New FCC Proposal Draws Cable And Telco Ire; Publisher Versus Platform

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Ready, Set-Top, Go!

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is expected to put forward a proposal “aimed at lowering bills for cable viewers and providing more access to Internet-based programming,” writes John McKinnon of The Wall Street Journal. Cable and telco companies (and anybody else with a stake in the current set-top box distribution system) are preparing to oppose the regulation on very similar grounds that Google uses to justify its own walled garden policies. Telcos argue that if tech companies can access cable consumer data, like when certain channels are being watched, then they’ll unfairly sell ads against the programming. More.

DisContent

Distributed content models are all the rage for publishers right now. Just look at Facebook’s Instant Articles, Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages, Apple News and Snapchat’s Discover page. Having already signed on to the strategy, publishers now must confront the acute measurement challenges, according to Lucia Moses at Digiday. Pubs are “at the mercy of the platforms for this data, which may choose to provide the data only once a day or, worse, weekly.” And even if the data comes back, as Apple’s early struggles have shown, it’s often unreliable or downright misleading.

Rating Google

Nielsen has successfully completed a beta test of its Digital Ad Ratings with Google’s DoubleClick. Nielsen EVP Megan Clarken says in the release that the integration “adds value for Nielsen and Google clients who want to evaluate their campaign effectiveness with ease.” The product seems geared toward helping TV advertisers with digestible, relatable data points on Google. Whether it sharpens digital campaigns or just helps Google swipe some TV budgets still remains to be… measured.

Take Flight

As Re/code had previously reported, Twitter poached Leslie Berland away from AmEx to be the social media company’s new CMO. She joins a somewhat empty nest though, as far as the C-suite is concerned, since the company has watched five senior leaders exit in the past couple days. The most notable loss is Kevin Weil, former SVP of product who’s now head of product at Instagram, but the list also includes HR head Brian Schipper, engineering VP Alex Roetter, global media chief Katie Stanton and GM of Vine Jason Toff, who’s headed to Google. All told, Twitter has seen about 25 years’ worth of senior experience resign this week.

But Wait, There’s More!