Advertisers Watch Threads as Twitter Rival Soars in Debut

Did Zuckerberg Invent the Twitter Killer?

Threads debuted Wednesday night with a bang. Meta’s new social network has already recorded more than 10 million subscribers within seven hours of its launch, with celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and New York Democrat Alexandria he Ocasio-Cortez. fascinated politicians.

But the presence of high-profile advertisers such as Procter & Gamble and Ford points to greater commercial stakes in the battle between Mark Zuckerberg’s new platform and Elon Musk’s Twitter. there is

Meta touts Threads as a “friendly” forum, but the social media giant is eyeing the bluebird. Zuckerberg wants the platform to become “a public conversation app used by over a billion people.” And he engages with about 600,000 thread followers, respond With a laughing emoji when he hinted that a new social network could doom Twitter.

Even if you can’t buy ads yet, advertisers are watching closely. “Threads can really fly, and people are obviously concerned about brand safety on Twitter,” longtime advertising mogul Martin Sorrell, who now heads digital marketing firm S4 Capital, told DealBook. .

Twitter’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, joined last month with the aim of mending ties with a major brand that exited the platform after Musk bought Twitter and weeded out dozens of content moderators. “Controversy is negative and not something brands want to address,” Sorrell said.

Meta has its own problems with privacy and datasome have already expressed concern. how to deal with disinformation on the platform. But Sorrell said the company is making strides to improve and is seen as a true alternative, adding that the launch is “advantageous” at a time when Twitter is trying to limit the number of tweets users can see. ‘ he added.

Meta can also leverage the weight of its platform and ad operations. The company imported features from Instagram, which is used by about 2 billion people each month. And it’s targeting an equally lucrative audience of digitally savvy creators, said Adam Mosseri, head of the photo-sharing app. Explanation video.

One featured feature: If a Threads user wants to delete their account, they should do the following: again Please delete her Instagram account. Will it invite scrutiny from the FTC? swore to crack down DealBook wonders which companies are too lazy to opt out of their service.

Mr. Musk was unimpressed. “I would rather be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in false happiness on Instagram to hide my pain.” he tweeted.

Not everyone can use threads. this is Available in 100 countriesbut not a member of the European Union Meta and privacy watchdogs are fighting over what the company does with user data. Unlike Twitter, there are also no direct messaging or livestream options.

what is going on here

Fed officials have suggested multiple rate hikes are on the horizon. Minutes from the central bank’s interest rate meeting last month showed some officials favoring rate hikes over holding rates amid slow progress in efforts to curb inflation. . Economists and investors will look to Friday’s jobs report for further indications of how aggressive the Fed’s interest rate policy will be this year.

The Biden administration is appealing a ruling restricting communication with social media platforms. The Department of Justice try to turn over An injunction that prevents many government officials from encouraging companies to remove certain types of content. on the other hand, State Department reportedly canceled Regular meeting with Facebook executives on hacking threats and the 2024 election.

Donald Trump raised more than $35 million in the second quarter. the amount The amount is almost double the amount the former president has filed over the past three months, showing how the multiple indictments don’t seem to have hurt him politically. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is still struggling to make a strong case against Trump.

Interest in ChatGPT and others seems to be waning. both web traffic and app download That’s because hugely popular AI chatbots and chatbots like Bing are in decline, according to new research. This suggests that, even for the tech industry, the novelty of ChatGPT is waning among mainstream users. as enthusiastic as ever About artificial intelligence.

Two top entertainment moguls team up

David Nevins, who stepped down as one of Paramount Global’s top executives last year, has found a new position as CEO of The North Road Company, a studio founded by fellow entertainment veteran Peter Chernin.

The hire will give North Road a chief who helped produce its biggest series in the last 20 years, according to reports by Dealbook’s Lauren Hirsch and The Times’ Jon Covlin.

Industry executives have wondered where Mr. Nevins would go after Paramount. He became famous for producing shows like ‘ER’, ’24’ and ‘Friday Night Lights’. He then joined Showtime’s entertainment division in 2010, directing such hits as ‘Homeland,’ ‘The Affair,’ and ‘Yellowjackets.

by the time he quit last yearNevins was the chief creative officer of scripted content for the Paramount+ streaming service.

Mr. Nevins is teaming up with some of Hollywood’s most respected veterans. Charnin, who was Rupert Murdoch’s deputy head of News Corp., founded Charnin Entertainment in 2010 and produced “Ford vs. Ferrari” and “Hidden Figures.” Then, last year, he founded North Road, which includes Charnin Entertainment, to set up independent studios aimed at satisfying Hollywood’s appetite.

Chernin has acquired companies such as Kinetic Content, which produced “Love Is Blind” for Netflix, and Wards+ Pictures, the documentary production company behind ESPN’s “30 for 30,” to expand into new ventures. bottom.

North Road is backed by a large amount of money. The company has raised $150 million from the Qatar Investment Authority this year, worth about $1 billion. This is on top of the $500 million investment firm Providence Equity Partners invested in North Road at its launch and the $300 million debt financing from Apollo.

Nevins joins North Road at a tipping point in the entertainment industry. After years of rampant content spending in the name of subscriber growth, streaming services are shrinking as Wall Street’s strategy deteriorates.

Charnin argues that entertainment giants will increasingly focus on working with independent production companies with quality content and solid financials.

“Now would be a good time to become a well-funded independent company,” Nevins told Dealbook.

A New Tale of Taylor Swift and FTX

The sudden bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX last year has left many of the crypto exchange’s paid ambassadors, including noted quarterback Tom Brady and his then-wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen. celebrities were involved.

But one superstar who escaped the chaos was Taylor Swift. The pop singer has been praised for her business-savvy demeanor as Adam Moskowitz, the attorney who is suing Brady and Bündchen over their FTX ties, said Swift turned down a similar sponsorship deal. . The truth is more complicated, as Erin Griffiths and David Yaffe Bellany of The Times reported:

In an interview with The New York Times, Moskowitz said he had no inside information about the meeting.

In reality, Swift signed a sponsorship deal with FTX after more than six months of negotiations, according to three people familiar with the deal, and it was Bankman-Fried who pulled out. The last-minute turnaround left Swift’s team frustrated and disappointed, two people said.

A spokeswoman for Ms Swift declined to comment.

Canada makes news

strife between Canada and Big Tech It made more headlines Wednesday after the government removed ads from Facebook and Instagram. The reason: Meta, the parent company of the social platform, cites a law (currently undergoing regulatory proceedings) that requires tech companies to pay media owners for linking to their news content. announced that it will block access to Lawmakers around the world are watching closely as a potential model.

The law is expected to come into effect within about six months. The Canadian government says digital platforms such as Meta and Google have benefited from free content while devouring publishers’ advertising revenue. Tech companies counter that their platforms have increased publishers’ ability to reach audiences.

Regulation is accelerating. Australia will also introduce similar regulations in 2021. Meta blocked the news there, but finally gave in after some tweaks were made. The company and Google have since negotiated a deal with an Australian media company. publishers raked in millions of dollars.Canadian law Built on the Australian modelother countries are also considering their own measures.

Canada is particularly angry with Meta. Canada’s Minister of Culture Pablo Rodriguez has accused the company of being “unreasonable and irresponsible” for not engaging with the government, unlike Google’s parent group Alphabet. He added that pulling the ad would cost millions of dollars.

U.S. lawmakers are also paying attention. California submitted a similar bill Some members of Congress expressed support for Canada’s approach. “It is unacceptable for companies like Google and Facebook to abuse their power to cut off access to news. Leaders are right to stand firm against such tactics.” Senator Elizabeth Warrentweeted a Democrat from Massachusetts. Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota) co-sponsored a similar bill Speaking to a man in Canada, he told The Globe and Mail: lawmakers must resist company pressure: “Of course, monopolies will fight us every step of the way.”

Meta did not respond to a request for comment. A Google spokesperson said it hoped the talks with the government would help address concerns so it wouldn’t lead to a blackout.

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Information of sale

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