MM Tech, Media & Publishing Roundup #6

Social Media:

1. Meta Launches Updated Facebook Feed Format, Moving it More into Line With TikTok

With TikTok aggressively rising to the top of the ranks, Meta has taken major strides in changing the feed to look more like the highly-engaging ‘For You’ feed that helped make TikTok famous.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently posted a video to Facebook displaying how the new UI will look in the next few weeks. The ‘Home’ feed will now primarily focus on recommended content to keep you entertained while also having a new ‘Feeds’ tab where users can view the latest posts in different categories, including Favorites, Friends, Groups, etc.
Via Social Media Today

2. TikTok Introducing a Variety of New Accessibility and Translation Tools:

New caption and translation tools have been introduced to the app in hopes of lowering the language barrier to help bring entertaining global content to more users.

The new updates consist of auto-generated captions, translations for text stickers and translations for captions and video descriptions. The initial batch of languages supported will include English, Portuguese, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish and Turkish. 
Via Newsroom TikTok

3. Instagram Has Introduced New Ways to Collaborate and Create with Reels

In the hype of the ever-growing short-video trend, Instagram has added new features making it “more fun and easy to collaborate, create and share reels.” 

These updates introduce more ways to collaborate using enhanced remix features, including green screens, horizontal or vertical split screens and picture-in-picture reaction videos with the ability to add video commentary to existing reels. In addition, more templates and dual features have been introduced, allowing users to capture, edit and share reels. 

Further, in the coming weeks, all videos under 15 minutes will be shared as Reels, which are shared on the Discovery page (only applicable for Reels under 90 seconds long). 
Via About Instagram 

4. Snapchat Reaches 347 Million Daily Actives, Sees Slower Revenue Growth in Q2

Despite Snapchat leading the AR space, the app has seen a slower revenue growth, which can be seen in the Q2 2022 numbers shared last week. 
 
The stagnation in U.S. and European markets could potentially cause further concern among investors, even though they increased their users by 15 million in Q2, taking their total up to 347 million daily activities. 

To address this, Snapchat says it will look to maximize its community growth initiatives while also investing heavily in its direct-response ad offerings to deliver “measurable returns on advertising spending”.
Via Social Media Today

5. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Top News Sources for U.K. Teens, Ousting BBC, Media Regulator Report Reveals

According to a recent report covered by UK media regulator Ofcom, the most preferred mode of news consumption for British teenagers is now Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. 

For the first time, Instagram is now reported to be the most popular news source among teenagers, used by 29%. TikTok and YouTube are close behind, used by 28% of teenagers to follow the news.

TikTok has seen the most significant increase in the use of any news source between 2020 and 2022 — from 0.8 million U.K. adults in 2020 (1%) to 3.9 million U.K. adults in 2022 (7%), bringing it on par with Sky News’ website and app.
Via Variety

6. Twitter Adds Hashtag Discovery to Communities to Help Improve Engagement

Communities pages on Twitter will now display a listing of the most used hashtags within that group in a new panel above the tweet feed. By tapping on the tag the user will be able to see all the tweets from within that community that has used that tag. 

This feature is available on Android and the web (coming soon to IOS).
Via Social Media Today

Streaming:

7. Fox Nation turns up on FuboTV

FuboTV subscribers can access over 5,000 hours of Fox Nation original content available via FuboTV’s app on connected TVs, mobile devices and desktops.  

The virtual MVPD, FuboTV, has built up its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) portfolio, recently adding Crackle and Popcornfix channels to its U.S. platform. 

According to Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, the company plans to invest between $200 and $300 million yearly in streaming.
Via Fierce Video

8. Inside The Stream – Ad tiers, Account Sharing Options Complicate Netflix

Netflix's Q2 results were revealed during a deep dive into the streaming service showing a loss of one million subscribers, compared to the forecasted loss expected of two million subscribers for the quarter. 

Netflix elaborated on its idea to introduce ad-supported tiers stating there will not be a single ad-supported tier below the basic entry-level tier. Instead, the company hinted there could be an ad-supported version of each of the “good-better-best” tiers currently provided.

Follow the article link below for further insights into Netflix’s exclusive partners, ad tiers and monetization methods.
Via NScreen Media

9. ViX+ launches on Sling TV, Dish TV, Amazon Prime Video Channels

Specifically designed for Spanish-speaking audiences, Vix was the first large-scale streaming service to reach a global audience. Within its first year, it provided more than 10,000 hours of entertainment programming and 4,000 hours of premium live sports coverage. 

ViX+ is the only Spanish-language streaming service in the US with coverage of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League matches.

ViX+’s debut this week spans 19 countries, including the U.S., Mexico, and broadly Latin America. At launch, ViX+ is also accessible on iOS and Android mobile devices and tablets, as well as Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV and Apple TV.
Via Advanced Television and Fierce Video

10. Warner Bros. Discovery-BT Sport Joint Venture Approved by U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority

The recent joint premium sports venture between Warner Bros. Discovery and BT has been approved by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). 

The venture will have one of the most extensive portfolios of premium sports rights, including UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, the Premier League, Premiership Rugby, UFC, the Olympic Games, tennis Grand Slams featuring the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, cycling Grand Tours including the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia and the winter sports World Cup season.
Via Variety

Technology:

11. Google Analytics 4 Now Reports On Performance Max & Smart Shopping

Google Analytics is updating reports for GA4 properties with a segment of data counting traffic from Performance Max and Smart Shopping campaigns. 

GA4 properties show exactly how much traffic is attributed to Performance Max and Smart Shopping Campaigns, providing advantages for brands looking to isolate Performance Max and Smart Shopping metrics from other Google Ads data.
Via Search Engine Journal