New York-based startup Foursquare may have found its most lucrative business move yet, which involves monetizing data about venues and locations that has been collected from millions of check-ins. The company already monetizes data through a partnership with Gnip, which sells packaged data from social services like Twitter, but these efforts may be expanded in the future if Foursquare partners with Yahoo for the company’s location data. Continue reading Foursquare and Yahoo Discussing Potential Data Partnership

Music video company Vevo, a joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, is making the transition from YouTube to television in an approach intended to generate revenue for the companies that create the videos. Vevo will deliver on-demand music videos and launch a channel of original programming via Apple TV set-top boxes and Samsung TVs. While the Samsung launch is likely a few weeks away, Apple could launch its Vevo Apple TV app this week. Continue reading Vevo Returning Music Videos to Television with New Channels

Recently discovered patent information suggests that Google may begin using Google Glass to track consumers’ reactions to advertisements. Glass can identify an ad and judge a person’s response by monitoring pupil dilation. This technology could help Google develop a “pay per gaze” system where advertisers get charged each time an ad is viewed through Glass. However, recent reports have indicated that personal data collected from Google Glass apps would not be sold for advertising or marketing purposes. Continue reading Google May Use Glass to Track Consumer Reactions to Ads

Advertising giant Interpublic Group is joining television and radio companies to build and test an automated ad-buying system for TV and radio. The new system will take advantage of new technologies and give traditional advertising equal footing with digital advertising. Despite concerns regarding effects on pricing, the approach may also make ads more effective and more valuable. Some companies have already begun using similar systems in their advertising. Continue reading Interpublic Joins Broadcasters in Automated Ad-Buying System

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation (WCF) has been restoring rare films since 2007. The public will benefit from these efforts when eight of the rescued films will be made available for the first time in the U.S. on Hulu, in a partnership with the Criterion Collection. The films will initially be offered for free with ads. After August 24, commercial-free WCF movies (and more than 800 Criterion titles) will be available only to paying Hulu Plus subscribers. Continue reading World Cinema Foundation Unveils Restored Films on Hulu Plus

As part of its ongoing effort to generate more traffic and potential advertising revenue, Twitter is testing new ways of bringing more television content to its platform. Currently, the company is testing a new feature in which links to TV shows appear as Twitter cards in a user’s Timeline. The cards’ click-through feature provides links to the show, related tweets and accounts that might be relevant to fans of that show. Separately, the company has announced that several updates to TweetDeck will make it faster and more convenient to use. Continue reading Twitter Tests TV Trending Feature and Upgrades TweetDeck

Facebook recently announced two new features for its mobile Web and iOS and Android mobile apps that will allow users to book restaurants and access TV and movie listings without ever leaving the world of Facebook. These features could help the social network compete with services offered by the likes of Fandango, Yelp and GroupOn. Ultimately, by influencing offline spending, Facebook hopes to generate more revenue and draw more advertisers. Continue reading Facebook Launches New Features to Influence Offline Spending

Executives at American Express are targeting millennials with a new sponsorship program that includes prepaid debit cards featuring images from the popular online video game “League of Legends” by Riot Games. Tomorrow, the company will announce a program through which users will receive 1,000 points when they sign up for the card and another 1,000 points when they load $20 onto the card. Additional points can be earned with purchases and when the card is linked to a direct deposit account. Continue reading AmEx Debit Cards to Feature Images from Online Video Game

Facebook video ads are likely to debut this fall, instead of this summer. The debut has fueled much speculation regarding the amount of revenue that this will generate for the company. The video ads are expected to offer a new way to target advertising to non-broadcast TV watchers. It will be determined what form the much debated videos will take, and if the $2 million price tag will attract businesses and audiences on the Web and mobile devices. Continue reading Facebook Expected to Unveil Video Ads for Web and Mobile

Twitter announced on Thursday a partnership with Datalogix, a marketing company that measures the impact of online advertisements, to develop an “offline sales impact” program. The new program intends to help quantify the effect of promoted and organic (non-advertising) tweets on offline sales for consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses in the U.S. Twitter plans to offer this program to more verticals and outside the U.S. in the future. Continue reading Twitter and Datalogix to Measure Impact of Tweets on Sales

Viggle, creator of the mobile second screen app and loyalty program that rewards viewers for engaging with TV shows, has launched the Viggle Audience Network, providing advertisers with access to an audience of nearly 10 million users. While Viggle has nearly three million registered users, it also leverages users from initial launch partners including discovery platform Boxfish, independent fan site BuddyTV and Dijit Media’s NextGuide. Viggle will be able to sell ads across the entire group. Continue reading Viggle Audience Network Offers New Advertising Opportunities

Amazon announced that developers now have the option of creating Web apps that will be offered alongside native Android-based programs on its Appstore. The move could encourage developers to distribute HTML5-based apps without converting them to Android versions. It could also potentially lead the charge for change with other stores. Developers currently have to convert their apps to native iOS and Android versions for availability via the Apple App Store and Google Play. Continue reading Web Apps Join Android Offerings on the Amazon Appstore

On Tuesday, Facebook announced that it will now regularly publish blog postings about the algorithm that runs the display of posts on the home screen of its users. This is a reversal for Facebook, as it has previously kept its algorithms secret. This openness is an attempt to improve credibility among its users and businesses. The company is also debuting a new “Story Bumping” feature, which will push missed stories ahead of ones already read. Continue reading Facebook To Open Up on Changes to News Feed Algorithms

In a new study, Nielsen has confirmed a connection between television viewing and the magnitude of related Twitter buzz. The study suggests that Twitter activity can encourage people to watch TV programming and increase ratings significantly, while TV viewing can affect the number of tweets. Nielsen and Twitter have joined forces to measure Twitter traffic regarding various shows. Ultimately, it may be difficult to determine if Twitter actually influences TV watching or if it is a reflection of it. Continue reading Nielsen Study Finds Links Between TV Viewing and Twitter

Google’s Chromecast, which wirelessly connects mobile devices and computers to television, is the latest potential challenge to pay TV. While it may not immediately disrupt the current business model, it offers a glimpse of Google’s vision to make the Internet a platform for TV. The TV industry has dealt with the disruption of Internet TV despite mounting pressure. However, media companies, broadcasters, pay TV providers and advertisers may need to redefine how they interact with one another. Continue reading Google Chromecast Could Be Challenge to Pay TV Providers