The real value of data to a company is starting to become an issue, as data becomes the core asset for many emerging media companies.

What tech devices are teens attracted to? Perhaps not the Apple Watch. A recent Piper Jaffray survey of 7,200 U.S. teens found that 7% of teens own a smartwatch, but a relatively modest 16% said they might buy an iWatch for $350, compared with 17% in the spring survey.

A half century TV tradition of Saturday morning cartoons came to an end this season. Kids have better things to do with their TV sets and tablets. Game on.

Bitly expanded its Certified Partner Program Wednesday by creating a vertical within the company to focus on tracking and analytics, naming Simply Measured and SumAll as the first platform companies to participate.

Social network Ello takes a principled stand against advertising and data brokering. The social nets had it coming, after a year of aggressively touting their own prowess as marketing tools. But Ello may prove to be yet another counter-cultural ripple easily absorbed into the digital "revolution."

Cross-channel is a consumer heartache. Juggling deals and offers across screens is frustrating and inefficient. Shoppers need seamlessness more than anyone.

Marketers covet accurate first-party data, but consumers have become more skeptical about providing the information. At Publishers Clearing House Digital, visitors browsing the Web site are happy to part with personal information for a chance to win big prizes, per Jason John, the division's first appointed CMO. The focus will turn the digital group into a media and entertainment network supported by mobile, social and new data capabilities.

The mobile ad network Todacell, Tel Aviv, will release research Wednesday that suggests matching the color in a mobile advertisement with a country's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita can improve click-through rates and return on investments. In tests by the company, CTRs rose up to 150% and ROI improved by up to 50% for ads running on its mobile ad serving platform.

When the creative and the media align, mobile display and video campaigns outperform desktop. But it takes discipline, Millward Brown argues in its latest research. Respecting the user's time, space and situation are all critical.

The agency MRY released a study this week that analyzed topics that will affect the future of connected cars: changing attitudes toward car ownership, interest in car sharing services, and the impact of connectivity on the automotive purchase.