As you read this, legions of third-party processors are loading Nielsen's new commercial minute ratings data into various analytical systems that, in the days to come, will begin spitting out reports, trends, insights, and a variety of trade press headlines showing how the audiences of TV advertising compare to those of the programs of various networks. Brace yourself. It's going to be a bumpy ride. It's a ride, of course, that's going to take place just as advertisers and agencies are supposed to be spending billions of dollars to place hundreds of thousands of spots, across thousands of hours of …

TV companies exploring creative tactics to retain viewers at the break are driven by the rise of the DVR and its attendant threat of ad skipping as well as the longer-standing forms of ad avoidance -- and by the looming prospect of commercial minute ratings.

There is a question I've wanted to ask strangers for upwards of eight months. I figured after a three-day, reflective weekend it's the perfect time. Does anyone really care that companies are developing the technology that will enable mobile subscribers to receive what is christened "linear mobile video" with crystal-clear image clarity and the seamless channel switching of a typical TV set?

This column is written in acknowledgement of those who have dedicated their lives in defense of our nation's most powerful medium: television. Their weapons of choice were not rifles, grenades, or mortar fire. They were pocketpieces, meters and some analytical firepower. But they fought some important battles nonetheless, and their departure is as symbolic of the changes taking place in television as anything else

Jordin Sparks' victory last evening is not really about uncovering the next big thing. Despite the endless parade of tone-deaf wannabes that typify "American Idol"'s first several weeks each season, Sparks, while talented, is not really that unique. America is full of future dons and divas.

As we've all been busy taking in the enormity of the major deals of the past weeks, another piece of news slipped quietly by most of us, the lack of fanfare perhaps masking another important development. I'm speaking of the announcement that YouTube and CNN are partnering to sponsor a Democratic Party presidential debate (and are apparently in talks with the GOP to a similar end), which will be available online.

These past 4 weeks we have been witnessing a slew of acquisition activity in the online sector, with a reported total of $10.5 billion. The goal of these acquirers and acquirees is to create entities/platforms that deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time across myriad of sites through the marriage of display ads (video, text), search queries, analysis of Web user surfing patterns/behavior, segmentation and addressability, relevance, interactivity and the ability to offer advertisers an easy solution to accomplish the aforementioned -- the proverbial one-stop shop.

Once the elementary fascination with porting of traditional linear programming to this device fails, and it most likely will, it will make way for the creation of content intended for it -- short-form, original and localized programming. Come on, people, this is one is easy. Don't think about what you can do; think about what you should do, so you're successful later on.

MAY 17, 2009 - It's been about a year since MediaPost officially changed the name of the TV Board to the Video Board (and also began publishing it on Sundays) and I find myself waxing nostalgic for the simple pleasure of kicking back and watching the cool medium of television. The name change no doubt was necessary, but who would have thought when we launched this discussion board of industry thought leaders back in 2006 that television would go the way of the telegraph and become one of the few mass media to actually become extinct?