In the wake of the broadcast networks' poor April and May ratings, the tide has turned. Through the first eight weeks of summer, the Big Five broadcast networks were drawing 1.2 million more viewers per night than last summer. They also have been averaging the same cumulative 1.6 18-49 demo rating as they did last summer, per Nielsen. "What could have been a catastrophic situation has turned into a relatively good summer," says Brad Adgate, director at Horizon Media. The improvement will allow the networks to catch up with makegoods they owe before the start of the new …

Wal-Mart is readying a new interactive version of its in-store digital TV and signage network, dubbed the Wal-Mart Smart Network. Improvements include moving the TV screens much closer to eye level and incorporating the screens into product displays. The upgrade will also provide interactive digital screens in the health and beauty departments, where shoppers can get product information and refine their product choices. The interactive program is similar to a test Wal-Mart is conducting with Procter & Gamble that modifies the online recommendation content for Olay for You products for use in stores.

"The Dark Knight" became the first film to surpass $300 million in 10 days. The Time Warner release took in $76 million in ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, giving it $314 million since its July 18 debut, per Media By Numbers. The revenue helped Warner Bros. vault from last place among Hollywood's six major studios to second with 2008 sales of $789 million as of July 24. "This could reach $400 million in 18 days. No film has ever done that before," notes an analyst. "The Dark Knight," starring the late Heath Ledger as the …

Unfortunately for publishers and other media companies, it is getting a lot more common for advertisers to rethink and renege on supposedly done ad buys. Besides the sour economy and more competition, the rising number of innovative deals that can seem strange to a new CMO or agency are triggering the changes. In a high profile case, Dell and its new agency, Enfatico, are reconsidering expensive back-cover buys with Forbes, BusinessWeek and the Economist, which were supposed to last as long as three years. "Many years ago, you held clients to a deal come hell or high …

The news and data company Thomson Reuters is planning to start a television news channel that will run on a cable or digital platform and the Internet as early as January 2009. The new channel would compete directly with Bloomberg and CNBC. Late last week, the company opened a television studio in its New York newsroom in preparation for the push into the TV business news business. In May, Thomson announced it would eliminate about 140 existing news positions and add about 50 jobs for upcoming projects that closely integrate its news, video and picture operations.

Football fans will soon be able to log on to the Internet to watch top professional games, and the sports world will be able to see how online access to games affects TV viewership. For the first time, the NFL and NBC Sports will widely distribute complete games live on the Internet in the U.S. They plan to stream 17 regular-season games, mostly Sunday night match-ups. It is a tentative step, covering only games that air on NBC. The plan excludes the league's playoffs and the Super Bowl, which airs on NBC next year.

Antony Young, president of Optimedia, studies which superhero movie packed the biggest media punch. The marketing behind both the Hollywood franchises was a critical ingredient in their box office success, but they each took very different media strategies. Batman wins, barely. Young concludes that "The Dark Knight" displayed innovation, particularly on the Web, and was "much savvier in its PR efforts." The unexpected death of Heath Ledger also significantly boosted awareness of the film, and was handled gracefully. "Iron Man," on the other hand, did "amazing" things with a smaller budget, using promotions particularly well.