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by Joe Mandese
In a move that signals just how blurry the business of media is getting, a unit of AOL has been selected to handle advertising sales for a new joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp. that will distribute television programming over the Internet. News that AOL's Advertising.com would handle display and video ad sales for the new, as-yet-unnamed joint online video venture, is just one of a series of recent developments and alliances that point to rapidly changing roles - and relationships - among the world's biggest media conglomerates.
In an equally telling announcement, the Sirius satellite radio network announced a deal to begin distributing children's TV networks like Time Warner's Cartoon Network, Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Channel, and Viacom's Nickelodeon as part of a new service dubbed "Backseat TV" (see related story in today's MDN). Talk about your backdoor moves into another medium. ... Read the whole story
by David Goetzl
A day after Omnicom announced it was creating a sports and entertainment marketing group combining an array of existing entities, Steve Grubbs, new CEO of Fuse Sports and Entertainment Group North America, said it was as close to a dream job as he could get. His unit, which combines four specialties, will work with clients to enhance product placement, sponsorships and content development. ... Read the whole story
by Wayne Friedman
Liberty Media chairman John Malone continues to shift his businesses from passive to more active ownership. Malone, through his Discovery Holding Co., has finally inked a deal to buy the 25% interest Cox Communications has in Discovery Communications Inc. for $1.275 billion in cash. Bottom line: he ups his stake in Discovery to 66%. Attention must be paid. ... Read the whole story
by Karl Greenberg
Chrysler Group and partner Sirius Satellite Radio are bringing TV to minivans. The DaimlerChrysler unit will offer Sirius Backseat TV--a product new to cars and satellite providers--late this summer. It will initially carry content from only kids' nets: Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon Network. ... Read the whole story
by Wayne Friedman
On reality TV, successful aspirations are micro rather than macro. In short, it pays to be a good model, not to model good deeds. An original "America's Next Top Model" by CW beat out ABC's second episode of "The Great American Dream Vote," an aspirational show where viewers get to make someone's dream come true. ... Read the whole story
by David Goetzl
Nielsen's new ratings that incorporate college students have been a boon for ABC--particularly boffo hit "Grey's Anatomy," which has picked up steam among the 18-to-24 set that is translating into growth in the key 18-to-49 demo. ... Read the whole story
by Erik Sass
A much-publicized campaign for DaimlerChrysler's Jeep Patriot on the theme "Choose Your Adventure" has run afoul of the company that owns the rights to the famous children's books published under a similar name: "Choose Your Own Adventure." Chooseco LLC has filed suit against DaimlerChrysler for trademark infringement, alleging the two slogans are so similar as to be virtually indistinguishable. ... Read the whole story
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