CBS Corp. is now absorbing College Sports Television Networks (CSTV) into CBS Sports. Since it's acquisition in late 2005, it's been treated as a separate unit. CSTV founder Brian Bendol will cede daily responsibilities to Tony Petitti, executive vice president of CBS Sports. Besides the TV arm of the sports cable network, the unit also has a Web site, CSTV.com, CSTV XXL and All Access, a broadband service that sends streaming audio and video of college events.

The American Cable Association is angry at the FCC for its position on program bundling, saying its stance has created an "increasingly bloated, increasingly costly, increasingly standardized expanded basic tier." The comments came during an FCC inquiry into cable- and satellite-program bundling and retransmission consent. The cable org says 30% of expanded basic channels and 45% of channels on digital tiers are tied to channels operators desire. Per ACA members, mostly from small and midsized cable companies,13 of the most popular cable channels are bundled to another 60 channels, while the four top broadcast networks are tied …

Late-night TV giants Jay Leno and David Letterman returned to the air this week to a jump in ratings for both show -- but Leno generated a new controversy with the striking Writers Guild of America. The dispute centers on whether Leno, who came back without a writing staff (unlike Letterman, whose production company Worldwide Pants forged a separate agreement with the WGA) should write and deliver his own monologue. Leno says he had a verbal agreement with the WGA to be allowed to write "The Tonight Show" monologue. However, WGA reps said that such …

Tila Tequila may not have seen in the New Year with a suitor from her dating show, but she will get a return engagement with MTV as the cable net has signed off on another season of her series. The channel has ordered up 10 more episodes of "A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila" during which the bisexual online pin-up sensation will again try to find love from among a batch of straight guys and lesbians. No surprise here: Her debut season was MTV's top-rated new show with 12-to-34 olds. New episodes are set to …

As it tries to cut costs and fine-tune retail efforts, Fidelity Investments has moved a piece of its ad business from Havas' Arnold to in-house, insiders say. Fidelity will soon handle on its own transactional, retail-oriented print ads. Fidelity spent about $35 million on print in the U.S. through October -- $15 million in newspapers alone - according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Last year, the company laid out $42 million on print, with about $14 million in newspapers. Its overall ad budget is apt to be up this year, as it spent about $200 million in domestic measured media from …

More and better innovation will be top of mind for advertisers this year, according to a recent survey by Next Level Strategic Marketing Group. In the study, about two-thirds of respondents said upcoming strategies will include innovations, line extensions or new marketing initiatives. Their past regrets are at least partly responsible for the look at new ideas, as more than one-fifth said they wished they had been less dependent on "tried-and-true" tactics in 2007. More than half say they plan to launch new ad campaigns this year, but don't necessarily expect advertising to have that much impact, with …

A new 30-second spot from Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani attempts to portray the former prosecutor, New York Mayor and high-priced consultant as the nation's protector in dangerous times. Airing on Fox News Channel, along with local stations in Florida and New Hampshire, the ad features narrative like "An enemy without borders. Hate without boundaries. A people perverted. A religion betrayed. A nuclear power in chaos. Madmen bent on creating it." Footage of crowds waving guns are also present and Giuliani's campaign says "Islamic terrorism" has "defiled a great religion." Even the late Benazir Bhutto appears, as does …

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has inked a deal with golf pro Phil Mickelson, ranked second to Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour, in a new ad effort that touts the hospitality brand as a convention destination. With its current tag "The Place to Meet," the chain's latest promotion will show the famous duffer meeting with people from around the country who vie to appear with him in one of six TV spots. Central to the effort is a Web site where fans can submit a story or video in various categories. They include: people who look like …

Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee has yanked an attack ad against fellow rival Mitt Romney -- but not before showing it off to the press. Now Huckabee says he hopes the spot, which goes after the former Massachusetts governor on immigration, taxes, crime and healthcare, will not be aired at all. "At some point, we have to decide, can we change the kind of politics and the level of discourse, and so I've got to believe that we can but it's got to start somewhere, and so it might as well start here and it might as …

The Federal Communications Commission has given the nod to new rules that will give broadcasters more flexibility as they switch from analog to digital signals. The updated regulations will, among other things, let some stations make a "phased transition" and also allow them to end analog service prior to the current Feb. 17, 2009 deadline "if doing so is necessary to achieve their transition," the Commission says. "The rules ... attempt to provide broadcasters the flexibility they need, while at the same time ensuring that any disruption to over-the-air viewers is minimized to the fullest extent possible," says …