Tapping the growing segment of out-of-home media, cooking magazine Everyday with Rachael Ray is giving airtime on flat-screen TVs in supermarkets to print advertisers that make a minimum three-page commitment. For two clients, Kraft and the Almond Board, the magazine created 30-second vignettes featuring food celebrities showcasing their products. In one, restaurateur Nikki Cascone uses Kraft products to make tiramisu. Each segment ends with a shot of the magazine. The promos are airing for one week in December in the produce aisles of Albertsons stores nationwide. CBS Outernet, which is selling the inventory to the magazine, says …

CNBC is seeing record ratings, thanks to everyone from office drones to stay-at-home moms tuning in to monitor the nation's financial meltdown--and its effect on the value of their 401(k) accounts. So far, the network is up 66% in views for the fourth quarter compared to last year-and that's not counting viewers in offices, airport lounges and health clubs. But as the network enjoys its new visibility it is also in the process of slashing as much as 10% from its budget. The cuts are part of a $500 million across-the-board slash at NBC Universal. Execs worry that …

An increasing number of marketers are using barter advertising -- a tactic once-considered a last resort. Excess inventory has become a common problem for marketers, and they are talking openly with their agencies about their barter know-how, even incorporating it into the RFP process. Barter involves clients exchanging unsold goods, services and assets, such as real estate leases on closed stores, for ads. Most deals involve cash and credit for media time and space that are swapped for unsold client inventories. Several holding companies have in-house firms handling this, including IPG's Magna Global Trading and Omnicom's Icon International. …

HBO is charging viewers $55 for the Dec. 6 boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. It is also lining up sponsors that will offer rebates on that fee, so fans could end up paying little to nothing to see the fight. It's one way HBO is trying to get around a rough economy. Two sponsors are effectively underwriting the event, each offering $20 rebates that can be applied to a subscriber's cable TV bill. Consumers who purchase a 12-pack of Tecate beer in one of 4,500 participating retail outlets will be eligible for a …

Entertainment networks are increasingly diving into video gaming, with its multiple platforms and revenue streams. While youth-oriented cable outlets like MTV are leading the charge, even Lifetime is betting on games. Industry execs hope gaming can drive ancillary dollars and eyeballs during a downturn, as well as eventually stand on its own as a key strategy. Games also provide a great marketing tool for networks and vice versa. MTV Networks is developing a TV show based on its "Rock Band" game with reality-TV guru Mark Burnett, while Lifetime had success with a game based on its vampire …

Fragmenting media and smaller budgets mean more TV ads are running over and over, and consumers seem to be getting fed up. Case in point: a Facebook group of about 9,000 people organized recently to stop Toyota's ubiquitous no-interest payment options ad from playing. Recent complaints about repetitive ads should alarm both agencies and media outlets because it means that the commercial break -- so easily avoided with a DVR -- is getting even less appealing to viewers looking for entertainment during tough times. Consumers have grown much more sensitive to multiple showings of the same commercial, …

This year saw growth in advertising revenue for Spanish-language television slow down from double digits to a mere 0.3% in the first eight months of 2008, to $2.11 billion, per TNS. The outlook for next year is only a little brighter. "I think we'll see 2% or 3% growth [in Spanish-language TV] in 2009," says José Cancela, principal of marketing communications firm Hispanic USA. Top developments that will impact that growth rate include the courthouse showdown Jan. 6 between the nation's largest Spanish-language media company and its programming supplier Grupo Televisa. The outcome of the trial could strip Univision …