Interactive TV Headlines Round-Up 9/1/15 (III): Facebook, Hank Green, Fine Bros. true{X}, Fox, FreeCast, FreeWheel, fuboTV, Fuisz Media, Fullscreen, Fusion, Vessel, GroupM, Crackle, GroupM, HBO

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been busy working on TVOT NYC 2015 (December 3rd at the SVA Theatre in New York City--purchase your Super-Early-Bird tickets here!), we are covering stories in this issue in headlines/round-up format:

• Facebook Launches Live Broadcasting Capability--But Only for "Public Figures"
• Facebook Casts Light on Plans to Expand Live Broadcasting Capability
• In Earnings Call, CEO Zuckerberg Stresses Facebook's Embrace of Video and VR: "Connecting People with More Great Video Content Is an Important Part" of Company's Future; "Immersive 3D Content Is the Obvious Next Thing after Video"
• Facebook Now Supporting Auto-Play Video Ads in Apps in its Mobile Ad Network
• YouTube Creator, Hank Green, Accuses Facebook of Unethical Practices re. Video: "They Cheat...They Lie...They Steal" (More)
• Seeking to Become a Full-Fledged YouTube MCN, Fine Brothers Entertainment Hires Ex-AOL and Discovery Execs
• Flipboard Expands its "Promoted Stories" Advertising Program to Include Autoplay Videos
• Technology from true[X], the Advanced-Advertising Company it Acquired Last December, Allows Fox to Test New Model for On-Demand Advertising on Digital Platforms
• Fox Streams Bundesliga Season Opener on YouTube, Fox Sports Go App, Fox Soccer 2 Go App and FoxSports.com
• FreeCast's Rabbit TV Service Launches Facebook App Offering 250+ Channels
• FreeCast's Rabbit TV Adds Anime Section
• FreeCast Reveals More Details about its "Select TV" Hybrid OTT-OTA Device and Service Bundle (June 1st)
• UK Free-to-Air Satellite-TV Service, Freesat, Sees 200% Year-on-Year Increase in Uptake of its Freetime Connected-TV Service
• Comcast-Owned Advanced-Advertising Specialist FreeWheel Publishes its Q2 2015 "Video Monetization Report"; Report Finds that Advertising on OTT Devices (Roku, Apple TV, etc.) Is the Fastest-Growing Segment of the Online Video Advertising Space
• FreeWheel Names Mike Lawlor SVP of Advisory Services, Susan Lee VP of Product Marketing
• FreeWheel Names Jamie Caras Commercial Director for the UK, Emmanuel Josserand Marketing Director for Europe (June 30th)
• FreeWheel Teams with Canoe, ABC, A+E, Comcast and Others on STB VOD Advertising Pilot that "Enables Programmers to Seamlessly Manage VOD Ads alongside IP/Digital Ads and STB TV Ads within the Same Platform" (June 9th)
• Soccer-Focused OTT Service, fuboTV, Raises $4 Million in Series-A Funding
• Interactive Video Company, Fuisz Media, Raises $10 Million
• YouTube MCN Fullscreen Promotes its Female Stars via 20-City "Girls Night In" Tour
• ABC-Univision Millennial-Targeted News JV, Fusion, Launches "TV Everywhere" App on Roku
• Fusion Launches on Jason Kilar's New, "Early-Access" Subscription-Video Service, Vessel
• Endemol Beyond USA Launches on Vessel with 700+ Videos
• Vessel Rolls Out Chromecast Support for Android, Push Notifications for iOS
• Vessel Launches for Android (June 16th)
• Vessel Raises $57.5 Million (April 17th)
• "Ellen DeGeneres Show" Launches Content on Vessel (April 8th)
• Fusion Teams with Immersive Entertainment Company, Surreal, to Produce VR Simulcast of its Interactive Program, "The Chris Gethard Show"
• Fusion Launches Digital Comedy Studio in Collaboration with YouTube Spaces, 3Arts Entertainment, UCB and Others (June 2nd)
• Fusion Launches Video Content on Spotify (May 20th)
• Fusion Teams with Timeline on History-Focused Series on Snapchat Discover
• Fusion Announces Plans to Expand its Digital Efforts (April 24th)
• Fusion Unveils Slate of Mini-Series for Snapchat Discover (April 17th)
• FX Networks CEO, John Landgraf, Warns of Content "Bubble": "There Is Simply Too Much Television"
• Google Chromecast Adds Support for HBO Now, Food Network and More
• Report: Google Testing Video Ads in Search Results
• Deal Will See GroupM "Substantially" Increase its Business with Sony's Crackle, in Exchange for Real-Time, Multiscreen Viewability Metrics
• Hasbro Taps Digital Distributor, MoMedia, to Bring its Programming to Transactional VOD Platforms Internationally
• HbbTV Association Selects Suppliers for HbbTV 2.0 Spec Test Suite
• HBO CEO Plepler: "We've Seen Less than 1% of HBO Subs Leave the Bundle to Get HBO Now"
• HBO's OTT Service, HBO Now, Launches on Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
• Singapore's StarHub to Offer HBO Over-the-Top
• Horowitz Research: OTT "a Friend to Pay-TV"; Hispanic Viewers Embracing OTT