The Hallmark Channel has signed up Barbara Fisher to be senior vice president of original programming, and her first task will be to find a new batch of TV movie suppliers to replace the Robert Halmis, a father- and-son combo that turned out dozens of movies for the channel each year. The duo is moving on, lured by Lifetime, Spike, Sci Fi Channel and ION Media Networks. "Our doors are wide open," says Fisher. "I've met with producers, writers and directors, and I'm looking for movies in all genres -- comedy, romance, holiday and seasonal stories, plus Westerns, …

New NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman is apt to bring advertisers ever deeper into the creative process. As an agent at William Morris, and as the head of a production company, he long courted advertisers that want more input, including product placements, and came up with sponsorship-laced programming like "The Restaurant." While product integration upsets some TV writers and producers, who feel that sponsors may be getting too much control, networks view closer ties as one solution to declining audiences and the decline of the traditional 30-second spot. Silverman says advertisers are demanding more influence, and …

A new ad campaign backing gay marriage uses photos of prominent couples like Jeb Bush, former Republican governor of Florida, and his Mexican-born wife, to mark the 40th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave interracial couples the right to marry.The effort, from a coalition of groups, is aimed at spreading their contention that marriage is a civil right. "We're honoring and celebrating something that just over 40 years ago some Americans said was immoral and wrong and could not happen," says Jimmy Creech, executive director of Faith in America, a gay-rights advocacy group that …

A controversial billboard ad in the Chicago suburbs for cosmetic procedures that showed a scantily clad woman is coming down. The move comes after some local residents complained, saying the ad sent the wrong message about beauty. They had circulated a petition asking the salon and spa to replace the ad, but the owners refused. They then took their complaints to Clear Channel Outdoor, owner of the billboard, which quickly caved and ordered the removal of the ad. Paul Meyer, president of Phoenix-based Clear Channel Outdoor, says the company retains the right to reject any ad. "It's just …

Carat is one of the finalists in Johnson & Johnson's $3 billion global media review, according to insiders, but the agency is only after the European and Asian portions of the business. Others still in the running include OMD, pitching the entire global account; Universal McCann; and Initiative. The last two, both owned by Interpublic, are coordinating efforts. The former is J&J's North American incumbent and wants to keep the account, while Initiative is pursuing the rest. Earlier this month, MindShare bailed out of the review. Pitches are being made in more than two dozen countries as part …

About half of the 5,000 consumers surveyed last year support a la carte pricing of cable TV services, according to Forrester Research, but they tend to have unrealistic expectations of what it might cost. Many respondents said they would want a package of 26 channels at $24 per month, roughly half of what they currently pay for a typical expanded-basic package. That also breaks down to 10 cents per viewing hour per week -- and that can't support program development or delivery as cable viewers currently spend about 22 cents per viewing hour. Forrester analyst James McQuivey points …

Financial network CNBC is looking into claims that some contestants may have cheated -- or at least engaged in "unusual trading" while playing its much-hyped "Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge." Bilking a contest is not new; it happened to McDonald's several years ago and also at Taco Bell in the late 1980s, when games were scammed by folks who took thousands and left the companies with battered public images. CNBC's idea was to teach contestants to be "aspiring moguls" and about 375,000 people entered, creating more than 1.5 million mock portfolios. Although picks were made with fake money, the $1-million …

NBC has not taken "The Apprentice" out behind the barn and shot it -- yet. The network is in talks with Donald Trump and Mark Burnett even after Trump said last week he planned to walk away. But Ben Silverman, the network's new entertainment chief, has a long relationship with Burnett and within 48 hours of coming on board, he was ready to discuss the possibility of keeping the one-time hit show. "Silverman wants some time to see if a deal could be done. He really made Donald feel comfortable and wanted, so he and Mark were happy to …

After barely a year on the job, Federated Department Store Inc.'s marketing chief Anne MacDonald has been replaced by Peter Sachse, head of the Macys.com online arm of the retailing behemoth. He will also be the company's chief marketing officer and president of Macy's corporate marketing, says chief executive Terry J. Lundgren. MacDonald, who got the post in April 2006, had been charged with building a national brand identity for Macy's. Her ouster comes a day before Federated formally changes it name to Macy's Inc. and its stock ticker from FD to M. She planned …

Media buyers are saying that a handful of movie studios and retailers -- those running ads that urge consumers to take immediate action -- are not happy to pay to reach audiences that watch ads via DVR, often several days after they air. That resistance could only slow the upfront market further as the TV networks try to deal with advertisers' varying needs. "For the studios, the commercial message is timely. It has to be day-specific," says Jeff Robinson, senior vice president-national television, Palisades Media Group. "That's the reason for the reluctance." Nets can't afford not to …