• AMI Farming Out Production Duties
    To trim costs, American Media Inc., publisher of The National Enquirer and OK Magazine, is outsourcing its production to Fresh Media Group, whose “global footprint” includes offices in Chennai, India., according to Michael Esposito,  AMI’s SVP, operations and digital production. AMI has apparently been on the other end of an outsourcing deal as well, handling business operations for the likes of Playboy magazine. It will offer production duties to Playboy as part of  its publishing services package.
  • NBA Broadcasters Courting Advertisers Again
    NBA broadcasters are attempting to recoup the loss of roughly $100 million in ad revenue after an almost six-month-long lockout by offering advertisers "attractive rates if they buy ad packages for the remainder of this season and into next year," Claire Atkinson writes. She further dissects the current NBA media buying scene.  For example, one block to NBA broadcasters making up for lost ad dollars are the "sweetheart deals" that were offered by rival networks to poach clients during the lockout.
  • Warren Buffett Buys Newspaper Company
    Warren Buffett may have “expressed reservations about the newspaper industry,” writes Tanzine Vega -- but that hasn’t stopped his company, the Omaha, Neb-based Berkshire Hathaway, from buying a local newspaper business, the Omaha World-Herald Company, which publishes seven daily papers, including The World-Herald. Buffet left the board of the Washington Post Company almost a year ago, but Berkshire Hathaway is still the largest shareholder in The Washington Post.
  • Digitas Head To Become Time Inc. Magazine Chief
    Time Warner has chosen Laura Lang, chief exec of major digital agency Digitas, to head its Time Inc. magazine publishing division.  She will begin her new job in January. This move puts "the head of one of the largest digital agencies in charge of the biggest U.S. magazine publisher at a time when Time Inc. and others grapple with a murky print-advertising picture and the migration of consumers to digital devices," writes The Wall Street Journal.
  • Clear Channel Head Optimistic On Outdoor Ads
    Outdoor advertising is holding fairly strong despite Europe's debt crisis, according to William Eccleshare, head of the international divison of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings. Here's his quote: "The fourth quarter has actually held up extremely well, so we feel pretty good about this year and pretty nervous about next year." Eccleshare also discusses the company's strategy for the future and comments on Clear Channel's competitor in the out-of-home field, JC Decaux, saying it's unlikely it "would follow though on its long-stated aim of doing a major acquisition in the United States because its most likely …
  • Yes, iTV Is Coming
    Apple is partnering with Sharp to develop a TV synchronized with other Apple devices that will respond to voice and motion control, writes Jessica Davies. She cites "reports" as the source for news of this product, set to launch "in the second half of next year."
  • Magazines Use More And More Action Codes
    Magazines are aggressively pursuing the use of action codes for both advertising and editorial purposes -- though the former accounts for the most growth, according to a study released by mobile technology company Nellymoser Inc. “From January to September 2011, the number of magazine action codes grew a dramatic 476 percent from just 88 in January to 507 in September," the report notes. Among other uses, magazines tap action codes to provide "access to video, a contest promotion or sweepstakes, a coupon offer or an interactive shopping experience." And while no single type of magazine dominates, still "tags in the …
  • For Pay TV, Encouraging Words Seldom Heard: More Rating, Subscriber Dips
    Here's the latest spate of reports on how pay TV's doing, and it's all discouraging news. First of all, "ratings have dropped every week since the start of September" at  big cable channel owners Viacom and Time Warner, while Disney and Scripps likewise tracked ratings dips for most of those weeks,  notes Claire Atkinson. Another report quotes Credit Suisse analyst Stefan Anniger summarizing continued decreases in the number of pay TV subscribers: "It's about cord-avoiders and cord-nevers, not cord-cutters." He forecasts a decrease of "around 200,000 subscribers in 2012 instead of the gain of 250,000 that he had previously …
  • Businesweek, Hachette, Partner On E-Books
    'Bloomberg Businessweek' will provide content for a series of e-books published jointly by Hachette Book Group that will “illuminate key moments in the world of business,” according to Laura Hazard Owen. The first edition, available for $3.50 through several etailers, is Steve Jobs: 1955-2011. "The alliance between Hachette and Businessweek is notable because many media outlets... have chosen to publish e-books that consist of repurposed content directly, rather than partnering with book publishers," writes Owen.
  • Regis Plots Return To TV
    Days after Regis Philbin signed off on his long-time talk show, he announced his plans for a return, hosting another kind of TV experience: a prime-time family talent show. Philbin, who does have experience with talent shows -- he hosted the first season of NBC's "America's Got Talent" -- formed RAF Productions to develop “a family competition, which is something new in our business," he says here.
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