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AMC Will Explore Audience Tastes with Analytics Firm Katch

After using its media genome technology to map audience preferences for films, data insights firm Katch is branching into television in a deal with AMC Networks. AMC will leverage Katch’s insights in support of its linear networks and streaming services. The proprietary Katch Media Genome dataset has more than 2,500 unique data points on everything from context and cinematography to directorial approach and score. As part of a multiyear deal, “large portions of AMC’s library will be analyzed by hand-classified and trained human content analysts from Katch,” the company says. Read more

Female-Driven No-Code Game App Dorian Raises $14 Million

Fiction writers are invited to bring their art to life as mobile games with no-code app Dorian. Founded in 2018, Dorian offers choose-your-own-adventure play for free, but lets users spend in-app currency to choose narrative paths, promising authors a first-dollar cut of the payments. The company, which builds for iOS and Android, claims a library of roughly 3,500 games, created by a “nearly all-female creator community” of about 250 monetizing storytellers, a number it says is growing quickly compared to other platforms, where it can take years to start earning. Dorian recently raised $14 million in Series A funding led by The Raine Group. Read more

No-Code AI and Prediction Tools Bring Coding to the People

A new AI revolution is underway, turning people who know little about coding into developers. Called “no code,” startups are emerging to productize this new category, which essentially lets people use familiar, clickable web interfaces and even natural language to automate tasks or create simple applications, while machine learning takes over the rest. Proponents predict it will be a game-changer, powering a brigade of “citizen developers” to leverage artificial intelligence without knowing how to write code. Startups entering the space include Juji, which makes creating AI chatbots as easy as programming PowerPoint. Read more

CISA and FBI Warn of Possible Attacks on Satellite Networks

The U.S. government has issued a cybersecurity alert warning of “possible threats” to satellite communication networks and the country’s critical infrastructure. Concerned that recent attacks on European satellite networks could spread to the United States, a joint advisory published last week by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency cited CISA’s “Shield’s Up” initiative, which warns that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could trigger homeland attacks. The alert requests “all organizations significantly lower their threshold for reporting and sharing indications of malicious cyber activity.” Read more

Vimeo Offers Apology to Customers Irked Over Fee Increase

Vimeo is adjusting its bandwidth policies, a result of explosive demand for video consumption and hosting due in part to the expanding creator economy. When some existing Vimeo customers recently complained after being hit with news of a sudden, sizable billing increase, Vimeo quickly apologized. CEO Anjali Sud issued a mea culpa that included photos of an extended bouquet and crossed wires. “For those who consume large amounts of video bandwidth,” wrote Sud, “we have continued to enforce legacy policies that are poorly communicated and that are causing unnecessary friction and anxiety.” Read more

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