FX's "The Americans" was renewed for a second season after just four episodes aired. The complex, hour-long drama -- about a couple of KGB spies in deep cover as a U.S. suburban family during the 1980s -- has won both critical praise and high ratings.

Last night, after Jon Stewart interviewed Steven Brill about his long, lauded Time cover story on healthcare costs, Stewart noted, "I'm going to say something I've never said before: 'Go out and buy the latest issue of Time magazine.'" (or words to that effect). Apparently Brill made other TV appearances to discuss the piece, which was also originally slated to appear on the cover of the first issue of the revamped The New Republic, according to Christine Haugney. We've never seen a journalist get so much media attention for a single magazine article. But it seems sad that what should …

Adopting the guidelines used by NBCUniversal, "Comcast Spotlight, the local sales arm of the cable giant, will no longer accept ads for guns," writes Katy Bachman.

The British weekly magazine The Economist may offer an audio-only subscription, building on "the popularity of [its] audio edition and podcasts," writes Sarah Marshall. Apparently "people even listen to The Economist while swimming."

Ads during ABC's Oscars broadcast on Sunday are priced at the highest levels since 2008: $1.65 million to $1.8 million for a 30-second spot, as compared to the $1.7 million rate five years ago, writes Stuart Elliott. "Demand was the strongest 'in over a decade,' said Debbie Richman, senior vice president for prime-time ABC sales, with commercial time, 'for all intents and purposes,' sold out." While many companies are rolling out high-level Super-Bowl-quality ads, as Elliott notes, some viewers will be seduced by the new lure of second screens during the broadcast. ABC itself presents a list of …

Nielsen will expand the definition of TV viewing it measures, rolling out "a comprehensive plan to capture all video viewing including broadband and Xbox and iPads," according to unnamed sources cited by Alex Ben Block. By September Nielsen will implement tools measuring viewership on streaming and over-the-top services, on TV-enabled game systems and, in a limited way, tablet devices. A second phase, with "the overall goal to attempt to capture video viewing of any kind from any source," will roll out more slowly.

Bad news about the current TV season: not only are there few new hits, but "many veteran shows are also performing poorly," writes Joe Flint. "So far this season, only a handful of returning programs are doing better than they were last season" -- including, of course, the hotter-than-ever "Big Bang Theory." Otherwise, such shows as Fox's "New Girl," CBS' "The Mentalist" and ABC's "Once Upon A Time" are tracking weak ratings. NBC did experience some rising ratings,  but mostly in the fall.

NBC's "The Biggest Loser" is using Pinterest for a second-screen campaign in which viewers can access instructional content keyed to the episode they're watching, such as healthful recipes of dishes that contestants are eating. It's a move away from Twitter to a social platform where the show apparently has 41,000 followers.

For magazine publishers, being an iconic brand "is not a business model,"  notes Jeff Bercovici in Forbes. "To judge from the body count in recent years, 'iconic' is more nearly a synonym for 'screwed,'” he notes, citing the recent bad news for such magazines as Reader's Digest, which just filed for bankruptcy.  "As with ships, the bigger a brand gets, the more time-consuming and expensive it becomes to change course, and the less willing anyone is to shoulder the responsibility for steering a new one." Meanwhile, the iconic Playboy is trying to steer a new course, one …

Fox will partner with YouTube's WIGS, a female-targeted drama video channel, in a multi-year deal whose terms were not disclosed. The network "essentially will leverage WIGS as a sort of content incubator, developing standalone series for [Fox's] own digital outlets and, quite possibly, the prime time roster," writes Anthony Crupi. The deal "comes as broadcasters continue to try to look for an alternative to the insanely expensive tradition of pilot season."