• Nickelodeon Opens Shop Inside Toys 'R' Us
    Children's cable TV network Nickelodeon just launched its "first ever retail shop, inside Toys 'R' Us' flagship store in Times Square," according to the New York Business Journal. Located on the first floor of the store, the Nick Shop sells kids and adult clothing, along with such products as home goods, books and DVDs, and "exclusive New York-branded products featuring Nickelodeon characters including Dora the Explorer... SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
  • Report: Google Ranks No. 1 In Media Revenues
    With media revenues of almost $38 billion, "Google has topped ZenithOptimedia’s Top Thirty Global Media Owners report," which is 39% higher than that of number 2 on the list, DirecTV Group, writes Ishbel Macleod. The ranking now includes four digital media owners: along with Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Microsoft. "First published in 2007, the 2013 report saw Time Warner fall from first place in 2007 to sixth, with a fall from $30bn to $15.6bn; while Google has risen from being ranked at 13."
  • Watch ABC App Launches On Kindle
    The Watch ABC app, which streams live broadcast programming to pay TV subscribers with TV Everywhere deals, is now available on the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD. "The Watch ABC service first launched May 15, 2013 at the ABC upfront on iOS devices, which include iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, as well as at ABC.com/Watch," writes George Winslow.
  • YouTube Channel Smosh Moving To TV
    Smosh, the "single most subscribed channel on YouTube," is talking with several cable networks about giving a "second home" on traditional TV to its programs and talent, writes Andrew Wallenstein. "Negotiations are focused on both scripted and non-scripted fare; Alloy [Digital, Smosh's parent],  is already signing up writers to support the expansion."
  • In Colorado, Legal Pot Puts Pot Magazines In Porno Purgatory
    New laws making Colorado the nation’s “first legal, taxed and regulated market for recreational marijuana” have also put such magazines as High Times behind the counter with the porno mags.  As a result, High Times and two other print publications have sued the state for violating the First Amendment right to free speech.  The law in question specifically shields anyone under the age of 21 from being exposed to marijuana advertising, but the plaintiffs argue that, while the stated intent of Colorado is to “regulate marijuana like alcohol,” no such restrictions apply to alcohol ads.
  • Netflix Stock Prices Fall Despite 'Arrested Development' Launch
    "The revival of 'Arrested Development' should have been a beautiful manifestation of the Netflix strategy" of "up-ending the outdated way series television has been doled out to us, one week at a time," writes Buzzfeeds's Kate Aurthur. "Instead? So much hate!" Aurthur cites nasty tweets from "fans — the kinds who are more like cult members," some reacting to TV critics. And "Netflix stock fell by more than 6% as investors reacted to critics' mixed reviews over the weekend of the first new... episodes since Fox canceled the TV series seven …
  • Protesters Demonstrate Against Tribune Sale To Koch Brothers
    Yesterday protesters scheduled demonstrations in 12 major cities -- from New York to Baltimore, L.A. and Boston -- to speak out against the sale of the Tribune Company's regional newspapapers to "David and Charles Koch, the billionaire oil magnates and leaders of Koch Industries who have given millions of dollars to conservative causes," writes Joe Pompeo. "For its part, Koch Industries has not confirmed that it is in fact angling to buy the Tribune papers."
  • 'WSJ' To Develop LinkedIn Competitor
    In upcoming months, The Wall Street Journal plans to launch a social network to compete with LinkedIn "as a platform for 'like-minded people' to meet online and share ideas," writes David Robertson.
  • 'NY Times' Launches Sponsored Content App
    The New York Times is experimenting with native advertising in its mobile app The Scoop that "includes a new feature: real-time information on the location and capacity of nearby Citi Bike stations. That’s the new NYC bike-sharing system that debuted yesterday," writes Joshua Benton.
  • Study: Online Video Ads Trump TV Spots
    Online video ads work better than TV ads, according to a wide margin of ad agency execs sampled by eMarketer.  That's 75% of execs surveyed who say "that online video ads are more effective than traditional TV ads, compared with just 17% who say they are less effective," according to Mashable.
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