A delayed rollout of Arbitron's Portable People Meter in top markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago has yet to scare off advertisers from placing more dollars in the medium, says Janice Finkel-Greene, director-futures and technology at Interpublic's Initiative unit. "It's important for the measurement ... but I don't believe it's going to stop anybody from putting money in radio or keep them away from it," she said. Her remarks came during a panel at the Radio Advertising Bureau Conference, But her feeling was far from universal as fellow panelist Blaise Howard, general manager of WBEB Radio …

Yahoo, which is trying to fend off a hostile takeover by Microsoft, this morning, announced a takeover of its own, the acquisition of Maven Networks, a major player in the burgeoning online video marketplace. Yahoo said it would pay about $160 million to acquire Maven, and that the merger would make Yahoo the leading premium video publisher on the Internet.

About six million people in the U.S. who have digital receivers may still lose some of their TV signals when digital-only broadcasts begin next February, according to one new study. Data compiled by Centris, a Los Angeles-based research firm, shows that gaps in broadcast signals could leave as many as 5.9 million TV sets unable to receive as many channels as they did before the changeover. And it may even affect viewers who bought government-approved converter boxes or new TVs. Still, to keep broadcast reception, many may have to buy new outdoor antennas, the study finds. The federal government …

U.S. TV broadcasters look to Britain for fresh programming ideas, with both NBC and ABC competing to adapt BBC reality series "Who Do You Think You Are?" Meanwhile, the Peacock Network is adapting British car-culture series "Top Gear," along with reality show "The Baby Borrowers." And David E. Kelley is making a pilot for ABC based on British series "Life on Mars," that stars a "politically incorrect" cop who works with a time-traveler. The U.K.'s ITV is also gearing up for a big presentation to the U.S. market, and independent production companies in Britain are in talks …

For years, non-cable religious television has been relegated to early Sunday morning as paid programming, heavy on the sermons. Now, a firm called Faith & Values Media is trying to break new ground with new "family-friendly" content based on various spiritual tenets that it is producing for networks and stations, along with the Web. F&V is owned by the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, which started two decades back as cable network Vision Interfaith Satellite Network and eventually became the Hallmark Channel. But it has now morphed into a syndicator and distributor. Among recent fare: "The Unusual Miss Nightingale: …

NBC will give Oxygen two hours of gymnastics and other sports each weeknight during its coverage of next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing -- a huge coup for the female-focused cable net. (NBC U bought Oxygen late last year.) And Stacey Shepatin, a media buyer with Hill, Holliday in Boston, notes that Oxygen's two weeks of Olympic programming are "the kind of high-visibility event that the network could use as leverage" to get cable operators and satellite distributors to pay up when its contracts come up for renewal. Currently, the fees Oxygen garners are among the lowest …

According to a study by the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Asian Americans will represent $528 billion in spending power by 2009 but, they are under-served by most advertisers. Hispanics may make up the largest minority in the U.S. but there are still 13.5 million Asian Americans, or 5% of the total U.S. population, according to Census Bureau figures. Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco have the highest Asian populations. A 2005 study by Package Facts notes that computers and Internet, home electronics and automobiles are more likely to be owned by Asian Americans than other ethnic groups. …