Network Avoids Kennedy Controversy, Now Developing Series on the Bible by David Goetzl

Why would the History channel, which demonstrated some pretty thin skin earlier this year by pulling a mini-series about the Kennedy family, want to wade into a topic that's not exactly gentle: the Bible? And, not with the Harvard Divinity School as producers, but the major domo behind "Survivor" and "The Celebrity Apprentice," who has mastered "faux reality" TV. If History bowed to critics - left-wing activists and Kennedy family allies - by yanking "The Kennedys," it might just face even more opposition from all sorts of religious groups when examining the Holy Book. ...Read the whole story

  • packaged goods Soap Opera Demise Expands P&G, NBC Efforts by Karl Greenberg

    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 P&G has historically been involved with -- "Guiding Light," and "As The World Turns." ...Read the whole story

  • Bluefin Labs Uses Social Media To Test TV Ad Impact by Gavin O'Malley

    Semantic technology start-up Bluefin Labs has begun testing tools for marketers to monitor and measure TV's influence via social media. The plan is to debut an automated platform to help advertisers understand the interplay between TV and social media. ...Read the whole story

  • Slight Uptick For TV Ad Revs, Station Cash Flow Robust by Wayne Friedman

    Advertising revenue for TV stations slowed down considerably in the first quarter of this year. Fifteen publicly owned U.S. media companies reported revenue growth of 1.2% in the first quarter to $1.15 billion compared with Q1 in 2010, per M.C. Alcamo. Much of this softness comes as predicted, given this is an "off-year." ...Read the whole story

  • TiVo Adds Hulu Plus To Offerings by Wayne Friedman

    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. ...Read the whole story

  • hospitality Choice Hotels Unites Brands For Campaign by Tanya Irwin

    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 American traveler," Dincin tells Marketing Daily. ...Read the whole story

  • Study: Online Video Ads Beat TV Ads In Viewer Recall by Les Luchter

    Viewers pay more attention to online video ads than to traditional TV commercials and also recall them better, according to new research that utilized Affectiva's facial tracking algorithms and second-by-second biometric modeling of cognition, excitement and stress levels. ...Read the whole story

  • CBS Ad-Confident Despite Ratings Decline by David Goetzl

    At least in the near long-term, CBS appears confident it can continue to grow ad dollars even as ratings decline. CBS CFO Joseph Ianniello says the network delivers largely unmatched reach, along with an environment advertisers covet, and they will pay a premium for both. ...Read the whole story

  • financial services Visa Launches Travel-Themed Campaign by Tanya Irwin

    Social media engagement continues to play a significant role in San Francisco-based Visa's ongoing U.S. marketing efforts. The campaign gives travelers a new tool to share their experiences through a Facebook application, Memory Mapper, which uses Google Maps satellite technology and a person's own photos, videos and captions to chronicle a visual story of their travels for a unique keepsake to share with friends and family. ...Read the whole story

  • Glee Wikia Trumpets TV Show, 'Engagement' by Wayne Friedman

    Social engagement adds incredible value to TV shows, according to TV executives -- and by that definition Fox's "Glee" continues to take top status, especially against its socially active core viewers. ...Read the whole story

  • 'Billboard' Makes Music For ABC by Wayne Friedman

    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." ...Read the whole story

  • spirits Bacardi Campaign Brings It All Together by Karlene Lukovitz

    An anchor of the new campaign is a 30-second TV spot, "Inventions," from Young and Rubicam. The spot reviews human inventions over the centuries designed to help them get together -- including fire, the wheel and light -- leading up to: "... and over a century ago, we invented Bacardi, to bring it all together." ...Read the whole story

Is Marketing ESPN Just Preaching To The Choir? by Barry Janoff

At the ESPN Upfront on May 17, intended to lure new advertisers to and have current marketing partners expand around the network's upcoming schedule, a packed house at the Best Buy Theater in New York was witness to some of both. ...More

  • Google To Publish ZMOT Ebook by Laurie Sullivan

    At Google, Jim Lecinski, managing director of U.S. sales, became known as the thought leader for the concept of the "zero moment of truth" (ZMOT). It's an offshoot of the Procter & Gamble's (P&G) concept of "the first moment of truth," which describes the first few seconds consumers spend in a store aisle. ...More

  • On Leadership by Bob DeSena

    I have the privilege to teach graduate students at one of New York's fine educational institutions. I say privilege because one of our fundamental classroom principles is that the students and "teacher" have a responsibility to each other over the course of the semester. Each of us has to learn from the experience. Over the semester we cover finance and marketing, ethics and management. There is one topic however, that brings engagement and the phrase "lean forward" to real life. The topic is leadershi ...More

  • No Surprise: Facebook Wants TV's Ad Money Right Now by Wayne Friedman

    According to a recent report, Facebook has been looking to recruit big veteran TV sellers. No, Facebook won't be running "Glee" or "Modern Family" episodes anytime soon. It has other stuff to sell: like viewers talking about TV shows. ...More

  • 'Vast Wasteland' Take Two: Is The Public Interested? by Karen Herman

    On May 9, 1961 FCC Chairman Newton N. Minow, an appointee of President Kennedy's administration, delivered his historic speech to the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, DC. The speech is best known for two words he uttered in reference to the programming found on TV stations nationwide: vast wasteland. The term became a cultural touchpoint for critics of television, and remains so to this day. ...More

  • Coaching, Courage & TV Advertising by Mark Lieberman

    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. ...More

  • Is Netflix Poised To Replace Much Of The TV Syndication Business? by Wayne Friedman

    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. ...More