New York Post, September 30, 2005
Madison Avenue is getting nervous about the mood in Washington. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are being pushed to take a harder line with what advertising industry critics see as growing more intrusive and pervasive, experts say.
International Herald Tribune, September 30, 2005
Star TV, Rupert Murdoch's Asian broadcaster, acquired a strategic stake in an Indonesian television network Thursday, securing a place in one of Asia's fastest-growing markets, the two companies said. Star TV, a satellite and cable operator based in Hong Kong, will buy 20 percent of the national network ANTV, giving it a firmer foothold in Indonesia, Asia's third most populous country. Star TV pay-television services are already available on cable and satellite in Indonesia.
The New York Times, September 30, 2005
A cable network specializing in vintage movies known for classic lines like "Here's looking at you, kid," is hoping to get more kids looking at it. The network is TCM, formally Turner Classic Movies, which since its introduction in 1994 has presented films like "Casablanca," the source of the line above, in uncut and commercial-free form. Long a favorite of older viewers drawn to its movies from the golden age of Hollywood, TCM is now trying to appeal to younger film fans.
Adweek.com, September 30, 2005
Interpublic Group today said the material restatement resulting from its six-month internal financial review totaled $550 million for the period of 2000-04. Roughly half of that reduction in earnings and shareholder equity came before 2002, IPG said.
AdAge.com, September 29, 2005
L.L. Bean has handed its $27 million creative account to WPP Group's JWT, New York, following a review, according to executives familiar with the matter. JWT bested Omnicom Group's DDB, New York, and Interpublic Group of Cos.' Hill Holliday Conner Cosmopolus, Boston.
Reuters, September 29, 2005
When Michael Eisner hands over the keys to Disney's Magic Kingdom on Friday after 21 years of running the media giant, he'll leave behind a stormy legacy -- brilliant early success mixed later with executive turmoil, an operational slump and a shareholder revolt. But industry experts say that ironically, as Eisner says farewell as Disney's chief executive officer, the company has begun to return to the double-digit earnings growth that marked his first decade running Disney with late president Frank Wells.
Reuters, September 29, 2005
Hershey Co. on Thursday said it has dropped Ogilvy & Mather and DDB as its marketing agencies for its U.S. confections and snacks business, hiring Arnold Worldwide and expanding its business with North Castle Partners.
Adage.com, September 28, 2005
Barry Krause, president of WPP Group's JWT, Chicago, is leaving the agency and will be succeeded by Ros King, the shop's global director on the Kraft Foods account. The move marks the second shakeup in the agency's executive suite in three years; Mr. Krause succeeded Brian Heffernan, who left in September 2002. Mr. Krause was hired to revitalize the office, which had suffered client defections.
Mediaweek, September 29, 2005
The two leading satellite radio and TV satellite providers, XM Satellite Radio and DirecTV announced Thursday a distribution deal to offer 72 of XM's 150 channels to 14.6 million DirecTV subscribers.
Reuters, September 29, 2005
Martha Stewart's newly softened, post-prison persona may not play well in prime time, but the lifestyle guru is determined to stick with her kindler, gentler image to revive her corporate brand, her firm's CEO said on Wednesday. Stewart's spin-off version of the NBC reality hit "The Apprentice" premiered last week to lower-than-expected Nielsen ratings and criticism that Stewart would make a more compelling TV boss by baring some claws in her on-screen boardroom.