Research Shows Democrats And Republicans Like Different Shows by David Goetzl

Based on new research, Democratic and Republican political consultants have to be crestfallen that HBO and Showtime accept no advertising. If their ads look to convert the non-believers, these pay-TV networks might be ideal venues. Buyology, a research firm that uses neuroscience, has found that across a slew of competitive brands, the biggest gap in emotional connection between Democrats and Republicans came in HBO vs. Showtime. Yet, cementing how varied media research can get, a trio of Showtime series - "Shameless," "United States of Tara" and "Californication" - were in the top 20 by one metric with liberal Democrats. ...Read the whole story

  • Breaking NUz: Microsoft Unveils New Interactive Vid Ad Format -- NUads by Ross Fadner

    Microsoft Corp. is launching a new line of interactive TV ads that will be shown on Internet-connected Xbox 360 consoles starting this fall. According to the "Los Angeles Times," Toyota, Unilever and Samsung Mobile have signed on as launch advertisers for the new ad format, called NUads. ...Read the whole story

  • Original Productions Debuts Digital Shows, Taps TV Library by David Goetzl

    Thom Beers, whose FremantleMedia-owned company has produced some blockbuster male-targeted reality shows, is going over the top with a new venture. Beers has launched a unit to offer some of his hits directly to consumers via digital outlets. ...Read the whole story

  • Comcast Launches Apps Of Disney TV Shows by Wayne Friedman

    Moving further into the TV authenticated world, Disney/ABC Television announced new elements of its wide-ranging programming deal with Comcast: the launch of new mobile apps of its TV kids' networks. ...Read the whole story

  • NBA Finals Scores Uptick In Ratings by Wayne Friedman

    Although its teams are not in the biggest TV markets, game two of the NBA Finals continued to show higher results than a year ago. Preliminary Nielsen numbers showed a 12% rise in household ratings to a 11.8 number for the ABC telecast between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder. ...Read the whole story

  • NBC Debuts New Comedies Ad-Free by David Goetzl

    NBC will use dual stunts to give a lift to a pair of new fall comedies: premiering them following Olympic coverage without commercials. "Go On" will debut ad-free Aug. 8 after Olympics coverage at night, while "Animal Practice" will do the same several days later. ...Read the whole story

  • food Crunchy Nut Woos Adults With Nutty 'Superhero' by Karlene Lukovitz

    Kellogg's Crunchy Nut is targeting adults with a humorous new campaign featuring "The Crunchy Nut" -- a live faux-superhero character on missions to "seek out people suffering from dull breakfasts and put the fun back into cereal bowls everywhere." ...Read the whole story

Broadcast Upfront: Boring, Too Easy, Or Just Slightly Under Estimates? by Wayne Friedman

This year's upfront market has been a real snoozer -- a real bore. In particular, the broadcast part of the marketplace has come in slightly below estimates. Before negotiations started, the general theory was that broadcasters might gain 2% to 3% in total dollars over the $9.5 billion or so they collected a year ago. It turns out that the broadcast upfront has been virtually flat -- networks general sold slightly less inventory, 75%-77%, down from last year's big 80% or more levels. ...More

  • Return-Path-Data Lexicon: OCAP and Tru2way by Jane Clarke

    Connectivity is fast becoming a standard expectation of television viewers through their use of such offerings as VOD and in connected TV. This week's column addresses the rollout of a standard operating system and platform for connectivity by CableLabs - OCAP, which led to Tru2way. ...More

  • No, Henry, TV is Not Going The Way of Newspapers by Dave Morgan

    Last week, in a now-(in)famous column -- "Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But The TV Business May Be Starting To Collapse" -- Business Insider's Henry Blodget suggested the television industry looks very much like the newspaper industry did in the moments before their businesses started to collapse. Henry's column sparked scores of response pieces in the trade press, blogs and on Twitter. While I think the world of Henry Blodget (and, full disclosure, am an investor in Business Insider), I don't think that what the television industry is facing today looks anything at all like what newspapers started to confront ...More

  • Real Life And Fiction Excitingly Collide In HBO's 'The Newsroom' by Ed Martin

    The new series everyone will be talking about next week is HBO's "The Newsroom," a timely drama about the staff at a cable news program that was created and is written by the quick-witted if somewhat long-winded Aaron Sorkin. Even with its flaws, it is the most exciting and satisfying new series of the year. ...More

  • Hey, TV Commercials! I'm Done With You! Give Me Something More Fun by Wayne Friedman

    You think interactive TV advertising is cool? You know -- the new type of commercials where you hit a few buttons on your remote to access additional information like a trailer for a new movie? Too bad. That is so 2011. ...More