Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is being hyped with huge messages plastered around all four sides of Madison Square Garden in New York and with giant double-billboard promos throughout Los Angeles and in Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and elsewhere. Airports are also targeted in several hub markets. Major billboard "dominations" are a key part of Spielberg's media strategy to scream event picture, says Steve Siskind, Paramount executive. Paramount says it is the first time anyone has employed multiple billboards for a single movie message. Splashy L.A. signage also includes a building …

John Malone's Liberty Media Corp. and IAC/Interactive Corp. said late Tuesday that they have resolved their legal dispute regarding IAC's proposed restructuring, putting an end to a feud between media moguls John Malone and Barry Diller. Liberty will drop its appeal of a March 28 decision that said it could not proceed with its attempt to prevent the proposed spinoffs of IAC into five separate, publicly traded companies. "This removes a logjam threatening to hold up the spinout," says analyst Jeffrey Lindsay, "It is a great outcome for IAC."

NBC Universal's Bravo emerged as the most "gay-friendly" company in a survey from Prime Access and PlanetOut. Following Bravo are Apple, Showtime and HBO. More than half of gay consumers polled lauded Bravo, which has featured gay personalities in "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Working Out." Of the companies perceived as not gay-friendly, none was in the media sector. The poll also found that the media was most likely to shape consumer perceptions relating to gay-friendliness. Friends, company advertising and family came second.

HBO is putting the finishing touches on a deal to sell its programs on Apple's iTunes with flexible pricing. HBO insiders say the new service will be launched and formally announced in a week or two. The agreement is a strategic coup for both companies: Apple is trying to increase sales and awareness of its Apple TV device, and HBO wants to profit from its archive of old episodes. In the past, HBO has been notoriously slow to offer content through new media, and the arrangement with Apple is due to pressure from HBO's parent Time Warner and …

Each of the major broadcast networks, except for Fox, has seen its audience shrink this season, mainly because of a sharp increase in time-shifting. People are watching shows when they want to, thanks to TiVos, streaming video online and cable video on demand. The linear broadcasts favored by advertisers are in decline. Accenture consultant David Wolf says that prime-time TV might become a television relic. "The days of the 'lineup' are numbered," he warns. But the change also means that powerhouse shows can be scheduled at the same time with little damage to any of them. As …

Television networks are increasingly using branded-entertainment to distribute corporate-responsibility campaigns and to create deep relationships with "do-gooder consumers." For instance, MTV is running an MTV-branded music video decrying sweatshop labor and plans to release a branded animated film against human trafficking. Others using this tactic include Boost Mobile, the Microsoft Network and Virgin Mobile USA. Branded content "creates an emotional bond with the consumer and the brand message that a 30-second ad can't," said Bill Hilary, president of Magna Global Entertainment. Gayle Troberman, digital marketing guru at Microsoft, says social responsibility branded-entertainment marketing: "is going to be the …

The June issue of Budget Travel magazine will feature 324 contributors and be totally user-generated, save for a top-40 "best deals" list. In a grand experiment, the magazine solicited some 2,800 pitches from readers, according to editor Erik Torkells. "Let's be perfectly clear," he wrote in a blog post for Folio magazine, "Making this issue was neither cheap nor easy." The special issue is designed to address readers' growing tendency to turn to each other for advice and information. "In the future," Torkells says, "love it or hate it, an editor's role will be to lead a conversation, …

Harry McCracken, PC World editor in chief, announced his retirement in June from the venerable computer magazine he has led for 14 years. He says his departure has nothing to do with any disagreement with the executives of PC World parent company IDG. Last year, McCracken quit and was rehired in a dispute over editorial independence. "This is about challenging myself, starting with a new brand," he says. He is starting a Web site that will feature product reviews, but did not provide further details.