The Procter & Gamble and NBC joint venture Petside.com is getting a redesign that includes new features like Pet Places, an online and mobile database of pet businesses in cities around the country. The new site will have six new channels that include new community functions and new sections around pet nutrition, budgeting and living green, and blogs from pet experts. The site is also introducing a mobile app for iPhones and Android-enabled devices. Procter & Gamble and NBC Digital Networks have collaborated since 2007 on several Web properties designed to reach underserved communities while giving both P&G brands as well as non-P&G (and non-competitive) brands a "white space" to market products. The first of the NBC Digital and P&G Productions sites were Petside.com, and DinnerTool.com followed by a set of boomer-centric lifestyle-focused Web sites called "Life Goes Strong" on NBC Digital Networks that went live last year and now comprises seven lifestyle channels. P&G brands advertise on the sites, but the company does not have an exclusive relationship with NBC Properties. NBC does the editorial content and runs day-to-day operations of the sites. Rich DelCore, P&G's director of global brand entertainment and VP of its Productions unit, says one impetus that set the company looking for new media platforms was the demise of soap operas that P&G has historically been involved with -- "Guiding Light" and "As The World Turns." "We saw that there were white spaces online where consumers weren't being served and after that we launched PetSide.com with NBC Digital. And we started looking at other places where we felt there wasn't a lot of great content or communities." DelCore says both NBC and P&G promote the sites: NBC with its sales force and P&G through its communications planning agencies, such as Carat and Starcom MediaVest, under the aegis of each relevant P&G brand. "Once a year we brief our planning agencies under the brands on what we can do and what they might want to do with these sites. But we don't mandate participating at all. We really try to keep this agnostic. We are pitching to our own brands just as NBC might be pitching the sites to other advertisers." DelCore says the network of sites get 1 to 1.5 million uniques and 4 to 5 million page views per month. "We are on the glide path to where we want to be," he says. "The company is constantly looking for ways to touch consumers who are undeserved or not being served at all: Hispanics, Boomers, moms, both with information and entertainment." Devin Johnson, general manager of Digital Works at NBC Universal, says the company is promoting the sites through a three-pronged approach: cross-promotional efforts across NBC properties and assets, search engine marketing, and communications through P&G's own assets such as Eukanuba's Puppy Kits. Brand integration on the sites is mostly focused on driving interest in P&G's ancillary brands -- those that aren't directly related to pets. "So the original plan was focused on (P&G's) Iams and Eukanuba, but we found lots of other brands had potential within that context, like Swiffer, Bounty, and Bounce." He says P&G gets first right of refusal in terms of going outside of its own brands. "Then we can extend to other pet brands." The broader idea, he says, is to turn the traditional media model on its head by creating a private-label, sustainable digital business for a brand. "So we are basically enabling P&G to be in the media business. Where they have a very distinct target they want to reach, we assist them in creating those platforms. Instead of us going to a company and saying we have created a platform, and 'would you like to advertise on it,' we are saying let's create content together -- a platform that walks a fine line between the consumer's interests and brand need; that's our secret sauce: a property for the brand and also a distinct value for consumers." Johnson says NBCU is talking with other major companies, and that "The idea of sustainable digital businesses is resonating with others. This is the future: allowing brands and media companies to partner to build assets."
Nielsen Co. has agreed to acquire NeuroFocus, one of the leading companies applying neuroscience to advertising, media and brand research, MediaDailyNews has learned. The deal, which is expected to be announced soon, follows a bid by WPP Group, the largest advertising and media services company in the world, and an arch rival to Nielsen in marketing and media research. A Nielsen spokesperson said the company would not comment, and NeuroFocus Founder and CEO A.K. Pradeep was traveling out of the country and was not available to comment, but executives familiar with the deal say Nielsen's takeover was sparked when WPP made an unsolicited offer late last year that triggered a buyout option for Nielsen, which had been a minority stakeholder in NeuroFocus. Nielsen originally acquired a 30% stake in NeuroFocus in February 2008, and Nielsen CEO David Calhoun is a member of NeuroFocus' tightly held board. The acquisition is interesting for a variety of reasons, especially the fact that neuromarketing research is getting very hot among some big marketers and agencies, and NeuroFocus has been one of the most aggressive and visible players in the field, announcing a new technology it claims can literally read people's minds. The technology, which is actually called Mynd, utilizes a lightweight cap that can read and interpret the electrical signals emitted by human brains with a degree of fidelity that NeuroFocus' Pradeep claims is "medical grade," and could one-day be used by paralyzed people to control machines and other technology simply by thinking about it. Mynd is also equipped with Bluetooth technology enabling it to interact with the media devices that people might be using while they are having their brainwaves measured and analyzed. The technology, which might have been considered science-fiction only a few years ago, is part of a rapid progression in the field of neuromarketing research that has taken Madison Avenue by storm. It was one of the main subjects during the Advertising Research Foundation's annual conference in New York last month, where the trade group revealed the industry's first ever neuromarketing standards, an initiative that followed some extensive testing among leading neuroscience researchers, which NeuroFocus declined to participate in. On the day the ARF released its new standards, NeuroFocus released its own "neuromarketing standards," creating confusion and sending a ripple of surprise and outrage among ARF conference attendees. What Nielsen might ultimately do with NeuroFocus isn't clear. On the one hand, the potential for technologies and methods that can literally read people's minds - both the cognitive thoughts and the subconscious emotional responses they have to media and advertising stimuli - would seem to be a breakthrough for a company that is the largest provider of marketing and media research in the world. On the other hand, it could challenge the efficacy of the kind of survey-based and consumer tracking methods and systems Nielsen has invested in over the years to make it the world's largest researcher. As far back as the earliest days of TV ratings measurement in the 1950s, industry executives have joked that the ultimate form of measurement would be one that bypassed surveys and metering devices altogether, and simply connected electrodes to human brains. Now, with Mynd, a technology that effectively does that via so-called "dry electrodes," Nielsen has the opportunity to actually do that. It's also not clear exactly why WPP wanted NeuroFocus, or what the Madison Avenue giant would have done with it. A WPP spokesperson also declined to comment, but the company also is one of the world's largest purveyors of marketing and media research, and its Millward Brown advertising testing division has been cultivating its own neuromarketing measurement methods. "Some of our biggest brands are all sexed up about this category," one WPP insider noted, adding that the bid for NeuroFocus likely would have been an effort to accelerate some of the work Millward Brown has been doing, but also potentially to attract new clients. "Right now there isn't a lot of money being allocated to this area, but it is very sexy stuff that is showing the potential for real growth," the WPP executive speculated. With some of the world's biggest marketers using it to probe consumers' brains, NeuroFocus would indeed have seemed to be a plumb target for takeover. The company has set-up what it calls "NeuroLabs," full-time brain measurement laboratories directly on the facilities of big marketers including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola Co., and even tobacco marketers R.J. Reynolds, according to executives familiar with those accounts. While NeuroFocus has had the highest profile in the industry, the field of neuromarketing research has blossomed into an important cottage industry within the overall marketing and media research field, with at least half a dozen significant players utilizing a variety of biometric measurement technologies applied to the most current scientific principles about how brains are influenced by and respond to media and marketing stimuli.
TiVo continues to amass digital video services -- this time Hulu Plus -- to keep its time-shifting service top of mind. TiVo Premiere has added Hulu Plus to its 3 million TiVo subscribers, who also have access to Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon Instant Video and YouTube services. TiVo subscribers can get Hulu Plus for the same price point as broadband users -- a $7.99 subscription fee per month. However, the new offering will not be available to those TiVo services via cable system operators' set-top boxes. The Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo continues to tout viewers who increasingly are streaming video. TiVo says numbers increased to 41% in the fourth quarter of 2010, with TV programs per user going to nearly nine episodes in the last three months of 2010. That's up from 37% -- 6.41 programs --- streamed in 2009. Tara Maitra, senior vice president and general manager of content services and media sales for TiVo, stated: "I've watched with great admiration as Hulu has built an impressive business by offering up some of the world's greatest entertainment content on demand." The TiVo-Hulu Plus connection has been a long time in coming. Last September, TiVo announced it would be offering Hulu Plus. In addition, the marketing of TiVo-Hulu Plus has been activated, running in Best Buy stores.
Semantic technology start-up Bluefin Labs has begun testing tools for marketers to monitor and measure TV's influence via social media. "Marketers and TV networks are looking to us to understand how their audiences are responding to ads and shows on TV, and we are able to provide them with data in near real-time," said Deb Roy, MIT professor and CEO of Bluefin Labs. Initial partners from the worlds of marketing and media include Best Buy Co., Inc., Mars, Humana, Razorfish, SS+K, Hill Holliday, Dentsu and Fox Sports. Bluefin plans to debut the general availability of its first product this summer, and offer advertisers and agencies an automated platform for deriving insights from the interplay between TV and social media. The company says its technology can interpret audience responses and pinpoint what people are reacting to down to specific scenes, characters and single words. "We are solving a problem that has eluded TV for more than 60 years: how to measure actual audience engagement and not just simple media consumption," Roy said. Indeed, Bluefin Labs believes it can demonstrate exactly how TV shows and commercials affect audience response, sentiment and intent. If accurate, marketers can therefore use Bluefin's data to understand audience engagement with TV ads. The data could also provide them with a view into which TV networks -- even which specific TV shows -- garner the highest levels of audience engagement via social media response. Officially launched in February, Bluefin says its technology platform has a view into over 3 billion public-facing social media comments each month, tied to a continuously growing video fingerprint archive of over 200,000 TV show and commercial airings. The platform ingests and takes video "fingerprints" of 43 U.S. TV broadcast and cable networks currently, with plans to achieve full coverage of all shows and commercials in the national market by early 2012. Building its staff, Tom Thai recently joined Bluefin as vice president of marketing and business development. Previously, Thai led marketing teams at Google and CBS Interactive. Most recently, he was vice president of strategic development at AOL. Also, Anjali Midha recently joined the team as director of customer insights. Prior to Bluefin, Midha served as vice president of strategy and analysis at Digitas. Backed by Redpoint Ventures, Lerer Ventures and a grant from the National Science Foundation, Bluefin Labs has raised over $8 million since mid-2009.
Worldwide IPTV video providers will continue to see big growth results -- as opposed to older cable and satellite TV providers, which have been slowing down. Subscriptions from IPTV (Internet-Protocol TV)-based companies -- telco companies -- will almost double in three years to 70 million from 30 million at the end of 2010, according to SNL Kagan. Keys to the medium's growth will be IPTV video-on-demand service, as well as a continued push by both video programming retailers and TV networks for TV Everywhere deals, which IPTV companies can benefit from with consumer authentication. SNL Kagan says there has been a big IPTV adoption rate over the past six years -- a 92.4% compound annual growth rate. Western Europe continues as the biggest IPTV market and will hit 26.7 million homes by 2014. China is next, rising to 12.4 million subscribers by 2014. The U.S. and Latin America are the third-largest territories, respectively. IPTV video service revenues will more than double in three years -- growing to $27 billion in 2014 from $12.9 billion in 2010. This will make up a 11% share of all global subscription-TV revenues; in 2010 it was at a 6% share. Five telco operators accounted for 44.3% of the global IPTV subscriber base at year-end 2010. "Although IPTV presently accounts for just 6% of the world's pay-TV subscribers, the platform is fueling hyper-competition and video service innovation in major markets globally," stated Julija Jurkevic, media and communications analyst at SNL Kagan. "Telcos often provide the spark igniting consumer interest in multiscreen services, HD and VOD," she adds, "generating parallel support for investment in next generation broadband networks."
Looking to add some new viewers beyond its core young women crowd, CW will launch four new series for the fall -- three dramas and a reality show. High on the list is "Ringer." It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as a woman on the run who assumes her twin sister's identity, only to discover that her sister's life is just as complicated and dangerous. It goes at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, following "90210" at 8 p.m. Another familiar star to young female viewers is Rachel Bilson, starring in "Hart of Dixie" as Dr. Zoe Hart, a sophisticated New Yorker who finds herself practicing medicine in a small Southern town. It runs at 9 p.m. after "Gossip Girl" on Monday. New incoming CW president Mark Pedowitz stated: "Our priority this season was adding more original programming this upcoming year, and we've done that with shows that will appeal to our core audience of women, while also bringing in new viewers... We're being aggressive with smart, bold scheduling moves designed to improve key time periods and grow our audience." On Wednesday, "H8R," hosted by Mario Lopez, brings celebrities face to face with the people who love to hate them. It goes at 8 p.m., followed by the first-ever All-Star Edition of "America's Next Top Model" at 9 p.m. On Thursday, the CW's best-rated show, "The Vampire Diaries," gets a companion "The Secret Circle," from producer Kevin Williamson, about a coven of powerful witches. "Circle" starts at 9 p.m., after "Diaries" at 8 p.m. "Nikita" moves to Friday at 8 p.m., to pair with "Supernatural" at 9 p.m. The CW will have three mid-season shows, the returning "One Tree Hill" -- and two reality efforts. "Re-modeled" is where hundreds of small modeling agencies around the world come together in a new venture called The Network. In "The Frame," teams of people live in a stripped-down version of their home living space for up to 8 weeks, with each living in one 'frame,' Couples cannot physically see one another, but each "frame" is rigged with plasma screens and communication devices that allow for visual and verbal interaction. The CW's 2011-2012 Fall Prime-Time ScheduleMonday 8:00-9:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (New Time) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Hart of Dixie (New Series) Tuesday 8:00-9:00 p.m. 90210 (New Night) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Ringer (New Series) Wednesday 8:00-9:00 p.m. H8R (New Series) 9:00-10:00 p.m. America's Next Top Model Thursday 8:00-9:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaries 9:00-10:00 p.m. The Secret Circle (New Series) Friday 8:00-9:00 p.m. Nikita (New Night) 9:00-10:00 p.m. Supernatural
Choice Hotels International is uniting its portfolio of hotel brands in a campaign that focuses on the hotel chain's booking site. The effort, which demonstrates the brand's dedication to value, is the first work from Southfield, Mich.-based new agency Doner, which won the $40 million consolidated account in December, beating out Chicago-based Leo Burnett. The company's Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands serve guests worldwide. Choice Hotels is a true "brand of the people," said Bruce Dincin, senior director of marketing and advertising for Choice Hotels. "This campaign is a reflection of our commitment to listening to our guest's needs and desires and giving voice to the average value seeking the American traveler," Dincin tells Marketing Daily. The campaign, which broke May 19, includes nine total broadcast spots. Two spots will air on national TV networks including NBC, CBS, ESPN, CNN and HGTV. The remaining spots will air online on various sites. In addition to TV and digital, the campaign includes in-hotel advertising. Creative showcases travelers from all walks of life standing on top of their suitcases as if they were standing on a soapbox declaring what they want from their travel experience. The new logo and theme line: "Your Voice. Your ChoiceHotels.com" is used throughout the campaign to demonstrate that by booking on the Choice Hotels Web site, travelers are guaranteed to receive the greatest value, easiest booking experience and lowest Internet booking rate. Silver Spring, Md.-based Choice Hotels conducts an extensive amount of research to ensure that they stay in touch with what their customers value most, says David DeMuth, co-CEO, president, Doner. "This campaign demonstrates how the brand responds to the requests of consumers and positions Choice Hotels as the leading hotel brand for the value-seeking traveler," DeMuth says. The creative executions for this campaign use the voice of the traveler to position Choice Hotels as the "brand with ears," according to Rob Strasberg, co-CEO, chief creative officer, Doner. A 30-second spot titled "Anthem" begins by showing various suitcases on the ground as people march up on each one with the voiceover: "People everywhere are taking a stand and booking on ChoiceHotels. com." A husband and wife duo stand on their suitcases in front of a lighthouse as the wife says: "Booking a room online should be easy as pie." The scene changes to a husband, wife and their daughter standing in front of a Ferris wheel at an amusement park. The husband says: "As long as I save 20%." The scene shifts to a man standing alone on top of his suitcase in the parking lot of a Comfort Suites saying: "When I save 20% on my hotel, I do my happy dance." The digital portion of the campaign includes banner ads and several landing pages to inform consumers about Your Voice. Your ChoiceHotels. com campaign, as well as Choice Hotels' summer promotion. One digital ad features a man with a button that says "Keep Him Groovin" which allows consumers to interact with the ad. Every time the button is pushed, the man does another dance and text appears to describe his dance, the "Lowest Internet Rate Rhumba," "Free Hot Breakfast Hustle," "The Up to 20% Off Tango," and "6000+ Locations Boogie."
During the present upfront ad sales process, CW is pushing two mobile apps looking to support TV marketers' sales efforts. The first involves an mobile app called Shopkick, which rewards CW viewers with special discounts and rewards from advertisers while they watch their commercials. The effort prompts viewers with special on-screen discount offers to drive viewers into the store. On-screen alerts remind viewers to open the Shopkick app on their smartphone to receive deals. Also, a viewer's smartphone's microphone will automatically recognize the TV commercial when it is watched and deliver instant rewards. The second effort is "Cwingo," a bingo-style game which connects viewers through Facebook, urging them to watch The CW live on-air in order to play and win. The main goal of the game: viewers challenge each other to prove who is the biggest fan. During a live episode, viewers click the scenes on a "Cwingo" card -- connected through Facebook or on CWTV.com -- as viewers see scenes appearing on-air. If viewers correctly click five scenes in a row and hit "Cwingo," they receive a special social badge. Advertisers can sponsor the "Cwingo" card. Rob Tuck, executive vice president of national sales of The CW, stated: "Cwingo and Shopkick really bring the second screen to life, enhancing the overall viewing experience in a way that our advertisers have been asking for and connecting them with our young viewers where they live and breathe -- social media and directly on their mobile devices." Shopkick has various deals with retailers, such as Best Buy and Target; the media deal with The CW enlarges its reach. Shopkick says it has more than 1.5 million users; 40% are active monthly and 20% are active weekly.
Shocking the TV sports programming world, longtime sports TV executive Dick Ebersol, chairman of the NBC Sports Group, has resigned. Running NBC Sports programming since 1989, Ebersol was known in recent years for focusing on the high-profile -- and until recently, profitable -- Olympics franchise. Veteran sports TV executive and currently president of the NBC Sports Group Mark Lazarus takes over as chairman. No reason was given for Ebersol's departure, but reports suggest he had a major contract dispute with current NBC Universal CEO/EVP of Comcast Corp. Steve Burke. Burke stated: "Dick Ebersol is an incredible talent whose contributions to the company over the last four decades in sports, news and entertainment are unsurpassed." Burke went on to note that Ebersol has produced everything from the Olympics and "Sunday Night Football" to the Triple Crown, NHL games and major golf and tennis events. In an earlier life as an NBC executive, Ebersol helped create "Saturday Night Live." Ebersol stated: "I have always said this business is about relationships, and I have been fortunate enough to have more deep and meaningful friendships than any man could imagine." The news of Ebersol's departure is a sudden one. Earlier this week at NBC's upfront presentation, Ebersol touted NBC Sports efforts -- and the Olympics' continued TV programming and marketing events. He also threw out the obligatory NFL footballs to advertising executives. Ebersol's association with the Olympics has been his biggest success for NBC over the last few decades. In recent years, Olympics broadcasts have given NBC sharp viewership gains over regular prime-time fare. This has been one the key positive stories for the network. But the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 was the first event to lose money -- around $220 million. Ebersol blamed a still-lingering recession for the weakened ad revenue results. Analysts say the Summer Olympics in London next year will also lose money for the network. All this comes as NBC is about to bid on the next round of Olympics Games -- the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 Summer games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many expect bids to continue to rise past the $2.2 billion deal that NBC made for the last two Olympics packages -- Vancouver and London -- a deal that was much higher than other bids. This also comes just four months after Comcast took control of NBC Universal. After the Comcast takeover, Ebersol started up the NBC Sports Group, which includes Comcast-owned channels Versus and Golf Channel, as well as regional sports networks.
Wisconsin and Denver are spending $3.15 million and $2 million, respectively, on summer marketing campaigns that aim to attract tourists to their areas. Wisconsin's "Picture the Fun" campaign will be seen in markets across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa and will feature TV, radio, print, digital ads, public relations, social media and advertising with the Chicago Transit Authority. The theme of the campaign for the Mile High City is "Denver's Summer of Adventure." Denver-based KarshHagan Advertising designed the campaign, which includes TV, radio, billboards and print in national and regional magazines. One of Wisconsin's three new TV spots features actor Henry Winkler, best known for his "Fonz" role in the Milwaukee-based "Happy Days" TV sitcom. Winkler is shown offering to take the picture of a young vacationing couple who are admiring the recently unveiled bronze "Fonz" statue in Milwaukee. Milwaukee-based Laughlin Constable is the agency of record for the Department of Tourism. The campaign features the work of Wisconsin talent, production crews and musicians. In addition, campaign extensions will run on TravelWisconsin.com and the Department of Tourism Facebook page and Twitter feed throughout the campaign, and will include: notable guest bloggers with ties to Wisconsin, a "Summer Fun Report" and a "Picture the Fun" photo contest. Free Travel Wisconsin iPhone and Android apps are also available for download and help travelers find local attractions, lodging, dining and recreation throughout the state. The strategic vision for the Wisconsin campaign was based on research conducted by the Department of Tourism over the last three years. Research showed Wisconsin held a unique position in that travelers across the Midwest not only viewed Wisconsin as a fun destination, but also judged it more fun when compared to other states competing for the same traveler dollar. The Denver ad campaign showcases how the city offers both outdoor adventures with big city tourist attractions. One ad features a picture of Coors Field next to one of Red Rocks and bears the message: "There's Out of the Park. And Way Out of the Park." A promotional aspect to the campaign offers visitors to the Web site www.visitdenver.com/adventure the opportunity to design their own vacation to the area. Print ads for the Denver effort will appear in Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Oprah's O and the AARP magazine. Regional ads will be aimed at cities where most tourists to Denver live, including Phoenix, Kansas City and Dallas. Regional magazines include those in Phoenix and Kansas City, the Midwest edition of Budget Travel, Sunset and AAA magazines.
Honda, which became sole provider of the Indy V-8 engines that power the cars in the IndyCar series starting in the 2006 season, has a big marketing push on deck for this year's keystone event of the series, the Indianapolis 500. In addition to sponsoring the pre-race show on ESPN, as well as on ESPN.com, Honda has a whole fleet of print, TV, and interactive ads during the coverage. Honda will also have a branded venue at the race. The Torrance, Calif. company has been running banners on ESPN.com all month, and will expand that to a Web site takeover on the day before the race (May 28). The company is also doing print ads and custom creative around Indy 500 editorial content in Road & Track and Sports Illustrated, plus a full-page USA Today ad in Indy editorial this week. The TV advertising program includes two new TV spots directed to regional spot buys -- one of which promotes the Fastest Seat in Sports sweepstakes and the other promoting the Civic Racing Style Sweepstakes, a cross-promoted event with Macy's and Izod. Honda dealers are also doing point-of-purchase elements to promote the sweepstakes. The efforts are via long-time AOR Santa Monica, Calif.-based RPA. The company ran two campaigns during last year's 94th Indianapolis 500 that touted Honda as the single engine supplier to IndyCar. The ads promote both Honda and its Honda Performance Development arm in Santa Clarita, Calif. In addition to being the engine supplier to IndyCar, HPD also develops the engine technology for sibling Acura engines in the 2009 American Le Mans Series. Next year Chevrolet comes back to Indy and Lotus enters the series as well. That means that in 2012, both Chevrolet and Honda will develop engines for the series.
Proximo Spirits said it is rolling out eight new spots for its 1800 Tequila brand with former "Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli continuing as spokesman. The $18 million effort is to run on ESPN and other cable networks. The spots are from New York agency Dead As We Know with Imperioli continuing in the role of a dapper "tough guy," akin to the character he played on the HBO hit. Spirits marketers are rolling out a slew of campaigns for the summer, with recent announcements about Maker's Mark and Grey Goose. Imperioli began as a spokesman for the 1800 brand, which competes with Petron in the premium tequila arena, two years ago. Privately held Proximo also has two vodka brands in its portfolio. In 2009, it signed a deal linking 1800 with the Los Angeles Lakers, allowing it to use the team logo in promotions. Last year, it added an agreement with the New York Knicks. Imperioli starred in ABC drama "Detroit 1-8-7," which will not be back next season.
Univision, which has been trying to increase its reality programming as a balance with its telenovelas, announced it will jump on the weight-loss trend, started by "The Biggest Loser" and about to be advanced with ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition." "Si Se Puede (It's Possible)" will include three to four Hispanic families looking to drop weight and top each other. "Biggest Loser" creator Dave Broome and Emilio Estefan are producers. It is expected to launch early next year, weekly, in prime time. The show, with a format that includes a panel of judges, trainers and nutritionists, offers ample opportunities for brand integration much like the NBC hit. Estefan stated that he is inspired by the opportunity to "produce television that will promote healthier and happier families, especially at a time when obesity amongst Latinos is at an all-time high." Word came as Univision held its upfront event Thursday and confirmed it has three new cable networks coming in 2012, one each focusing on news, sports and telenovelas. Also coming in the reality genre is the show "Protagonistas (Novela Stars)," which is sort of a cross between "American Idol" and "Big Brother." Aspiring novela stars live together in a house with their movements monitored 24/7 and compete to be the next luminary. There is also a competition series, "Pequeños Gigantes (Little Giants)," among 28 child entertainers (singers, actors, dancers, etc.), with seven judges. Univision announced four new novelas -- three from Mexican broadcasting partner Televisa -- and one for which Univision's studio is a co-producer. Randy Falco, executive VP and COO at Univision, stated that Univision's decades-long relationship with Hispanics "makes us one of the leading media brands in this country and the gateway to connect with this consumer." Also coming is a new annual awards show to honor individuals making an impact on Hispanic America, known as "Premios Univision (Univision Awards)." Among the offerings at sister network TeleFutura is series "MIA," about a brave female undercover cop in Miami Beach working in an auto-theft ring who finds herself in love with two men -- one good, one evil. Cable network Galavision will launch a cooking competition show where two chefs face off with a mix of ingredients.
With CBS already done with its Sunday finales of a week ago, it was ABC's turn this time to grab a win -- the last Sunday night of the season -- but it came via the return of "The Billboard Music Awards." The special three-hour program grabbed an average Nielsen 3.0 rating/ 8 share among 18-49 viewers. The show was up a bit from the last time it ran -- on Fox, some seven years ago. Along with a one-hour finale "America's Funniest Home Video" at 7 p.m. (a 1.5/5), this gave the ABC network a 2.6/6. A week before, ABC was at a 2.5 rating. Fox was next with a 2.2/7, with the one-hour finale for its big 9 p.m. show "Family Guy" reaching a 3.1/7 -- the best-rated show of the night. This was, strangely, a bit lower than the 3.3 rating the show scored the week before for an original episode. "The Simpsons" finale earned a 2.5/7 -- the same numbers as a week ago. NBC rose to a 2.9/7 for its special two-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" finale -- higher than its 2.4 rating the week before. For the night, NBC averaged a 2.1/6, some four-tenths of a rating point above the week before. Now a week removed from its "Survivor" finale, CBS went into hiding a bit -- devoting a large part of the evening to its recurring special show "Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost," which grabbed a 1.3/3. CBS had a 1.4/4 for the night, versus a 3.3 rating average the Sunday before. The network tied Univision for the same 18-49 rating/share result -- a 1.4/4. The young-skewing "Billboard Music Special" did well among the 18-34 crowd for ABC, with a 2.4 rating/7 share for the evening. But it didn't top Fox, the younger-viewing Sunday night specialist, at a 2.5/8.
It's lawn mowing season again, and one can bet that most marketing efforts in the category will focus on ease of use, which makes perfect sense if you think about it (Ideally, one could mow a yard by snapping one's fingers twice.) Still, a new digital-only advertising push from yard equipment manufacturer Cleveland-based Troy-Bilt is taking a different approach both in medium and message. The company is talking about the quality and technological savvy that goes into its walk-behind mowers with a campaign focusing on a series of online videos. The effort is, in fact, Troy-Bilt's first campaign to rely solely on digital media. The campaign, by Cleveland-based Marcus Thomas, uses paid-search and banner advertising to drive traffic to Troybilt.com/howwearebuilt, which features four 90-second films shot at the company's testing facilities. The videos describe Troy-Bilt's manufacturing standards, product testing, and side-by-side performance comparisons with competitor Toro. It supports a broader, emotional TV effort, "I [Heart] Saturday." The digital campaign showcases a new line of mowers. Last year, the company introduced Tri-Action technology -- a three-part system that creates a cleaner grass cut -- on push and walk-behinds, which this year is expanding to self-propelled mowers. One video shows how the company does stress tests on a mower's deck, the area that covers the rotating blade and how a smoke-flow test lets the manufacturer optimize the way it cuts grass and deposits the cut blades. "To you, it's Saturday. To us, it's an obsession," says the ads. Tag: "How we're built." The effort also has mobile advertising and point-of-sale elements, while smartphone links (MS tags) drive traffic to similar, mobile-optimized videos. Online ads on outdoor- and home-oriented sites like Discovery, HGTV, and Weatherbug are part of the push -- while mobile advertising targets weather, travel, news, sport and business content. Troy-Bilt is also running point-of-purchase marketing programs in about 1000 Lowe's stores nationwide. Marcus Thomas Senior Account Manager Lauren Ganim said the effort addresses a market that is evolving toward Gen X and Y consumers who are more interested in technological innovations than mere comfort. It also aims to challenge category leader Toro. "[Troy-Bilt] came to us and said they want to go head-to-head with competitors."
The Vme network will offer "Los Kennedy," the Spanish-language version of the mini-series that was scheduled to run on the History channel, but after some controversy aired on ReelzChannel. Vme, which was conceived as a digital multicast channel in partnership with public TV stations, did not announce a premiere date for the eight-part series about the Kennedy family. The 3-year-old Spanish-language network moved into the upfront market by offering what it calls "brand entitlements." Vme, which says it is available in more than 10 million U.S. Hispanic homes, will also launch "Piratas," a drama about an attempt to infiltrate a pirate crew in the 18th century, and two pop culture-type shows: "E3," an entertainment news and pop culture offering, and "Game40," a weekly show about video games aimed at bilingual and bicultural younger Hispanics. Also coming is Red Bull "Cliptomaniacs" about extreme sports. The network runs considerable preschool programming, including Spanish versions of "Barney," "Bob the Builder," "Angelina Ballerina" and "Thomas & Friends." Vme, a partnership between New York's WNET public broadcasting outlet and private investors, has cable and satellite carriage as well as its multicast presence.
As the broadcast networks look to generate more than $9 billion in advertising commitments from their new prime-time schedules, even though a vast majority of new programs will fail, their overall value proposition is being marginalized by a deluge of broadband video options relying on less risky economics. Betting on eyeballs, advertising and content at a specific place and time just doesn't carry the same cache when the value of video is incessantly controlled by a slew of unlikely competitors and empowered consumers. It's a potent reminder that networks' futures must increasingly depend on fee-based revenues enjoyed by cable and other dramatic changes to their business model. A new Morgan Stanley report provides a compelling overview of the multiple revenue stream and screen options broadcast networks must master to survive, even as ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX engage Madison Avenue in their tireless upfront ritual. Broadband-delivered video has created a boom in on-demand viewing, which represents a key economic shift that will upset the linear ecosystem -- from first-run ad-supported broadcast to international licensing, domestic syndication to TV home video -- that drives 75% of broadcast network prime-time TV revenue. The growing ubiquity of the high-speed Internet and its interface with the traditionally passive television will rapidly render a new generation of "Me-too TV" streaming video entrants with an edge: They will repackage exiting on-demand and linear content, and pair it with search and discovery tools and lower price points. With Netflix demonstrating how quickly this new phenomenon can take hold, the broadcast networks could quickly go into a tailspin trying to keep up with the new rules of play for a TV ecosystem turned inside out. By decade's end, they will be glorified content aggregators competing with emerging rivals, such as Netflix, Google's YouTube, Apple's iTunes and Amazon, to produce, buy and distribute video across all screens and devices. These new entrants will drive up the ultimate cost of content (think Netflix paying $1 million per episode for "Mad Men" episodes) which will be passed along to cable and satellite operators. Those operators will be forced to maximize "TV everywhere and anywhere" options, just to broaden their revenue base - en route, muting all the fuss over cord-cutting. The broadcast networks will become less viable for their general branded scheduled platforms and more for their TV studios, which will function as content factories for competing players with deeper pockets and more agile mechanics. That new dynamic could ultimately give the broadcast network companies an edge over their cable network counterparts as major suppliers to on-demand viewing that reaches beyond cable and satellite to more pervasive Internet and cloud distribution. That's when things get really interesting. Here are some of Morgan Stanley media analyst Benjamin Swinburne's more intriguing scenarios and assumptions: *By allowing viewers to increasingly watch what they want, whenever and wherever, technology better aligns audience/value to revenue. The trend favors broadcast networks and their TV studio businesses, while threatening the margins of cable networks with "low barrier-to-entry" programming. *Broadcast TV programming is gaining a greater share of the digital video pie by reaching beyond conventional ad revenues to generate incremental dollars from retrans fees and new payments from "an explosion of new broadband video aggregators or "networks," such as Netflix. Even more lucrative is the live sports content the broadcast TV networks exclusively provide to passionate audiences, commanding premium subscriber fees and advertiser rates. *The growing adoption of Internet video will increase time-shifted viewing, which will reduce TV ad inventory, Swinburne contents. By 2015, roughly half of TV revenue will be generated by reoccurring subscription fees and syndication sales taking share from advertising, he estimates. So much for the notion of "free TV." *Even as retrans fees and the growing syndicated fees "help the broadcast model power through this trend," ad-supported cable networks that lack sufficient audience reach could face some revenue pressures. For instance, direct-response advertisers that can comprise 15% of total ad spend on a network generally favor ROI and frequency (rather than reach and content), which is effectively delivered by on-demand video options. *Because the broadcast networks "under-monetize their audiences," while controlling costs and reaping profits from the content produced by their TV studios, they potentially have more to gain from these changing industry dynamics as long -- as they are willing to substantially alter their business model. Their TV studios will benefit so long as they "price their content appropriately by forgetting about traditional time-based windows" -- namely their celebrated prime-time schedules. *In an ironic twist, some cable networks will become threatened by the rising cost of original program production and acquisition, which was once a demon of broadcast networks. Swinburne estimates that incremental earnings margins for U.S. cable networks will decline, falling below last decade's average due largely to rising program costs. *The report essentially glosses over the most problematic obstacle to television's brave new world: the nagging absence of accurate, one-to-one audience measurement as a way to realign the broadcasters' value proposition and set the standard for all broadband video. Nielsen's complex iterations for TV viewing on extra days and time-shifted platforms have little to do with online consumption. They are based on estimates in a digital world in which refined technology defies guesses. Why no company or individual has been able to more adeptly crack the measurement code is disturbing and mindboggling. The video future Swinburne describes, as well as the reinvention of the broadcast TV networks, depends on it. In a year when cable TV networks are collectively expected to match their broadcast TV network counterparts in upfront ad commitments, the Big 4 are acutely aware of the need to rewrite their playbook, even as they defend their diminished critical mass. One thing is certain: Straddling the old and the new worlds will not be an option for much longer.
As you may know by now, readers, I am a lifelong hoops player and fan. So you won't be surprised to learn how much I enjoyed the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Court of Honor Foundation gala last week, which honored Nike Chairman and Co-Founder Phil Knight. At the risk of sounding like a little kid, it was one heck of an enchanted evening, blending my passions for basketball, media, and accountability. The greatest minds in college basketball -- Duke's Mike Krzyzewki, Jim Boeheim from Syracuse, Kentucky's John Calipari, and many others -- convened in one room to pay homage to the man who, I would argue, made both basketball and advertising what they are today. Phil Knight started the company that would become Nike back in 1964, in partnership with his University of Oregon running coach and mentor, Bill Bowerman (who would help design the iconic Cortez, Nike's first running shoe). Knight and Bowerman shared the belief that anyone with a body is an athlete, and set out to help all athletes reach their full potential. Thus Nike was born, with Knight hanging out at track meets to sell shoes from the trunk of his car and generating $8,000 in revenue in year one. (Today, Nike does $20 billion annually.) If I were to assemble a list of the greatest visionaries of the 20th century, Phil Knight would be right up there at the top with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Knight took what might have been just a shoe company, and turned it into the first lifestyle juggernaut. What became clear during the gala was Knight's long-time appreciation of coaches and their ability to mentor, which is the key to educating today's athlete and non-athlete alike. And while Knight has been responsible for putting many an athlete on a pedestal (literally, if you visit the Nike campus), it's the coaches whom he canonizes. The gala was an embodiment of that principle. Coach K orchestrated the evening and Coach PJ Carlesimo served as emcee, with top college coaches speaking throughout the dinner about the ways in which Knight created a community among them. From the constant (though good-natured) ribbing that characterized the evening's banter I could tell that I was among a Band of Brothers. Based on the one opportunity I had to spend substantial time with Knight 10 years ago (concerning the V Foundation, named for the legendary late college basketball coach Jim Valvano), I understood the coaches' affection for Knight. Hall of Fame Georgetown Coach and Nike Board Member John Thompson pointed out during the dinner that Knight always looked first at what players did "away from the ball," when they were out of the limelight. This is what Knight has embodied: clarity, conviction, and the courage to do the right thing. Courage, in this case, means accountability, but a different accountability than that we've discussed on this blog before: accountability to one's self. Those of us in the media-measurement world could stand to learn a thing or two from him. Nike, after all, might be one of the seminal television advertisers in history. Its "Just Do It" ads, Spike Lee commercials, and ads for Air Jordans -- and, more recently, the controversial Tiger Woods and LeBron James spots -- helped position Nike as a culture-defining, risk-taking brand. If the ads haven't always sold more shoes, they have created a brand proposition to entice the world. (Auto makers face a similar challenge at the moment: how best to balance lifestyle brand-building over the long term with the post-recession focus on selling cars and achieving ROI against media spend.) Clearly, the coaches are huge believers in the importance of coaching in kids' lives. The Court of Honor raised funds for Ticket to Reading Rewards, a program that encourages middle-school kids to read more outside the classroom. Talk about ROI! While I have always admired the coaches, I left the event with a new appreciation for the legacy of Phil Knight. By celebrating coaches, he has fostered a community that has made a difference. By occasionally ignoring short-term returns, he helped an industry evolve. By creating a company that was true to his vision, he put a lasting "dent in the universe."
Netflix continues to be a game-changer. But its new business model may be a reincarnation of an older formula, at least for one area of the TV business. Long known for offering older TV and movie content, the 22 million-plus-subscriber service may now look to take away one of the big pieces of the traditional syndication business: reruns. CBS programming exec Kelly Kahl recently noted that the syndication market is booming - helping to fuel the network's continuing production of original content, especially one-hour dramas. As first, I took that to mean syndication to U.S. TV stations. But, I wasn't really considering the whole picture, which also includes foreign sales, and increasingly sales via Netflix. "Hawaii Five-0" pulls in $5 million an episode on a worldwide basis. If the show costs $2 million to $2.5 million an episode, you can understand why Les Moonves, CBS president/CEO of CBS, called it extremely profitable. Even if "Hawaii Five-0" doesn't get mega-ratings (it pulls around a 3 rating among 18-49 viewers), you can see that you don't need an "American Idol" (grabbing 6 to 8 ratings) for this to still be a good business. CBS says it has averaged over a 3 rating among 18-49 viewers for five nights of the week during the past season. Right now that's good data -- and especially good enough to generate the after-market revenue where networks and studios really make hay. Recently, "TV Watch" examined a rare occurrence in syndication: HBO pulling "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" from the market after one season because ratings were so low the national advertising generated from those series could not pay for the uplink services that digitally send the episodes to TV stations. You have to wonder -- would a bigger Netflix syndication rerun deal have been a better business decision?
Last Sunday, as I was thinking about the week to come, I found myself wondering if there was still any point to traditional broadcast upfront presentations. I felt this way because of the unprecedented amount of information about the networks' new series and scheduling plans that had gushed forth online last week, some of it put into play by the networks themselves, the rest by involved parties interested in stirring the pot. The crazy powerful Deadline was especially robust in its early spillage of new season information, all of which was feverishly repurposed by every other reporter and blogger who covers television, lest he or she be accused not of keeping up with breaking news. Even actors joined the advance info-flow. I believe Ashton Kutcher scooped Deadline and everyone else when he announced via Twitter that he would in effect replace Charlie Sheen next season in CBS' "Two and a Half Men." Once upon a time, a bombshell announcement like that would have been kept under wraps until CBS' actual presentation at Carnegie Hall. By last Friday afternoon I had a handle on the high points of the NBC, Fox and ABC upfront announcements, plus some information about what CBS and The CW were planning for next season. (More information about fall plans for those two networks was revealed on Monday and Tuesday, long before their respective presentations on Wednesday and Thursday.) As a result, for the first time in 20 years of attending upfronts, I began to think it might not be necessary for anyone to commit all that time and effort to attending the events to come, or for the networks to spend all that time and money putting them on. Consider: Absent traditional events, and following all those online breaks, the remaining details of each networks' plans could be formally released via digital media, along with clips from all the new shows. (As it is, embeddable clips from new shows sprout like crabgrass all over the Internet immediately after each network's event, and sometimes before.) It would all be very modern and professional and efficient - and utterly devoid of essential emotional connections, as I realized Monday morning, about 30 seconds into NBC's event in the third-floor ballroom at the Hilton Hotel, when Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live" began delivering television "news" behind his familiar Weekend Update desk. As the day progressed, I was repeatedly reminded that even with all that advance online information, there were still compelling reasons for the networks to continue with traditional upfront week presentations. The struggling NBC and the front-running Fox don't have much in common these days, except for a sudden surge in talent competition programming. But they both have a rich tradition of establishing and maintaining overall environments, something they both make exceedingly clear at their upfront events. For example, regardless of the executives in charge, or changes in corporate ownership, NBC's basic engagement structure stays firmly in place. That includes its perpetually popular late-night talk and comedy shows, the legendary pop culture institution "Saturday Night Live," the smartest and most contemporary news organization among the broadcasters, the unfailingly current "Today" show and a deluxe sports division that includes the Olympics. Significantly, NBC always incorporates these enduring elements of its environment into its upfront events. I wasn't particularly impressed this week by the descriptions or clips of NBC's new shows -- except for its tantalizing midseason drama with music "Smash," about the making of a Broadway musical. But NBC's presentation (powered not only by Seth Meyers, but by a memorable appearance by Donald Trump and musical performances by Jimmy Fallon and his "Late Night" house band The Roots, along with two judges from "The Voice," Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green), reminded me that I am impressed by how sturdy and supportive and exciting NBC can be, when it gets its act together. Of course, when it comes to upfront events, no other broadcaster serves up as much excitement or so vibrantly maximizes its environment as Fox, even without benefit of so many outstanding achievements beyond prime time. This week's presentation was no exception, with a fun opening performance by "Glee" choral group The Warblers, the network's annual parade of primet-ime stars, the return of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul to Fox's upfront stage (accompanied for a few nostalgic moments by their former "American Idol" co-star Randy Jackson) on behalf of "The X-Factor," and an amazing performance at the end by seven of this year's "American Idol" finalists and several dancers from previous seasons of "So You Think You Can Dance." It's one thing for a network to spin a lot of numbers and simply tell an audience how wonderful it is. It's another thing entirely for a network to demonstrate its power as an all-inclusive, influential environment for advertisers and viewers alike, reminding them in as exciting a manner as possible what it is they can do. That's the value of traditional upfront presentations, especially when they are thoughtfully produced.
Has there ever been a more exasperating TV show than "Glee"? This is a program with the potential to be one of the most memorable TV series of all time, one that reaches powerful, throat-tightening heights, yet it keeps undermining itself with dumb plotting and inconsistent character motivation. "Glee" is a weekly musical wrapped inside a teen drama and social satire. The music gets most of the attention, with the "Glee" club characters and their high school faculty performing the equivalent of six to eight music videos a show. By focusing the show around songs, "Glee" has rediscovered what Broadway understood decades ago: music heightens and amplifies emotion. A feeling that seems trite when expressed verbally is profound when sung aloud. Consequently, "Glee" has more exhilarating moments than any other show. Of course, by their very nature, musicals require a willing suspension of disbelief. We have to accept a world where students sing in high school corridors and master amazingly complicated song and dance numbers with little apparent rehearsal. But "Glee" asks us to suspend too much disbelief; it's one thing to accept the conventions of musical theater, but it's another to accept plot twists that make no sense. Since it's a high school soap opera, I'm almost OK with the cast's numerous and highly unlikely romantic couplings and decouplings. But "Glee" has also asked us to believe, for example, that a wife, though the use of a fake belly strapped to her stomach, can dupe her husband into thinking she's pregnant for months on end. Some of these plotlines are played for farce or satire -- but for farce to work, it needs to have some connection to reality. For many viewers, the silly plots don't really matter -- they're just the tissue that connects the musical numbers. And if the show were only lightness and confection, that would be fine. But "Glee" aspires to more. The "L" in "Glee"'s logo is the universal symbol for Loser. "Glee" is a show about outcasts, not only the usual high school losers (the kid in the wheelchair, the fat girl, the gay kid, the Asian girl), but also the beautiful cheerleaders and handsome quarterbacks who have their own issues, fears and yearnings. Underneath the music and humor, "Glee" is a serious show: "Friday Night Lights" with music. Class provides a critical sub-context to everything. These kids believe that even if they survive high school, their futures are limited by financial and social circumstance and, like their own "Glee" club coach Will Schuester, who dreamed of Broadway but ended up as a high school Spanish teacher, they will be stuck in Lima, Ohio for the rest of their lives. It's a sobering reality check hanging over the show. This "Glee" club could be the highlight of their lives. And of course the series is drenched in sexual issues. Kurt's journey as a gay teen in a bullying high school has been treated as a deadly serious matter. Quinn's unexpected pregnancy also showed the downside of thoughtless sex. Many of the characters are or were virgins, and they wrestle with desire and a fear of its consequences. Sex is often used as a weapon on "Glee," but it is almost never treated as a joke. For me, the problem with "Glee" is that there are too many episodes. The "Mad Men" producers say only needing to create 13 episodes per season makes it possible for them to maintain their high quality. "Glee" produces twice that many shows, and the strain shows. In creating 26 episodes a year, the writers seem to throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. If they could just take a breath and ask themselves how a particular plot twist fits into the overall arc of the show, "Glee" could be as good as "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" or the great HBO series. Still, for all this, "Glee" remains the most original show on television. How do we know that? Because, despite its high ratings, there are no imitators. We now take it for granted that there is a show on TV that offers an original musical every week, but forget what a strange concept that was just a year and a half ago. There has never been anything like this on television, and it will be hard to duplicate.
What's in a TV title? Intrigue, a tease, and perhaps a number. CBS seemingly puts value in the word "two," adding two programs to the likes of "Two and a Half Men": the comedy "2 Broke Girls," and mid-season drama "The 2-2". All of which could be too much for some . CBS also doubles up on "How..." shows : "How I Met Your Mother" is joined by the new sitcom "How To Be a Gentleman" -- CBS as an educator, community college, or a page in Esquire. Networks also go for the simple one-word moniker to make impact or develop intrigue: NBC's "Smash"; ABC's "Revenge" and "Scandal"; and CW's "Ringer". Easy to digest concepts, and more importantly easier reference in tweets. Our new 140 character world needs all the savings it can get. Titles also tout familiar brand associations: "Charlie's Angels" at ABC. "Wonder Woman" almost got the nod at NBC. Both have nice variations of the colorful spandex outfits. "Angels" is "pure candy," according to ABC. Look for an M&M sponsorship there. NBC also had the intriguing "Awake" -- a show that seems almost too complex for the NBC promo producer to make into a clear promo clip. The show offers up a man who alternatively sees his dead wife and then dead son in different realities. And there are two therapists treating him! "Awake and Confused" would be a more honest nameplate. A couple of years ago, former NBC entertainment chief Ben Silverman said that the fact there were two shows about the same subject -- a "Saturday Night Live" type of show -- wasn't the problem. He said it was there were too many numbers in those titles: "30 Rock" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." "Good Christian Belles" evolved from the working title of "Good Christian Bitches" at ABC. In this fragmented world, TV titles carries a lot of the marketing pull, hopefully with little pull-back.
CIMM is taking a proactive role in advancing new-media nomenclature and processes with both its Lexicon(terms and definitions associated with Set-Top Box data measurement) and recently released Asset Identification Primer (glossary of asset terms). These documents form the basis of the Word-A-Week column, which offers a common language for Set-Top Box nomenclature that can expedite the roll-out of the data for its many industry applications. Unique identifying code is vitally important in a variety of fields, whether to prevent theft or, in the case of media, for example, copyright infringement. The watermark that is embedded into content after its point of creation has to be permanent, imperceptible, standardize-able and constant -- capable of withstanding changes or modifications in that content over time. According to the Asset Identification Primer, current digital watermarking methods allow for images to be altered without losing the ability to extract and read the watermark. The definitions below offer insight into the basics of watermarking as a generic term for media. In the following weeks we will examine Ad Codes and Program Codes. Both are specific forms of Watermarking as it pertains to media and Set-Top-Box data measurement requirements. Digital WatermarkingSee also: Watermark CIMM DEFINITION : The process of embedding information into a digital signal in a way that is difficult to remove. The signal may be audio, pictures or video, for example. If the signal is copied, then the information is also carried in the copy, so it prevents copyright infringement. A signal may carry several different watermarks at the same time. WatermarkSee also:Ad-ID, Metadata, Program Code, Digital Watermarking CIMM DEFINITION : An element or a specific identifier that is added to content to prevent copyright infringement. This code is embedded in the signal. Note: According to the Asset ID Primer, there are two types of watermarking: 1. Audio Watermarking, which hides information in an audio file, with that information audible to the listener or affecting the audio quality of the original file; and 2. Video Watermarking, which is an indelible pattern embedded in video content that is imperceptible to the eye but can also be deliberately visible. Please refer to the CIMM Lexicon online at http://www.cimm-us.org/lexicon.htm for additional information on these and other terms.
Looking for something different in network television? Or just maybe more quality content? With apologies to time-shifting devices everywhere, it still comes down to finding more time periods for programming. New for next season, CBS wants to open the door a bit on the one night network programmers abandoned years ago: Saturday. CBS will run original episodes of its longtime comedy utility player, "Rules of Engagement," in the 8 p.m. time slot, followed by some assorted comedy reruns. The thinking here is that young men might tune in for a quick half-hour of yucks. This is a decent strategy. A couple of years ago ABC started up Saturday night college football, which has reaped sturdy results. Like ABC, CBS won't be spending much money on this programming. Original episodes of "Rules" has been a great off-the-bench comedy, giving other CBS shows a little downtime usually right before bigger and key TV periods for networks -- February and May. CBS would need this strategy for next season. CBS' Nina Tassler joked the network had so much good stuff in the works it needed to invent another night of the week, which she offered up as "Schnursday". Even ABC believes there is more to be gained from Friday, which offers up better ad revenues than Saturday, but has been definitely viewed as a lesser priority than Sunday through Thursday. New ABC Entertainment chief Paul Lee said Friday could be the place for the return of "family night" programming. A footnote here: Lee's previous post was running the cable network ABC Family. Detractors might say there are better ways to go about this -- looking long-term. Digitally, video-demand-services still are part of the traditional TV environment and could still command some level of traditional TV advertising dollars. Lesser avenues, of course, are straight-to-Internet shows, which have a much weaker business model at the moment. But networks won't see it this way anytime soon. And it's not just about advertising revenue. It's the current value of TV program marketing. TV still draws more viewers and more viewing time than anytime else -- dwarfing all new digital platforms combined. And that still means one big thing: It's where viewers still find out about new shows. For all that Facebook and Twitter does to help socially connect viewers with TV shows, watching on-air TV promos is still the dominant way viewers find out about what's new on TV. You want to know why NBC's "The Voice" opened so well, with an eye-popping 5.0 rating among 18-49 viewers? It was the wall to wall, on-air TV promos efforts on the NBC network and just about every single NBC and Comcast cable network and local cable spot affiliation known in the business. One competing TV marketing executive guessed the value of that launch promotion was akin to a theatrical movie opening-- some $35 million. So if TV executives continue to look under rocks and behind corners for any possible elusive place to traditionally park their programs --- even in light of major digital TV business changes coming down the road --- you'll know why. They are sticking to their own rules of engagement -- of viewers.