Nielsen has partnered with AT&T’s DirecTV and Dish Network, two of the largest pay-TV distributors in the U.S., and smart TV maker Vizio, to use data collected by these companies to measure targeted advertising on television. The shift means that, rather than tabulating an average audience for all ads in a program, Nielsen will measure each ad individually. The adoption of targeted advertising is expected to increase the value of TV ads, which have been struggling recently as broadcast and cable networks lose viewership to a growing number of streaming services. Read more

Last month, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Recording Academy, the National Music Publishers Association, the Music Managers Forum, the American Association of Independent Music and SAG-AFTRA chastised Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos for his company Twitch’s copyright violations. Twitch finally conceded that it ignored the use of unlicensed recorded music by its video creators and issued a blog post urging them to no longer do so and to delete any older VODs and Clips with unlicensed music. Read more

Game publishers have discussed raising the cost of video games, set at $60 in the 1990s, for decades, and are finally moving ahead with a plan to raise the standard price to $70, despite the doubling of U.S. unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Take-Two Interactive Software was one of the first to offer a $70 game with “NBA 2K1.” Meanwhile, Microsoft promotes its Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service with 100+ titles for $10 per month. Sony plans to offer a subscription service with fewer titles. Read more

The next ETC Digital Town Square — Breaking Down “Ripple Effect”: A Case Study on COVID-19 Safety Protocols, Advanced Workflows and Virtual Production — will be hosted by Equinix and the Entertainment Technology Center@USC on November 19, 1:00-3:30 pm PST. Free and open to the public, the webinar will dive into “Ripple Effect,” a recent live-action short produced by ETC that leveraged Safetyviz as well as remote and virtual production to improve safety in the return to media production. Register today for your virtual front row seat to this important webinar. Read more

NBCUniversal and PayPal have inked a deal that will make it easier for viewers to buy products suggested by TV programs. The move is part of the media conglomerate’s effort to create a new revenue stream as the television advertising business faces new challenges. NBCUniversal earlier launched e-commerce on its Syfy cable network and, later, on Spanish-language Telemundo. With PayPal on board, it will now allow viewers to buy products from 60 retailers; PayPal will also make shoppable online gift guides available. Read more