Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films has entered into an exclusive pact with HBO to develop and produce scripted series, documentaries and other programs for the cable channel. The deal comes at the end of Harpo's exclusive two-year contract with ABC, which resulted in only one program: "Mitch Albom's For One More Day." "There are natural limitations to being on network TV, including ratings and commercial sponsorship," says Harpo president Kate Forte. Winfrey is also readying the launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network, a cable channel she co-owns with Discovery Networks. Forte said OWN's strategy of nonscripted programming is …

As marketers pull back on ad spending, they're more likely to concentrate their resources with magazine companies whose assets can help make up for the reduced ad budget. Many want media companies to become marketing partners, replacing work done by in-house people who have been laid off. Advertisers now prefer a single, central point of contact at a media company, per research by Advertiser Perceptions. "We really want to concentrate on a few properties where we can make the most of that property," says Stephanie Gallo, VP-marketing at Gallo. The trick for media companies making their own …

MTV will expand its original programming in the first quarter by launching a two-hour block of new content on Sundays at 9 p.m. and adding original shows Monday and Thursday nights. The network has given the go-ahead to nine new programs aimed at its 12-to 34-year-old target, including shows from Donald Trump, Nick Lachey, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Johnny Knoxville. The new Sunday night block is centered around "entrepreneurship, ambition and enterprise with attitude," says programming executive vice president Tony DiSanto. The fresh programming reflects a young generation of "adventure capitalists, who live, work and play on their own …

Uptown, a luxury lifestyle magazine targeting affluent African Americans, is set to increase its circulation, frequency and launch a regional edition in North Carolina. Beginning in February, the quarterly will go bimonthly and up its rate base from 125,000 to 200,000. The company will also roll out a Charlotte-based edition early next year. The city has some 40,000 upscale African Americans, making it a "prototype for the Uptown sense of style and substance," says Len Burnett, Uptown CEO. The magazine already publishes local editions in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. While luxury publishers have been feeling …

Cable providers are trying to calm the fears of legislators concerned about confusion during the digital TV transition. The providers will not move any of their analog channels to digital tiers until March unless they also offer free converter boxes. In letters to congressional leaders, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association says the move is designed to lessen consumer confusion. ,br> The proposal is aimed at consumers who get cable but not digital cable. Here's how it works. After the digital transition on Feb. 17, those consumers wouldn't be able to watch some channels on older secondary TV sets …

Weatherproof Garment is hoping to use the Super Bowl's hefty advertising price tag -- about $3 million for 30 seconds -- to draw attention to itself. The marketer is proposing to divvy up a 30-second spot with nine other advertisers. Each company would pay $300,000 for three seconds. The small apparel company sent its three-second offer to 100 companies without finding a taker. Undaunted, it spent $3,000 on an ad in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal looking for potential partners. "Attention deficit growing ... Say It Short -- Say It Fast!" the ad urges, above a picture of a …

Politico and Reuters have forged a deal that will allow clients of the new Politico Network access to Reuters material. Politico Network has signed up 107 clients, including 67 newspapers. Clients use the news content primarily on their Web sites next to ads. Revenue from the ads is then split with Politico. Now Reuters will also get a piece of the ad revenue. Each Politico client will be able to use 10 Reuters stories and 10 Reuters photos a day. For the first six months, they will also be able to use Reuters content in their print papers, …

Two years ago, many magazines started offering eco-friendly, green-themed issues. But the economic downturn and slowing newsstand sales have prompted some publishers to pull the plug on those projects in 2009. Among them: Condé Nast's Domino, Time Inc.'s Sunset and Mariah Media's Outside. Editors insist that readers are still interested in green themes, but in a limited way. For instance, Hachette Filipacchi Media's Elle -- which made a statement by publishing its green issue on recycled paper this year -- plans a water-themed issue in '09. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter says he may not devote his …