https://www.scmp.com/rss/323944/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com By Giovanni Bruno In August Facebook launched Facebook Watch, its video streaming platform and the social media giant’s new platform for shows, but the company still is undecided about creating original content. “We’re very early, we’re still figuring it out,” said Facebook’s head of global creative strategy Ricky Van Veen, at the MIPCOM conference in France. MIPCOM gathers the world’s most influential industry players for four days of meetings, screenings, and conferences. Presently, Facebook... https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2116014/facebook-continues-expand-develop-watch-platform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2116014/facebook-continues-expand-develop-watch-platform?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2017 03:30:30 +0000 By Jonathan Braude Volkswagen AG, the world’s second-largest carmaker, is preparing to push sales online, as internet commerce spreads to the market for new cars around the old continent. Volkswagen aims to increase profitability and efficiency at its 3,000-dealer European distribution network by an average 10 per cent, VW brand sales chief Juergen Stackmann told German reporters in Munich. However, a spokeswoman told TheStreet Tuesday, that the company is not planning to shrink its dealer... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2114870/volkswagen-drive-sales-online-cant-send-cars-mail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2114870/volkswagen-drive-sales-online-cant-send-cars-mail?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Oct 2017 05:45:00 +0000 By Kinsey Grant The Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Entertainment unit has called off a joint venture it had planned with Northrop Grumman Corp. after fans of the superhero franchise attacked the defence contractor on social media. Marvel had planned to launch the venture at the New York Comic Con event last weekend with a self-produced film about space exploration that starred Northrop Grumman employees. But after Marvel fans viciously attacked the company for its tie-in with the nation’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114671/disneys-marvel-scraps-planned-joint-venture-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114671/disneys-marvel-scraps-planned-joint-venture-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Oct 2017 05:15:15 +0000 By Leon Lazaroff Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger says he’s going to leave the world’s largest entertainment company in 2019. Really. He’s serious this time. “This time I mean it,” Iger said in Los Angeles at a media industry conference hosted by Vanity Fair. Iger’s firm affirmation that he will leave Disney in an official capacity in roughly two years when his contract expires is sure to set the Disney tea-leaf watchers into a frenzy. Much speculation for his successor will undoubtedly fall on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114076/bob-iger-plans-leave-disney-2019-really-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114076/bob-iger-plans-leave-disney-2019-really-time?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 03:45:15 +0000 By Giovanni Bruno Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, says that the multinational entertainment conglomerate contemplated acquiring the beleaguered social media company Twitter, but opted to purchase American internet video provider BAMTech instead. Iger was speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit on Tuesday when he confirmed the interest in Twitter, whose shares are lower over 57 per cent since first going public in 2013. Disney in 2016 acquired a US$1 billion stake in... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2113944/disney-ceo-iger-contemplated-twitter-acquisition-opted-bamtech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2113944/disney-ceo-iger-contemplated-twitter-acquisition-opted-bamtech?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 05:15:00 +0000 By Ken Doctor Google’s decade-plus First Click Free programme sounded innocuous enough. In its perpetual effort to keep the Open Web free, Google promised a search throughway to news pages. If publishers wanted to be easily found, they found little choice but to accept the mandates of First Click Free. Now, as Google announces the end of the policy that many publishers long abhorred, we’ll begin to see the potential damage to news businesses it’s done over the years. “The end of First Click Free... https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2113699/whole-new-world-publishers-google-finally-scraps-first-click?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2113699/whole-new-world-publishers-google-finally-scraps-first-click?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Oct 2017 09:41:41 +0000 By Giovanni Bruno Twitter will begin testing expanding the allotted length per tweet to 280 characters from 140 characters, the social media company wrote in a blog post. The initial expansion will be rolled out to a “small group” of users who tweet in languages which make it difficult to fit messages into the allotted character limit. “We understand since many of you have been Tweeting for years, there may be an emotional attachment to 140 characters - we felt it, too,” Twitter product manager... https://www.scmp.com/tech/social-gadgets/article/2112995/twitter-test-expanding-character-limit-tweet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/social-gadgets/article/2112995/twitter-test-expanding-character-limit-tweet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Sep 2017 03:30:15 +0000 One thing Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t want is a public war of words with Taylor Swift, Metallica or Bob Dylan. In recent years, major artists have clashed with streaming services Spotify Ltd. and Apple Music over royalties paid, or not paid, for the use of their music. The same goes for Pandora Media Inc. as well as Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube, which accounts for 40 per cent of music listening but just four per cent of music revenue, according to a October 2016 study by Goldman, Sachs... https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2112155/how-facebook-trying-avoid-public-relations-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2112155/how-facebook-trying-avoid-public-relations-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Sep 2017 03:30:45 +0000 By Kinsey Grant Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. is going to capitalise on original programming to gain market share in an Asian streaming landscape widely dominated by Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. , Asia’s Nikkei reported. Fox Networks Group’s president of Asia Pacific and Middle East Zubin Gandevia said Fox’s digital offerings in the crowded market are differentiated by the media company’s impressive scale. “We are the biggest buyer of content in the English [language] market,” Gandevia said. “We... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2111963/fox-attempts-win-asias-crowded-streaming-market-original-content?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2111963/fox-attempts-win-asias-crowded-streaming-market-original-content?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Sep 2017 04:00:00 +0000 By Tony Owusu French cable company Altice USA Inc., which acquired cable provider Cablevision in 2016, is in contract negotiations with Disney Co. that could result in the blacking out of ABC and ESPN, among other channels, in the US New York tri-state area if a deal is not struck before the current contract expires on September 30.  Sources told NBC News that Disney is looking for a “gigantic” rate increase for the right to broadcast its package of channels. If the two companies cannot come to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2111874/cable-contract-dispute-could-black-out-abc-espn-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2111874/cable-contract-dispute-could-black-out-abc-espn-new?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Sep 2017 09:15:15 +0000 By Giovanni Bruno Customer data for units of Charter Communications Inc. and other companies was left unprotected online in data stockpiles that Broadsoft Inc. kept online, security company Kromtech Alliance Corp. wrote on a company blog. A researcher for Kromtech discovered records for more than four million customers of Charter division Time Warner Cable and other companies’ data that the research firm says Broadsoft stored on Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud service. “The two repositories contained... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2109602/millions-time-warner-cable-customers-information-exposed-after-data-leak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2109602/millions-time-warner-cable-customers-information-exposed-after-data-leak?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Sep 2017 04:15:00 +0000 By Kinsey Grant Actress Sandra Bullock is donating US$1 million to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented devastation along the Gulf coast.  Bullock has long worked with the Red Cross and owns a home in Austin, Texas. She told Time Inc. owned People magazine that the storm could offer a means for the U.S. to come together regardless of current political divides. “There are no politics in eight feet of water,” Bullock said. “There are human beings... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2109084/sandra-bullock-donates-us1-million-harvey-victims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2109084/sandra-bullock-donates-us1-million-harvey-victims?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Aug 2017 03:45:15 +0000 By Leon Lazaroff NBC’s “The Apprentice,” which helped catapult Donald Trump into the White House, has been all but cancelled amid a steady decline in ratings and its close association with the reality-TV show’s contentious former host. Neither NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp., nor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., which owns rights to the show, have any plans to produce any new episodes of “The Apprentice” or “The Celebrity Apprentice”, shows that made the real estate developer millions of dollars... https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2108764/no-new-apprentice-episodes-being-planned-nbc-metro-goldwyn-mayer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2108764/no-new-apprentice-episodes-being-planned-nbc-metro-goldwyn-mayer?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Aug 2017 06:45:15 +0000 By Kinsey Grant When Starbucks Corporation in the US wants to gauge how many iced or hot drinks it may sell in a given season, it turns to AccuWeather’s predictive analytics team. AccuWeather can advise the coffee chain if, say, October will be colder than usual, meaning more hot Pumpkin Spice Lattes than chilled brews will fly out of the stores. And when Class I railroads, including Norfolk Southern Corp, Union Pacific Corp and CSX Corp, need to know if tornadoes could derail their trains, they... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2108135/helping-starbucks-and-ibm-predict-weather-one-hot-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2108135/helping-starbucks-and-ibm-predict-weather-one-hot-business?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Aug 2017 09:00:00 +0000 By Leon Lazaroff Hollywood’s decades-long control over top talent just got rattled. In two separate events with far-reaching implications, relative newcomers Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have stolen away two of the best-known producers in Los Angeles, further underscoring the shifting power dynamics in a business long controlled by a handful of large players. Shonda Rhimes, the iconic television producer responsible for many of ABC’s biggest shows, announced over the weekend that her... https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2106886/netflix-and-amazon-just-launched-all-out-war-tv-talent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2106886/netflix-and-amazon-just-launched-all-out-war-tv-talent?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2017 08:30:45 +0000 By Giovanni Bruno Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg spoke about the importance of fostering a safe and respected work environment where employees don’t go to work fearing sexual harassment, while advocating for a zero-tolerance policy. “It’s abominable that it still exists in this day and age,” Sandberg told Bloomberg Television. “I think it’s great when people lose their jobs when it happens, because I think that is what will get people to not do it in the future,” she... https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2106237/facebook-coo-no-tolerance-or-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2106237/facebook-coo-no-tolerance-or-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Aug 2017 07:15:00 +0000 By Kinsey Grant Alphabet’s YouTube added the ability to share videos and chat with friends and family directly in the mobile app for its own Android system and Apple Inc’s iOS, the company wrote in a Monday statement. The new feature allows users to share videos and chat back and forth within the YouTube app by adding friends via SMS or an invitation link. YouTube has been working on a chat feature in the app since last year, adding feedback from beta testing to unveil this version globally. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-gaming/article/2105930/youtube-unveils-new-mobile-chat-feature-android-ios-apps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-gaming/article/2105930/youtube-unveils-new-mobile-chat-feature-android-ios-apps?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Aug 2017 07:45:45 +0000 By Leon Lazaroff CEO Tim Cook has heard it all before. And he’s heard it for a while. He’s no Steve Jobs. Despite doubling revenue and profit and tripling the amount of cash Apple holds in banks around the world, Cook is routinely blasted for a lack of innovation. “In five years the only truly new product that’s managed to ship is the Apple Watch,” a Quartz columnist wrote at the end of last year. “And somehow, with 115,000 employees, Apple can barely get annual updates out for its laptops and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2105233/tim-cook-no-steve-jobs-and-thats-fine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2105233/tim-cook-no-steve-jobs-and-thats-fine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Aug 2017 04:30:00 +0000 By Leon Lazaroff Apple Inc.’s “Planet of the Apps” was a dud. Actually, some reviewers called it boring and self-indulgent, while others were a bit more generous, labelling it as bland, tepid and barely competent. In short, not a breakout hit. On Aug. 8, Apple will make its “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” available to subscribers of its Apple Music platform. The show will feature pairs of celebrities such as Will Smith and James Corden, Shakira and Trevor Noah and Michael Strahan and Jeff Gordon... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2105105/apple-still-hasnt-found-breakout-video-hit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2105105/apple-still-hasnt-found-breakout-video-hit?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Aug 2017 07:00:00 +0000 By Leon Lazaroff In 1998, the U.S. government sued Microsoft Corporation alleging that the software maker had become a monopoly, bundling its Internet Explorer web browser with an operating system that had become the industry standard on Intel-powered computers. Nearly 20 years later, President Trump has all but said the same about another Seattle-area based company, Amazon Inc. In a series of tweets, Trump has called Amazon a monopoly, suggesting with typical subtlety that the online retailer... https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2104327/what-could-president-trump-actually-do-amazon-and-jeff-bezos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/leaders-founders/article/2104327/what-could-president-trump-actually-do-amazon-and-jeff-bezos?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jul 2017 06:45:30 +0000 By Giovanni Bruno Matt Groening, best known as the creator of popular television series The Simpsons and Futurama, has received an order from streaming giant Netflix for 20 episodes of his new series “Disenchantment.” The series will premiere in 2018 with 20 episodes airing over two seasons of 10 episodes each. Disenchantment is a an adult animated comedy fantasy series set in a medieval kingdom and follows the journeys of heavy-drinking young princess Bean, her elf companion Elfo, and her... https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2104163/simpsons-creator-groening-bringing-new-series-disenchantment-netflix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2104163/simpsons-creator-groening-bringing-new-series-disenchantment-netflix?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2017 05:45:00 +0000 By Martin Baccardax Novartis AG said Monday that it has received approval from the European Commission for a blood cancer treatment known as Rixathon, a biosimilar version of Roche AG’s blockbuster Rituxan that generated around US$7.5 billion in sales last year.  Sandoz, the biosimilar division of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, said the approval allows for the use of Rixathon in Europe and represents a “big win” for patients with “blood cancers or immunological diseases because it enables increased... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/2098995/novartis-secures-european-approval-cancer-treatment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/2098995/novartis-secures-european-approval-cancer-treatment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jun 2017 08:00:00 +0000 By Martin Baccardax European airline stocks continued to underperform broader markets Wednesday amid speculation that U.S. security officials are preparing to expand a ban on carrying laptop computers inside the cabin to include trans-Atlantic flights from the Continent that could cost passengers as much as US$1 billion. The Stoxx Europe TMI Airline index, the region’s sector benchmark, fell 1.9 per cent by 10:00 BST, outpacing the 0.25 per cent decline for the broader Stoxx Europe 600. British... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2094803/industry-lobby-warns-airline-laptop-ban-could-cost-passengers-us1?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2094803/industry-lobby-warns-airline-laptop-ban-could-cost-passengers-us1?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 07:15:30 +0000 By Lisa Botter Rolls-Royce stock dropped in the first hour of trading on Tuesday after it confirmed its biggest even loss for the full year. The airplane engine manufacturer recorded a pre-tax loss of £4.6 billion (US$5.7 billion) for 2016 after booking a £671 million (US$841 million) settlement for corruption claims. Rolls-Royce shares were down 2.16 per cent to change hands at 725.50 pence at 8:15 am GMT, the stock lost more than 3 per cent on opening. Shares have lost 0.8 per cent in the past... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2070764/rolls-royce-stock-drops-biggest-ever-full-year-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2070764/rolls-royce-stock-drops-biggest-ever-full-year-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Feb 2017 09:00:30 +0000 By Greg Greenberg If you want to send your sweetie over the moon this Valentine’s Day then forget a gold or platinum ring. Go for iridium instead. Iridium is a rare metal primarily used in components for space travel. But Smithson Tennant, a division of engineered materials supplier American Elements, has developed the technology to produce iridium jewellery for the public for the first time. Iridium melts at such a high temperature that the metal was never considered for accessories before. “We... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2069132/forget-gold-and-platinum-give-your-sweetie-iridium?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2069132/forget-gold-and-platinum-give-your-sweetie-iridium?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Feb 2017 07:45:15 +0000