With the final ad units of the first quarter selling off, attention is shifting to the second-quarter scatter market, a key indicator of what the upfront will hold. Some trends are already emerging: Early morning and evening news is starting to tighten, as well as top daytime properties in syndication. And a tight scatter market often means a stronger hand for the nets as they begin negotiations. Jackie Kulesza, vice president-director of Starcom Worldwide, says the second quarter is expected to be much like the first. "It's every flavor of client, it's money from a variety of sources, …

National Geographic Channel has a 2007/08 lineup of more than 300 hours of programming on science, nature, technology and contemporary issues, all the company's "sweet spots." The offerings come after the net racked up a 1 rating or better with 12 series last year -- and the same with 11 in the first quarter of this one. Now available in about 65 million homes, National Geographic will stick to programming informative, in-depth, non-fiction specials and series. "The audience has voted through the ratings," says president Laureen Ong, saying the net grew total audience 46% during prime in …

Deutsch has bailed from a review for Weight Watchers' creative account, pulling out last week before the other three agencies in it were briefed about the estimated $70 million worth of business, insiders say. McCann Erickson, DDB and BBDO are all still in the running and slated to make final pitches next month. Young & Rubicam is the incumbent, winning the account three years ago in a review led by Pile & Co. That time around, it came down to Y&R and Omnicom's TBWAChiatDay in New York. Spending in measured media was just shy of $70 …

The upcoming game show "Let's Play Crosswords" has been cleared in more than 65% of the country for a fall launch, including 30 of the top 40 markets on stations from Belo, Clear Channel, Cox, Gannett, Sinclair, Tribune and others. The deals ensure the show is a "firm go" for the 2007-08 season. "What you're seeing here is a flight to quality," says Ritch Colbert, who founded Program Partners. "The response of top-shelf stations to "Crosswords" has been overwhelming and a statement of the high regard they have for Merv Griffin and this new show." Program …

MTV2 will release the entire upcoming season of "The Andy Milonakis Show" on Apple's iTunes a full month before the first episode hits TV. The unusual move is one part of a multifaceted plan behind the third season of "Andy Milonakis," which began on the Internet. The actual series will return to the cable net on April 27. The show, based on the lives of Milonakis and his friends, was previously set on New York's Lower East Side, but this time it moves to Los Angeles. Milonakis, one the first to build a show-business career from …

The biggest risk Viacom is facing in a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube isn't financial or legal, but cultural. The action makes the parent of MTV look "more like a Luddite than a company that has its finger on the pulse of youth culture." It's a risky move, because as YouTube, MySpace and other sites replace MTV as the "arbiters of cool," it can't afford to upset its audience. "YouTube users are getting pissed off at them," says one source close to Viacom. Or, as Judson Laipply, whose "Evolution of Dance" clip is the …

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is in the middle of a huge shift away from traditional media -- the company slashed its total spend by more than $250 million in the U.S. last year to $1 billion, according to TNS Media Intelligence. The reduction is in line with the 20% of its marketing budget many expected J&J would shift to nontraditional media last year. Cuts in direct-to-consumer advertising for J&J's prescription-drug and medical-device brands account for most of the reduction, but a closer look shows the marketer has moved quickly away from its heavy reliance on traditional media, …

Carol Burnett has filed a $2 million copyright-infringement suit against 20th Century Fox Television, claiming the studio did not have her permission to use her character "Charwoman" as a porn shop maid in an episode of "The Family Guy." Burnett filed suit in U.S. District Court last week, alleging the show used an "altered version" of her 1970s variety show's theme music, while characters also performed her trademark ear tug. Burnett also says the show violated her publicity rights. For the studio, though, it is a tempest in a mop bucket: "Family Guy," like "The Carol …

A survey of media buyers and planners found that most see a shakeout coming in the celebrity-magazine category. Some titles must go in the crowded space and consensus seems to be that British import "OK!" -- which launched in August 2005 -- will be the first to bite the dust. "OK!" came to the category late in the U.S. and remains a bit of an also-ran for advertisers: 43% of those surveyed expect it to fold. No 2 on the list of doomed titles is "Life & Style," at 34.3%, even though it has made some gains in …

Robust scatter ad sales in the first half, particularly at Fox but strong across the board, have broadcast sales execs confident they will be in good shape in this year's upfront marketplace. That's a shift from the last few years, when media agencies pretty much called the tune on pricing. "We're not going to be pushed around like we were last year," says one broadcast executive. "Scatter prices are up double digits at most networks over upfront pricing, so any advertisers that sat out the upfront last year or that held back significant dollars will have to think …