Happy Friday!
Did you know that American skier Laurenne Ross’ Winter Olympic dream almost didn't come true? Thankfully, with the help of VR technology, she is ready to make her mark in PyeongChang.
Let the scrolling begin,
Top Pick
Twitch just passed MSNBC and CNN for January viewers
Last month, Twitch clocked in 962,000 average concurrent viewers throughout the month [...] Twitch's January viewership beat out both MSNBC and CNN, who reportedly featured 885,000 and 783,000 watchers for their total day viewership during Jan. 2018, respectively.
Twitch continues its incredible growth with these latest measurements, up 22% from last year. Averaging almost 1 million concurrent viewers throughout last month, it's quickly closing the gap on ESPN's 1.5 million.
We shared an article just last week that outlined how esports is now ready for prime time, and as a result, we only expect Twitch's growth to accelerate even further over 2018.
Features
Casey Neistat interviewed the Head of YouTube Business, Robert Kyncl.
This was the first time YouTube agreed to an interview on their own platform.
Neistat asked why there was a 9 day delay from them to comment on the Logan Paul video. Robert Kyncl explained why creators are not getting as much revenue as they were before, what YouTube's core values are, and what the future holds for creators using YouTube.
Future of TV
BBC reports ‘best year ever’ for iPlayer
The BBC have announced 2017 was the best year on record for the iPlayer. The BBC attribute this success to the addition of more boxsets, archive shows and personalisation features.
At Rerun we think the addition of personalisation features is an important note it the iPlayer's successful growth. The personalisation features have been facilitated by the requirement for all uses to sign in first. This now allows users to pick up a programme where they left off across multiple devices, and to receive personalised recommendations based on viewing habits. In this case, in seems making sign in compulsorily has allowed the BBC to improve iPlayer functionality.
Interactive Media
Snapchat’s new update triggers revolt by millions of teens
We've reported before about Snapchat's big changes, and now that they're a reality, the teens have risen up! With a twitter storm and a Change.org petition with over a million signatures, Snapchat has heard them loud and clear.
But, will Snapchat revert or remain bullish on their new direction?
Facebook funded most of the experts who vetted Messenger kids
Late last year Facebook launched a new version of their Messenger application aimed at pre-teens. Messenger Kids includes parental controls allowing oversight and protection for young children. Although many voiced concerned about targeting children in this manner, Facebook was vocal about consulting with leading experts in order to safeguard younger users.
In an obvious conflict of interest, it has emerged that Facebook had funded most of these experts. Equally damning was the exclusion of two well-known nonprofits and various other established experts, some learning of the app's development a few days before launch.
Eight weeks after the Messenger Kids debut . . . a group of nearly 100 child-health advocates who asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to kill the app because it could undermine healthy child development.
Storytelling
The largest analysis of film dialogue by gender, ever
Over the last number of months, there has been significant talk around gender in-balance presented in today's films and TV shows. However, to date, there hasn't been concrete data to back up much of the discussion.
To help with this, the Pudding created a census of over 8000 screenplays and 2000 films. It makes for a fascinating and informed read.
Virtual Reality
5 of the best VR movies to watch in 2018
The year 2017 gave us some of the greatest VR movies available and as we progress further into 2018, we can only expect better and awesome movies again. Here are some of the greatest VR movies to watch in 2018.
We recommend checking out Dispatch. It is a four-part series that follows an emergency dispatcher called Ted, who receives emergency calls from people whom a killer threatens. Ted tries to visualize the scenes as described to him by the distressed callers. The viewer experiences the story through the half-imagined, half-real vector graphics approximation version of events that are happening. This event keeps evolving as the dispatcher’s understanding of the ongoing situation changes, and the viewer fills in the gap with their own imaginations.
This makes a case for binge-worthy VR.
Hidden TV series references. Will you be able to find them?
If you're anything like us, you'll have a ton of (usually useless) TV trivia stored in your noggin' from years of epic, classic and unforgettable TV. It's time to put all those binge watching hours to good use! How many references can you find?