America: Take Another Look At Joan Rivers by David Goetzl

Dear America: hold on, don't let her go. She's nearly 78. You've embraced Betty White -- why not Joan Rivers? Sure, she's easy to lampoon; there's more material than Snooki or Sheen, but in between her new reality show and the "Fashion Police," the 2010 documentary "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" is a revealing look at the woman behind the laugh lines. ...Read the whole story

  • Despite HD Content, Advertisers Slow To Embrace HD Ads by Wayne Friedman

    TV content owners may be moving quickly on HD programming; TV advertisers for HD commercials are another story. A new study says advertisers using HD in their commercials were just 13% of all the TV creative that ran in fourth-quarter 2010. ...Read the whole story

  • automotive Hyundai Effort Urges 'Don't Be A Sheep!' by Karl Greenberg

    You don't have to be a sheep and you don't have to accept conditioning. No, it's not a political slogan from a George Orwell novel. It's the theme of Hyundai Motor America's new ad campaign for the 2011 Elantra. The automaker is touting both Elantra and Sonata with four new ads, some of which will run as part of its buy on the Super Bowl. ...Read the whole story

  • Digital Video Grabs 180 Million Visitors Monthly by Wayne Friedman

    San Francisco -- Big video usage numbers continue to come to the digital video industry: 180 million visitors watching videos per month. That comes to 85% of all Internet consumers, 200 videos per person and around 13 hours per month. ...Read the whole story

  • Bakish Heads Viacom Media International by Fern Siegel

    Robert Bakish has been promoted to president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks. Bakish will take charge of company properties operating outside the U.S., such as MTVN International, BET, Comedy Central and non-premium Paramount nets. ...Read the whole story

  • 'American Idol' Has New Judges, Takes Ratings Dive by David Goetzl

    With two new judges and maybe some viewer fatigue in its 10th season, "American Idol" posted sharp drops for its season premiere Wednesday. The Fox show also had its lowest debut ratings since season one in 2002 when it was a virtual unknown. ...Read the whole story

  • ESPN, University of Texas To Kick Off New Network by David Goetzl

    ESPN said it has a 20-year deal with the University of Texas and marketing arm IMG College to operate a 24/7 (still-unnamed) network dedicated to UT. Content will include the exclusive broadcast of at least one UT football and eight basketball games a year. ...Read the whole story

  • RerunCentral Aggregates Web Links To Classic TV by Wayne Friedman

    Another new digital video venture has launched -- this one more as a program guide looking to aggregate information and links of TV reruns. For fans, it offers links of TV reruns from 1948-1999, available at Hulu, Crackle and TV Land. ...Read the whole story

  • Dolan To Lead Fox International Channels Marketing by David Goetzl

    Liz Dolan, who led marketing at Oprah's new network before leaving months before its debut, has joined News Corp. as CMO of the Fox International Channels. The new post includes oversight of branding and corporate communications. ...Read the whole story

  • Outdoor, Bonnier Renew Partnership by David Goetzl

    The Outdoor Channel has renewed a deal with Bonnier Corp. to air programming carrying the iconic Field & Stream magazine brand, and the two companies will continue to offer multiplatform ad packages. ...Read the whole story

  • Headache: NFL Calls Foul On Toyota Ad, Spot Changed by Wayne Friedman

    In a rare occurrence for a TV copyright owner -- not a TV network -- the National Football League forced sponsor Toyota Motor Corp. to change a television commercial after it ran. The spot involved helmet-to-helmet football contact. ...Read the whole story

Word-A-Week: More On Types of Set-Top Boxes by Jane Clarke

Last week we began with defining Set-Top Box, which is not as simple a task as it sounds. Generically, these boxes span the range from Analog (those that can only deliver data in one direction which is to the box) and Digital (those that have the ability to deliver data in two directions, which is to and from the box). Because they have the ability to deliver data back from the box, it is only the Digital Set-Top Boxes that can provide Set-Top-Box data. Digital Set-Top Boxes vary in level of sophistication, which can impact the amount and quality of ...More

  • Piers Morgan Adds Zip To Self-Marketing With Twitter Plea To NYT Reporter by Wayne Friedman

    Piers Morgan didn't wait for the marketing machine at CNN to take its normal course. The new digital world perhaps forced this. Twitter also had a hand. ...More

  • Thanks, Steve by Frank Maggio

    small group of disruptive technologists and I spent the day yesterday in Ft. Myers, Fla. where we had the chance to dine at the Edison House. Pictures of Thomas Edison and friends donned the walls, and as we all reclined there, using our iPhones and iPads to communicate and demonstrate our visions, there was something very eerie about the whole experience. Edison's awarded patents (1,093) have touched all of our lives, and I'm certain that almost nothing we did yesterday could have happened as it did, had Mr. Edison not graced us with his presence (and vision). ...More

  • Comcast And NBC Approval: There's Hulu, The Clouds, And 2018 by Wayne Friedman

    With all the details of the Comcast-NBC Universal deal now set, a big change will affect Hulu, one of the new venture's possibly major future business areas. The Justice Department demanded Comcast give up management rights to the digital video service, rights it shares with its two other major partners, News Corp. and Walt Disney Co. ...More

  • 'Conditions and Enforceable Commitments": FCC Hearts the Web by Steve Smith

    Whatever you think of the FCC approval of the Comcast-NBC merger, it seems to be giving a big wet kiss to the online video industry. In approving the marriage, the FCC defined "conditions and enforceable commitments" that Comcast/NBC universal had to abide, and the Commission went out of its way to acknowledge and include digital distribution and emerging online video business models. ...More