<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/562f84e79dd7cc02308b99c3-1135-851/tom%20brady.jpg" alt="tom brady" data-mce-source="Jim Rogash/Getty"><p class="source"><span>Jim Rogash/Getty</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The NFL loves to promote parity and an ideal where teams all finish around .500 so that everyone has a shot to win the Super Bowl.<p>But in reality, there are still only a handful of teams we can really believe in, who we really want to see how they stack up in the league.</p><p>So, for God's sake, someone help&#xa0;the English!</p><p>In the NFL's trips across the Atlantic Ocean this season, London games have included&#xa0;the Jets and the Dolphins (who were in a mini-crisis at the time), and&#xa0;the Bills and the Jaguars in Week 7 in a game that was 27-3 before the Bills rallied. This week they get the Chiefs and the Lions!</p><p>It's a bold strategy to try and sell a&#xa0;product to other countries by giving them teams few people want&#xa0;to watch. There are five undefeated teams, still - give 'em one of those!</p><p>See our power rankings going into Week 8 below.</p>

NFL POWER RANKINGS: Where all 32 teams stand going into Week 8

<p><div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/523aebf669bedd215564757e-1200-900/trent-richardson-cleveland-browns.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="trent richardson cleveland browns" width="480" /><p class="source">Dustin Bradford/Getty Images</p></div></div>The <keyword id="300463" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cleveland-Browns">Cleveland Browns</keyword> <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9690728/cleveland-browns-trade-trent-richardson-indianapolis-colts">traded running back Trent Richardson</a>, the 3rd-overall pick in the 2012 <keyword id="103436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFL">NFL</keyword> Draft, to the <keyword id="205793" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Indianapolis-Colts">Indianapolis Colts</keyword> for a first-round pick in 2014 yesterday.</p>
<p>The move shocked the NFL world, and appalled Browns fans who took it as a sign that the front office has given up on the season.</p>
<p>The Browns are tanking. That sounds awful, but it's really not.</p>
<p>They are making a bad team worse in order to get better faster. There's no shame in that. In fact, it's exactly what they should be doing right now.</p>
<p>In the NFL there are only a handful of teams that truly have no chance of contending. Even then, the league's institutionalized parity - where wealth is redistributed through revenue sharing, and talent is redistributed through the draft and the salary cap - ensures that the worst teams can turn things around in a year or two.</p>
<p>The Browns are one of those teams that has no chance of contending this year. They have no quarterback, the offensive line is bad, and there are no playmakers on the outside to make things happen. Richardson - while showing some promise - has injury issues and isn't some sort of perennial Pro Bowler.</p>
<p>Running backs have the highest turnover rate in the league, and almost no one gets picked in the first round anymore. Getting a 1st-round pick (that might be in the mid-teens) for a running back prospect with injury issues who only has middling stats is a steal for Cleveland.</p>
<p>Yeah, it'll make them worse in 2013. But it gives them a ton of flexibility going forward, especially if they want to trade up in the draft and pick Teddy Bridgewater - a quarterback prospect who everyone loves.</p>
<p>This is the year Cleveland should be dismantling the roster and stockpiling draft picks. You can call it tanking, but it's a far more rational plan than trying to win six games and delaying the process of rebuilding.</p>

The Cleveland Browns Are Tanking, And it Makes Total Sense

<p><div class="image-container" style="width:620px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/50f991bdecad048472000001-872/colin-kaepernick-7.jpg?maxX=620&amp;maxY=310" border="0" alt="Colin Kaepernick" width="620" height="310" /></div><p class="source">Fox Sports</p><p class="caption">This is a total amateur move. But, he's young.</p></div></p>
<p>Here. We. Go.</p>
<p>The penultimate weekend of this football season has two pretty good games. They're not as good as last week's, but they're pretty exciting.</p>
<p>For all of the talk about parity in the <keyword id="103436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFL">NFL</keyword>, the truth of the matter is that the best teams are consistently in a position to go to the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>Three of the four teams in the conference championship games were in the conference championship games last year.</p>
<p>When people talk about parity in the NFL, feel free to laugh at them. The teams with great quarterbacks and great coaches have separated themselves from the rest of the league. There will be some 3-13 teams that become 10-6, but they don't stand a chance against the truly great teams in the league.</p>
<p>With that said, let's dig into the two games this week.</p>
<p>I'm 4-4 on playoff picks, so I need to nail these picks. I think I can do it.</p>
<h2><table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4ce9cee9cadcbb270e370000-400-300/11-8.jpg" border="0" alt="Bill Belichick" /></div><p class="caption">This guy.</p></td></tr></table>The Baltimore Ravens are on the road against the New England Patriots, who are 8 point favorites.</h2>
<p>The Patriots opened as 9 point favorites. As the bets have poured in, the Pats are only 8 point favorites. This suggests the market doesn't believe the Pats are going to blow out the Ravens.</p>
<p>The reason they don't believe is pretty straight forward. The Patriots lost to Ravens earlier this year, 31-30, and beat the Ravens a year ago 23-20. The last two games have been close, why would the Pats crush the Ravens this weekend?</p>
<p>And then, there's the fact that the Ravens were heavy underdogs in Denver and won. Betting on the Patriots and giving the Ravens 8 points just makes one feel queasy.</p>
<p>At the same time, this Patriots team feels like it's better than the team that played the Ravens in the recent past. The offense, even without Rob Gronkowski, appears to be on fire. It's moving very smoothly. The defense, thanks to new cornerback Aqib Talib, seems to be much better than last year's defense.</p>
<p>I could picture the Patriots winning by 10 or more points. I am not a believer in the Ravens. I really want to pick the Pats, and give the points, but I just can't do it. Even in last week's win against the Texans, the Patriots came close to not covering the spread.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I say take the points. I believe the Pats win, but it's close.</p>
<p><strong>The Matlock: Ravens +8 </strong></p>
<p><strong>(For non-gamblers like my boss Henry Blodget, that means I think the Ravens either win, or lose by 8 points or less.) <br /></strong></p>
<h2><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:335px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4e73505569bedd567d000016-590-1075/miek-smith.jpg" border="0" alt="mike smith" width="335" height="609" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.apimages.com">AP Images</a></p><p class="caption">The Falcons' head coach, Mike Smith.</p></div>The San Francisco 49ers on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, who are 3.5 point underdogs.</h2>
<p>After watching last week's games, it's nearly impossible for any sane person to pick the Falcons.</p>
<p>They only have one thing going for them: No one believes they're going to win and they have very little pressure.</p>
<p>Otherwise...</p>
<p>San Francisco has a better coach. San Francisco has a better defense. San Francisco's offense, when it's firing, is much better. San Francisco just overhauled its offensive scheme and Atlanta might not even know how to prepare.</p>
<p>But there is a big risk with that offense. Colin Kaepernick is still a virtual rookie out there. And the last time he won a big game he followed it up with a big let down. Kaepernick crushed the Patriots, then was crushed by the Seahawks. Do we believe he can have two great games in a row?</p>
<p>After watching Russell Wilson, who is a similar quarterback to Kaepernick, torch Atlanta in the second half of last week's game, I can't pick Atlanta. I believe Jim Harbaugh is the best coach in the league and I believe he will get to the Super Bowl.</p>
<p><strong>The lead-pipe lock: 49ers -3.5</strong></p>
<p><strong><strong>(For non-gamblers like my boss Henry Blodget, that means I think the 49ers win by 4 points or more.)</strong></strong></p>

Here Are Our Official Picks For Who Wins Every Playoff Game This Weekend

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5406025b6bb3f7033044e2ef-1200-900/peyton-manning-broncos-20.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="peyton manning broncos" width="480"><p class="source"><span>Dustin Bradford/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div>The NFL season is back.</p>
<p>Once again the league is defined by parity. There are four clear-cut favorites, more than a dozen mid-tier contenders, and only a handful of truly bad teams.</p>
<p>We put together our first power rankings of 2014 using a combination of past results, 2013 DVOA (<a href="http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teameff2013">an advanced stat from Football Outsiders</a> that measure's every team's efficiency), offseason moves, and our own intuition.</p>

NFL POWER RANKINGS: Where Every Team Stands Going Into Week 1

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/581c943b691e881b008b4aab-1500/ap_16304696856880.jpg" alt="Richard Sherman" data-mce-source="Butch Dill/AP"><p class="source"><span>Butch Dill/AP</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>We're halfway through the NFL season and by far the&#xa0;biggest story in football has been the sharp decline of TV ratings.&#xa0;</p><p>It has felt like each week has delivered more and more bad ratings news: this week's&#xa0;"Monday Night Football" matchup between the Vikings and the Bears, for example,<a href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/11/01/nfl-ratings-continue-to-fall-in-primetime-while-baseball-and-basketball-are-up/"> drew a 7.2 overnight rating</a>, down 18% from the Colts-Panthers Week 8 "MNF" game from 2015.&#xa0;</p><p>With each subsequent poor rating performance, a new theory has developed to explain why fewer people are watching football: it's the election, and cord-cutting, and Colin Kaepernick, and too much parity, and too much violence, and the latest&#xa0;botched handling of a player accused of domestic violence, and a historic World Series, and on, and on, and on.&#xa0;</p><p>According&#xa0;to Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks, however, the reason is far more simple: the NFL is not letting its players have fun.&#xa0;</p><p>In his weekly press conference on Thursday, Sherman was asked why he believed&#xa0;ratings were down. Here's what he had to say:&#xa0;</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Because the league isn't fun anymore. Every other league, you see the players have a good time. It's a game. This isn't politics. This isn't justice. This is entertainment. And they're no longer allowing the players to entertain. They're no longer allowing the players to show any kind of personality, any kind of uniqueness, any individuality, because they want to control the product, they want to control the messaging, et cetera et cetera."</p><p>From here Sherman went on to call the NFL out for hypocrisy:&#xa0;</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"They say we're influencing kids. And that's their&#xa0;biggest ploy. You don't want to be a bad influence to kids, you don't want to be a bad role model. And I can agree with that. But in the same breath you can't say Budweiser is the official sponsor of the NFL and we're trying to influence kids. So, you know, there's a ton of hypocrisy but it doesn't matter because we don't control it."</p><p>Perhaps most interestingly, Sherman then compared the NFL to the NBA, which he said has done a much better job of letting its players express their individuality.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"I think the NBA made an adjustment. Their players were unhappy, they went on strike, they got a new commissioner. The new commissioner has made it a lot more fun, he's a lot more lenient on the guys. They're out there shooting threes and putting whatever signs up, they have personality. You can think of James Harden['s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH6h2TKDN6k">'stir-the-pot' celebration</a>] - there's a chance in the NFL you might get fined, there's a chance you get a penalty on a play like that."</p><p>The NFL has excessively fined players for celebrations this season, some of which are so blatantly innocuous&#xa0;that the flags and fines are laughable. The league&#xa0;has tried to justify these flags and fines&#xa0;by claiming&#xa0;it's easier to blanket all "excessive celebrations" together, rather than picking and choosing which are acceptable and which cross the line.</p><p>But Sherman feels that this&#xa0;slippery slope argument is misinformed. To him, regulating celebrations should be much simpler. How should players be allowed to celebrate? What crosses the line?</p><p>From Sherman:&#xa0;</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Nothing disrespectful or demonstrative. Obviously nothing lewd, nothing you wouldn't do in front of your mother. But some of these things are pretty funny, pretty hilarious celebrations. There used to be some hilarious dance moves that you can't do anymore because you don't know if they're suggestive, or whatever the case may be."</p><p>This ties nicely back to Sherman's point that the NBA has done a much better job of allowing its players to have fun, of embracing the entertainment value. In the NBA there&#xa0;is a line that players can't cross (the throat-slashing gesture, for example), but more often than not the expressive celebrations are totally fine. It's no coincidence that the<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/06/what-the-nba-gets-that-the-other-big-sports-leagues-dont/"> NBA is more popular than the NFL among younger demographics.</a></p><p>As the NFL roars into the second half of the season, ratings should improve.&#xa0;Baseball is over now, and - mercifully - the election is ending, too.&#xa0;</p><p>But some of the problems Sherman is mentioning are pervasive on a much more fundamental level. And until the NFL can rid itself of its (deserved)&#xa0;"No Fun League" moniker, the league will only continue to struggle.&#xa0;</p><h3>Watch Richard Sherman's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_xn5b0Tt-k">full press conference below:</a></h3><p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/m_xn5b0Tt-k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></p><p>&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chicago-cubs-theo-epstein-baseball-world-series-red-sox-2016-10">THE CURSE-KILLER: The story of 42-year-old Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="dleW8xNzE65fDr64-gIFmjouOHuEiraO" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'dleW8xNzE65fDr64-gIFmjouOHuEiraO',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Richard Sherman said NFL's TV ratings are down because it 'isn't fun anymore,' and blasted the league for being hypocritical

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52c30991eab8ea445d036860-1200-900/tom-brady-47.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="tom brady" width="480" /><p class="source"><span>Jim Rogash/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div>After 17 weeks of regular season games, the same two teams everyone loved since August - Seattle and Denver - still sit atop our power rankings.</p>
<p>They're the favorite going into the playoffs.</p>
<p>But parity is the definitive characteristic of the NFL, so all 10 playoff teams behind them have a real chance.</p>

NFL POWER RANKINGS: Where Every Team Stands Going Into The Playoffs

<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><span><span data-post-image="" class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/542aea50ecad045a03c17591-1065-799/cam-newton-week-4-1.jpg" border="0" alt="cam newton week 4"><span class="source"><span>Rob Carr/Getty Images</span></span></img></span><p></p></span></span>The NFC South was <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/skeptical-football-the-nfc-south-isnt-the-worst-division-in-nfl-history/">the second-worst division in the history of sports</a> this year.</p>
<p>The Saints, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Falcons went 10-29-1 against the rest of the NFL. The best team in the division (Panthers) went 7-8-1, and the worst team (Bucs) went 2-14 and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-draft-order-2014-12">got next year's No. 1 pick</a>.</p>
<p>It's bad enough that the Panthers made the playoffs with a losing record. But the historic ineptitude of the division also had a wide-ranging effect on which other teams made the playoffs.</p>
<p>Two of the three divisions with multiple playoff teams this year are the NFC North (Lions and Packers) and the AFC North (Steelers, Bengals, and Ravens). Not so coincidentally, those are also the two divisions that got to play all four NFC South teams.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Five of the eight NFL teams that got to play the NFC South in non-division play made the playoffs. Those five teams went 15-4-1 against the NFC South. The three teams that clinched wild-card spots in the playoffs (Bengals, Ravens, and Lions) went 10-1-1 against the NFC South and 21-15 against all other teams.</span></p>
<p>The AFC North, which produced half of the AFC playoff teams, had the added bonus of playing all four teams from the AFC South this year. According to <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/skeptical-football-the-nfc-south-isnt-the-worst-division-in-nfl-history/">FiveThirtyEight's numbers</a>, the 2014 AFC South was the 16th-worst division in sports history. The two worst NFL divisions since 2010 are this year's NFC South and AFC South, and the Bengals, Steelers, and Ravens got to play eight games each against them.</p>
<p>It's not just that the 7-8-1 Panthers took a playoff spot away from a more deserving team, it's that the mere existence in the NFC South created a scheduling imbalance that affected who made and missed the playoffs. Would the Chiefs have made the playoffs if they got to play the Bucs, Panthers, Saints, and Falcons instead of the Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers, and Rams?</p>
<p>NFL scheduling is inherently unfair.</p>
<p>In a perfect world, every team would play every other team twice (once at home and once on the road). It's the only way to make schedules completely balanced. It's also impossible - the regular season would last 62 games over 15 months.&#xa0;</p>
<p>The NFL does a good job of working around this problem. It rotates which divisions play one another every year. The NFC East play the AFC East one year, the AFC North the next year, the AFC South the year after that, and finally the AFC West. Over a sample size of years, things balance out.</p>
<p>In addition, everything the NFL does - from the draft to the salary structure - is designed to ensure parity. The goal is for every team to have a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. As a result, there are very few really good teams and very few really bad teams. When all teams are of more or less the same quality, scheduling imbalances aren't as important. Playing the 9-7 Bills isn't much different from playing the 9-7 Chargers.</p>
<p>But once or twice a decade you'll get something like the NFC South, which essentially gifts four wins to the lucky non-division teams that happen to be matched up with them that year.</p>
<h3><strong><br>NOW WATCH:&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-on-fame-and-being-rich-2014-12">Mark Cuban: Here's The Hardest Part Of Being A Billionaire</a></br></strong></h3>
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The NFL's Historically Bad Division Screwed Up The Playoffs Even Worse Than People Realize

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5409ce47eab8eaf34877b8f6-1066-800/richard-sherman-seahawks-1.jpg" alt="richard sherman seahawks" data-mce-source="John Ferry/Getty Images"><p class="source"><span>John Ferry/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>At the beginning of training camp, the&#xa0;Seattle Seahawks helped solidify&#xa0;a very solid core with a&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russell-wilson-signs-million-deal-with-seahawks-2015-7">$87 million extension for Russell Wilson</a> and $43 million extension for linebacker Bobby Wagner.<p>In the process, the Seahawks are also losing their biggest advantage over the NFL - flexibility.</p><p>As <a href="http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/02/nfl-training-camp-bruce-dehaven-cancer-carolina-panthers">SI's Peter King broke down</a>, the Seahawks are paying 10&#xa0;players a combined $97 million in average annual salary through 2017.</p><p>In addition to Wilson and Wagner's impending eight-figure extensions, the Seahawks also took on Jimmy Graham's $8 million salary this offseason and gave Marshawn Lynch a&#xa0;three-year, $31 million extension. Add this to the contracts for Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, and Earl Thomas, and the Seahawks have an elite, pricey core.</p><p>The Seahawks&#xa0;drafted well in recent years and&#xa0;have had the advantage of holding onto talented players on cheap rookie deals while spending their money&#xa0;on veterans, free agents, and players due for extensions.</p><p>Now, however, the Seahawks don't have money left to spend on keeping&#xa0;other young players.&#xa0;<a href="http://www.king5.com/story/sports/nfl/seahawks/2015/08/03/wilson-wagner-seahwaks-salary-cap-effect/31055017/">According to Travis Pittman of King 5 News</a><span>, the Seahawks&#xa0;</span><span>are currently $5.4 million under the salary cap. However, next season when Wilson and Wagner's cap hits jump with their new extensions, that cap space virtually dries up, even if the salary cap rises.</span></p><p><span><span>This is a problem for the Seahawks and their other young players hitting free agency. As Pittman notes, with players like J.R. Sweezy, Russell Okung, and Brandon Mebane hitting free agency next summer, the Seahawks lack the resources to keep them around.</span></span></p><p>To sign Wagner, <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13364582/tony-mcdaniel-released-seattle-seahawks">the Seahawks had to release Tony McDaniel</a>. In May, perhaps with knowledge that they wanted to extend Wilson and Wagner, they did not pick up the fifth-year option on Bruce Irvin, who has said he wants his money, too:</p><p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Yall crazy if u think I'm not gon go get mines! Ain't no fun if the homies can't get none!</p>- Bruce Irvin  (@BIrvin_WVU11) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/627699864554450944">August 2, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">They have further financial problems to deal with still, as safety Kam Chancellor is holding out of training camp for more money.</p><p class="embed-spacer">This puts Seattle in an awkward position of having to choose who to keep and who to cut. Pittman suggests that as early as next season the Seahawks may have to decide between Graham and Lynch - <a href="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nfl-trade-wheel-making-sense-of-who-went-where/">something Grantland's Bill Barnwell suggested</a> when the Seahawks traded for Graham. The Seahawks will have to choose between losing an elite pass-catcher, an elite rusher, or losing a young defensive player for nothing.</p><p class="embed-spacer">Don't expect the rest of the NFL to feel bad for the Seahawks. The NFL institutes a hard cap so that teams will have to make these decisions, thus giving the rest of the NFL the chance to keep up with the elite teams. Parity!</p><p>This is an okay&#xa0;situation for Seattle - they have 10&#xa0;great players locked up for the foreseeable future. However, given their lack of flexibility going forward, this could be the best iteration of the Seahawks that we see before they have to make the inevitable decision of who to keep and who to let go.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cristiano-ronaldo-ab-machine-ad-portugal-workout-japan-2015-7">Watch Cristiano Ronaldo star in a bizarre ad for his Japanese ab machine </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FnYTEzdjrcFSqQTO4lwX2Xh_p8JjW2E5" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'FnYTEzdjrcFSqQTO4lwX2Xh_p8JjW2E5',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The Seattle Seahawks are about to lose their biggest advantage over the rest of the NFL, so they're going all-in on this season

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b3229351ae6623f008b5769-1724/rtr31bds.jpg" border="0" alt="trader upset angry" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" data-mce-source="Reuters / Andrew Burton" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters / Andrew Burton</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The stock market's so-called Red October was difficult for investors of all types, and hedge funds were no exception.</li><li>The group lost almost 3% in October, and the risk-averse behavior exhibited by multiple types of investors suggests a rough road ahead for hedge funds at large.</li></ul><p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stock market</a>'s so-called Red October was a tough time for investors of all shapes and sizes. And very few parties felt the pain like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/hedge-funds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hedge funds</a>, which turned in a rocky month for the ages.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.hedgefundresearch.com/family-indices/hfri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">large universe tracked by Hedge Fund Research</a> lost almost 3% in October, its worst month since May 2010, when the Eurozone debt crisis was the major issue facing markets.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5be98e7001b12d3a9f164deb-543/screen shot 2018-11-12 at 91206 am.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2018 11 12 at 9.12.06 AM" data-mce-source="JPMorgan" /><p class="source"><span>JPMorgan</span></p><p class="caption">In October, hedge funds had their worst month since 2010.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But it was the turmoil that raged under the surface of that massive hedge fund universe last month that should have investors worried. While the market's previous period of turbulence in February was largely driven by technical factors, a study from <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/jpm-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JPMorgan</a> suggests Red October was far more based on fundamentals.</p><p>Stocks weren't just punished by the price-insensitive machinations of quantitative strategies this time around. What occurred instead is a very real shift in sentiment that could continue to hamper hedge funds through 2019, the firm says.</p><p>This dynamic manifested intself in the $900 billion universe of equity long/short funds. When stocks underwent a major rotation - with proven leaders rolling over and laggards outperforming - it proved to be a toxic combination for these investors.</p><p>They wound up losing more than 4% in October, their worst month since January 2016, JPMorgan data show.</p><p>"Such underperformance was likely accompanied by significant de-risking," a group of JPMorgan strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a client note.</p><p>Another group of hedge funds - one designed to recalibrate risk on the fly depending on market gyrations - also struggled in October. Known as risk-parity funds, they lost 5%, the most since June 2013, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-after-earnings-doing-something-unseen-since-tech-bubble-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stocks, bonds, and commodities sold off simultaneously</a>, depriving them of safe havens. Under normal circumstances these asset classes aren't so closely correlated.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5be99ad401b12d3c462dba18-517/screen shot 2018-11-12 at 102129 am.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2018 11 12 at 10.21.29 AM" data-mce-source="JPMorgan" /><p class="source"><span>JPMorgan</span></p><p class="caption">In October, risk-parity funds had their worst month since 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Once again, it was a shift towards more risk-averse, defensive holdings that spurred these losses. And what makes it scary for the future is that these are the types of allocation decisions often made by humans, rather than their machine-led counterparts.</p><p>Perhaps most ominous of all are the questions this tough stretch of performance has raised for the future of hedge funds. JPMorgan estimates that the aging of the current market cycle, coupled with reluctance on behalf of investors to relive the October doldrums, will prompt them to pull money out.</p><p>The firm estimates that hedge funds will see "significant but modest" outflows of about $5-10 billion per quarter in 2019. At its worst, that would account for roughly $40 billion of capital removed.</p><p>While that may be a drop in the bucket relative to the size of the whole market, it's a shift in the wrong direction for an industry that's grown in largely unabated fashion in recent years as the bull market has pushed into its 10th year.</p><p>Even then, JPMorgan suggests that other headwinds will likely be necessary if the stock market as a whole is going to take a notable dive lower. Still, regardless of whether those forces transpire and drag equities down, October's hedge-fund meltdown is a strong signal that the industry is vulnerable to a sentiment shift.</p><p>"There is no doubt that potential hedge fund redemptions represent a headwind for equity markets going forward," said Panigirtzoglou. "Similar to 2016, we expect that fundamentally-driven, equity-focused Equity Long/Short and Event Driven hedge funds will bear the brunt of hedge fund redemptions over the coming quarters."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-nfl-league-usfl-sued-tweet-three-dollars-2017-9">Trump once won a lawsuit against the NFL - but the result was an embarrassment</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/vlMvpjcK-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Hedge funds just suffered through their worst month in 8 years - here's why their struggles could just be getting started

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5caf1a6e65fe2916051d3c65-2000/lionel%20messi%20and%20cristiano%20ronaldo.png" border="0" alt="Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo" data-mce-source="Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/real-madrids-portuguese-forward-cristiano-ronaldo-looks-at-news-photo/955420494"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/real-madrids-portuguese-forward-cristiano-ronaldo-looks-at-news-photo/955420494">Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Lionel Messi has a far greater chance of lifting this season's UEFA Champions League trophy than Cristiano Ronaldo.</li><li>That's according to the statistical analysis website Fivethirtyeight.com, which says FC Barcelona is three times as likely to win the title than Juvents.</li><li>But neither side is as fancied as Liverpool FC, as the Premier League team is the tournament favorite after a 2-0 win over FC Porto on Tuesdasy.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/european-soccer-2018-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read all of Business Insider's coverage for the 2018-2019 soccer season right here</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Lionel Messi is three times more likely to win the UEFA Champions League this season than Cristiano Ronaldo, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/champions-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the statistical analysis website Fivethirtyeight.com</a>.</p><p>Messi played a crucial role in FC Barcelona's 1-0 win at Manchester United on Wednesday, ensuring Barça has a clear advantage ahead of the second leg of the quarter-final at Camp Nou next week.</p><p>Ronaldo, meanwhile, scored the opening goal for Juventus in the Italian team's trip to Ajax but was powerless as the Dutch team restored parity later, ending the game 1-1. Though Juve has an away goal in the two-legged quarter-final, its route to the semi-final, final, and the title itself is seen as more problematic than Barcelona's.</p><p>Aside from an aggregate come-from-behind victory over Atletico Madrid, inspired almost entirely by Ronaldo, Juventus' form in Europe has been mixed this season having lost to United in Turin, Italy; Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland; and Atletico in Madrid.</p><p>And data crunchers at Fivethirtyeight - which grades each team's defensive and offensive capabilities while looking at round-by-round probabilities - says Juventus has a mere 9% chance of progressing all the way to the Champions League trophy on June 1 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lionel-messi-left-bruised-and-bleeding-after-chris-smalling-challenge-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lionel Messi left battered, bruised, and bleeding after over-zealous challenge from Manchester United defender Chris Smalling</a></em></p><p>This is far behind the 27% chance Barcelona has, with the Catalan team unbeaten throughout the European campaign so far. Barça even has big wins over PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspur, Internazionale, Olympique Lyonnais, and now United.</p><p>What this means is clear - Messi has a far greater shot at glory in 10 weeks' time than his old rival Ronaldo.</p><h2>Liverpool is the tournament favorite</h2><p>But even Barcelona is not the favorite for the title as that honor belongs to Liverpool FC, the team with the best round-by-round probability of success according to Fivethirtyeight.</p><p>Jurgen Klopp's team comfortably beat FC Porto in the first leg of its quarter-final on Tuesday even though it has, at times, come unstuck playing away from home in Europe this season.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5caf33cc89df3d19641a32b3-2000/roberto%20firmino%20liverpool%20.jpg" border="0" alt="Roberto Firmino, Liverpool " data-mce-source="Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/roberto-firmino-of-liverpool-shoots-at-goal-during-the-uefa-news-photo/1141565539"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/roberto-firmino-of-liverpool-shoots-at-goal-during-the-uefa-news-photo/1141565539">Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Liverpool FC forward Roberto Firmino.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Liverpool has an impressive array of game-changers and match-winners in its roster, including Roberto Firmino who created one goal and scored the other in the team's 2-0 win over Porto this week.</p><p>But it has already been defeated by Napoli, Red Star Belgrade, and Paris Saint-Germain on the road so far this season. It beat Bayern Munich in the Round of 16, and must hope to find that travel sickness cure once again when it takes on Porto in Portugal next week.</p><p>Regardless, Fivethirtyeight certainly sees Liverpool as the team to beat, with a 29% chance of going all the way this year and lifting the Champions League trophy come June.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>With the first leg in the books, Liverpool has the highest chances of winning the title 👀 <a href="https://t.co/hWPKRef2eA">pic.twitter.com/hWPKRef2eA</a></p>- ESPN FC  (@ESPNFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1116095566725955590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-wwe-vince-mcmahon-wrestling-shahid-tony-khan-aew-2019-4">This billionaire NFL owner and his son are taking on Vince McMahon and WWE</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/RkMSnQfF-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Lionel Messi is 3 times more likely to win the Champions League this season than Cristiano Ronaldo

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5273867869bedd2c2eafe9b2-2219-1664/google-apple.jpg" alt="google apple" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Robert Galbraith" data-mce-caption="An Apple computer is shown on Google's company campus in Mountain View, California February 9, 2010." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Robert Galbraith</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Good morning. Here's everything you need to know in the world of <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> today.</p><p><strong>1. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-google-advertising-revenue-split-2016-1">Google is paying Apple $1 billion just to stay as the default search engine on the iPhone.</a> </strong>That number comes from the ongoing Google/Oracle legal battle.</p><p><strong>2. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nestles-butterfinger-has-declared-war-on-the-nfls-excessive-celebration-rules-offering-offending-players-50000-2016-1">Nestle's Butterfinger is declaring war on the NFL's excessive celebration rules.</a></strong> It is offering offending players $50,000 to cover fines.</p><p><strong>3. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-bad-ads-report-2016-1">Here's how Google tries to save you from some of the worst ads on the internet.</a> </strong>Google went on an ad-banning rampage last year, disabling more than 780 million "bad ads."</p><p><strong>4. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ghostery-accuse-adblock-plus-of-extortion-2016-1">Tracking blocker Ghostery accused Adblock Plus of extorting money from advertisers.</a> </strong>Ghostery was responding to Adblock Plus' claims that the two companies are "in the same realm."</p><p><strong>5. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yahoo-rejected-offers-to-buy-its-core-business-2016-1">Yahoo reportedly rejected 'several' offers to buy its core business.</a></strong> It said the potential buyers included a private-equity firm.</p><p><strong>6. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/developer-windows-10-app-store-is-a-mess-2016-1">A developer is so frustrated by the Windows 10 app store, he's telling people to stop writing Windows apps.</a> </strong>Apps never show up in the search engine.</p><p><strong>7. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/darpa-twitter-bot-challenge-2016-1">The US government held a contest to identify evil propaganda robots on Facebook and Twitter</a>.</strong> The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held a special contest last year to identify so-called "influence bots."</p><p><strong>8. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/adam-bain-on-gender-diversity-in-the-workforce-2016-1">Twitter COO Adam Bain has said companies that focus on gender inclusion in the workforce perform better.</a></strong> He shared his thoughts in HeForShe's first gender parity report.</p><p><strong>9. <a href="http://adage.com/article/special-report-super-bowl/bud-light-puts-amy-schumer-seth-rogen-super-bowl-ad/302275/">Bud Light has recruited Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen for a Super Bowl ad</a>.</strong> The celebrity spot is part of an effort to boost Bud Light sales, Ad Age reports.</p><p><strong>10. <a href="http://digiday.com/publishers/wall-street-journals-apps-take-laser-focus/">The Wall Street Journal plans three more vertical apps.</a> </strong>While the Journal has a main app for its content, the publisher is also making specific apps, reports Digiday.</p><p> </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-tips-video-2016-1">10 WhatsApp tricks only power users know about</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hoMjEwMDE6ymedb_JPBUmxtYbZHUOcWy" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'hoMjEwMDE6ymedb_JPBUmxtYbZHUOcWy',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The 10 things in advertising you need to know today

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/52b1d0f5eab8ea7f63533c20-1200-924/jerry-jones-9.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Jerry Jones" width="480"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div>When Johnny Manziel <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/johnny-manziel-nfl-draft-contract-2014-5">fell to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 16</a> in the 2014 NFL Draft, everyone thought Jerry Jones would pull the trigger.</p>
<p>There may not be a more Jerry Jones type of player than Johnny Football. It was a surprise that he passed on Manziel and picked offensive lineman Zack Martin from Notre Dame.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11420510/dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-wants-known-football-man">a big ESPN profile by Don Van Natta Jr.</a>, Jones makes it clear that he's still seething at the fact that he didn't pick Johnny.</p>
<p>"I am still so damn mad," he told ESPN. "I get madder, every day, about missin' him."</p>
<p>He told Van Natta that he was the only person in the draft room who wanted Manziel, and that passing on him goes against the same risk-taking philosophy that made him buy the Cowboys in the first place</p>
<p>Jones <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11420510/dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-wants-known-football-man">told his son on draft night</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"There's only one thing I wanna say - I'd have never bought the Cowboys had I made the kinda decision that I just made right now. You need to drive across the water rather than lay up. And we laid up for this one. ... We just didn't get here makin' this kind of decision."</p>
<p>Jones, who calls himself a "riverboat gambler" in the article, bought the Cowboys for $151 million in 1989. Today they're <a href="http://www.forbes.com/nfl-valuations/">worth $3.2 billion</a>.</p>
<p>He <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11420510/dallas-cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-wants-known-football-man">told ESPN</a> that the Cowboys needed to take a gamble on Manziel if they wanted to go out of their string of mediocre seasons:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"When we were on the clock, I said, if we pick the other guy - any other guy - it would be a ticket to parity, more 8-8 seasons. The only way to break out is to gamble - take a chance with that first pick, if you wanna dramatically improve your team. That's why I wanted Manziel, but I was the only guy who wanted him. I listened to everybody ... and I'm ... not ... happy ..."</p>
<p>Manziel was taken six picks later.</p>

JERRY JONES: Not Drafting Johnny Manziel Went Against Everything That Made Me Rich

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/566016918430761d008b7063-3280-2460/gettyimages-456872844.jpg" alt="Evan Spiegel" data-mce-source="Michael Kovac/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Michael Kovac/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Over the last two years, advertisers have questioned Snapchat's ability to meet their expectations on two key requirements: targeting and measurement.</p><p>Investor Fidelity's move to slash the estimated value of its stake in Snapchat by 25% "exacerbated" these concerns, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-snapchats-lackluster-ad-business-threatens-16-billion-valuation-2015-11">according to Reuters.</a></p><p>Snapchat offers few in-depth analytics or granular methods to target specific groups of consumers with ads, compared to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (who have all been in the <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> game a lot longer than the 14 or so months Snapchat has been selling ads).</p><p>Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and its other executives have previously said publicly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/evan-spiegel-at-cannes-lions-2015-6">several</a> <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/heres-how-snapchats-ceo-plans-conquer-advertising-world-165339">times</a> that the photo-sharing app is against "creepy" targeted advertising: "We care about not being creepy. That's something that's really important to us. ... We think it's weird when brands try to act like your pal" by tracking you around the internet, Spiegel said.</p><p>But there are signs Snapchat has recently begun to soften that stance. And the general feeling from the advertising community towards Snapchat appears to be moving from one of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-snapchat-is-like-as-an-ad-sales-organization-2015-7">frustration</a> to one of understanding.</p><p>Snapchat declined to comment for this story. But the company appears to be undergoing a speedy cultural change. Spiegel made his complaints about "creepy" targeted advertising not in the distance past - but at the Cannes ad festival in May of this year.</p><h2>Snapchat is warming to targeting</h2><p>At first, the big sell of Snapchat was reach: We have a huge (100 million monthly active users) highly-engaged audience of the often hard-to-reach 13 to 24-year-old age bracket - pay us big rates to get in front of them with cool original creative that's native to our app. We're primetime for millennials!</p><p>Snapchat was asking <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/snapchat-asks-brands-750000-advertise-and-wont-budge-162359">for large upfront commitments of $750,000 to do just that</a> with its "Stories" ad format. But over time the rates came down to a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-is-hitting-reset-on-sales-2015-3">more realistic pricing structure</a>. Now Snapchat offers a range of ad formats including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-launches-2-cents-video-ads-2015-5">2 cents-per-view video ads</a>, Sponsored Geofilters, and Sponsored Lenses.</p><p>And as Snapchat has rolled out more formats, it has invested in more targeting options - some of which may come as a surprise to users of the app. Here are all the targeting options advertisers can choose from on Snapchat:</p><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Gender</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> - Snapchatters don't actually provide the app with this detail, but it is inferred and validated via Millward Brown.</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Age</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> - When users sign up for the app, Snapchat asks for their birthday. Right now Snapchat is allowing alcohol brands, for example, to opt only to target users who are 18+ or 21+ (depending on the legal drinking age in the user's geography.) But it's easy to see how this could be opened up to target a specific age group.</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Device</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> - Advertisers can target against a mobile operating system or a device manufacturer.</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Location</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> - This option can be as wide as a country, state, or city and as specific as a movie theater or a college campus. Advertisers can also target against a specific event its Live section is covering, like a festival or an NFL game.</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Context</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> - Advertisers can target a specific publisher in Snapchat's Discover section. Or they can opt for audience "bundles," which are packages of Discover channels grouped by a theme such as "world news and culture," which compiles CNN, Mashable, Vice, and National Geographic.</span></li></ul><p>Colleen Leddy, head of communications strategy at advertising agency Droga5, told Business Insider she thinks one of the turning points for Snapchat from an advertising sales and targeting point of view was the launch of its Discover section back in January. Publishers on Discover work with Snapchat to sell ads on the section and revenue is split between them.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56603f2e84307668008b6ff3-1133-637/colleen.jpg" alt="colleen leddy" data-mce-source="Droga5" /><p class="source"><span>Droga5</span></p><p class="caption">Droga5 head of communications strategy thinks Snapchat's publisher partners may have helped its ad sales organization.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"With some of the new experiments like Discover, which offers advertising through the publishers and Snapchat, I think they got more learnings that way and learned from the publishers about what clients wanted - it helped them to sell in a different way," Leddy said.</p><p>She added: "I think they realized over time it was really, really difficult from our point of view to sell the platform to our clients. We are in age where you can target so specifically with programmatic advertising, and in an age where you can get all the results. Snapchat was saying: 'You can't get any of these things.' I think a lot of marketing budgets were held back [by agency staff] thinking: 'How can I sell this in a responsible way?'"</p><h2>Snapchat has been making some under-the-radar improvements to measurement too</h2><p>The biggest criticism leveled at Snapchat from the advertiser community is that the app commands huge advertising rates yet it provides little evidence to marketers that they are getting a return on that investment.</p><p>But Snapchat has been quietly - and admittedly slowly - making improvements there.</p><p>Since day one of selling advertising back in October 2014, Snapchat offered advertisers metrics including views and reach, working with third-party measurement firm Millward Brown. </p><p>This summer, Snapchat partnered with Nielsen and now it offers marketers additional metrics including completion rate and brand resonance.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56542c0984307663008b4eea-1080-1920/ge holiday travel filter example.png" alt="GE Snapchat" data-mce-source="GE" /><p class="source"><span>GE</span></p><p class="caption">GE's latest sponsored Snapchat geofilter.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Sydney Williams, head of social media at GE, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ge-launches-snapchat-geofilter-targeting-airports-and-train-stations-2015-11">which last month launched its second Snapchat ad campaign</a>, told Business Insider this time around, Snapchat offered far more "in-depth" information about the conversion rate (those who swiped past its Sponsored Filter and those who actually went on to try it out.) Its first filter was used 4.7 million times, which resulted in 63.5 million views.</p><p>There are still some niggles. For example, one director-level digital advertising agency executive told Business Insider he questioned the fact that Snapchat counts a "view" as soon as it appears on a user's screen, even if they only look at it for less than a second (the industry standard for a video view is that 2 consecutive seconds are watched and that at least 50% of the video frame is on the screen.) Meanwhile, the depth of measurement is still nowhere near the likes of Google and Facebook, which work with third-parties to determine really useful analytics such as whether a person who saw an ad on their platforms went on to buy the item in a physical store.</p><p>While advertisers wait for Snapchat to catch up, there is another option.</p><p>Software startup Delmondo claims to be one of the only analytics companies that works with brands to offer Snapchat analytics for their ad campaigns and work with Snapchat influencers. </p><p>There's no official API (application programming interface) for analytics developers to tap into, but Delmondo gets its clients and Snapchat influencers to request "Authed/Tokened" access from Snapchat to get insights about the success of their Snapchat Stories and ads. These marketers and influencers pay Snapchat to be supplied the data, which the Delmondo platform analyzes. The fact that this kind of transaction takes place demonstrates it is taking a more responsive approach to measurement.</p><p>Delmondo CEO Nick Cicero told Business Insider: "Snapchat has definitely has come a long way on improving their offerings for advertisers, and I so excited to see what 2016 brings, I think it's the year of monetization for Snapchat."</p><h2>Snapchat is becoming more proactive with advertising agencies</h2><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-snapchat-is-like-as-an-ad-sales-organization-2015-7">Back in July</a> when we last polled marketers and agencies about their opinion of Snapchat, the general feeling was that the photo app's sales team wasn't big enough, or organized enough, to fulfill advertiser demand. One director-level agency exec told us the relationship felt "ad hoc," while a director-level marketer at a major consumer brand told us Snapchat had only "gingerly" began talking to his company. One advertising agency managing director told us that advertising and content partners were sometimes chosen based on executives (including Spiegel's) own personal taste for the brand - leaving it difficult at the early stages for other advertisers to break in.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56587115c28144bc018b5c18-480-747/gifgif.gif" alt="snapchat gif" data-mce-source="Screenshot/Snapchat" /><p class="source"><span>Screenshot/Snapchat</span></p><p class="caption">Beats launched a sponsored Snapchat Lens over Thanksgiving weekend this year.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Since then, Snapchat has been staffing up. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-makes-first-uk-hires-2015-10">It has just opened its first office in outside of the US - in the UK</a> - for example, and <a href="http://digiday.com/platforms/snapchat-begins-uk-agency-roadshow/">made quick work of meeting advertising agencies in the region</a>, including smaller agencies.</p><p>Drogue's Leddy said: "We are getting more and more contact from Snapchat - more them reaching out to us and more transparency about numbers ... when we do have meetings the conversations have shifted to [Snapchat saying]: 'Tell us what you need' if they don't have a solution rather than saying 'we don't have that.' Even the pure amount of sales people they have hired to service accounts has definitely changed, and it's much more about offering a solution rather than us [chasing.]"</p><p>Frustrations do still remain. One ad tech executive who works with both publishers and agencies told us that the people he speaks to think Snapchat's "preciousness" over its platform and users - and therefore the fear of annoying them with advertising - has been interpreted as "smugness" by some in the industry.</p><p>"Advertisers feel they have to be there. But what are the tangible outcomes?" He said, but added: "From a user perspective, Snapchat is ever-explosive and is even becoming cannibalistic to other social platforms. I'm sure Facebook are kicking themselves they didn't offer $10 billion for it." <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/01/06/snapchat-facebook-acquisition-2/">(Facebook tried to acquire the company back in 2013 for $3 billion.)</a></p><p>Snapchat still has a long, long way to go until marketers' satisfaction with its advertising offering reaches parity with other social networks. It took Facebook years to get past Forrester's infamous "<a href="http://adage.com/article/btob/ge-launches-campaign-late-show-recruit-college-grads/300269/">Facebook is failing marketers</a>" study, in 2013. Now marketers say its ads <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2015/08/10/facebook-ads-outperform-those-on-other-social-sites-forrester-says/">outperform those on other social sites.</a></p><p>There will almost certainly be more hurdles on the way, but Snapchat is starting to act a lot more like the social networks it is so-often compared to - with some added idiosyncrasies. And that can only serve to command more spend from the advertisers who want to reach its lucrative audience.</p><p>Jason Stein, cofounder and CEO of social media agency Laundry Service, told Business Insider that it's natural for a young, fast-growing company to lack engineering infrastructure and scaleable ad tech: "It's more important at this point to invest resources into building a product that grows and retains user over the long-term."</p><p>"I do think Snapchat has backed off its stance on 'creepy' advertising. Sponsored national filters, geo-filters and lenses are very much native ads, and represent great technological innovations by Snapchat. The units are in high demand from our clients and advertisers in general, and they perform very well," he said. "It's a pretty good look when users are having fun interacting with your brand to create original branded content that they then share with all of their friends. Welcome to 2016: selfie innovation is critical to the success of brands and tech platforms."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cyber-dust-mark-cuban-snapchat-cybersecurity-2015-12">Mark Cuban explains why downloading Snapchat is a huge mistake</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FuMzJkdTpvQYH_d3c-8LMnnwzGDr7n8x" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'FuMzJkdTpvQYH_d3c-8LMnnwzGDr7n8x',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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