Fox's Feb. 6 Super Bowl XLV broadcast will feature no fewer than 20 automotive spots, accounting for nearly one-third of the event's 63 total avails and far surpassing that of any previous Super Bowl. Fox's auto inventory is particularly impressive when one stops to consider that only six car clients suited up for Super Bowl XLIV (CBS), double what NBC was able to round up for its presentation of Super Bowl XLIII. Leading the way are some returning favorites (General Motors), a long-time holdout (BMW) and one luxury marque that is coming into the big game for …

Seeking to understand the cutting of cable cords, ESPN has waded into the Nielsen Company's audience sample and concluded that the cancellations are currently a "very minor" phenomenon. The sports network's study provides a new answer, or at least a new set of data, to the question: How many Americans are dropping their costly cable subscriptions and watching TV on the Internet instead? This action, often called cord-cutting, has happened in 0.28 percent of households in the United States in the last three months, ESPN found in a study. Offsetting those losses, though, 0.17 percent of households that had …

Magazine publishers are pouring money into apps, seduced by the notion that tablet computers can open a new avenue to make money from their content. But will they ever make it back? wonders Brandweek. There are only 8 million iPads in circulation (so far the only interactive tablet on the market) and the audience is currently too small to attract serious ad dollars. David Link, creative director at apps developer The Wonderfactory, said magazines are spending as much as $500,000 in upfront costs and hiring three to five staffers-and in some cases up to 10 people-to provide ongoing design, …

NBC's Universal Sports channel will air action from rugby's 2010-2011 HSBC Sevens World Series. The competition, which features the game's lightning-fast seven-per-side version, as opposed to the usual 15-per side, begins Saturday, December 4 on the Web, with rugby action early next year airing on TV February 12-13. The Sevens World Series features the top national teams in the world, including those representing England, New Zealand and South Africa, competing in far-flung locales, such as Dubai and Hong Kong, on various weekends. Teams accumulate points based on their performance each weekend. Samoa won last year's competition.

Here's a message TV viewers may not want to mute: The days of getting blasted out of the easy chair by blaring TV commercials may soon be over. The House on Thursday gave final congressional approval to a bill that would prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume to catch the attention of viewers wandering off when regular programming is interrupted. Under the legislation, now heading to President Barack Obama for his signature, the Federal Communications Commission would be required within one year to adopt industry standards that coordinate ad decibel levels to those of the regular program. …

BMW North America is returning to the Super Bowl after a 10-year hiatus, as the car maker enters one of the busiest periods of launches in its history. Between 2010 and 2011, over 60% of its total inventory will be new vehicles: the new BMW 6 Series coupe and convertible models, the 5 Series sedan, the 2011 X3 sports utility vehicle, and the much-talked about ActiveE, BMW's electric car that bows next summer. The agency tasked to create the Super Bowl work will be MDC Partners' Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners. The KB selection suggests BMW could be plotting …

Foursquare, a mobile app that lets people share their location with friends, is working with production company Endemol USA ("Deal or No Deal") to create a television series. The companies signed an exclusive development deal to come up with a show in which Foursquare is "meaningfully integrated." Foursquare allows users to check in anywhere they go and see where their friends are hanging out. Users earn rewards in the form of virtual badges that show up on users' profiles once they've earned a certain number of check-in points or complete a task, such as riding a ferry. Users …

When Barry Diller informed his charges that he wanted to step down as chief executive of IAC/Interactive, the ecommerce company the media mogul built over the past 17 years, he made a confession. "I never thought I was a very good manager. I mean I am decent, but I want to go back to what I am good at, which is looking for opportunities to grow the business," Diller said. "Greg is a better manager than I am." Greg being Greg Blatt, 42, the newly named CEO of IAC. Diller also bought out Liberty Media's stake in IAC. The …

Imagine "Glee" without attention hog Rachel Berry, outspoken Kurt or ditzy Brittany. Well, a new crop of McKinley High students may be infiltrating New Directions sooner than you'd think. Less than halfway through its sophomore season, series co-creator Ryan Murphy is already looking to the future of the popular musical comedy. He says he plans to replace the current cast with new actors once their characters graduate at the end of 2012. "Every year we're going to populate a new group," Murphy says, according to Australian news website News.com.au. "There's nothing more depressing than a high schooler with …

Netflix is moving beyond movie rentals, making an aggressive play for in-season episodes of hit TV shows to expand its Web streaming service. The company is in talks with studios about gaining access to current episodes of prime-time shows and is willing to pay between $70,000 and $100,000 per episode, according to a person familiar with the matter. Netflix had no comment. Just last month, Netflix won a groundbreaking deal with NBC Universal to stream comedy show "Saturday Night Live" the day after it airs on the broadcast network. With Netflix ready to put its money where its …