• OMD Sweeps Cannes, With A Little Help From Some Consumers by Le Riff

    CANNES, FRANCE - It was a good night for Daryl Simm and OMD Tuesday evening at the 54th Annual International Advertising Awards here, as the Omnicom network picked up both of the event's top Media Lions prizes. The night's biggest, and most pleasant surprise for the U.S. media agency community, which came up on the short end of the Lions' short list with only 25 finalists out of more than 1,700 entries, was OMD New York's upset win as Media Agency of the Year by amassing the most Lions Award points. ...Read the whole story

  • Discovery/Starcom Strike Deal For Exact Minute Ratings by Wayne Friedman

    While cable networks are uneasily positioning themselves to do upfront deals using commercial ratings, Discovery Networks is going one better. It struck a big upfront deal with Starcom USA that will be guaranteed on exact minute commercial ratings. No terms were disclosed, but media agency executives peg it at $100 million. ...Read the whole story

  • Upfront: ABC May Get Higher Rates Than Rivals by Wayne Friedman

    ABC may be going last in the upfront. But will they have the last laugh--at 10% to 12% increases? Higher rates would make sense, since other nets have nearly completed their upfront deals, and advertisers want what remains of shrinking broadcast inventory. All the nets, however, are benefiting from a strong scatter market that is spilling over into the upfront process. ...Read the whole story

  • Six Flags Moves Into TV Biz, Retains Control Of Dick Clark Productions by David Goetzl

    Since a slew of its top executives are TV veterans, Six Flags is moving into the business. The theme park operator has acquired 40% of Dick Clark Productions, which is a co-producer of Fox hit "So You Think You Can Dance" and several prominent awards shows. The goal is to use TV brands and characters to boost park attendance. ...Read the whole story

  • Media Auditors Subscribe To TiVo Ratings, Increase Scrutiny Of TV Ad Buys by Joe Mandese

    In a sign that media agencies are going to be facing greater accountability over the audience delivery of TV advertising buys they make for their clients, a second major auditor Tuesday announced a deal to begin subscribing to TiVo's new Stop//Watch TV ratings service, offering a second-by-second analysis of commercial advertising exposure. Media Performance Monitor America (MPMA), the U.S. media auditing service launched several years ago to probe not just the quantitative return on media buys, but the quality of their schedules and results, announced it is now subscribing to the TiVo data and would begin using it to monitor ... ...Read the whole story

  • Radio Daze: Congress Opposes Sirius-XM Merger by Erik Sass

    Mel Karmazin may be excited by a potential XM Radio-Sirius merger, but Congress isn't. On Monday, 72 representatives sent a letter to the leaders of the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice expressing their opposition to the proposed merger. Signatories from both parties said that a monopoly would be "devastating to consumers." ...Read the whole story

  • McClatchy Exec Takes Stake in Gather.com by Erik Sass

    Kevin McClatchy, a director at newspaper publisher the McClatchy Company, acquired a minority stake in Gather.com, a social network for adults focused on niche interests and activities. Although Tom Gerace, the founder and CEO of Gather.com, emphasized that McClatchy's stake is a personal investment, it may herald strategic cooperation between the companies in the future. ...Read the whole story

  • Belo Stations Are Undervalued, Says Chief Exec by David Goetzl

    With private equity firms seemingly chomping at the bit to acquire local TV stations, the top executive at station owner Belo Corp. on Tuesday either reaffirmed the company's faith in the business for the long haul or attempted to stoke interest in a sale. ...Read the whole story

  • Kaiser: Ads Worry Parents, Want Government To Step In by Adrienne W. Fawcett

    According to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 70% of parents worry their kids see too much advertising. And while the amount is a concern -- it's the content, often sexual or violent in nature, that has them up in arms. The answer: They want the Feds to regulate TV content in early prime time. ...Read the whole story

  • Outsized Revenue: Outdoor Grows 8% in 1Q by Erik Sass

    Outdoor advertising maintained a robust growth rate in the first quarter of 2007, with an 8% increase in revenue compared to the same period in 2006. The industry brought in $1.6 billion in total revenues in the first three months of this year. ...Read the whole story

  • Media X: Beached by Jack Feuer

    Creatives are the Norma Desmonds of the marketing world, living off past glory and refusing to accept that they can't get the best table in ... ...More

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