Meanwhile in the UK (and all of Ireland), Netflix has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with MGM Studios to become the exclusive subscription streaming service for much of the studio's feature films.

Publicis and France Telecom-Orange are setting up venture capital fund to financial digital startups. The two companies said they would invest an initial $200 million and intend to invite undisclosed others to invest another $200 million.

Mediabrands' UM unit just announced it has wone the consolidated global media business for ExxonMobil. The consolidation covers all divisions including Corporate, Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties and Chemicals.

interclick, which was acquired earlier this week by Yahoo, just named Keith Kaplan to the new position of President and Chief Revenue Officer. Kaplan, who will oversee all revenue, sales and marketing, joins from Adconion Media Group, where he was president of North American operations.

With the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 just days away, retailers are looking to capitalize on the Call of Duty fan base in as many ways as possible. GameStop is kicking off its events at 8:00 pm on Monday, and is giving gamers a chance to play the new title in its stores, until the official release at midnight. And at two locations, Los Angeles (West Hollywood) and New York City (Union Square), it’s also hosting Midnight Warfare events, which will include members of the game’s development team.   The Grapevine, Tex.-based chain is also offering a …

Philips Electronics has divided its global media chores between MPG and the incumbent, Carat. MPG was awarded duties for the client's "Consumer Lifestyle" division in North and South America and Southern Europe. Carat retained chores for that elsewhere and also retained duties for the companies Lighting and Healthcare units globally. The company is expected to issue a release today, per sources.

Big brewer Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser, Bud Light, and other brands, selected Starcom to assist it with its internal media planning and research capabilities. Effective immediately, Starcom will help the brewer's in house media unit Busch Media Group, with research and planning duties for all the company's beer brands across national, local and digital media, the client said. It's the first time in recent memory that A-B has relied on outside help for media chores. And the brewer will continue to handle buying chores itself. "Starcom impressed us with their planning and research capabilities, investment in media planning tools and …

While worries about the economy didn’t keep shoppers out of stores in October, it did slow their spending. Monthly results for the nation’s largest retailers were generally positive, but more subdued than many expected. At Target, for example, same-store sales rose 3.3% for the month, and at Macy’s, they gained just 2.2%, the smallest year-over-year growth rate in recent months, as warmer-than-usual weather early in the month slowed coat sales, and snowy weather in the final weekend kept shoppers home.   Kantar Retail reports that same-store sales came in 3.9% higher in October, weaker than the 5.7% same-store sales gain …

ExxonMobil has awarded Interpublic Group's Universal McCann media duties on its $100 million-plus global assignment, sources report.

CBS is turning to Facebook and Twitter and its own stars to highlight November sweeps programming. TV's No. 1 network will kick off "CBS Social Sweep Week" on Nov. 5, featuring talent from its primetime shows and sports broadcasts on its social networking outlets on the same day each show airs. Each morning, fans can log on to CBS's Twitter or Facebook accounts, or CBS.com for a special message revealing which stars will be taking over their show's social media accounts. Throughout the day, people will be able to view pictures, videos, exclusive content and status updates posted by stars. …