• Headless Horseman? Broadcast Nets Trying Hard To Promote New Shows
    Broadcast networks are trying some creative tactics to promote their new shows  -- including having "a Headless Horseman stalk[ing] a Manhattan street to sell the new Fox series 'Sleepy Hollow,'" writes Bill Carter. Still, it's tougher than ever to make a dent in the clutter, with many series premiering this week. "It is harder in part because the broadcast networks try what now seems to be a preposterous feat every September — introducing dozens of new series at the same time," writes Carter. "The cable networks, which now win most of the accolades, focus on just one new show at …
  • Emmys Takeaway: Surprising Wins, But No Netflix Sweep
    Two takeaways for TV biz watchers from last night's Emmys broadcast: 1) Despite its 14 nominations, new-guy-on-the-content-block's  Netflix only got one win, for "House of Cards" director David Fincher, not upsetting the usual total of cable-heavy wins.And 2)There were many upsets last night -- from the lack of love for "Breaking Bad" actors (Jeff Daniels for "The Newsroom" instead of Bryan Cranston?) to the delightful (for us, at least) surprise of watching comedienne/character actress Merritt Weaver win for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and deliver one of the shortest, funniest thank-you speeches on record (literally, …
  • Toyota Targets Auto Early Adopters With DirecTV
    Toyota is using dynamic advertising to target "tech-savvy early adopters in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego," on DirecTV with a "new tool that combs satellite-TV subscriber data," according to Bloomberg reporters. This tool is among the changes that "threaten to upend a decades-old system of delivering commercials over TV airwaves to large slices of the population, many of whom have little interest in the products." There's more on targeted TV ads on this post.
  • Nielsen Approved For Arbitron Purchase
    Nielsen received Federal Trade Commission approval on Friday for the TV ratings giant's purchase of radio rating company Arbitron for $1.6 billion. To stave off antitrust concerns, "Nielsen had agreed to sell and license some assets related to Arbitron's cross-platform as a condition of approval," writes Diane Bartz.
  • WSJ Parts Ways With AllThingsD Founders
    Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal will part ways with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, founders of the popular tech blog All Things Digital. The Wall Street Journal will retain the AllThingsD brand. The Journal intends to increase its tech coverage by hiring additional staff and increasing its conference business.
  • Ex-NYT Correspondent Moving To Abu Dhabi Daily
    Hassan M. Fattah, the former New York Times correspondent who went on to lead an ambitious but controversial Middle East newspaper,The National, is now moving on from his editorship of the five-year-old Abu Dhabi daily, according to sources familiar with the matter. Speculation that Fattah had either resigned from or been pushed out ofThe National, which is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, has been swirling in recent weeks. But his departure appears to have been confirmed in a series of personal emails that were leaked to Fattah's newsroom employees today, several of which were obtained by Capital.
  • Cartoon Network, Ferrero Won't Food Market To Kids
    Ferrero USA, a subsidiary of the global chocolate and confectionery company, which makes such products as Nutella and Tic Tac, pledged not to advertise to children under 12. The company joins other members of the CFBAI, including Coke,  the Hershey Co., and Mars, which also do not direct ads to kids. On the media side, Cartoon Network pledged it would not license its characters to food companies unless they meet the CFBAI's nutrition standards for marketing food to kids. The health push is led by Michelle Obama who is trying to corral food companies and networks to help lower obesity …
  • Is Mental Floss Blurring Line Between Editorial, Advertising?
    Over the summer, Mental Floss asked its online readers what kinds of tricks or skills would they like to learn as part of the magazine's "How To" series. It then turned those ideas into posts, paid for by Dos Equis, which also had four display ads on each page. There are many publications that have been experimenting with so-called native advertising - some as venerable as The Atlantic, Forbes and The New Yorker. But because of its less-newsy, entertainment-oriented content, Mental Floss has been more prepared than others to blur the lines between sales and editorial.
  • Dish Defeats ABC in Court Over AutoHop Technology
    Dish Network scored a victory in court against ABC regarding Dish’s AutoHop ad skipping technology. On Wednesday, a federal judge in New York denied ABC’s motion to stop AutoHop. That same judge also denied Dish’s motion to deny CBS from unwinding its retrans agreement. “Dish's battle with ABC could further escalate at the end of September, when its carriage deal with Disney/ABC TV Group expires,” said Adage “It is expected Disney will use the Hopper as a point of contention during negotiations.”
  • 'Bonnie & Clyde' Airs On A&E Trio Networks
    Who says crime doesn't pay? For the first time, the four-hour miniseries "Bonnie & Clyde" on A&E will be simulcast on its family of networks: Lifetime, A&E and History.
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