MG OMD FWD – 13th August 2019

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of FWD.

OFCOM’s Media Nation, released this week, shows that 50% of UK homes subscribe to a TV streaming service. As the user bases continue to grow globally, the ‘streaming wars’ get more intense, signified by news that Netflix has poached the Game of Thrones creators and Facebook also wants a slice of the action, trialling its own subscription service.

• Verizon has sold Tumblr to WordPress’ parent company for a fraction of the price they paid
• Facebook is launching a News tab and is looking for trusted media providers
• Google is surfacing podcasts in natural search and has also added new features to Maps
• You can now subscribe to thread replies on Twitter

• There are now 13.3 million subscribers to streaming services (47% of the UK), this and more in the OFCOM Media Nations report 2019
• A look at Chipotle’s Tik Tok strategy, and how it’s paying off
• Facebook is losing its share of younger internet users, but they are migrating to Instagram and WhatsApp

• Bacardi has ‘hacked’ YouTube to create an addictive remix experience, Beat Machine
• Chinese vertical dramas could signal the future of mobile video/TV shows
• Google used hip hop dancers and 360 degree photos embedded into Street View to show off the Gare de Lyon on its 170^th anniversary

• Snap bets its future on a pair of Spectacles 
• How Facebook is changing to deal with scrutiny of its power
• Start-ups are ready to commercialise Deepfake technology
• Q: Who owns IP on memes? A: No one