Viacom Takes Stance Favoring Same-Sex Marriage by David Goetzl

Viacom this month joined with dozens of others in filing a court brief expressing opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. There were business reasons for doing it, but clearly there was also welcome principle involved. ...Read the whole story

  • Maggio Puts 'Reactive Ad' Patents On The Block, Will Anyone React? by Joe Mandese

    In an effort to accelerate his vision of a "reactive advertising" marketplace in which ads become a form of entertainment content that consumers proactively engage with, think about and then compete to win prizes based on how well they remember it, serial entrepreneur Frank Maggio is putting his patents for it on the block today. The portfolio, which includes one U.S. patent, two foreign patents, and various applications covering reactive advertising will be sold in a "sealed bid" auction in San Francisco today by patent broker ICAP. ...Read the whole story

  • TV Ad Retention Holds, Some Cablers Dip by Wayne Friedman

    Commercial retention of TV has changed little in 2012 versus 2011 -- although some cable networks have seen declines. The average commercial retention is around an 85 index for the four networks, according to the Discovery Communications Ad Sales unit. These numbers compare commercial ratings (C3) to program ratings (P3). ...Read the whole story

  • packaged goods Sharpie, Fans To Make Beautiful Music (Video) Together by Aaron Baar

    Sharpie knows it has a following of enthusiasts who think of it as more than a mere marker. In recent years, the brand has capitalized on its following to launch marketing programs that celebrate a creativity among its fans. ...Read the whole story

  • FremantleMedia, Random House TV Team For Possible Shows by David Goetzl

    In a corporate-sibling partnership that could help FremantleMedia build a scripted programming business in the U.S., the production company has inked a first-look deal with Random House to co-develop shows based on book titles. ...Read the whole story

  • Smaller Video Companies Score Better In Streaming Services by Wayne Friedman

    Many people may use big-name video service Netflix, but one study says other streaming video companies are getting higher marks. ...Read the whole story

  • retail New BTS Moves From Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy by Sarah Mahoney

    The two TV spots, created by Zimmerman Advertising, show Cannon interacting with Rachel, a helpful Office Depot associate. Spots are running on "America's Got Talent," and also promote Cannon's branded Monster headphones. ...Read the whole story

NBC's LA Station Taps Into Two-Screen Viewing by Mark Walsh

NBC4 Southern California is jumping on the two-screen viewing bandwagon, but with a twist. The West Coast flagship of NBC's local TV stations is rolling out a mobile technology dubbed myCode that lets viewers get special offers and discounts via a smartphone app while watching. ...More

  • The Emancipation Of Mimi by Barbara Lippert

    Last Sunday night, at a time when the grim and devastating news of the Colorado shootings was still emerging, the final, two-hour episode of "The Bachelorette" aired, and won the night's ratings for ABC. ...More

  • Is Mobile The Key To Set-Top-Box And Smart TV Success? by Steve Smith

    The fight for the next-generation living room will take place across at least two screens. Mobile integration with smart TV could be a key differentiator. ...More

  • The Most Memorable TV Moments? by Gary Holmes

    The recent release by Nielsen and Sony of the 20 most memorable TV moments generated an enormous amount of news coverage, and why not? If there are two things that people love, it would be: 1) television, and 2) lists. I don't think the news media drew exactly the right conclusion from the study, though. According to Reuter, for example, the survey revealed "the most impactful TV moments of the past 50 years." This is almost certainly not the case. It would be a very strange world where news reports on the death of Whitney Houston (#11) are more "impactful" ...More

  • Will More TV Blackouts Cause Consumers To Rebel -- Or Move In An Unpredictable Direction? by Wayne Friedman

    Have TV viewers now become so used to blackouts that they'll just shrug their shoulders? In the 1950s, if antenna problems caused "snow" on your black-and-white screen, you probably got frustrated. But you likely got somewhat used to it -- in an apathetic way. Nine days of a blackout of Viacom channels on DirecTV didn't harm the two companies as much as one might think. One survey pointed out that during those nine days, only 4% of DirecTV subscribers canceled their subscriptions. ...More

  • CW Gets More Specific With Its Young-Minded Brand by Wayne Friedman

    Is the CW darker, more seductive, and perhaps more adult? That's what a new brand campaign and image for the young-skewing broadcast network seems to be about. The campaign, called "TV Now," aims to bring more young people to the CW airwaves and other media destinations. Begining next month, the campaign offers a set of new TV-wise adjectives -- "seducTV," "suggesTV," "prescripTV" and "provocaTV." ...More