Need to Know – The latest US media & marketing news: Twitter CEO Dick Costolo to depart, Microsoft inks Oculus deal & Facebook expands 'buy' button
Morning all, here’s a glimpse at all the media and marketing news you should know today.
Need to Know – The latest US media & marketing news
1. Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo will step down effective 1 July, reports The Next Web. Co-founder and chairman Jack Dorsey is to serve as interim chief executive while Twitter's board searches for a suitable replacement, however rapper Snoop Dogg has already expressed interest in the role via his Twitter.
2. Rupert Murdoch is reportedly set to depart from his role as chief executive of Fox, writes CNBC. According to numerous sources close to the Murdoch family, an announcement is expected in the near term.
3. Microsoft is partnering with Oculus to supply an Xbox One controller with every one of the firm's virtual reality headsets, notes the Verge. The tech company will ship the controllers as part of Oculus Rift's launch in early 2016. Xbox chief Phil Spencer revealed the partnership on stage at Oculus' E3 event, and said that the deal would help create "state of the art" virtual reality experiences.
4. Uber has released a smartphone game to recruit drivers, says Business Insider. UberDRIVE simulates the activities of an Uber driver and lets players take customers to their destinations on a real map of San Francisco. The startup said the game was intended to appeal to its drivers and help them "hone their navigation skills if they choose to".
5. The appeals court has declined to block net neutrality rules, writes NBC. The new US internet traffic regulations will come into effect today after a federal appeals court rejected the telecoms industry's request to partly suspend their implementation.
6. Facebook has expanded its 'buy' button for retailers, asserts MediaPost. The social giant is inviting more businesses to sell their wares right in users’ News Feeds and on their respective brand Pages in partnership with retail software company Shopify.
7. Global ad spend will increase by 4.2 per cent in 2016, according to AdAge. A report by Schonfeld & Associates forecasts a rise in output and ad-to-sales ratios for more than 5,000 individual companies in over 320 industry segments, with automotive, food and wireless being the top spenders.
8. And an owl has joined the cast of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black in Virgin Media's latest spot, writes Creativity Online. The ad, which sees the mascot join the inmates on set at Litchfield Prison, has gone down well with fans of the series on Twitter.
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