Broadcasting & Cable
Viacom has "merged the television, digital and mobile ad sales teams at its music and entertainment networks," writes Jon Lafayette. "Under the new structure, three executives who had been senior VP’s of digital ad sales will have new roles."
Advertising Age
Acxiom has signed a multi-year deal with Starcom MediaVest Group, aiming "to develop new applications for the system, such as targeting TV advertising," writes Kate Kaye. The partnership is reportedly the first time the data company has formed a relationship with an agency.
The Hollywood Reporter
Top media and entertainment execs "have turned more bullish on the economic outlook and expect more merger and acquisition activity" in the new year, writes Georg Szalai, reporting on an EY survey. One of "the more surprising results" of the study, according to EY (Ernst & Young's new brand name): less of a gap in the prices that "potential sellers and buyers see for industry companies," writes Szalai.
Beet.TV
The number of monthly views of videos on the New York Times web site has doubled in a year, according to comScore data. The paper is gearing up for more growth by "staffing up its video editorial and business operations," and expects to "soon have syndication agreements with big portals and syndicators," writes Andy Plesser.
New York Post
Ad buyers are distinctly underwhelmed by the changes Jeff Zucker has made in his eleven months at the helm of CNN, according to this post. "Some executives were surprised at the glacial pace of change Zucker has brought to the embattled network, while others urged the veteran programmer to warm up to greater change and take risks," writes Claire Atkinson.
CNN Money
Less than a year after
Newsweek's previous owners announced they were publishing its last-ever dead-trees issue, "IBT Media, the obscure media company that
bought [the pub] in August," now says it "will revive the magazine's print edition early next year, possibly as soon as January," writes Brian Stelter. "Subscriber revenues will cover expenses," according to the book's editor in chief, because "we won't charge less than it costs to produce." This is the third recent news item from a weekly magazine. Previously,
New York mag said it was going biweekly, and
The Week announced it was increasing …
Gigaom
Time Warner Cable is the second cable operator to start offering cheaper bundles. Similar to a package introduced by Comcast in October, Time Warner's Starter TV with HBO program features access to 20 networks, including local broadcasters in HD, as well as HBO and HBO Go, for $30 a month.
Mediabistro
Wisconsin will be the next launch target for controversial streaming TV service Aereo, which will expand into 11 of the state's counties by early next year.
Advertising Age
The Week will be adding three issues to its current 48-edition yearly run in 2014, contrary to current publishing trends and to New York magazine's very-recent announcement that it would move to biweekly publication. Though the number of The Week's print ad pages "declined 21.2% this year, according to the Media Industry Newsletter," its publisher says it "is less susceptible to declines in advertising because 65% of its revenue stems from circulation," writes Michael Sebastian.
The Wall Street Journal
Neetzan Zimmerman's unfailing ability to pick viral stories to post on Gawker has "been held up as either craven pandering or a model for news businesses struggling to sustain journalism online. Or both," writes Farhad Manjoo. So Manjoo asks Zimmerman to share his secrets: "a deep connection to his audience's evolving, irreducibly human, primal sensibilities," writes Manjoo.