Nexstar Broadcasting Group is known as the pioneering TV broadcaster that refused to give away its signals to cable operators for free. It announced this week that it expects to generate more than $75 million in revenue from retransmission agreements it reached in 2008. Early last year, Nexstar reported that approximately $23.5 million in agreements were up for negotiation. "The more than $75 million from the new consent agreements represents extraordinary growth," says Perry Sook, company CEO. The broadcaster, which owns or operates 52 TV stations, has renewed and reached new multi-year retransmission consent agreements with 179 …

In an interesting twist, the big direct mailer Valpak is using newspaper advertising -- not direct mail -- to peddle its services during the downturn. A new national newspaper ad campaign promotes its brand and product as "The original Consumer Stimulus Package." It is running full-page ads in 10 papers that cover 30 of its franchise markets. Valpak is a unit of Cox Enterprises, which is the parent of Cox Newspapers. The newspaper campaign is designed to help the company target what it calls "beleaguered business owners." Previously, the company has advertised primarily to consumers. Valpak says it …

Which cable networks would viewers refuse to give up? ESPN and Discovery Channel would be on the top of their list, according to a survey by Solutions Research Group. Last November, SRG asked 1,200 U.S. TV viewers which broadcast and cable channels they considered "must keep" if they had a limited set of channels. Viewers picked one or two broadcast networks first; their order of preference was ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 "must keep" channels in order were: ESPN, Discovery Channel, History, Sci Fi Channel, HBO and Food Network. Of the …

In the standoff between magazine publishers and a wholesaler that distributes their titles to the newsstand, the wholesaler blinked. Time Inc. has reached an agreement with Source Interlink to distribute its magazines. Source gave up its efforts to increase per-copy distribution fees by 7 cents, which Time refused to pay. The agreement effectively settles Source's antitrust lawsuit with Time Inc. and Time Warner Retail. Time was one of the first companies to say it would stop using Source to distribute its titles because of the new per-copy fee. Under the multi-year agreement, Time Inc. will not have to …

Chris Mitchell was named publisher of Conde Nast's Wired just last March. Now he has been named the new publisher at Conde Nast Traveler. Mitchell succeeds Lisa Hughes, who was named to take over sister magazine The New Yorker on Feb. 5. In his brief reign at Wired, Mitchell pushed to make the title more appealing to luxury and fashion advertisers beyond its core business and technology customers, saying Wired should project "less belt holster, more iPhone." Last year, ad pages fell 12.5% at i>Wired, 11.2% at Traveler and 26.8% at The New Yorker. In addition to …

Omnicom and its BBDO and PHD units will suffer most from the news that General Motors and Chrysler are to cut or scale back several automobile brands. Publicis's Leo Burnett and its media group will also suffer. Coming out of the fallout less lethally injured will be Interpublic, whose agency Deutsch handles Saturn and McCann Erickson, which handles Saturn. Jim Press, Chrysler vice chairman, says the automaker will eliminate the Dodge Durango and its sibling Chrysler Aspen on top of four car brands already planned to be cut -- the Dodge Magnum and Chrysler models Pacifica, Crossfire and PT …

Supergraphics and digital signs are among the new generation of public ads infuriating critics across the country who say the "billboard blight" distracts drivers, hurts the ambiance of streets and could hinder rescue crews. Kevin Fry, chief of anti-billboard group Scenic America, said Los Angeles has the worst billboard problem in the country. L.A. currently has a moratorium on new ads as the city considers banning digital billboards in most parts of neighborhoods and imposing limits on the number and size of traditional billboards. The city's planning commission is reviewing the proposed rules today. Past efforts largely collapsed after …

During a conference call Wednesday announcing Playboy's financial results, interim CEO Jerome Kern said the magazine is "open to discussions" about a sale and/or changes in its strategic direction. Playboy reported a year-end net loss of $156.1 million in 2008, compared to a net gain of $4.9 million during 2007. The majority of that loss came during the fourth quarter, which saw profit drop $145.7 million, partly due to impairment and restructuring charges. "Our financial performance is not reflective of [Playboy's] potential," Kern says. In recent months the company has "accelerated the pace of expense reduction to bring …

Newsweek is going to radically downsize its circulation, first to 1.9 million by July, and then to 1.2 million next year, and it will be adding more opinion to its coverage. The reason the weekly is shedding readers is that it lost an estimated $20 million last year and is on target to lose even more this year. The ad picture is equally bleak: Through the Feb. 16 issue, ad pages have plunged 38%, per the Media Industry Newsletter. "In mid-May, we'll be launching a new magazine," says editor Jon Meacham. "We'll be more opinionated, but we …

With Oscar producers promising a rethink of this year's program, execs at the Emmys are mulling their own prime-time shake-up. Facing what could be another brutal year for award-show ratings, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences may present fewer awards on air this year. It is an answer to critics who have blasted the Emmycast's bloat. Insiders say the ATAS wants to shuffle categories, such as TV movie, miniseries, reality and variety shows, out of the actual broadcast. Possibly they would be moved into a pre-show ceremony the same evening. Former Academy governor Stanley M. Brooks expresses …