After three months off the air, the return of "Lost" managed a pitiful 14.5 million viewers, its smallest audience ever for an original episode. And the same episode also managed the show's lowest rating of the season among the 18-to-49-year-olds that ABC covets. Of course, it did surge from its lead-in -- a "Lost" recap -- by nearly 6 million viewers. But that "Lost Survival Guide" is probably the best lead-in the show will see as the Alphabet Network intends to bring back its Wednesday comedies starting next week. The show has become "Heroes"-esque -- good with younger …

General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt has dispelled the idea that NBC Universal is for sale, dismissing reports from the News Corp.-owned New York Post and Fox News. "It's more or less just made-up stuff that people are talking about," he says. Although NBC is far from its category leader -- a position GE typically demands from in its business units -- it has a good business and is building momentum, he adds. "Every now and then, companies need to fix things. The business is going to overachieve within the next few years." Immelt also took the …

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wants the Federal Trade Commission to ban cheese advertising during children's TV shows. The move, if actually made, could remove tens of million of dollars in dairy product advertising, from pizza to sharp cheddar from kids' airwaves. Cheddar cheese gets about 73% of its calories from fat, the group claims, and so is not an acceptable food to be promoted to kids during an obesity epidemic. The announcement is apt to contribute to the tough climate food marketers currently face as the PCRM wants the FTC to copy the United Kingdom, which …

Hewlett-Packard topped the ad ratings during the telecast of the Super Bowl, with Nielsen Media Research saying its spot was the highest-rated commercial minute in the game. It drew 99.5 million viewers at 9:25 p.m. while a Toyota Tundra spot was No. 2 with 99.1 million viewers at 8:55 p.m. and Federal Express was third with 98.2 million at 8:58 p.m. In the rest of the top five: a CBS promotion for CSI at 9 p.m., seen by 97.9 million viewers, and the Nationwide ad with Kevin Federline, which drew 97.7 million at 8:59 p.m. The average commercial …

While Comedy Central has long been a boys club, with stars like Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert and Dave Chappelle, the distaff side has broken through for a hit, albeit one that has guy-oriented humor. "The Sarah Silverman Program" turned in the channel's best debut for an original show in three years last week, and it did particularly well among young men. The program averaged a 1.3 household rating and a 1.2 in viewers 18-49, bettering the same 10:30 p.m. timeslot from a year ago by almost 300 percent. And among men 18-24, it was the most-watched show in …

Mediacom Communications has renewed a distribution agreement with the Hallmark Channel, inking a multi-year deal that will keep the network available to the operator's 1.4 million subscribers. While terms were not disclosed, Mediacom CEO Rocco Commisso says the license fee agreed upon was "fair and reasonable." Hallmark's legacy license fees are about five cents per subscriber, although the network is pushing for more. When he took over Hallmark last fall, Crown Media Holdings CEO Henry Schleiff said he'd push for rate increases as he negotiates new carriage agreements with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and DirecTV, all of which …

Another Super Bowl ad has run afoul of the sensitivities of an advocacy group. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is upset with General Motors Corp. over the automaker's spot in which a GM factory robot dreams it loses its job, becomes depressed and jumps off a bridge. The group sees nothing funny in the ad, and has asked GM to pull it. It also wants an apology from the automaker and thinks the company should "take steps to inform the public about mental illness and suicide." A GM spokeswoman says the company needs time to "evaluate the situation." …

Shoe marketer Nike will support the Jordan Brand on its 22nd anniversary of its Air Jordan shoes with a multimedia campaign behind the XX2. A 60-second spot broke last night exclusively on ESPN during the University of North Carolina-Duke basketball game. A 30-second version will soon run on networks including ABC, MTV, BET, Comedy Central and TNT, as well as in movie theaters in nine markets. Print breaks this month in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine and Vibe, among others. There is also outdoor at an "Air Jordan Experience" event in Las Vegas next week in advance of …

Running against the perception that the Internet is luring older kids away from television is a new report by Magna Global that shows average 24-hour TV viewing by tweens 9-14 years old and teens 12-17 is stable compared to last year. And the same research holds that TV viewing by younger kids 2-11 is no different than a year ago, but even higher than five years ago. "Claims that viewing among younger demos is on the decline are definitely at odds with television usage trends over the last several years," says the report by Lisa Quan. …

A Snickers ad launched during the Super Bowl broadcast has been pulled after complaints that it is homophobic. The spot had two mechanics accidentally kissing while eating the same candy bar -- and then ripping out chest hair to shown they were "manly." The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation complained to the Snickers parent, Masterfoods USA, a division of Mars Inc. An ad on the Web site also had video of players from the Super Bowl teams reacting to the kiss. "This type of jeering from professional sports figures at the sight of …