• Tension Reported Between Fox, Glenn Beck
    News of tension between Glenn Beck and his network colleagues (and bosses) isn't new but Mark Leibovich New York Times Sunday Magazine article sheds new light on the extent to which Beck and Fox News have clashed. Leibovich reports that Ailes "has complained about Beck's hawking his non-Fox ventures too much on his Fox show" and doesn't appreciate that Fox News made him a sensation. It matters because Beck's ratings have softened over the last year, and advertisers are pulling their dollars away from the program. Leibovich writes that his show is considered "empty calories" in the TV …
  • Raimi's Stars Road Sets 3 TV Projects
    In its first development season since focusing on prime time TV with a first-look deal at Sony TV and the hire of CBS' Robert Zotnowski as TV head, Sam Raimi and Joshua Donen's Stars Road Entertainment has sold three hourlong projects to 3 networks, Fox, ABC and CBS. While the company plans to develop across all TV, the the primary focus leading into its first year "was to find early success (on broadcast)," said Zotnowski, who was SVP drama at CBS, co-heading the network's drama department before he left in August 2009 to join Stars Road. The auspices involved …
  • PGA Tour, GE In Sponsorship Talks
    General Electric is in discussions with the PGA Tour about a sponsorship package that could include title sponsorship of its developmental tour. Nationwide has been the title sponsor of the developmental tour for the last eight years. Its deal is set to expire after the 2012 season, and the Columbus-based insurance carrier notified the PGA Tour last month that it would not renew. If the tour and GE come to an agreement for the title sponsorship, the deal could begin before 2013. Nationwide pays $10 million annually for the title sponsorship. But the title sponsorship is not all …
  • Diller Steps Down As Live Nation Chairman
    IAC/InterActiveCorp Chief Executive Barry Diller has stepped down as chairman Live Nation Entertainment after a brief and controversial reign as chair of the struggling concert promoter and ticketing company. Diller became chairman of the group following the February merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment, the leading ticketing company in which he had a stake through IAC. At least one major Live Nation shareholder had initially expressed concern that Diller would be lead the merged company's board. Sam Shapiro, chairman of Atlanta-based Shapiro Capital Management, which holds around 6% of Live Nation's outstanding shares, was eventually convinced by …
  • Obama To Sign Video Description Bill
    Within two weeks, President Obama is expected to sign into law legislation authorizing the FCC to adopt rules mandating local TV broadcasters carry video descriptions for the blind. The measure, the Twenty-First Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act of 2010, was adopted by the Senate in August and passed the House last night. Once implemented, it would force the Big Four broadcast networks and their affiliates in the top 25 markets to provide four hours per week of prime time and children's programming with video descriptions. It exempts live or near live programming. These requirements will take effect one year …
  • Apple May Unveil Next iPad by June 2011
    Apple Inc., which sold more than 3 million iPads in the first 80 days after the tablet's debut, may introduce a new version in the second quarter of 2011, per Goldman Sachs Group. The new iPad with a 9.7 inch display may be thinner and lighter, with a built-in camera and mini USB drive. The iPad touchscreen computer has become one of Apple's top-selling products in its first year on the market. The tablet faces competition from similar products by Hewlett-Packard Co., Samsung Electronics Co. and Research In Motion Ltd., which unveiled a 7-inch device yesterday. Sales of such …
  • Analyst: NBC Network Is Worth 'Negative $600 Million'
    USA Network is the most valuable part of NBC Universal at $11.7 billion, but the NBC network is worth a negative $600 million, according to Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan. He also puts the value of the Universal studio arm at about $4 billion. According to the analyst, the NBC Universal cable networks make up 78% of NBC Universal's valuation. Thanks to the stronger-than-anticipated recovery in the advertising market, the total company is likely worth slightly more than $32.5 billion, he said. In the Comcast deal, NBC Universal was value at $30 billion. The negative $600 million value for …
  • Time Warner CEO says TV In Second Golden Age
    Jeff Bewkes said the number of television viewers was growing, paid-television penetration was increasing and advertising and subscription revenues were up. He urged the industry not to undervalue its content when making deals for digital distribution. "We've been attracting some company lately -- companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Sony, the list goes on and on," Bewkes said in a speech to Britain's Royal Television Society. Time Warner raised its full-year outlook last month after quarterly revenue grew at the fastest pace in two years, thanks to a surge in advertising sales at its cable networks and strong turnouts for …
  • Cause-Related Marketing Yields Good Results
    Cause-related marketing came into its own when the economy was faring well. But unlike some other fair-weather phenomena, consumers' interest in corporate support for worthy causes has not succumbed to the downturn of the past several years. A survey for Cone LLC, an Omnicom Group unit that specializes in the field, finds consumers still want companies to be engaged with good causes and will reward those that rise to the occasion. Whatever constraint the economy has put on consumers' inclination to make purchases that are linked to a cause, the activity is far more common now than it was …
  • Viacom's MTV Has Record Ratings For Younger Demos
    MTV's third-quarter ratings had its largest-ever year-over-year jump for its target 12-to-34-year-old audience, reflecting strong ratings from the Viacom Inc. unit for shows such as "Jersey Shore" and The 2010 "MTV Video Music Awards." MTV's third-quarter ratings for the 12-34 group jumped 30% from a year earlier, the network said. MTV's year-to-date ratings are up 14% from a year earlier. MTV has helped Viacom's media-networks operations, which account for about two-thirds of the parent company's revenue, boost both sales and earnings this year. MTV is planning more "Jersey Shore" this year, reports Reuters. The network is lining …
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