Digital

Kelly Campbell, who just abruptly exited as president of Hulu on Monday, has been in discussions with NBCUniversal for a top job at streaming service Peacock. Insiders say under the role being considered, Campbell would report into Matt Strauss, chairman of direct-to-consumer and international at NBCU, who reports to Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.

In a move that seems somewhat counterintuitive, Xumo, an ad-supported streaming service owned by Comcast, will begin offering some movies completely ad-free. Kicking off in October through December 2021, the company will showcase a completely ad-free movie each week across all of its owned and operated properties. The company said the move is an extension of a pilot program it ran last August with Xumo viewers on Comcast Xfinity X1 devices.

YouTube on Monday introduced an option for performance advertisers that allows them to drive and measure conversions on connected television (CTV) by increasing the ability for viewers to shop from the messages in the ads they see on the screen. Now, for the first time, performance advertisers can take advantage of YouTube on CTV to drive and measure conversion through the expansion of Video action campaigns.

After less than two years as Hulu’s president, Kelly Campbell has left the Disney-controlled streaming service. Campbell’s sudden departure was announced to staff by Rebecca Campbell, Disney’s chairman of international operations and direct-to-consumer, who said that Kelly was no longer with Hulu “effective immediately” but did not provide a specific reason.

Carlos Watson, a former former cable-news commentator and host who founded Ozy in 2013, told CNBC Monday morning that he has been meeting with advertisers and investors over the weekend and that he wants Ozy to continue to be around. The company did not answer emailed questions Monday about whether employees were still working or getting paid or how Ozy intended to stay open.

Facebook said late Monday that “the root cause of this outage was a faulty configuration change” and that there is “no evidence that user data was compromised as a result” of the outage. The company apologized and said it is working to understand more about the cause, which began around 11:40 a.m. ET Monday.

As the business of broadcasting continues to add platforms, pressure grows to produce more content more efficiently. The Weather Company, an IBM business, has responded with a major technology announcement, set for Oct 12. TVNewsCheck and The Weather Company will follow up this announcement on Oct. 28 with an in-depth conversation about what the future of digital weather storytelling will look like. Join us.

The story behind the story is about the elite investors who plowed millions into a media dream without much due diligence, persuaded by the charm of Ozy’s head, Carlos Watson.

Former president Donald Trump on Friday sought a court order requiring Twitter to restore his account. In a 38-page request for an injunction, Trump’s lawyers argue that his continued absence from Twitter could hurt the Republican Party’s chances of winning future elections.

Major TV networks notched a win recently when a New York federal court permanently barred streaming service Locast from transmitting broadcast content over the internet, but the ruling could also leave the door open for successor companies to attempt alternative streaming tactics, experts say.

In an internal memo meant to preempt a 60 Minutes interview, Facebook defended itself and said that social media was not a primary cause of polarization.

Being the in-house agency for broadcast giant Sinclair Broadcast Group wasn‘t ambitious enough for Compulse. As media companies and advertisers look to dive deeper into advanced advertising, Compulse has been working to become a marketing technology company that services the industry, not just Sinclair.

In this role, she will serve as the dedicated lead anchor for the newscast’s digital video content, including anchoring pre-and post-shows and hosting breaking news live streams for PBS NewsHour.

Producers say they were led to believe they were making a talk show for A&E, which said no to the program. “You are playing a dangerous game with the truth,” the top producer, Brad Bessey, wrote in his resignation email.

Hulu places two shows in the top 10 originals for the first time with Only Murders in the Building and Nine Perfect Strangers.

Ozy Media Chairman Marc Lasry quit the embattled company Thursday, under fire for a series of questionable business practices. COO Samir Rao had previously taken a leave of absence from the company after it was revealed he had impersonated a Google executive on a fundraising call with Goldman Sachs.

The company faces accusations that it hid research showing the mental and emotional harm Instagram, its photo-sharing app, has had on teenagers.

Disney+ will surpass Netflix in global subscriptions in 2025, forecasts the latest subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) update from Digital TV Research. The report projects that Disney+ will add 140 million subscription subscribers between 2021 and 2026, to bring its total to 284 million. Netflix is forecast to add 53 million subs, to reach 271 million by 2026.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau says ViacomCBS’s Pluto TV has agreed to pay a $3.5 million civil penalty over claims that Pluto TV streamed off-TV video on some platforms without the availability of the requisite captions, in violation of FCC rules. The company has also admitted to liability for its actions.

The new set of policies will cover not just the COVID-19 vaccines or long-approved vaccines against diseases like measles and hepatitis B, but also general claims about vaccines, YouTube said.

Faigus, who was previously VP, alternative series and specials, becomes SVP, unscripted and alternative entertainment, ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Unscripted. She will work across both the network and the Mouse House’s newly launched unscripted production division, which is overseen by Rob Mills.

Former BBC News anchor and correspondent Katty Kay, who had just joined Ozy Media in late June, has announced her exit following the recent controversy swirling around revelations of the digital company’s practices. “Yesterday morning I handed in my resignation to Ozy Media,” Kay wrote on Twitter. “I was looking forward to working with the talented young reporters but I did not expect this!”

Frndly TV, the low-priced streaming TV provider featuring wholesome programming, said it is launching Hallmark Movies Now video-on-demand service as an add-on for subscribers. Subscribers to Frndly TV, who already get three Hallmark Networks — Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama — as part of its core $5.99 a month month package, can also subscribe to Hallmark Movies Now for an additional $5.99 a month.