A look at the trend of wireline video subscriber patterns in a few dozen Massachusetts communities after the introduction of Verizon's FiOS TV contains a mixed bag of news for the cable business. While initial incumbent cable subscriber losses can exceed 10%, as many as 40% of FiOS TV subscribers may be coming from satellite. That finding is from a study by OneTRAK into subscriber patterns for Verizon in 34 cities and towns with a combined 285,000 homes. Comcast is the incumbent cable operator in all, while RCN Corp. offers service in nine. And while Verizon may …

Converse is continuing its "Get Chucked" ad approach this year, although the company's fall campaign is putting more emphasis on women's products. The latest ads track a couple's decadent weekend and was shot at the Pierre Hotel in New York by fashion photographer Tom Munro. Stephen Niedzwiecki, president and creative director at Yard, which produced the ads, says they have gotten buzz for their "distinctive images" and "cheeky, irreverent copy." That, in turn, has let a recently launched Converse lifestyle apparel collection to "cut through the clutter of fashion advertising to build buzz and create memorable, iconic …

Conservative group The Parents Television Council has released its latest list of "Top 10 Best and Worst Advertisers" on TV. The ranking reflects what the group considers wholesome shows and those with sex, violence or profanity. Among those with high marks were Walt Disney Co. and Viacom, while Toyota and General Motors got low grades. The list is based on each company's prime-time network ad buys between October 2006 and May 2007. "It's a good business decision to be responsible, as we've seen recently demonstrated by Disney and the Hallmark Channel in choosing to ban smoking in their …

A new Arbitron study of bars and nightclubs has discovered that average brand recall hit a whopping 43% for an ad that ran on the Ecast platform, an out-of-home net that runs on 10,000 digital jukeboxes in the U.S. The research -- done last year in New York, Seattle and Columbus -- tracked patrons who spent more than one hour in a bar and used Ecast. ,br> "What surprised us was the number of people who use jukeboxes themselves or watch someone like a friend using one," says Diane Williams, Arbitron's product manager for custom research. "They interact …

General Motors will not renew its sponsorships of the U.S. Olympic Team with NBC when its deals expire after the end of the 2008 Games in Beijing. Cut in 1997, the multi-year contract was worth an estimated $900 million, with GM spending $300 million to be the official domestic car and truck sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team, along with $600 million for category exclusivity on NBC and its affiliates' TV and online coverage. "Our marketing strategies have changed, and our media landscape has changed," says a spokeswoman for the automaker, who notes the company can reach the …

Carson Daly has renewed a deal with NBC and will stay on as host of late-night talk show "Last Call" for at least another two years. He will also again host a special "NBC's New Year's Eve" to air live from New York's Times Square on Dec. 31. "Last Call," which came out in 2002, is pulling better numbers among the adult 18-34 demo than other late-night shows, like ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and CBS' "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson." "Carson Daly and [producer] David Friedman have reinvented "Last Call" by adding comedy elements, a pace …

People spent less time on media last year compared with 2005, according to research from Veronis Suhler Stevenson, the first time media consumption has dropped year-over-year since 1997. According to the study, media usage per person dipped 0.5% to 3,530 hours, and Veronis pegs the decline on a migration to digital media for news, information, and entertainment that requires less time than traditional media. For instance, consumers might spend as few as five to seven minutes watching an online video, but they might take 30 minutes to watch TV. Veronis also discovered that people are moving away from …

As publishers start talking with clients about ad commitments for 2008, they are dealing with rising postal and fuel costs, while their rate bases are flat or shrinking. And while that could encourage them to try and get the usual 4% to 6% CPM increases, media buyers are unlikely to give in. With so many choices, some buyers say they will accept little or no increase unless magazines can show some value and accountability. ,br> "With multimedia competition and the plethora of choices out there, to hold pricing, they're going to need to step up," says Serge Del …

Bud Collins, dropped by NBC from its tennis coverage team last month, has landed at ESPN and will help the cable net with the Grand Slam tournaments beginning next year: the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. He will also report on tennis news for "SportsCenter" and other properties starting with next month's US Open. While his departure form the Peacock Network was abrupt, he apparently holds no grudge. "I had a great 35-year run with NBC," he says. Collins, who also writes for The Boston Globe, has been covering tennis for over 40 years, and ESPN says …

The Senate Commerce Committee has passed a bill requiring the Federal Communications Commission to look at the possibility of making media companies provide "advanced blocking technologies" to filter TV programming, along with Internet content. If it passes the full Senate, it would give the FCC would 90 days to initiate -- and 270 days to conclude -- a notice of inquiry that results in a report to Congress. But it would not authorize the FCC to adopt rules. "It's an uphill battle for parents trying to protect their kids from viewing inappropriate programming," says sponsor Sen. David Pryor, …