• Cough, Cough: Ban On TV E-Cig Ads Likely Next Month
    It's currently legal for e-cigarettes to be advertised on TV, but that could change in October, when the Food and Drug Administration is likely to ban what's now "an emerging source of revenue for TV networks, where spending on e-cigarette commercials climbed 17.9% to 2012 from 2011," writes Michael Sebastian. "Big Tobacco's historic return to TV after more than 40 years" of the ban has also been mixed with "renewed print ad spending for tobacco, which has declined since the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998."
  • CBS Wins Raise, Total Digital Rights From Time Warner
    More details have come out about the Time Warner-CBS deal that ended the one-month blackout of the network on the cable operator, and it looks like CBS came out ahead:"Time Warner grudgingly gave in to CBS’ demands for total control over its programming distribution to online devices like iPads, phones and set-top boxes. Those steps promise to give it the ability to 'cut the cord' from cable companies," writes Don Kaplan. CBS also won "a hefty raise — TWC now will pay CBS around $2 for each subscriber, up from just $.50."
  • 'Homeland' Season 3 Premiere Leaked Via BitTorrent
    What looks like the critics' screener  version of the premiere episode of "Homeland" has been leaked over BitTorrent networks way in advance of its official Sept. 29 premiere. "The leak could cut both ways for Showtime, depending on your view of piracy," either cannibalizing subscriptions to the network or providing extra promotion for the show, writes Daniel Goldblatt.  "Last month, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes suggested he was actually glad to see “Game of Thrones” get pirated for exactly the latter reason".
  • 'Vanity Fair' Marks 100th Anniversary With Historical Digital Content
    Vanity Fair's celebration of its its sort-of 100th anniversary (though founded in 1903, there were many years when it was dark in the past century, with its current iteration launching in 1983) includes a print October issue with commemorative pieces by noted authors, but "it’s online where the editors are making the most noise around the anniversary, which will take over the landing page starting Wednesday," writes Erik Maza. Web content includes "two full digitized issues per decade from as far back as 1918" and 10 short films to appear on vf.com, the Condé Nast entertainment YouTube channel.
  • Target's Streaming Program Readying For Launch
    Target Ticket, the retailer's service for streaming TV and movie content on most any device, is getting ready for launch after beta-testing among employees and subscribers to Target's credit card/discount programs. With pricing competitive to iTunes, the program's TV content currently includes programs from ABC, AMC, CBS, CW, Fox, FX, HBO, The WB, NBC, Showtime, Starz, and USA.
  • CBS, Time Warner Cable Sign Deal, End Blackout
    CBS and Time Warner Cable have come to an agreement on carriage and transmission rights and ended the month-long CBS blackout on the cable operator Monday at 6 p.m. Though the terms of the deal were not made public, an internal CBS memo noted that the company was "receiving fair compensation for... content." "It's a win for both sides," writes Connor Simpson. "CBS was starring directly into a black hole of lost advertising dollars if they couldn't broadcast...[its new fall shows] to the 3.2 million people who subscribe to Time Warner Cable, while the cable company would …
Next Entries »
To read more articles use the ARCHIVE function on this page.