• Madison & Wall: Marketer Advocates 'Stock Market' Approach To Upfront by David Kaplan

    Each year when the nation's largest advertisers gather in New York to discuss the current and future state of the TV advertising business they bemoan the state of the network upfront buying process and call for its change. On Wednesday, one of the biggest marketers made a pitch to transform it into something that looks more like one of Wall Street's stock exchanges - specifically Nasdaq - to create an open exchange that is "fair" and "transparent" to buyers and sellers of TV alike. ...Read the whole story

  • Moonves Tells Marketers 'It's Not Our Job' To Be Accountable, Media Comp Called 'Stupid' by Joe Mandese

    Normally when they are invited to speak before a roomful of the nation's largest advertisers media buyers and sellers are deferential, if not reverential. But on Wednesday during the Association of National Advertisers' 2005 Television Advertising Forum the head of one of the largest TV players snubbed the audience on the issue of "accountability" and a top ad agency executive implied many in the room were "stupid" for not compensating agencies well enough to get the kind of media they needed. Despite the affront, the attendees seemed to agree with that latter assessment, applauding when Rishad Tobaccowala, chief innovation officer ... ...Read the whole story

  • Nielsen Task Force Recommends 'Oversampling' Minorities by Joe Mandese

    With far less fanfare than it was formed with, the Independent Task Force on Television Measurement issued a 62-page report including recommendations for how Nielsen Media Research could improve its measurement of people of color. The report, which included 34 mentions of the word "independent" was officially released by Nielsen, and was posted in its entirety on a Nielsen Web site. Nielsen issued a press release summarizing its findings, and no press conference was held with its members to discuss the findings. ...Read the whole story

  • ANA: A Third Of Marketers Not Using 'Branded Entertainment' by Amy

    More than a third of national marketers are not actively involved in branded entertainment initiatives, according to results of a member survey released Wednesday by the Association of National Advertisers. ...Read the whole story

  • Washington Insider To ANA: 'Indecency' Here To Stay by David Kaplan

    If broadcasters attending the Association of National Advertisers' 2005 Television Advertising Forum thought that they were going to get a break on worrying about indecency content with the departure of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, Washington, DC lawyer Robert Corn-Revere quickly erased such hopes. ...Read the whole story

  • Big Papers Team To Acquire Online News Aggregator, Accelerate Move Into Digital Media by Gavin O'Malley

    On the heels of Dow Jones & Co.'s acquisition of MarketWatch, three of the nation's biggest newspaper publishers -- Gannett, Knight-Ridder, and Tribune Co. -- Thursday said they acquired control of local news aggregator Topix.net. The companies declined to discuss the cost or specific terms, other than to state that each will own a 25 percent stake in Topix.net. But the deal, which closed last week, signals another move by traditional media into the digital world. ...Read the whole story

  • Mets Go Digital, Shea Becomes Arena Media Affiliate by Shankar Gupta

    Aging Shea Stadium will get some high-tech glitz with a series of 20 high-definition, 50-inch video screens to serve game information and advertisements. The screens, to be installed by Arena Media Networks, will be in place in time for the New York Mets' season opener against the Houston Astros on April 11. ...Read the whole story

  • Web Buzz Prophesizes Success For NBC's 'The Office,' Fox's 'American Dad!' by David Kaplan

    British comedy imports have had a rough time making it on these shores lately--anyone remember NBC's "Coupling?"--but the newest sitcom arrival premiering Thursday, "The Office," which also airs on NBC, has a more promising future, according to an Initiative analysis of "Internet buzz." ...Read the whole story

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