Buzzfeed Looks to Go Viral in Japan

• Buzzfeed and Yahoo Japan are working together to create a Japanese-language version of the site. It’s a new type of partnership for Buzzfeed, which previously had complete ownership of operations in other countries.
• By working with Yahoo Japan, Buzzfeed will have the opportunity to get massive traffic and will also gain
  access to the largest digital media sales team in Japan.
• This is yet another step taken by Buzzfeed to go more international as it reaches an increasingly global audience.

2016 Candidates Take Political Ads to Instagram

• As of this week, Instagram is offering 2016 candidates ways to advertise. Advertisers are able to use Facebook’s ad targeting capabilities to reach users.
• With the new ad targeting options, candidates can upload a file of voter information and Facebook will match it to user accounts. Campaigns can also target Instagram users by demographics such as ZIP code, gender, relationship status, and interests.
• “It’s a two-way dialogue between the candidates and the electorate,” said Liz Bourgeois, the Instagram spokeswoman who is working on 2016 campaign-related projects.

Twitter is Selling Video Ads in Other Apps

• Twitter announced this week that it’s now selling autoplay video ads inside of other apps through it MoPub ad network. This means that advertisers buying video ads on Twitter can use the same targeting to show people video ads inside other apps they use.
• Video ads are the most profitable type of ads, so this move means Twitter can sell more video ads than it could otherwise fit into user timelines on Twitter itself, thus boosting revenue further.
• Video ads are rising in popularity thanks to the targeting capabilities of social networks and the rise of mobile video. Twitter isn’t alone in this move; Facebook announced the same ad-buying feature last week.

  Here is this week’s roundup of media news, with a touch of our take.

ESPN “Nears a Tipping Point

• Even ESPN isn’t protected from the decline in cable TV. The network lost 3.2 million cable subscribers in about a year.
• GoogleVentures’ M.G. Siegler notes challenges for the sports powerhouse, said to contribute 25% of Disney’s operating profits.
• Signer predicts they will go it alone with a service outside any traditional network “sooner than many people think.” SportsCenter viewership is declining with consumers getting sports news via apps.

Facebook Beats YouTube in Ad Clicks, Engagement

• Facebook is growing as an ad platform as their ads get more targeted and relevant to users, AdWeek reports.
• Though they’ve decreased the number of ads per page, they’ve seen an increase in engagement. Clicks of Facebook ads are up 12% in a year, while impressions dropped 47%.
• An Adobe survey found 51% of people find Facebook ads relevant, compared to 17% for YouTube.

Twitter’s New Article Preview Cards a Boost for Publishers

• The new Twitter cards allow for each link to have an expanded summary and image to been seen from the newsfeed without actually clicking on it.
• There is a image and quick summary shown in the expanded space, which is another part of the company’s attempt to bring more media into the newsfeed instead of text.
• The more time users keep scrolling through their newsfeeds, the more revenue Twitter will make. However, will these article preview cards lead to more traffic on the actual article page, or will users read the quick summary and keep scrolling, leaving the original content page with even less clicks and viewers?