MTV is headed for a third season of "The Hills" as the network has ordered up 10 episodes of the unscripted show with an eye to a summer premiere. The second-season finale of "Hills" -- MTV's top-rated show -- ran Monday. That season was up over the first one by 9% to an average 2.7 million viewers and up 15% to 1.7 million in the 12-24 demo. The cable net says the show was consistently the most-watched in its time period among 12-24 across all of television. In addition, MTV.com delivered almost 18 million show-related streams, while …

After recently changing editors and cutting jobs, Star magazine is now about to cut its average guaranteed paid circulation by 10%, or 150,000 copies, to 1.35 million. "A lot of this was precipitated by the latest postal increase, which is 11.7%," says John Miller, president-COO of parent American Media. "We are expecting as an industry another increase a year from now, and that's a huge part of our subscription expense." He adds that the mag has talked to its advertisers, and "they like the transparency." Some other top titles have also cut circulation of late, most …

Sony has rolled out a new ad effort that puts the technology front and center, but in a more humorous vein. Two spots for Cyber-shot cameras show that if you don't have its face-detection technology, you could end up with pictures of a stop sign and/or a horse's ass. Another has a man being bathed in the sink as his mom and dad try to recreate the moments they lost using a high-definition video camera. The ads, from new agency BBDO New York, hit the airwaves April 2. Sony is also using radio, print, outdoor and a tie-in …

NBC Universal wants to expand its reach -- across the world. On Wednesday, the network revealed ambitious plans to launch 20 additional local television channels in 23 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The goal is to more than double revenue by 2010, per NBC Universal international president Peter Smith. "We look to markets with growing digital subscriber bases, emerging pay television consumption, new platforms and new technologies," Smith said. The effort begins with Sci Fi in Latin America and Sci Fi and 13th Street in the Netherlands. The plan is part of NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker's …

More than one-third of TV viewers spend at least part of their week watching the tube somewhere other than their home, usually at another residence, a Arbitron study has found. The data apparently flies in the face of long-held notions on out-of-home viewing, such as mostly men watching sports in bars -- and they don't do it that much. "We want to do away with the myth ... People have misconceptions that it's all a bunch of guys in bars watching sports," says George Brady, senior manager of Arbitron Television Services. The study finds that 35% …

Fox will debut a new animated TV program next week, but in an unusual time slot, as it will sandwiched between ads. The net will run eight-second animated clips about a taxi driver named Oleg who likes to identify what store stray shopping carts came from while he goes by at high speed. The idea is to keep viewers amused during commercial breaks as the explosion of DVRs has led to an epidemic of ad-skipping. It is all the more urgent to hang on to those viewers as Nielsen Media Research starts to release commercial ratings. "It's certainly …

Miller Brewing Co. is searching for an agency to replace Crispin Porter & Bogusky, which resigned the beer behemoth's brewer's $100 million-plus account in March. The company says it has tapped consultant Joanne Davis to help with the review to be led internally by Deb Boyda, a former Ogilvy & Mather exec who is now the brewer's vice president,content. Insiders says Miller has called on five agencies to pitch, including Y&R, Chicago; Mother, New York; and Saatchi & Saatchi. Miller already uses Publicis shops for media, promotions and digital. A decision should come by the middle of …

Time Warner Cable and Disney Co. have closed on multi-year distribution deals that will cover the ESPN family of cable networks, along with the Disney Channel and ABC Family. As part of the pact, Time Warner will start carrying ESPN2 HD and ESPNU later this year while some systems will offer Disney Channel on Demand and ESPN Desportes. Beginning next year, it will start running three new high-definition channels -- ABC Family HD, Disney Channel HD and ESPNEWS HD -- as they launch. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed. Similar to a deal last November with Comcast, …

Canadian regulators are insisting on changes to a new ad campaign that features baseball star Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas. They are upset by the spot, which features the Blue Jays slugger in a pillow fight where he knocks one kid out of the park. The ad is one of several the Blue Jays have rolled out to promote their 2007 season, which started this week. Thomas walks in on two boys jumping on a bed and having a pillow fight when one gives him a swat. Thomas then grabs the pillow and nails the boy with it, …

According to WPP chief Martin Sorrell, only about half of the company's media buying agency GroupM's business in advertising is spent on traditional media with the balance going to outdoor, new media, market research and public relations. "Those other areas are growing by and large faster than those traditional media," he says. And he advises buyers to "start experimenting with mobile, test, refine, repeat." Newspaper is most threatened by new media, he adds, followed by radio and TV, although "cable and satellite give more flexibility. Probably the least affected is outdoor and cinema, though the question is raised …