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Thirty seven percent of UK and US marketing executives surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Lyris believe using analysis to extract predictive findings from Big Data is the most necessary marketing skill, up from just 17% five years ago. This change in the required skillset has created a challenge for marketers as 45% of executives now view marketers’ limited competency in data analysis as a major obstacle to implementing more effective strategies – second only to inadequate budgets for digital marketing and database management.

The average revenue of media and entertainment companies will shortly cross the 50% mark from majority traditional to majority digital, with 57% of revenue set to come from the latter in 2015.

Google’s busy thinking marketing and has launched Think Insights, pooling Google studies, Google trends tracked, along with ideas explored, and pooling it all in one single online place. ‘Think Insights is designed to bring you everything from high-level visions to deck-ready data points,’ the search giant says.

That includes Big Data, of course, which Google says means Big Opportunity. And Think Insights users will also find leading case studies, the latest Google research, strategic perspectives, interviews with innovators and experts.

The UK’s four professional football Leagues – Premier League, Football League, Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League – have signed up Opta as their media data collection and distribution partner for three seasons starting with 2013-14.

Toyota is celebrating its 75th birthday with a bit of genealogy in the shape of an interactive family tree powered by Big Data.

Two-thirds of consumers do not want Internet tracking and are tired of their personal data being collected online, according to an 11-market survey from Ovum. And this hardening of consumer attitudes, coupled with tightening regulation, could diminish personal data supply lines and have a considerable impact on targeted advertising, CRM, big data analytics, and other digital industries, the consultancy says.

Twitter is acquiring social TV analytics firm Bluefin Labs – but why is it interested in bringing the big data company onboard? Well, close to two thirds of UK Twitter users use Twitter while watching TV, and 40% of all UK Twitter traffic around peak time is about television, according to Tune In With Twitter: Driving Discovery And Engagement With TV, a new report from the microblogging outfit.

Twitter is stumping up an estimated $70 million to acquire social TV analytics firm Bluefin Labs.