As rivals create a buzz on the Web, Yahoo has turned to TV and radio for a new marketing campaign to remind people it is on the cutting edge. The ad push, set to start Thursday, is the company's biggest in two years and also includes messages in movie theaters. Yahoo says the campaign marks significant improvements to its Web site, including a home page overhaul and email upgrades. "This is a great time for us to talk to our customers and encourage them to visit the new Yahoo.com," says Allen Olivo, Yahoo's vp of global brand marketing. "It's an …

At MTV, reality has always been a moving target. It was 16 years ago when the network ushered in the reality genre with "The Real World." It then advanced the genre further with "Laguna Beach: The Real OC." And now the channel aims to push the boundaries even more with "Virtual Laguna Beach," where fans of the program can immerse themselves as digitized, three-dimensional characters that they control in virtual versions of the show's familiar hangouts. "You can not only watch TV, but now you can actually live it," Van Toffler, the president of the MTV Networks Music, Film and …

When DaimlerChrysler was looking to cut marketing costs this year, print took it in the neck. While the company's network TV spending fell 12 percent for the first half of this year--to $422 million--print was down by more than one-third to $133 million. And Chrysler is not alone. Newspaper and magazine buys by auto companies are off 24 percent this year through July, while online spending has increased by half. A really extreme case is Volkswagen, which cut its print spending by three-quarters and relied more heavily on TV. "What has happened for us and with our new agency is …

Walter Cronkite, 89, once voted the most trusted man in America, had some kind words to say about Katie Couric, the person now sitting in his anchor chair at CBS News. "I think she is doing a great job," Cronkite says. While he has been critical of increasing sensationalism in broadcast news, he describes the changes to his former program, now with longer magazine-type segments and citizen commentaries, as "somewhat revolutionary ... I hope that the daring new presentation, I guess, is successful, as to me, they deserve to be." Cronkite is remembered for the way he paused, removed his …

To catch this season's must-see TV, the tube seems to be optional. Every major network is trying out the Web as a marketing tool and an alternate distribution channel. "Ad supported or ad free, streamed on sibling Web sites or on partner portals, the networks are throwing every imaginable mix against the wall to see what sticks," Ad Age notes. For instance, NBC is debuting two new series--"Friday Night Lights" and "30 Rock"--on its NBCFirstLook.com before their broadcast debuts. Meanwhile, CBS will preview "Jericho" on the Yahoo portal--but, like NBC, is using several Web outlets. For a limited time, three …

For a long time, Univision could do no wrong, and if it did, the Spanish-language network was so large it didn't matter. But now it does: While Univision is still the No. 1 Spanish-language network--and the fifth-largest overall--the fall season is a concern. Univision's prime-time lineup offers little in the way of new or innovative programming, and this comes at a time when competitors like Telemundo are on the rise. That net has been especially aggressive in beefing up programming, focusing on original fare it produces in the U.S. or Mexico--including an upcoming version of parent NBC's "Deal or No …

News Corp. adds another youth-oriented brand--taking a 51 percent stake in Jamba, a company that sells ringtones, screensavers and other material for personalizing cell phones. Ringtones may be yesterday's hot thing, but Jamba's real appeal is its ability to reach hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide without being part of a walled garden of content that Fortune calls "so 2007." Now, if you want to play a game or watch a video clip on your cell phone, the easiest way is to scroll through a menu of choices provided by a wireless carrier. Content companies jockey for position on those …

It wasn't just video that killed the radio star--add satellite radio and the growing popularity of the iPod to the list. And the medium's challenges are only increasing over time. While 9 out of 10 Americans listen to traditional radio each week, they're not tuning in for long periods of time. Not surprisingly, broadcast radio advertising has taken a hit, growing a tiny 0.3 percent in 2005. Veronis Suhler Stevenson predicts that ad growth will continue to lag for the next five years. The amount of time people tune into radio over the course of a week has fallen by …

A new ad display can monitor Bluetooth gadgets in its vicinity, so that audiences will only see minimal repeats. The display detects devices that are fitted with Bluetooth transmitters on people walking by, like cell phones and PDAs. Software agents then "bid" against one another to determine which ads are shown to those viewers. A prototype system called BluScreen has been installed in a corridor at Southampton University in the U.K., and it runs a mix of alerts on upcoming seminars, news items and video streams of lectures. Since each passing device has a unique Bluetooth signal, it allows the …

Bravo's "Project Runway" has grown from a mild success to a top-five cable hit over the last year, defying the norm by posting its highest ratings in its third season. That's when most reality shows usually start to decline. Driving this growth is an Internet subculture that has built around the show, something the network has encouraged with new media support. The result is that "Runway" has isn't just a TV show but a pop-culture phenomenon. Its deep Internet roots fueled the momentum that's now driving viewership to record levels. For the third straight week, "Runway" scored its best ratings …