Google has at times been at odds with news publishers over the years, but is now trying to smooth things over to the tune of $1 billion.
Google has long been accused of using its search dominance to strong-arm news publishers into letting it use their content without compensation. Google has claimed news publishers benefit far more than Google does by linking to and using their content. In contrast, both Apple and Facebook pay publishers for their news. Recent regulation, however, has increasingly put the pressure on Google to make adjustments.
In a blog post, CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted Google’s strategy change:
It’s equally important to Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Over the last several years, we’ve taken many steps to support the news industry, from sending 24 billion visits to news websites globally every month, to the Google News Initiative’s $300 million commitment, including emergency funding for local publishers globally to help with the impact of COVID-19 and our Digital Growth Program aimed at small and medium-sized publishers to accelerate their business growth.
But there is more to do. Today I’m proud to announce Google is building on our long-term support with an initial $1 billion investment in partnerships with news publishers and the future of news.
This is a welcome development for publishers and may also help the company answer increasing allegations it is improperly using its search monopoly.
Google made a surprise announcement today, unveiling its take on television: Google TV.
In the blog post announcing the release, Google acknowledged the myriad of options people have to watch TV. From movies, to live TV to streaming and DVR content, the supply of content is virtually limitless. Unfortunately, the plethora of services can make it difficult to find content. In addition, it can be an annoyance switching back and forth between a bunch of different services.
Google is looking to address these issues, with a service that pulls content from a variety of sources and serves as the central hub from which to watch it. The new service will be heavily integrated with Google Assistant, providing the ability to interact via voice.
“The new Google TV experience brings together movies, shows, live TV and more from across your apps and subscriptions and organizes them just for you,” writes Shalini Govilpai, Senior Director, Google TV. “To build this, we studied the different ways people discover media—from searching for a specific title to browsing by genre—and created an experience that helps you find what to watch. We also made improvements to Google’s Knowledge Graph, which is part of how we better understand and organize your media into topics and genres, from movies about space travel to reality shows about cooking. You’ll also see titles that are trending on Google Search, so you can always find something timely and relevant.”
The new Chromecast with Google TV is available for $49.99 and comes with a remote and 4K support. The Google TV app will begin rolling out to Android devices in the US today, and will start showing up on Sony televisions and other Android TV OS-powered devices starting next year.
Google is looking to stop companies from circumventing its normal 30% Google Play Store fees.
Like the Apple App Store, the Google Play store imposes a 30% fee on all sales through the store. Until now, however, companies could circumvent Google’s fees, a practice Google is now looking to end.
One key area where Google differs from Apple, however, is that Google plans to make it easier to use third-party app stores. Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management, highlights what Google is planning:
We will be making changes in Android 12 (next year’s Android release) to make it even easier for people to use other app stores on their devices while being careful not to compromise the safety measures Android has in place. We are designing all this now and look forward to sharing more in the future!
At the same time, Google is giving companies one year to make the necessary changes to be compliant with Google’s policies:
Again, this isn’t new. This has always been the intention of this long standing policy and this clarification will not affect the vast majority of developers with apps on Google Play. Less than 3% of developers with apps on Play sold digital goods over the last 12 months, and of this 3%, the vast majority (nearly 97%) already use Google Play’s billing. But for those who already have an app on Google Play that requires technical work to integrate our billing system, we do not want to unduly disrupt their roadmaps and are giving a year (until September 30, 2021) to complete any needed updates. And of course we will require Google’s apps that do not already use Google Play’s billing system to make the necessary updates as well.
Google’s plans raise the stakes even more for the legal case Epic has brought against both Apple and Google, claiming their fees are unfair and anticompetitive.
Twitter is planning on bringing its ‘Read Before You Retweet’ prompt to all users, following several months of testing.
Twitter began testing the feature in June in an effort to help stop the spread of disinformation that social media platforms have increasingly been called to task for. The results of the tests have been positive, with significant upticks in the percentage of people actually looking at the articles they retweet.
Social media companies are looking at multiple ways of reigning in disinformation and radical content. Time will tell if Twitter’s new feature has a long-lasting impact.
Tim Kendall, Facebook’s first Director of Monetization, said the company had taken a page from Big Tobacco’s playbook.
The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce of the Committee on Energy and Commerce is looking at the role of social media in “Mainstreaming Extremism: Social Media’s Role in Radicalizing America.” Kendall is testifying based on his role as Director of Monetization from 2006 through 2010, giving him a unique insight into the inner workings of the company.
The social media services that I and others have built over the past 15 years have served to tear people apart with alarming speed and intensity,” said Kendall. “At the very least, we have eroded our collective understanding—at worst, I fear we are pushing ourselves to the brink of a civil war.
He then goes on to highlight the methods Facebook used, essentially taking a page out of Big Tobacco’s playbook in an effort to make their product more addictive.
Tobacco companies initially just sought to make nicotine more potent. But eventually that wasn’t enough to grow the business as fast as they wanted. And so they added sugar and menthol to cigarettes so you could hold the smoke in your lungs for longer periods. At Facebook, we added status updates, photo tagging, and likes, which made status and reputation primary and laid the groundwork for a teenage mental health crisis.
Allowing for misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news to flourish were like Big Tobacco’s bronchodilators, which allowed the cigarette smoke to cover more surface area of the lungs. But that incendiary content alone wasn’t enough. To continue to grow the user base and in particular, the amount of time and attention users would surrender to Facebook, they needed more.
Tobacco companies added ammonia to cigarettes to increase the speed with which nicotine traveled to the brain. Extreme, incendiary content—think shocking images, graphic videos, and headlines that incite outrage—sowed tribalism and division. And this result has been unprecedented engagement — and profits.
Needless to say, Kendall’s testimony is likely to give weight to officials concerns about the role the platform has played in societal problems. Explaining Kendal’s testimony may become the biggest challenge for Facebook executives.
Facebook is warning it may pull out of Europe over a decision by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC).
The DPC issued a preliminary order to stop Facebook from transferring the data of European citizens to servers in the US. The EU has become increasingly wary of its citizens’ data being held in the US, given the US government’s penchant for digital surveillance.
According to Vice, however, Facebook has warned that the DPC’s decision may cause it to pull out of the EU altogether. This would leave some 410 million users without access to Facebook and Instagram.
Yvonne Cunnane, Facebook Ireland’s Head of Data Protection and Privacy, said “it is not clear to [Facebook] how, in those circumstances, it could continue to provide the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU.”
What is even more unclear is if Facebook is serious about its threat, or if this is a game of legal chicken. It seems unlikely Facebook would be willing to abandon an entire continent worth of users, opening the door for a home-grown competitor to take its place.
Amazon has entered the super hot podcasting arena, adding podcasts to their Amazon Music platform. All podcasts will, of course, be able to be accessed via Alexa, through its voice-activated Echo speakers, and are free to Amazon Prime members. Check the podcasts out here: Amazon Podcasts
“Our customers’ listening habits are constantly evolving, and we know they’re looking to us to provide them with a rich experience rooted in music and entertainment,” said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music. “With this launch, we’re bringing customers even more forms of entertainment to enjoy, while enabling creators to reach new audiences globally, just as we’ve done with music streaming. Podcasts, paired with our recent partnership with Twitch to bring live streaming into the app, makes Amazon Music a premiere destination for creators.”
Popular shows such as Crime Junkie, What A Day, Radiolab, Revisionist History, Planet Money, Ear Hustle, Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer, and Stuff You Should Know are available now, and millions of episodes from top shows, with more being added all the time. Amazon Music will also soon be the exclusive home of the music-meets-true-crime podcast, Disgraceland, a show exploring the criminal antics and connections of some of the world’s favorite musicians, from the Rolling Stones to Tupac. Disgraceland’s narrative storytelling highlights tales of getting away with murder and behaving badly, chronicling some of the craziest criminal stories surrounding some of the most interesting and infamous pop stars. Disgraceland will arrive exclusively on Amazon Music in February 2021.
“Partnering with Amazon Music allows me to really give my listeners what they’ve always asked for: more Disgraceland content,” said Jake Brennan, host of Disgraceland and cofounder at Double Elvis Productions. “Through this partnership with Amazon Music, we’re enhancing the future of the show for fans, expanding our output of content by moving to an ‘always on’ weekly schedule, which will translate to more episodes for listeners on a more consistent basis.”
Amazon Music has also partnered with creators to produce original, exclusive podcasts. Coming soon, customers will be able to listen to “The First One,” a new audio experience hosted by one of the most prolific hit makers of the 21st century, DJ Khaled. Developed by Amazon Music and the Springhill Company, in “The First One” the mogul and superstar will interview his all-time favorite artists about the hits that made them iconic and eventually legendary.
“I’m recording my podcast with the greatest musicians of all time, and with some of my best friends who also happen to be the most iconic artists on the planet,” said DJ Khaled. “We’ll talk about fame, fortune, life, and success. These stories are here to motivate you because everybody starts from somewhere, from the ordinary to extraordinary. Before you get to another one, you got to get to ‘The First One,’ only on Amazon Music.”
Also coming to Amazon Music is a brand-new multimedia podcast hosted and curated by superstar Becky G, featuring audio and corresponding video broadcast on Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel. Titled “En la Sala,” every week, you’re invited to join Becky G as she calls on some of the biggest names in music and entertainment, her familia and friends, to discuss Latinx pride, women empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, relationships, politics and sports, all while unpacking the most important issues facing the Latinx community today. Developed by Amazon Music and Gema Productions, Becky G has also dedicated each episode to a nonprofit organization related to the theme of the week. With a charitable donation attached to each episode to pay it forward to organizations directly impacting the Latinx community in a positive way, Becky sets the standard for her guests and listeners, since En La Sala, you can’t just talk about it – you have to be about it too.
“To me, my voice has always been about more than just singing, it’s using it for the greater good and creating a destination for change,” said Becky G. “In quarantine, with so much time to consider the world around us, it felt like the perfect opportunity to open a new line of communication and pay it forward, and I’m so thankful that Amazon Music and Gema approached me with the opportunity to create this podcast. I’m excited to be joining forces with Amazon Music so we can start to have conversations about looking within to see how we can all be better.”
Broadcasting legend Dan Patrick and IMDb will soon give movie fanatics exclusive interviews with top Hollywood stars in his new show, “That Scene with Dan Patrick.” Produced in collaboration with IMDb, this new podcast will dissect memorable scenes from some of the biggest films and television series. And coming soon to Amazon Music and Audible, is a project from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Audio, a co-production with Audible.
With Amazon Music visual apps on mobile and web, customers will be able to discover new favorites through curated recommendations across top categories, popular podcasts charts, and access to trailers on show pages. Whether listening on mobile, web, or on Echo devices with Alexa, Amazon Music makes it easy for customers to find, start, and continue listening to their favorite podcasts throughout the day. Only with Amazon Music can customers ask for the latest episode of their favorite show on Echo Auto during their morning commute, resume playback on their phone while working out, and seamlessly move to their Echo device when getting home – just by asking Alexa, with no additional sign in or device linking needed.
“We’re thrilled to offer customers a convenient podcast listening experience that fits their lifestyle,” said Kintan Brahmbhatt, Director of Podcasts for Amazon Music. “Never before has listening to podcasts on the move, in the car, or at home been so simple. Our customers will be able to utilize the voice functionality they know and love with music, to now enjoy a superior podcast experience and uncover a brand-new selection of favorites.”
Podcasts are now available to stream on all tiers of Amazon Music at no additional cost, including free access on Echo, web, and in the Amazon Music mobile app.
Google is being sued for $3 billion in the UK over allegations that YouTube tracks children, violating the UK’s privacy laws.
Google has been facing ongoing scrutiny over privacy and antitrust concerns, but this latest lawsuit could be one of its most expensive. The lawsuit was brought by Duncan McCann, a father of three. The lawsuit is supported by Foxglove, a tech advocacy group in the UK.
The lawsuit alleges that YouTube and Google are ignoring UK privacy laws designed to protect children. Instead, according to the lawsuit, YouTube is harvesting data from children watching videos and using that data to target the children with ads specifically designed to influence young minds.
“We think its unlawful because YouTube processes the data of every child who uses the service – including kids under 13,” writes Foxglove. “They profit from this data, as they are paid by advertisers to place targeted advertising on their YouTube website. They do all this without getting explicit consent from the children’s parents. Under the GDPR and UK law, corporations can’t process the data of kids under 13 *at all* without explicit parental consent. Parents haven’t agreed to the many ways YouTube takes kids’ data.”
The lawsuit comes as Google is facing otherlawsuits claiming it continues to track users even after they opt out. Should McCann win his case, the repercussions for Google and YouTube would be profound.
In a surprise move, Oracle has emerged as the frontrunner to be the US partner for TikTok.
The Trump administration instituted a ban on TikTok that goes into effect mid-September, unless a buyer could be found to take over US operations. Microsoft, partnering with Walmart, emerged as an early prospect before Oracle also threw its name in the mix.
Before a deal could be finalized, however, the Chinese government changed its export rules governing what technologies could be exported. It’s believed the new rules directly impact the algorithm TikTok uses for recommendations and engagement. As a result, potential buyers had to start looking at alternative ways to make a deal happen.
According to CBC, ByteDance has rejected Microsoft’s bid in favor of Oracle. None of the involved parties are commenting, so it remains to be seen what a potential deal looks like.
“In five or ten years from now, I’d be surprised if (Peloton wasn’t available as part of a subscription),” says Peloton CEO John Foley. “I think there’s a there for sure. It’s not something you’re going to see in the next year. We didn’t need to have it yet but I love moving in that direction.”
Peloton said in their Q2 earnings release that paid Peloton Digital subscriptions grew 210% year-over-year as they reduced the price of Peloton Digital to $12.99 and extended their Digital free trial period to 90 days during March and April because of sheltering in place restrictions that were in place around the world. Peloton also launched integrations with the four leading over-the-top TV platforms including Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, and Roku.
John Foley, CEO of Peloton, discusses the likelihood that the company will eventually offer subscriptions for its internet-connected fitness products instead of requiring an expensive purchase:
Moving In The Direction Of A Subscription
In five or ten years from now, I’d be surprised if (our connected fitness products weren’t available as part of a subscription). I think there’s a there for sure. It’s not something you’re going to see in the next year. We didn’t need to have it yet but I love moving in that direction. It’s all in the name of affordability for our members, our current members, and new members, and making sure they feel incredible about the value.
One thing I will point out is that my favorite metric last Q4 which was ended July 1, 2019, our subscriptions were used 12 times a month on average. This year, thequarter that just closed, they were used close to 25 times a month on average. So when you’re paying us $39 a month and getting 25 workouts from your household it’s close to $1.50 per workout. It’s just insane value. We’re very excited about that and we’re going to continue to push with more content and more access to our content.
Bike+ Is Now The Best Bike In The World
To the extent, we are having a hard time making bikes fast enough at the current price you would say we don’t have to change the price at all. Of course, we are with our better best strategy. With the better best we can have the premium product, the best product in the world, which the new Bike+ that we came out with this week is. Bike+ is now the best bike in the world and it’s at just under a $2,500 price point. Over time, it allows us to do a lot of creative pricing.
Right now, the original bike that’s the best cardio machine on the planet loved by millions is under $1,900. From a finance perspective, it is under $49 a month which we’re very excited about. We do think that as we grow the SAM and TAM globally price point for our products is going to matter so we’re getting out in front of it.
Peloton Moving Toward Subscription Model, Says CEO John Foley
As the TikTok negotiations run into trouble, President Trump has indicated he has no intention of extending a ban deadline of September 15.
TikTok has earned the ire of US officials with repeated accusations of privacy and security violations. As a result, officials have repeatedly labeled it a threat to national security and Trump announced a ban that is scheduled to go into effect September 15.
Microsoft and Walmart joined forces and emerged as early frontrunners to buy the social media platform’s US operations. Oracle also expressed interest, with Trump speaking favorably about a possible deal. Unfortunately, for the first time in years, the Chinese government altered its export rules to prohibit selling technologies that include AI, impacting TikTok’s algorithm.
It’s unclear if a deal will be able to be reached, although Trump has made it clear there will be no extension granted.
“It’s a remarkable time in that we’re witnessing the beginning of a seismic shift in terms of consumer preference in how they want to buy their food,” says FreshDirect CEO David McInerney. “What we’ve seen is within the cities that we operate, New York, Philadelphia, DC, we’ve seen the urban dwellers migrate out to the suburbs. As they migrate out they are taking FreshDirect with them.”
David McInerney, CEO, and co-founder of FreshDirect, discusses how the pandemic has caused a boom in how people want to buy their food:
Witnessing Seismic Shift In How Consumers Want To Buy Food
Overall, the growth continues to be tremendous both in the cities and in the suburbs. It’s a remarkable time in that we’re witnessing the beginning of a seismic shift in terms of consumer preference in how they want to buy their food. What we’ve seen is within the cities that we operate, New York, Philadelphia, DC, we’ve seen the urban dwellers migrate out to the suburbs. As they migrate out they are taking FreshDirect with them.
When you combine that with this iconic truck that we have that everybody knows and then new customers in the suburbs see it and word of mouth goes on. Then all of a sudden we are seeing really explosive growth there as well. Frankly, it’s something that we like a lot. We like the suburban customer because they have really big pantries. They really value fresh food. We’ve had a good time with it thus.
Customers Moved To Suburbs But They Are Coming Back Soon
We’re sort of on the sidelines watching (when people will go back to urban areas again). We are talking to a lot of our customers. The truth is we are hearing from some that they plan on staying wherever they are, whether that’s in a suburb in our trading area or somewhere else in the country. But I think there are a fair amount that are coming back and we’re planning as such. We’re planning to see a significant migration back in September for all three cities.
While the ramp-up will probably not be as strong as we’ve seen in earlier years we’re still expecting growth. There’s also a big chunk of our business which is in the offices. We do a corporate office business as well and that has been pretty much non-existent. We think that will take more time to ramp up but we see that coming back to some extent in September as well.
FreshDirect CEO David McInerney: Seismic Shift In How People Want To Buy Food
Twitter may be looking at subscription options in an effort to boost revenue and offset sluggish ad sales.
Like many social media platforms, Twitter has seen a surge in users as a result of the pandemic. During the most recent quarter, the company’s Monetizable Daily Active Users (mDAU) grew some 34% year over year, coming in at 186 million.
In spite of the good news, sluggish ad sales resulted in a 19% decline in year over year revenue. With $683 million in revenue for the quarter, Twitter saw an operating loss of $124 million.
To help offset the ad business, Twitter is looking at a number of options, including subscriptions.
We’re also in early stages of exploring add’l potential revenue products that complement our advertising business, which may include subscriptions & others. It is very early; we do not expect any revenue against these in 2020. $TWTR
Twitter Investor Relations (@TwitterIR) July 23, 2020
Subscriptions could be a game-changer for Twitter, giving it a way to better compete with new platforms. Only time will tell, however, if the company will commit to this route, and what the final version may look like.
“You have got to have a subscription business model just like Netflix, just like Adobe and just like Microsoft,” says Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey. Customers subscribe and we stream innovation. We’ve been streaming a lot to our customers. We talked about Home Depot recently. They’re seeing a record demand in the pandemic and we really helped them consolidate their infrastructure.”
Tech Companies Must Have A Subscription Business Model
As a company, we started almost ten years ago in a recession. The first killer workload for hyper-convergence was virtual desktops. People said Windows is dead. We said long live Windows. We went after federal customers and did an amazing job of building a very reliable company. Just taking a step back, we’re in the business of building cloud software. A lot of this comes down to the word software and cloud. We’re really thinking hard about being amorphous, being everywhere, being in the private data centers at the edge, and in the public cloud.
Cloud is hard and you really need to make it simple, seamless, and secure. But most importantly, you have got to have a subscription business model just like Netflix, just like Adobe and just like Microsoft. Customers subscribe and we stream innovation. We’ve been streaming a lot to our customers. We talked about Home Depot recently. They’re seeing a record demand in the pandemic and we really helped them consolidate their infrastructure.
Cloud Is About Consuming Smaller Things
The best way to measure our performance is a cloud subscription currency. We started talking about it as of last quarter and we grew really well with annual contract value. If you think about it cloud is about consuming smaller things. Hardware was about seven-year entitlement and software is still five to seven years. We’re saying let’s go do three-year terms and one-year terms. You’ve got to start small.
The recession is also the best time to go back with bite-size of what the customer really wants to buy. Annual contract value is the way of measuring our growth. It is also going to make this whole transition. I talked about Netflix and others and this whole transition unlocks amazing operational efficiencies for the company as well.
Tech Companies Must Have A Subscription Business Model: Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey
Google has announced a price hike for its YouTube TV streaming service, following its distribution agreement with ViacomCBS.
YouTube TV has garnered mostly positive reviews as one of the premier TV streaming services available. One glaring omission was the lack of some ViacomCBS channels. In May, Google announced it had struck a deal to bring 14 additional ViacomCBS channels to the service.
While many users expected there might be a slight increase in price, thanks to the new channels, it’s probably a safe bet that few were expecting a $15 price increase. Whereas YouTube TV did cost $49.99, effective June 30, the price increases to $64.99.
“We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members,” says the official blog post. “That said, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV. YouTube TV is the only streaming service that includes a DVR with unlimited storage space, plus 6 accounts per household each with its own unique recommendations, and 3 concurrent streams. It’s all included in the base cost of YouTube TV, with no contract and no hidden fees.”
One of YouTube TV’s best selling points was the features and channels it provided at an exceptionally good price. With this recent price hike, however, Google may have a hard time distinguishing its service from fuboTV and Hulu.
The New York Times has become one of the first major media outlet to pull out of its deal with Apple News, citing conflicting strategies.
Apple set out to reimagine the news industry, while at the same time providing a way for beleaguered newspapers to reach new customers in the digital age. Apple News hit the 125 million monthly users milestone earlier this year, and boasts some of the biggest names in news.
Despite the platform’s success, The Times has announced it will be leaving Apple News, effective June 29. The organization wants to focus on its own distribution and direct relationships with customers, rather than working through a third-party.
“Core to a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers and the nature of our business rules,” Meredith Kopit Levien, chief operating officer, wrote in a memo to employees. “Our relationship with Apple News does not fit within these parameters.”
It remains to be seen if The Times is a one-off, or if other publishers will follow suit.
YouTube is in hot water over claims it engaged in censorship on behalf of the Chinese government.
In a letter to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Senator Josh Hawley asked for an explanation about the alleged censorship. YouTube has explained the censorship occurred as a result of an error in its enforcement system, but has provided very little information beyond that. Understandably, the explanation is doing little to ease people’s concerns.
In his letter to Pichai, Hawley says “that Google engineers may have changed the algorithms on YouTube to automatically censor certain criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party. In particular, Google engineers appear to have altered YouTube code to automatically block the Chinese terms for “communist bandit” and “50-cent party”—the latter term referring to a division of the Chinese Communist Party whose purpose is deflecting criticism from the Party by using sockpuppet accounts to spread online propaganda. These reports follow in the wake of Google’s purported ‘mis’-translation last year of the phrase ‘I am sad to see Hong Kong become part of China’ to ‘I am happy to see Hong Kong become part of China.’”
Senator Hawley gave Pichai till June 12 to respond. It remains to be seen if Google will provide concrete information on the issue.
Spotify has scored a major win over competitors, securing an exclusive deal with Joe Rogan.
The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most popular podcasts on the planet, with millions of listeners per episode. The podcast also attracts a bevy of high-profile guests.
In making the announcement on Instagram, Rogan emphasized that this was just a licensing deal, and that Spotify would have no creative control.
“Starting on September 1 the podcast will be available on Spotify as well as all platforms, and then at the end of the year it will move exclusively to Spotify, including the video version,” wrote Rogan.
“It will remain FREE, and it will be the exact same show. It’s just a licensing deal, so Spotify won’t have any creative control over the show. They want me to just continue doing it the way I’m doing it right now.
“We will still have clips up on YouTube but full versions of the show will only be on Spotify after the end of the year.
“I’m excited to have the support of the largest audio platform in the world and I hope you folks are there when we make the switch!”
Spotify has been trying to branch out and show it’s more than a music service. This deal is a big step in that direction.
ViacomCBS has struck a deal with YouTube TV to bring 14 of its channels to the popular streaming service.
YouTube TV is one of the newer TV streaming services, joining Sling TV, fuboTV, Hulu With Live TV and others. The service has quickly become a favorite with a well-rounded combination of channels, features and price. One glaring omission was some of the ViacomCBS stations, such as Comedy Central, MTV, CMT, Paramount Network and more. With today’s announcement, that omission has finally been fixed.
BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land and VH1 will be available this summer, with BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons and TeenNick coming on at a later date.
“We are thrilled to have reached an expanded agreement with YouTube TV that recognizes the full power of our newly combined portfolio as ViacomCBS,” said Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS. “Google has been an excellent partner, and we look forward to bringing even more of our entertainment networks to YouTube TV subscribers for the first time.”
“We’re excited to launch ViacomCBS’ portfolio on YouTube TV this summer, ” said Lori Conkling, Global Head of Partnerships at YouTube TV. “Our expanded partnership delivers on our promise to offer a premium portfolio of content to our YouTube TV subscribers, as well as across the YouTube platforms.”
The announcement is good news for current YouTube TV subscribers and will likely help the service gain even more.
“Last year we sent about 50,000 pet portraits to our customers,” says Chew CEO Sumit Singh. “We’re an experience-driven company. This is not a cost. This is an engagement mechanism. We’ve partnered with about a thousand local artists across the country. We think of this as an experience building. We have 90 percent re-ups (of our subscriptions). Our customers love engaging with us.”
Sumit Singh, CEO of Chewy, discusses their IPO (launched today) and how customer engagement has driven their phenomenal growth in an interview on CNBC:
We Are An Experience-Driven Company
Last year we sent about 50,000 pet portraits to our customers. We’re an experience-driven company. This is not a cost. This is an engagement mechanism. We’ve partnered with about a thousand local artists across the country. They show up to your doorstep unannounced. It’s a total surprise. You can’t buy them. When they do (the paintings) they create memories. People talk about them. They drive dinner table conversations. They show up on social media. It’s just an emotive category.
We think of this as an experience building. We have this because we want it, not because we need it in some way. Once we get out there and once this shows up on your doorstep the engagement that it creates generates the loyalty, the repeat purchase rate. In fact, our cohorts just keep growing from $330 to $500, $600, and $700 as they go from year five, six, and into year seven. This is what does it. Pets is the only category where a consumer refers to themselves as a pet parent. The only other category where consumers do that is kids.
“Jackson loves his Chewy portrait!” notes Chewy customer Eri Anne
Our Customers Love Engaging With Us
Pet ownership is underrepresented in the growth of e-commerce. First of all today in the United States we’re only about 14 percent penetrated from an online point of view. Chewy, if you look at it, is a $70 billion dollar industry. We’re penetrated in about roughly 10 percent of the households. We have 11 million customers. We’re growing fast and we’re engaging them hard.
They stay with us. It’s the two flywheels, the engagement, and the acquisition. It just spins really well. Our investors love that. Our customers love that. We like it. We have 90 percent re-ups (of our subscriptions). Two-thirds of our revenue comes from Autoship and our subscription program. Our customers love engaging with us.
We Have An Incredible Amount of Data
Our shipping (cost) is built into our gross margins. What you’ve seen is as we’ve gotten big fast, we’ve also gotten fit fast. Our gross margin has expanded over 500 basis points over the last three years. We have a dense network. We have the predictability of Autoship. We can plan supply plan tighter and baseload build a lot tighter and get it to our customers fast and in a reliable manner. That’s how we make it work.
We have a ton of data. When you contact us you’re giving us (information). Pet profiles is an amazing way for us to engage with you. Customers are leaning in. We talked to you via customer service. At this point, we have 11 million customers but we manage over 27 million relationships between pets and pet parents. That is an incredible amount of data and facts to have on base.
Pets.com Was 20 Years Ago
The company (Pets.com) was 20 years ago. Look at the way the e-commerce has built out, the inputs are changing. Look at our stickiness. Look at the number of customers that we’re attracting. The fact that we’re servicing greater than 95 percent of US households in less than two days and the fact that customers keep coming back to us. Also, the necessity and desire to continue to engage and seek information via the high-touch high-class customer service that we provide. We just closed the loop better than anybody else out there.
We Are An Experience-Driven Company, Says Chewy CEO Sumit Singh
Google is launching the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund in an effort to help support local journalists and news outlets amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a blog post, Google News VP Richard Gingras said that “local news is a vital resource for keeping people and communities connected in the best of times. Today, it plays an even greater function in reporting on local lockdowns or shelter at home orders, school and park closures, and data about how COVID-19 is affecting daily life.”
After highlighting the challenges local news outlets are facing during the economic downturn, Gingras said the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund will focus on helping small, medium and hyper-local news publishers. The amount of the relief will range from low thousands to low tens of thousands, depending on the size of the newsroom.
“Starting today, publishers everywhere can apply for funds via a simple application form,” Gingras continued. “We’ve made this as streamlined as possible to ensure we get help to eligible publishers all over the world. Applications will close on Wednesday April 29, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. At the end of the process, we’ll announce who has received funding and how publishers are spending the money.”
Google’s announcement is good news for small newsrooms and will hopefully help publishers keep delivering news at time when it’s more important than ever.
