CMO Today: Facebook Tweaks Algorithm to Favor People Over Publishers

View this email in a web browser. CMO Today: Facebook Tweaks Algorithm to Favor People Over Publishers By Mike Shields Getty Images THE BOT’S WRATH: Many web publishers have gone all in on distributing content through Facebook. And they’re often asked whether that dynamic is worrisome--relying on a platform they don’t control for such a big part of their business. Their response is often something like, “Facebook needs us as much as we need them,” though in private, executives are slightly less carefree. And here’s an example of why: Facebook announced that it is tweaking its algorithm to favor real people’s posts over publishers’ content, reports The Wall Street Journal. Can a mere algorithm change make that big of a difference? Publishers might want to dial up Zynga to ask. The good news is, the same thing happened to marketers who built up big fan bases, only to see their Facebook posts deprioritized by the algorithm. All they had to do was start spending lots of money on Facebook ads to remedy the situation. There, problem solved! LITTLE WORRY: LittleThings is practically the poster child for “web publisher that lives or dies on Facebook,” with three-quarters of its traffic coming from the social media giant. The company was born as a pet product-oriented e-commerce vendor that built a following with feel-good stories on social media, before morphing into an accidental media company. LittleThings Chief Executive Joe Speiser appeared on this week’s WSJ Media Mix podcast to talk about life as a media brand that relies--or one might argue thrives--on Facebook. Mr. Speiser expressed little worry that publishers would ever get squeezed out by Facebook’s algorithm. Indeed, he told WSJ that the latest algorithm tweak actually led to a bump in the company’s traffic, which he says is because Facebook users are more likely to share the kind of “inspirational content” produced by the site. Advertisement SLOW REVEAL: Nielsen has been promising to solve one of the enduring mysteries of media: what are the ratings for shows on Netflix and other streaming outlets? Media executives, tired of hearing how totally awesome Netflix is and how it’s stealing all the millennials, have been clamoring for this information. Well, Nielsen is now collecting lots of data and on Wednesday began revealing a tiny bit to its clients, WSJ reports. From June 17 to June 19, 6.7 million people streamed the season four debut of “Orange is the New Black.” The report shows that reruns of “Seinfeld” on Hulu reached 706,000 U.S. viewers in the first five days they were available. The Netflix audience is as young-skewing as you probably thought (44% of streaming viewers of “Better Call Saul” are ages 18 to 34, versus 24% on traditional TV). The question for the TV and ad industry is, now that you finally have some of this long-awaited data, what do you do with it? How can you cater to a generation that clearly loves TV but likes it without a linear schedule and without ads? MASS HYSTERIA: Get ready for the next episode of Sumner’s World. This installment of the media industry’s bizarre yet captivating drama will take place today in a Massachusetts court, which will hear a case brought by Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams, WSJ reports. (Our Joe Flint will be on hand.) They argue mogul Sumner Redstone wasn’t of sound mind when he tossed them as stewards of his empire. They’ll be trying to make the tricky legal case that Mr. Redstone was under the “undue influence” of his daughter, Shari Redstone. The stakes are far higher now than the last time the 93-year-old’s mental competency was debated in court in California. Then, it was all about whether he had the right to evict an ex-girlfriend and remove her as his health proxy. Now, the Great Game is on. Meanwhile, another front of the legal battle in Delaware is on hold pending progress in Massachusetts. ELSEWHERE Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is in advanced talks to acquire the premium cable network Starz. The companies have had off-and-on talks and have been close before. [Bloomberg] The ad tech IPO drought may soon end, as both Appnexus and The Trade Desk--two venture backed companies focused on facilitating automated ad-buying--may soon go public. [AdExchanger] The male-focused digital media company Woven Digital, which owns sites such as Uproxx and BroBible, has raised $18.5 million in new funding as it plans to push further into Web video. [CMO Today] Snapchat has opened for business in France, and may start signing up French media companies to create content for Snapchat Discover. [Variety] RAPP Worldwide Chief Executive Alexei Orlov has resigned from the Omnicom-owned direct marketing agency. Mr. Orlov has been accused of discriminatory behavior by a former agency executive. [CMO Today] Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp says his company hasn’t been impacted much by ad blocking yet--but the magazine giant is working to get away from “annoying” mobile banners ads to more engaging ad products. [Business Insider] Viacom has promoted veteran executive Sean Moran to run its ad sales operations, as former sales chief Jeff Lucas, after weeks of news reports, is officially heading to Snapchat. [Ad Age] It takes roughly twice as long for mobile ads to load on websites and apps compared to desktop ads, which is potentially a deterrent to mobile advertising’s growth and marketers’ confidence in the medium. [CMO Today] ABOUT US Follow us on Twitter: @wsjCMO, @digitalshields, @VranicaWSJ, @JackMarshall, @nftadena, @perlberg, @srabil, @asharma Subscribe to our morning newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox, at http://on.wsj.com/CMOTodaySignup. 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