No. 1 Spanish-language TV broadcaster Univision could lose much of its current prime time programming as Mexico's Televisa is trying to end a 16-year-old exclusive license agreement in a spat over royalty payments. A 3-year-old lawsuit between the parties is set for a trial next month in federal court in Los Angeles and if Televisa prevails, Univision could be out 15 of its 20 hours of prime time programming per week, including an entire 7-10 p.m. telenovela block. The odds of a settlement, or after-the-verdict reconciliation, are looking pretty long. "I would be willing to bet my …

Ford is readying a new ad campaign to pump up its languishing North American business under the theme "Ford. Drive One." Developed under the guidance of new chief marketer James Farley, the effort was created by WPP's Team Detroit and replaces the automaker's "Bold Moves," approach. Ford CEO Alan Mulally has been trying to push a unified global brand message but before that happens, says one company insider, "we have to stop the bleeding in North America." Farley came to Ford from Toyota last fall, and "Drive One" sounds more retail-oriented. That's no accident as Farley has been …

GSD&M's Idea City has rolled out its first new campaign for John Deere after snaring the business nine months ago. The effort is themed "Everything we've learned goes into everything we do." The debut TV spot focuses on the company's experience in agricultural equipment and features images of combines slicing through large swaths of land before showing a fellow mowing his lawn. "John Deere in the past has really focused on very emotional work, which is something we are doing also, but in a slightly different way," says Lauren Hood, an account supervisor with GSD&M. The agency has …

The call girl scandal that brought down former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's has apparently prompted ABC News to greenlight a two-hour prime-time special on prostitution that will include Diane Sawyer at a legal brothel in Nevada. The "20/20" special, set to air Friday at 9 p.m. has been in the works for two years and had been expected to air in May or June before ABC moved it up. Says David Sloan, executive producer of ABC's newsmagazines, "It has taken a lot of time, and I think it's going to be very provocative." In the special, …

The owner of Georgi vodka says he is in discussions to put the rear-end of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's call girl on bus ads all over New York. Star Industries CEO Martin Silver, who owns U.S. rights to the brand, says his firm is talking to Ashley Dupre about accepting a low six-figure amount to be this year's Georgi "butt girl," an annual pinup the brand posts on the backs of city buses and the tops of taxicabs. One possibility is to create a brand called "No. 9," which was Spitzer's designation by the call-girl …

Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of NAB, says the organization is happy the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an FCC appeal of a lower court ruling that overturning its policy on "fleeting indecency." Wharton says the high court will "provide badly needed clarity to both broadcasters and policymakers on this critically important First Amendment case." Further, "we're confident that whatever the outcome of this case, local radio and television stations will be mindful of broadcasting's long history of providing programming that will reflect and respect the audiences that we serve." In June of 2007, the …

The Audit Bureau of Circulations is moving to overhaul the way it counts paid newspaper circulation, approving changes that will affect how publishers report starting in April 2009. Among the new changes is that newspapers will now be considered "paid" by ABC regardless of their price. Right now, the group breaks out paid circulation in three categories: copies where 50% or more of the cover price is paid, copies where 25% to 50% of the price is paid, and other, the last including employee, newspapers in education, hotels and third-party copies. Then, all three categories are rolled up into the …

Dish Network is asking a federal appeals court to rehear its patent dispute with TiVo, saying an earlier ruling in the latter's favor was based upon inaccurate testimony from a TiVo witness. Said ruling had overturned a lower court finding that Dish had infringed on the hardware elements of TiVo's patent -- and awarded $94 million in damages. But in a new petition, Dish claims an expert witness who testified for TiVo actually contradicted himself, meaning the verdict wasn't "supported by substantial evidence." If TiVo wins, it will boost the DVR firm's stance in negotiating power licensing deals …