• U.S. Ad Spending Loses Steam, Shifts Into Emerging, Unclassified Media by Joe Mandese

    U.S. ad spending now is projected to grow only 3.1% in 2007, according to revised estimates released Tuesday by industry forecaster Bob Coen. That's a significant downward revision from the 4.8% the Universal McCann director of forecasting originally projected in December, and means the ad industry will once again fail to keep pace with overall U.S. economic growth. The downgrade is the latest in a series of downward revisions issued by other leading industry forecasters and suggests that some fundamental shifts are taking place in the industry's economics, as advertisers continue to shift money out of traditional media and into ... ...Read the whole story

  • Upfront: Group M Strikes Lifetime Deal by David Goetzl

    Group M signed a deal with Lifetime using C3 currency, believed to be in the high single-digits. That could possibly signal that the cable market will be stronger than predicted. Lifetime executives were buoyed by its upfront results. ...Read the whole story

  • The Graying Of The Nets: Big 4's Median Age Over 40 by David Goetzl

    The Big 4 are all over the big 40. With Fox's median age increasing to 42 this season, all the major broadcasters, for the first time, have a median age north of 40, according to a new report from Magna Global. Still, the greying of the nets is hardly a slam. The just-wrapped broadcast upfront proved healthy. ...Read the whole story

  • Supreme Court OKs Corporate-Sponsored Issue Ads by Wayne Friedman

    TV stations looking for another upswing from political advertising can thank the Supreme Court, which loosened restrictions over corporate- and union-funded TV ads that air close to elections. In a close 5-4 decision with the conservatives in the majority, the Court upheld an appeals court ruling that an anti-abortion group should have been allowed to air ads during the last two months of the 2004 election. ...Read the whole story

  • Dot-Com Bubble Begins To Deflate--Again by Joe Mandese

    For the first time since the bubble burst, ad spending by so-called dot-com brands is expected to decline this year. The decline--a drop of about 4% to $4 billion--isn't nearly as severe as the 52% drop that occurred in 2001 when the dot-com market crashed, or even the 19% reduction that happened the following year in 2002, but it reverses a four-year upswing that has made dot-com advertisers' brands, products and services that are marketed primarily via an online destination one of the fastest-growing and most significant advertising categories for the overall media marketplace in recent years. ...Read the whole story

  • Turner Ups Upfront Ante, Adopts Commercial Ratings As New Currency by David Goetzl

    The cable upfront market received a tailwind Tuesday as the Turner entertainment networks began writing business at a steady pace, notably with deals done based on the so-called C3--commercial ratings plus three-days of DVR playback--currency. ...Read the whole story

  • Holding On: Syndie Sees Less Ratings Drop Than Broadcast by Wayne Friedman

    Syndication's top-rated shows have seen a ratings erosion this year. But it may not be as severe as the double-digit declines of some broadcast network shows. Syndie numbers are stable overall. The declines are usually single-digit, versus some of the steep drops off-net sitcoms endure. ...Read the whole story

  • Cross-Pollination: CBS Radio Bows Web Video by Erik Sass

    CBS Radio is set to introduce a new Web video feature today, "Live from the Web Carpet," with live streaming coverage of big red-carpet movie premieres--starting with the opening of "Transformers" in Los Angeles. The company's announcement marks another entry in the emerging online medium of radio-TV, where competitors like Clear Channel have been aggressively rolling out new video products. ...Read the whole story

  • Teen Market Grows To $208 Billion By 2011 by Erik Sass

    Advertisers take note: Teens remain a lucrative target. The market of products for this coveted demo will grow to more than $208 billion by 2011, according to a report from market research firm Packaged Facts. The overall teen population may be declining, but their spending power isn't. ...Read the whole story

  • HDTV Penetration Will Hit 36% In 2007 by Erik Sass

    TV nets take note: By the end of 2007, 16 million high-definition TVs will be sold, bringing the total to 52.5 million in the U.S. That's 36% penetration of households, according to new figures from the Consumer Electronics Association. The irony? Only 44% of HDTV owners actually receive HD programming. Some blame cost, others use the technology for movie and gaming experiences. ...Read the whole story

  • Media X: All You Can Eat by Jack Feuer

    The media biz is gorging on delusion this week. Big agencies are getting bitch-slapped daily by smarter, hungrier and hipper digital boutiques, media shops and, ... ...More

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