NBC will roll out "Clash of the Choirs" in December, a live four-night holiday event series from BBC Worldwide. The format is based on Scandinavian series "Friday TV" and follows five celebrity singers back to their hometowns as they put together amateur singing groups made up of ordinary folks who compete against each other. Music ranges from pop hits to Christmas carols. The choirs will be judged by viewers, who can vote via phone, text message or online. Winners, along with the celeb that picked them, get prizes that help their hometowns, i.e. money for projects like …

The number of free daily newspapers has tripled in the last seven years, according to data from the North American Free Daily Newspaper Association -- and not all growth has come in cities with mass transit. There are now 60 free dailies in North America, the group says, a figure that includes the launch of two new ones last summer in Fayetteville and Mount Airy, North Carolina. "Launches of free dailies in mass-transit cities such as New York, Boston, Washington, and Chicago have gotten the most attention from reporters who cover the media," says Henry E. Scott, interim …

Coors Light has knocked out Budweiser as the official beer of Nascar. A five-year, $20 million deal that starts next year gives the brewer exclusive access to Nascar logos in advertising, packaging and promotions, along with rights to brand the Pole Award, an honor that goes to the fastest-qualifying time in each race. The No. 3 light suds has been gaining some ground on rivals Bud Light and Miller Lite of late, and its managers hope the high-profile sponsorship will help. "This partnership allows us to deliver exciting and relevant programs to our distributors and retailers -- …

Oil company Chevron will roll out a two and a half minute ad during "60 Minutes" on Sunday that insiders say will take a "serious view" of the energy challenges facing the U.S. The spot, from mcgarrybowen, New York, was directed and shot by cinematographer Lance Acord, who lists among his credits films like "Being John Malkovich" and "Lost in Translation." It was shot in 13 countries and 22 locations around the world and is "not green-washing," says one insider. The ad will later be edited down into 30- and 60-second spots and kicks off a larger …

Americans do not have a particularly kind view of the advertising profession, according to a study from J. Walter Thompson. When asked about respect for the profession for the "Ad Industry Perception Survey," only 14% of respondents say their fellow Americans respect ad people, a fraction of the 79% garnered by members of the armed forces, the 75% who respect doctors and the 71% who respect teachers. On the plus side, ad pros are seen as a "necessary good" by 31% percent of the population, beating out politicians and car salesmen. Among the study's other findings are that …

The campaign ad wars are continuing to heat up: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is rolling out his first television ads in New Hampshire, emphasizing change, while rival Hillary Clinton has started a radio campaign in South Carolina claiming she has a record of looking out for all Americans. Bill Richardson will soon be back on New Hampshire television with a spot that emphasizes his no-troops-in-Iraq position and his support from online bloggers. In the new Obama ads, the first-term senator from Illinois asks viewers to support his candidacy, touts his non-Washington experience and tries to tackle potential concerns …

Joe Scarborough is now officially the permanent replacement for Don Imus at MSNBC; Dan Abrams steps back as general manager to expand his prime-time hosting role. "Morning Joe" has joined the net's weekday schedule from 6-9 a.m., a slot Scarborough had already been hosting since May 28, after Imus was dumped for his disparaging and racist remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Scarborough first joined MSNBC in 2003 as host of prime time's "Scarborough Country," which Abrams has been filling since Imus left. He will continue to anchor the 9 p.m. hour Monday through Thursday and …

The number of gay characters depicted on TV is down on the broadcast networks, but rising on cable, says a study by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. In the 2007-2008 TV season, broadcast series will have seven regular gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender characters, down form nine in 2006 and 10 the season before that. On cable, however, shows will feature 40 gay characters as series regulars. "While we acknowledge there have been improvements made in how we are seen on the broadcast networks, most notably on ABC, our declining representation clearly indicates a failure to inclusively …

The battle over Dell's $760 million advertising account is now down to two holding companies, WPP Group and Interpublic, according to insiders, with final pitches set to take place in three weeks at the computer company's Texas home office. The business, one of the biggest to become available in years, was highly sought after by all the big boys, with Omnicom, Publicis and Havas also competing to get it. Revenue for the winner could be in the $90 million to $100 million range. A variety of agencies currently work on Dell, including independent Mother; Aegis' Carat; Omnicom's …

AMC's renewal of original drama "Mad Men" was anything but a done deal, as the cable net was paying license fees of about $1.5 million per episode, but getting only an average of a million viewers. But the channel has stuck with the program, as a way to begin the transformation from an all-movie network to a channel offering HBO-caliber scripted series. It is not alone in its heavy investment in such fare, as Oxygen, Soapnet, Animal Planet and Court TV are among the cable nets going with scripted or at least developing them. "People watch individual shows on …