Interactive TV Headlines Round-Up (V) 1/24/17: Sling Media, Sling TV, Studio71, MGM, Tegna, ThinkAnalytics, THX, TiVo, Tru Optik, Turner, Twitter, Dick Clark Productions, Rooster Teeth, Go90

As most of you are probably aware, [itvt]'s news round-ups were on hiatus for a couple of months, because our editorial team was working on TVOT NYC 2016 and then taking a post-event break. We expect it will take us a few weeks to catch up with all recent developments (note: we have marked older stories with the date they originally broke), so if you have sent us a press release or briefed us about a piece of news, and don't yet see it covered here, please bear with us.

• Report: Sling Media Ceases Manufacturing Slingbox
• Sling TV Launches "Optimized for Sling TV" Device-Certification Program
• SPI/FilmBox Launches Bundle of International Channels on Sling TV
• Sling TV Launches Fandor Festival, More Starz Channels (December 14th)
• Sling TV Launches New UI on Amazon Fire (December 2nd)
• Sling TV Launches Cloud DVR Beta Program (November 29th)
• France's TF1 Group and Italy's Mediaset Invest $56+ Million in ProSiebenSat.1-Owned MCN, Studio71
• MGM and Station Group, Tegna Media, Team on Live, Interactive, Multiplatform Show, "BOLD" ("Broadcast Online Live Daily")
• ThinkAnalytics Launches ThinkMarketing Suite of Marketing-Oriented Dashboards and Consoles, Integrated with its Search and Recommendations Engine; Billed as "Giv[ing] Pay-TV Operators and OTT Players a Unified View of the Performance of Campaigns and KPI's, and an Integrated Platform from Which to Manage...Recommendations, Analytics and Editorial Programs"
• THX Teams with Conviva on Audio and Video Streaming Quality Certification Program
• TiVo in Deal to Distribute Frequency's Online Video Service via its Retail and Pay-TV Platforms
• TiVo Launches Audience Management Platform (AMP), Billed as "a Data-Agnostic System that Enables Revenue Management Executives, Media Planners and Service Providers to Increase Profitability through More Precise, Data-Driven Audience Targeting and More Effective Ad-Inventory Allocation"
• India's RJMPL Taps TiVo's CubiTV to Power its HD and 4K STB's
• TiVo Signs Long-Term OTT Intellectual Property License with HBO
• TiVo Shows Off New "Hydra" User Interface that Stresses Personalized Recommendations
• TiVo Updates its Amazon Video App
• Philips to Offer TiVo-Powered DVR
• Judge Blocks TiVo Research and Analytics' Claim for Damages from Kantar Media
• Tru Optik Launches Audience Monetization Platform (AMP), Billed as "Combin[ing] Data-Management, Campaign-Activation and Audience-Measurement Capabilities to Enable Media Companies and Advertisers to Segment, Measure and Engage OTT Audiences with Unprecedented Accuracy and Reach"
• NPD to Use Tru Optik's OTT Data to Better Understand Digital Demand for Movies and Video Games (December 15th)
• Tru Optik Launches "OTT Data Cloud"; Offering "Provides Access to a Broad Range of Behavioral, Demographic and Purchase Data through Partnerships with Cross Pixel, Experian Marketing Services, Media Source Solutions, TargetSmart and V12 Group" (August 25th)
• Turner Broadcasting Launches Turner Ignite Sports, Billed as an "In-House, Full-Service, Sports Marketing Agency for Clients"
• Turner Ad Sales Names Mediavest Veteran, Christine Merrifield, SVP of Ad Sales Strategy and Monetization
• Twitter Selected as Exclusive Live Streaming Distribution Platform for PGA Tour Live OTT Coverage in 2017
• Twitter Teams with PBS to Live-Stream Trump Inauguration
• 2.7 Million Users View Twitter's Live Stream of the Golden Globes Red Carpet
• Twitter in Red-Carpet Live-Streaming Deal with Dick Clark Productions
• Twitter's Vine Shuts Down, Replaced by "Vine Camera" App
• Twitter Launches Online Archive of Vine Videos
• Report: Verizon Lays Off 155 Go90 Employees; Tasks Ex-Vessel Execs. with Rebuilding the Service
• Rooster Teeth Develops Exclusive Series for Verizon Go90
• Viaccess-Orca Acquires Finnish Mobile-Video App Company, BigHill
• Viaccess-Orca Launches VR Solution (December 22nd):
• Viaccess-Orca to Use Media Motive's M3µ Test Automation Platform for its Mobile and Web Apps