The NFL is spending more and asking sponsors to ramp up their game to make sure that football ad revenue doesn't get lost in the economic downturn. The regular season kickoff is not until Sept. 10, but an ad campaign has begun airing in preseason games. The NFL is trying to make sure people are back in front of TV sets so that marketers have a reason to advertise. Mark Waller, NFL senior vp, says the networks realize "how important football is for the collective TV universe." The NFL and marketing partners combined will spend about $40 million, …

ESPN says its new U.K. network may draw millions of viewers to the Premier League soccer matches that start this weekend. The network vows to "bring the same level of excitement" to England that it brings to Monday Night Football fans in the United States. The U.S. sports network is increasing broadcasts worldwide and has started 45 channels to carry cricket, rugby and hockey internationally. The soccer series "is the most relevant, important sports product in the market," says Russell Wolff, ESPN International executive. ESPN will air 46 Premier League matches this season starting Aug. 15. It …

Repeats of "The Late Show with David Letterman" topped new episodes of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" in total viewers and households by a slight margin for the week ending August 7, per Nielsen. However, NBC is quick to point out that "The Tonight Show" won by a sizable margin among people 18-49. Although it targets a different demographic and is not a comedy program, ABC News' "Nightline" beat both the "Late Show" and "Tonight Show" handily among total viewers that week. "Nightline" has been something of a wild card in the equation, drawing excellent total viewership numbers …

Medical supply distributor Cardinal Health has launched the Pharmacy Health Network, an in-store digital network to reach retail pharmacy customers at the point of purchase. Content airing on the network's LCD screens will include programming from NBC Digital Health Network and weather segments provided by AccuWeather, along with ads from drug, over-the-counter, consumer health and health-care related companies. Technology for the network is from Real Digital Media. Retailers can also use the network for local information, such as in-store specials and health screenings. Of the 5,000 pharmacies served by Cardinal Health, more than 700 have signed up for …

Worldwide set-top box shipments will grow to 200 million by 2013, says a new report from Parks Associates. Thanks to more demand for high-definition TV, DVR and interactive services, set-top box shipments will see a 36% cumulative average annual growth rate, according to Parks. A major driver for new set-top box shipments is the move to expand digital offerings. "Comcast, Time Warner Cable and all the leading MSOs have set aside considerable amount of their capital expenditures to provide digital to analog converts," says Parks analyst Jayant S. Dasari. That push to reclaim analog bandwidth will also help …

Discovery Communications is joining Comcast's OnDemand Online trial, with content to be made available this week. For the first time, Discovery will release a selection of full-length episodes of its shows the day after the shows air on TV. Included is "Man Vs. Wild" and the world premiere of "Swords." Past episodes of "Storm Chasers" will also be available a week after airing. Discovery has been more explicit than rivals about the precise nature of the content it is willing to release and its ideas for how that product ought to be windowed. CBS, for instance, has not …

Journalism Online, the company that plans to help publishers monetize content, has signed 176 daily newspapers as affiliate partners. In total, more than 500 papers, magazines and other sites have agreed to join Journalism Online -- representing more than 90 million monthly unique users. Publishing affiliates will be able to select their own pay models. Journalism Online is offering a variety of options, including technology that allows for micropayments, sampling, the ability to turn off the system at will, and the ability to convert users from micropayments to subscriptions. The executives of Journalism Online figure that by focusing …

NBC Sports and the Universal Sports television channel have cemented a deal to air the biggest USA Gymnastics events through 2012. Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, focuses on Olympic-related and lifestyle sports. NBC Sports has broadcast the Summer Olympics since 1988 and the Winter Olympics since 2002. The net says it will continue covering major USA Gymnastics' events, such as the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

The Economist has launched a single copy subscription service in the U.K. that allows readers to order just one copy of the magazine for home delivery the next day. Readers can place an order online or via text message for a copy of the latest issue of the weekly publication. The cost of the delivered magazine is the same as the newsstand price. "Economist Direct presents a fundamental shift in how we think about more casual readers," says Isaac Showman, marketing manager. "We believe it's the first such service offered by any newspaper or magazine." The service …

Even though the start of the third season of "Chuck" is several months away, NBC has launched a new Web site for the program -- separate from its more traditional site. NBC's ChuckMeOut experiment aims to discover how to keep goosing the interest of any program's hard-core fans throughout the year. The line between watching a show on TV and keeping up with it online "is going to be blurred more and more and more," says Vivi Zigler, NBC Universal executive. The new site reaches out to other fan sites and features videos from appearances at the recent …