Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 83 of Rerun by Axonista!
In this week's Top Pick Victor Luckerson puts forward his argument for why, 10 years on, Google's acquisition of YouTube was the best tech deal ever.
We also look at why a TV viewer does not equal an online video viewer; get an inside look at Snapchat's new ad API; see some of the video game influences that went into Westworld; check out a Facebook Live interactive murder mystery; ponder VR storytelling; and admire the creativity and talent that went into Westworld's opening titles.
Let's get to it!
Top Pick
A decade ago, Google bought YouTube — and it was the best tech deal ever
Was Google's $1.65bn purchase of YouTube really a better deal than their $50m purchase of Android? This feature by Victor Luckerson argues yes and comprehensively goes through the reasons why.
By buying YouTube Google eliminated a direct competitor, enhanced their core business, made a very smart investment for the future, boosted the company's stock and improved YouTube for its users. In the current ad industry where video is king, can you imagine a Google without the household name that is YouTube? Here's to another 10 years indeed.
Future of TV
Apples and oranges: Why a TV viewer does not equal an online video view
So you've successfully got your TV channel on to all the emerging platforms, OTT, social and online. You should be able to get a clear picture of viewership across all of these incredibly measurable devices and see exactly who is watching and how they're watching. Right? - Wrong!
It's a confusing and frustrating new world, where the measurement of a view on one platform is not equal to that of another, and none of them are measured in the same way that TV is measured.
And to top that off, TV hasn't been measured correctly for years, but there's a reluctance to change how it is measured, because advertising.
This post from Digiday breaks down the many ways video views are measured on different platforms.
This saga will likely take a few more years to sort out, but by then maybe our individual eyeballs will actually be tracked.
An inside look At Snapchat's new, high-tech ads API
Ad Age have published an inside look at Snapchat's new ads API, which allows third-party partners to plug into the app and deliver ads for brands and agencies. While it's still early days for Snapchat ads, the initial response from its partners has been very positive.
The API has some high-tech capabilities like interest-based targeting, directing ads to people based on their activities on Snapchat, such as what Discover channels they watch. There's also the ability to include weather factors into targeting and to sync ads to run when certain TV program runs.
Storytelling
Westworld’s creators were inspired by Red Dead Redemption and BioShock
There's a lot of hype around HBO's new high-profile series Westworld, with many TV fans hoping it can do for sci-fi what Game of Thrones did for fantasy. Recently the show's creators Lisa Joy Nolan and Jonathan Nolan spoke about their influences for the show, heavily drawing on video games as inspiration.
Jonathan Nolan also name-dropped the BioShock series, saying the games are “amongst the most literate and thoughtful pieces of entertainment I’ve seen in the last ten years.”
As more new TV shows look to this kind of world building for success, creating fictional worlds that cross over into other mediums outside the TV show itself, we can see more writers drawing on video games for inspiration.
Facebook Live hosts groundbreaking interactive murder mystery
We're big fans of escape room experiences here at Rerun, and this Facebook Live event by production company Social Life & the Alibi channel is a fantastic idea. Viewers of the hour-long broadcast will have to work together to solve a crime in real time, with the on-screen action guided by audience comments and Facebook reactions to polls of what the main character should do next.
Virtual Reality
Read it and bleep: is VR the future of storytelling?
VR has so many possibilities for storytelling - This week we read that Playstation VR's killer app could be music and that the upcoming Fifty Shades Darker movie is getting a VR experience with lots of 'action'.. ahem.
While it's clear that VR experiences are great for gaming and for promoting upcoming movies, is it really the future of storytelling?
This post from the Guardian reviews the wide variety of VR storytelling experiences on show at the inaugural Future of Storytelling Festival in New York and is a great glimpse into where VR might progress next.
“We are using code as the canvas,” says Charles Melcher, book publisher and founder FoST. In other words, whatever you can dream up, today’s advanced software capabilities can make it happen.
Esports
Esports more popular than ice hockey among male millennials, Newzoo reports
Curious why so many sports franchises are moving into esports? This report from Newzoo aims to answer all your questions. It shows you just how popular esports are, what kind of demographic the fans are in, and the kind of potential the industry has over the next few years. The report leans on jargon a bit too heavily, and has some questionable illustrations, but it's still worth a read.
Briefs
- Discovery invests $100m to merge Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo
- Warner Bros. nears deal to acquire Machinima for close to $100m
- BuzzFeed News & Twitter to partner on election night special
- Facebook now lets you stream videos to Apple TV and Google Chromecast
- Cork start-up InfiniLED acquired by Oculus
- Al Roker's startup is now 'live'
Westworld — Art of the Title
This week Bloomberg wrote about how peak TV is turning opening credits Into an orgy of excess. In a binge-watching world, let's face it, we often skip the credits, knowing the precise moment to press play, after any pre-credit story has taken place. However, the opening credits of any show are crucial, now more than ever, in setting tone and selling a show to a new audience.
This beautiful blog, Art of the Title, explores the opening sequence to show of the moment, Westworld, including an interview with the sequence director. There are also a myriad of other show titles to explore. From The Fresh Prince of Bel Air to Deadpool, this is one to settle down with a great cup of tea and enjoy!