re looking for without a little browsing. The problem with that, though, is rooting through the stuff you’re not interested in when trying to find it.

Valve is looking to make this process a little easier, thanks to an update added into its PC-based Steam service.

The company has unveiled a new “discovery” update, which serves as one of the site’s biggest updates in the past few years. With it, users will not only be able to discover games that are better suited for their style of play, but publishers will also be able to shine a spotlight on their products, which could otherwise be overlooked in a highly overloaded game market.

By looking through their queue, users of Steam will be able to see a number of recent game listings, along with a reason as to why they’re recommended to begin with (like if they played a similar game in the past, or have an abundance of titles in the genre in their game library). Users can then shop through said titles, and if there isn’t a game that suits their fancy, they can easily hit an “I’m not interested” button and move on to the next selection.

A new block of the service is also devoted to curators, which are put together by moderators in any Steam community group. With it, a certain recommendation list can be followed with ease, if a user wants to see what their friends have been playing, or what’s particularly popular in said community.

The mixture of recommended titles will include old and new games alike, should gamers be looking for a nostalgic favorite or something new. For instance, if platforming action games are being sought out, recommendations can go anywhere from Sonic Generations to the recently released Shovel Knight, depending on preference.

This model could pave the way for other game services to utilize in the future, making it that much easier for game players to find what they’re looking for — without rooting through file after file.

The update should be available to all users soon, if not already.

Source:  Ars Technica

YouTube Top Spot For TV Shows

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When people look to watch TV shows, they can usually find them through online hubs, as well as specialized services like Netflix and Hulu, depending on the network and the programming. However, one place that’s become an unlikely source for viewing certain shows is none other than YouTube.

A research report by firm Frank N. Magid Associates shows that, out of the 2,400 consumers surveyed, approximated 38 percent actually visit YouTube to watch these TV shows, a higher number than Netflix with 33 percent, Hulu with 17 percent, and Amazon Prime Instant Video at 14 percent. That’s a surprising statistic, since YouTube is considered more of an outlet for original programming by online users, as well as other video content.

YouTube does provide the option to purchase episodes of select TV shows, both old and new alike, but they don’t usually run in the general video-on-demand services.

Though the study didn’t cover which shows were specifically watches – whether episode-based user content or popular clips from such shows as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – Magid president Mike Vorhaus clarified that there was a “ton” of content available. “I am not saying every consumer is always right about where they saw something or what they watched,” he said. “if you look at YouTube you will find a huge array of TV shows — some recent U.S., some older, much older, some foreign, some full-length compilations.”

The “TV related content” portion of the site has been growing quite a bit, according to Google. This content has managed to grow 35 percent over last year along, and time spent viewing said content increased 65 percent over the same time period.

Promoted shows like The Ellen Show and The Voice seem to be getting the biggest push, with an estimated 69 percent increase over last year alone. And you can bet late night shows and other programming are taking a decent chunk of that as well, especially with highlight clips.

Who knows, YouTube just might boost even further with the addition of episodes and clips. For some, that’s easier than turning on the TV itself.

Source: Variety

Major League Gaming Gets Own Arena

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With the growth of the eSports community and the gaming leagues surrounding it, it was only a matter of time before eSports managed to get its own gaming space in the United States. This week, Major League Gaming confirmed said space, and the city of Columbus, Ohio may never be the same.

The league announced that it will open the MLG.tv Arena in Columbus, a 14,000 square foot venue with bleacher seating that will house quite a few fans for forthcoming eSports events. The arena is set to open this October, when the league will host the Call of Duty: Ghosts Pro League playoffs, where teams from around the world will take on one another for $75,000 in prize money.

This is just the latest move in the growth of competitive gaming. Valve held a tournament in Seattle called The International, which drew in Dota 2 players around the world, along with an $11 million prize pool. The event drew an online audience of over 20 million, along with those in attendance. This, on top of League of Legends‘ continued success (32 million viewers and rising from its last tournament) shows that eSports has come a long way in just a short amount of time.

“MLG’s mission is to promote e-sports globally through premier competition,” MLG chief executive officer Sundance DiGiovanni said in a statement. “[And it is] to deliver premium gaming content to viewers anytime, anywhere through our global streaming platform, MLG.TV. With the MLG Columbus Arena, we now have a flagship venue built to showcase the best as we continue to expand our global footprint.”

The only question now is why Columbus was chosen for the arena, instead of a larger city. It comes down to MLG’s history in the city, according to MLG Properties executive vice president Adam Apicella. “Columbus has hosted some of our most successful events to date,” he said. “With 62 colleges in the Columbus region, hundreds of thousands of university and high school students in the 11-county area, and close proximity to our audience on the East Coast, Columbus is a great location for our MLG arena.” Of course, buying an arena in Columbus is certainly going to be much cheaper than an arena in California or New York.

Best wishes to the league on its new home. Here’s hoping they have plenty of energy drinks for the forthcoming tournaments.

Source: VentureBeat

Top Trailers For the Week

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This week was a pretty good one when it came to the best video game, movie and TV trailers, so let’s jump right in with the five best for the week!

A new behind-the-scenes featurette for Sony’s forthcoming The Order: 1886 went into more detail about what weapons could be used in the game, whether it’s a flame-shooting gun that lights up pellets for a more destructive effect, or an AK-47-style assault rifle (innovative for the late 1800’s). The game will release early next year, exclusively for PlayStation 4.

The latest film from Matthew Vaughn, who directed Stardust and X-Men: First Class, looks at a mysterious society of heroes. In Kingsman: The Secret Service, Academy Award winner Colin Firth plays a part of the agency, recruiting a young troublemaker just in time to butt heads with a devastatingly evil plot, being put together by none other than Samuel L. Jackson. The film, based on Mark Millar’s comic book series, will arrive this February from Fox.

2K Sports unveiled a new gameplay trailer for its forthcoming wrestling game WWE 2K15, featuring a variety of superstars from World Wrestling Entertainment grappling in the ring. No doubt the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will be the bigger draws with their advanced visuals, although the game will first debut on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 28th, before coming to the other consoles on November 18.

Keanu Reeves will return to action form on October 24th with the debut of John Wick. In the film, Reeves plays a retired hitman trying to live a quiet life, until a mobster’s son steals his car and kills his dog – a gift from his dead wife. What follows is a violent rampage of vengeance, with some stylish thrills thrown in for good measure. Fans of Reeves should be quite satisfied with this action-fest.

Expanding on the territory it first introduced a while back with Sleeping Dogs (which will come to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next month), United Front Games will reintroduce the crime-ridden world of Tokyo with the forthcoming Triad Wars for PC. In the game, players will be able to create a criminal empire while dealing with rivals and recruiting others to join their cause. The game will release in early 2015.

Source: YouTube

 

PlayStation TV Launching Next Month

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Sony has been looking for ways to push the marketing for its PlayStation Vita handheld, which has been struggling over the past year with its minimal releases. However, a new avenue will open up next month that should provide an increase in sales – as well as an alternative to home gaming for those who can’t quite afford a PlayStation 4.

The PlayStation TV, which was introduced earlier this year by the company, will launch on October 14th to retailers everywhere. With the system, players can play a variety of PS Vita games, as well as classic PS One titles and PlayStation Portable games, through the convenience of their television. The compatible game list includes a number of favorites, such as God of War Collection, Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time, Rayman Origins and Persona 4 Golden.

The standalone system will sell for $99.99, but the better deal comes with the bundled set, pictured above. The set includes a PlayStation TV device, a DualShock 3 controller, an 8 GB memory card and a copy of The Lego Movie Videogame. It’ll sell for $140. Furthermore, those who buy this bundle at Wal-Mart locations will also score a copy of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time as a free bonus.

With the system, Sony could very well compete with other set-top boxes on the market, even without the compatibility with certain applications. The device could also be a handy secondary item for the PlayStation 4, as users can utilize Remote Play to play one of their games from that system in another room of the house.

The PlayStation TV will also use the PlayStation Now service, allowing users to rent and play a selection of PlayStation 3 games from the cloud. So far, the availability of these games is quite enormous, offering even more value to the device upon its release. And of course, the PlayStation TV will come with a variety of common services like Netflix.

What do you think Even if you own a PlayStation 4, would you pick up a PlayStation TV for another room of the house

Source: Sony

 

Apple May Shut Down Beats Music

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A few months back, Apple made a hearty $3 billion investment by buying Dr. Dre’s Beats service, gaining in the high-tech audio peripherals and music service that Beats had created. However, now that the acquisition is complete, Apple could be making changes to the Beats streaming music service, with integration into its current iTunes music program being likely.

A number of sources indicate that Beats Music will shut down. According to them, various engineers have already been moved off of it and onto other projects at Apple. However, a shutdown date hasn’t been given. It seems more likely that Apple wold bring the Beats music service into the iTunes brand rather than lose it entirely, as streaming music has become extremely popular.

When asked about the shutdown, Apple explained to TechCrunch that the story about Beats Music being shut down “is not true,” but said sources indicate that the service will be modified over time.

There are some indications that Beats Music will not play an integral part in Apple devices, as the recently launched iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus did not come with the application installed. It also wasn’t featured on the new Apple Watch, with only an iTunes music brand showing on the face of the watch. And the only time it was mentioned during the company’s press conference earlier in the month was when it confirmed that the new U2 album would be downloadable there.

Shutting down the service – or melding its audience into the iTunes fold – would follow the company’s mantra of following a singular Apple-based brand. Furthermore, the Beats label would still live on through the various products that the company picked up out of the deal, including the various Pills speakers and the deluxe headsets, which range in price from $50 to $300 with the current models that are available.

Brand integration is always a tricky thing, and the Beats Music streaming service is a new extension of the Beats brand with only about 250,000 users. Apple may well want to fold that into iTunes rather than pushing a completely separate entity, and it makes sense to do that while the brand extension is still very new. More importantly, perhaps, Apple’s business in selling music downloads is under pressure from streaming services, and having its own streaming service under the iTunes label should enable the company to minimize that impact.

Clearly Apple’s plans are not yet fully formed, which can be seen by the lack of announcements around the topic. We could well see more information come out at the (rumored) Apple event planned for October, where we will likely see now models of the iPad unveiled, and possibly new MacBooks or a new Apple TV, as well as the new version of OS X (Yosemite). A new version of iTunes with an integrated streaming music service would be a great thing to introduce right before the holiday season, before any more music fans wander off into the arms of Spotify, Pandora and others.

What do you think Would you miss the Beats Music label if it went away Or would it make more sense to fold it over into the iTunes service to expand its overall offerings

Source: TechCrunch

Marketers Still Need To Grasp Personalization

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Personalization is a vital ingredient when it comes to effective advertising, and certain marketers know it. However, given the task of actually applying it to said advertising, that’s a different matter.

It seems that some marketers are having trouble when it comes to narrowing down the development of a single customer viewpoint, according to a July 2014 survey by Forbes Insights (in association with Sitecore). It appears that fragmented and siloed data systems could be playing a part in preventing said grasp.

Senior executives across various companies in the U.S. believe that their companies utilize an average of 36 different data-gathering systems and vendors – and some even go beyond that with over a hundred. However, only 24 percent of those polled find any sort of connection or integration with this system, making it hard to nail down a single system. In contrast, 56 percent believe that their systems were only partially integrated, meaning that a more streamlined future is possible as a result.

Integration efforts are a critical item for marketers, with 62 percent believing that a single, central customer marketing database with customer information is a huge priority, with 59 percent saying something similar when it comes to a singular system to deliver experiences across various digital channels.

To reflect this, a separate May 2014 study by Forrester Consulting (commissioned by Conversant) had similar results, with 35 percent of U.S. marketing pros stating that a single view of each customer across various sales and marketing channels was a lot tougher than looked, mainly due to making a broader implementation of personalization systems. A smaller percent of 30 percent thought it was a little bit less, stating it was a “major challenge.”

61 percent of the respondents in the poll believe that identifying, vetting and integrating technology, platforms and vendors for better personalization was a huge challenge, noting that adopting the latest personalization technologies could very well integrate separate data sources and types, creating a better single customer view. However, as you might guess, that challenge is tough for many to overcome.

We’ll see if these trends pick up – and a better personalization system is introduced – in the months ahead.

Source: eMarketer

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‘NBA 2K15’ Introduces Face-Scanning Tech

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Face scanning is a complex – but worthwhile – feature that allows developers to nail down the facial structures of characters in the game, making them look more realistic in the process. However, there aren’t many releases out there that allow players to get in on the action from the convenience of their home. Thankfully, this will change next month when 2K Sports releases NBA 2K15 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

In the game, players will be able to utilize face-scanning technology, either with their Kinect device or PlayStation Camera, respectively, to map their face and head onto a player in the game, thus adding to the realism when it comes to guiding a customized basketball player through the game’s MyCareer mode.

It’s not lazy face-scanning technology, either. Using the camera on either device, a player’s specific details will be scanned with the tech, then faithfully remapped onto a player, blemishes and all, with a life-like appearance. The process is said to be second to none, and possibly even a feature that 2K Sports will integrate into future game titles.

The video below highlights how the process works, with the mysterious Beard Guru, a “mystical mountain man from somewhere in the Swiss Alps,” conditioning faces for scanning. The video also features NBA superstars James Harden and Anthony Davis, whom the Beard Guru conditions to make them look even better in the game.

This, on top of the game’s various modes and the recently announced NBA 2K TV that will tie in with its release, should make it a solid choice for fans of basketball, even with EA Sports set to launch NBA Live 15 later in the month for Xbox One and PS4.

NBA 2K15 will release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as well as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, on October 7th.

Source: PSFK