High-Profile ESPN Ad In USA Today Is Yesterday's News by David Goetzl

It's been disorienting reading the USA Today sports section these last few weeks without ESPN's ad on the front page, where it had been since January 1, 2000. But, the 12-year arrangement, which also involved ABC Sports in the early years, wrapped at the end of last year. ESPN's decision to pull out is curious and surely dispiriting to USA Today, where circulation has been declining, but still averages about 1.8 million. The ad, which ran in the upper right corner, was relatively small, but with so many newspaper ads unnoticeable, this one was unavoidable. ...Read the whole story

The Power of Price Metrics by Lawrence S. Fried

In buying media, marketers tend to focus on CPM as a measure of cost. But CPMs measure quantity, not price. The reality is, advertisers with low CPMs may still be overpaying. ...More

  • 3D Provides A Lesson In Entertainment's Price/Value Formula by Wayne Friedman

    Is entertainment getting cheaper? Yes, at least for theatrical films. You can blame some over-promised technology falling flat. But the decrease may be temporary. ...More

  • Hulu Enters The Original Scripted Series Arena With 'Battleground' by Ed Martin

    You'll be hearing a lot about something called "Battleground" during the next week or two. Don't dismiss it as the latest big-budget bomb-drop at your local multiplex. Instead, pay close attention to it, because this awesome little production is actually a very solid entertainment property that might occupy a permanent place in media history as the first television series that did not debut on a television network. ...More