Sony Pictures Television Minisodes, four to six minute versions of classic TV shows, launched this summer on MySpace with advertising from Honda. On Monday, the Minisodes began playing on Crackle, a Sony website that started this summer that plays a variety of entertainment content, with advertising from Pepsi.
“Phase one launched this summer with an exclusive distribution partner and advertiser,” said Amy Carney, president of ad sales at Sony Pictures Television. “Phase two is a broader distribution with additional advertisers.” Pepsi is the exclusive sponsor on Crackle. Honda will continue to sponsor the programming on two other new distribution platforms, AOL and Joost, Carney said. The shows will also play without advertising on V Cast, Verizon Wireless’s mobile video service.
Pepsi is running a 15 second spot on Crackle that was created by Sony Pictures Television. The spot features a retro bottle cap and can that supports Pepsi’s campaign that will feature new retro packages in stores beginning Nov. 4. The retro can is the latest installment in an initiative that began in February that updates Pepsi’s packaging graphics. A unique URL found on the can links directly to the Minisode network on Crackle.
“It is meant to transport the consumer back in time,” said Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi spokesperson. “When these shows originally aired, our consumers could watch them while drinking a Pepsi. Today, they’re able to do the same. The Minisode Network is a great partner. The combination of our can with this site provides a full nostalgic experience.”
Crackle is the site that was formerly www.Grouper.com, which was purchased by Sony Pictures last year.
Josh Felser, president of Crackle, said the site is currently running Minisodes for six shows as one of the channels on the site, which is clickable on the home page. There are 18 shows in the Minisode network and he said more will be added on Crackle later.
The site plays ads after three videos have been viewed, so the Pepsi ad won’t play as a pre-roll, unless viewers have seen three other Crackle videos before playing a Minisode.
Crackle will promote the Minisodes on its home page and in newsletters to its regular viewers. The content will also play on syndicated partner sites, including Hi5.com and Piczo.com. It also plays on Sony BRAVIA TVs.
When asked how long the Minisodes will play, Felser said, “It depends how they do. It’s programming that needs to be profitable. We’ll run it as long as users are excited.” It was a big success on MySpace, with over three million views.
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More