U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) may not yet have decided on a White House run, but one group backing the idea has launched the first political ad of the 2008 campaign--before some of the Democratic big winners of the 2006 version have even been seated. A 60-second spot urging the charismatic Obama to throw in his hat will roll out in New Hampshire on Wednesday and run through Christmas. It is also making its way onto Washington, D.C., airwaves this week. "We can replace fear with hope" flashes on the screen as the spot begins; the line underscores …

The Yankees Entertainment Sports Network has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Time Warner Cable, claiming they underpaid it by more than $1.5 million. The six-page summons and complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court alleges that Time Warner Cable "miscalculated the licensing fees due YES under an Affiliation Agreement" in place since Feb.1, 2005. The agreement in question was dated March 20, 2002 and amended in April of last year. YES charges that Time Warner Cable "continues to underpay [it] in an amount to be proven at trial, but believed to now exceed $1.5 million …

Reno CW affiliate KREN said last week that it would launch a high-definition news program on Monday, becoming the first local station in the market there to do so--but ended up with some egg on its screen. It had to abort the HD launch as the result of "technical difficulties," so ABC affiliate in Reno, KRNV, jumped in and began broadcasting its daily noon newscast in high-def and quickly touted the fact in a press release. "This is as significant and historic as going from black and white to color," says Mary Beth Farrell, the station's general …

Publicis Groupe's MediaVest is in on the new review for Wal-Mart's $580 million creative and media account, according to the trade magazine. The shop was involved in the last pitch that looked to have ended with the October selection of DraftFCB and Aegis Group's Carat. That decision was overturned this month, after Wal-Mart management ousted Julie Roehm, the marketing executive who led the review, and decided to put the account back in play. Carat was invited to participate this time around, but DraftFCB was not. Previously, MediaVest had teamed up with sister agency Saatchi & Saatchi and made …

As Big Liquor pours more ad dollars into cable and spot TV, underage viewers' exposure to alcohol ads has exploded, according to a study conducted by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University. Between 2001 and 2005, 1.4 million alcohol ads ran on TV at a cost of $4.7 billion, the group says. And the number of ads jumped 34% during the period, as spirits companies abandoned their self-imposed ban on TV. As a result, by last year, there were 23 times more TV ads for booze than in 2001. Industry groups adopted …

The NFL Network has accepted a Time Warner Cable offer to put the NFL Network on its digital basic tier in the New York market for one week, so subscribers can watch Rutgers University play in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28. NFL Network does not have a carriage agreement with Time Warner Cable or Cablevision, both of which serve the biggest media market in the country, since both operators balked at the fee the NFL Network is asking, along with its desire to be on the basic tier. Over the past two weeks, the net …

Ford is ready to roll an estimated $80 million to launch its new Edge crossover, including a major online push with MSN.com that targets 30somethings. It will be sole sponsor of fordedge.msn.com, where visitors can find events and activities in 25 cities or share their own suggestions. "These are very tech-savvy consumers who like social networking, and this allows us to connect with them where they naturally spend time," says Jeri Ward, the vehicle's marketing manager. Visitors can anonymously discuss favorite activities in five areas: see, eat, trek, play and indulge. MSN has added an …

Spending behind help wanted ads online is expected to pass all other media by the end of this year, according to a report from Borrell Associates. Advertisers will spend $5.9 billion online, as opposed to $5.4 billion in newspapers. And the 2007 online recruitment advertising report also says online help wanted advertising is expected to grow to $10 billion by 2011. But the news isn't totally bad for newspapers: "If newspaper Web sites were counted as a single entity, they would control the largest single share" of online recruitment revenue, at 18.6% or $1.1 billion, the report says. …

Syndicated talk shows took a big beating for the week ended Dec. 10, with almost all slumping in double digits. Indeed, only two of 13 shows, which were mostly in reruns, even managed to keep the declines small. "Dr. Phil" and "Ellen," with the latter touching a season high for the second consecutive week, was still off 8% from last year. It was the first time since the week of Sept. 11 that "Ellen," which has has been hit by weaker lead-ins and head-to-head competition with "Oprah" in some large markets, finished in fourth place ahead of "Maury," …

Local Spanish-language TV and radio stations look to have a great 2007-- and rest of the decade--as ad revenue is expected to pour in faster than at general-market stations. This finding is according to a forecast set to be released next month from Monterey, Calif.-based Kagan Research. The firm sees ad revenue on TV stations targeting Latinos up 6.5% on a compounded annual basis through 2010: up 5%in 2007, 8% in 2008, 4% in 2009 and 9% in 2010, at which point expenditures will exceed $1.9 billion. Senior analyst Deana Myers says a combination of factors …