• Kimmel Jabs Washington, Madison Avenue Next
    Fresh off his skewering of official Washington, Jimmy Kimmel is set to mock Madison Avenue again in a couple of weeks. Even if NBC trots out all "The Voice" coaches or CBS hypes its NFL coverage with Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning on stage at once, Kimmel's appearance at the ABC event will be the highlight of upfront week. On Saturday, Kimmel did an outstanding job at the White House Correspondents Dinner. But, with the Secret Service, Joe Biden and the GOP, there was ample low-hanging fruit. Clearly, Washington offers much more material than the broadcast networks and ad community? …
  • TV Ad Spending Appears To Pass $70 Billion For The First Time, Sports Spending Also Growing
    Total U.S. TV ad spending appears to have crossed the $70 billion mark for the first time in 2011. Sports advertising also posted growth over a similar stretch, though surprisingly at about the same rate as the total market.
  • 'Downton' Fans Have Reason To Be Worried
    "Downton Abbey" runs on the same network as "The X Factor" on its home turf, so it may be unfair to chide producers for chasing ratings back in the United Kingdom. Yet, two events could have viewers questioning whether the pursuit of ad dollars in the U.K. will hurt the quality of the show, which runs stateside on the non-Simon Cowell-esque PBS.
  • NewFronts Are A Rookie Success Story
    Whether the NewFronts will spark a TV-style upfront market isn't clear. But, the first-annual event series has already been a huge success from a marketing perspective. The NewFront brand has been established. It already has meaning. It has drawn the attention of industry executives, the press and even Wall Street. The discussion about how - if -- a NewFront sales marketplace will form is a victory in itself. The worst fate would have been to be mostly ignored. The ad community now knows that starting each April, Hulu, Google/YouTube and others will hold a series of presentations touting their programming …
  • Aereo Makes Its Way To Washington
    On Tuesday, Barry Diller appeared at a hearing of a full Senate committee on the emergence of online video and its future. Aereo, the device that allows live streaming of broadcast stations on multiple devices, was a topic. Boy, would it have been interesting if a top executive from a station group had been invited to testify, offering a chance to effectively litigate a blooming fight over the Diller-backed Aereo. A debate featuring the smart and witty Diller vs. Station Group CEO might have been a C-Span hit.
  • Cuban Moving Away From Joe Fan Reputation
    It's always entertaining when Mark Cuban tries speaking truth to power. It's often empowering for fans. Lately, though, he's veered from his everyman appeal and started acting more like the power he is - billions of dollars worth - and sounding awfully rapacious. He's come out in favor of corporate logos on jerseys and now questions if the NBA is getting some financial benefit from its players in the Olympics.
  • Research On iPad's TV Usage Needs New Direction
    Never-ending wonder about how iPads will impact the TV ecosystem seems to be generating an amount of research worthy of a national health crisis. Nielsen, networks and academics are on the case, stat.
  • A Convenient Truth For Networks: Warm Weather Doesn't Hurt Viewing
    It wouldn't be a surprise if research surfaces showing more Americans will watch video online than eat bread in five years. Headlines about increasing multiplatform TV consumption are inescapable. Yet, TV as we know it, continues to have more and more takers. Viewership on that set 10 to 12 feet from the couch, or five feet in front of the bed, is escalating. A case could even be made that TV is weatherproof -- even a warm winter didn't negatively impact viewership.
  • TV Everywhere Brings Networks Huge Opportunity With No Ad Skipping
    The DVR has caused plenty of financial wounds in the ad industry, but TV Everywhere could provide a degree of pocketbook healing. That's why programmers should follow Turner's lead and aggressively urge viewers to watch on iPads, PCs, smartphones, etc. Unlike with traditional TV, when shows play on those platforms, the ads can't be skipped. Watching an episode of, say, TNT's "The Closer" on a TV Everywhere platform can bring a reflexive tendency to hit fast-forward during a break, only to discover that isn't an option. Presuming the industry can garner similar (or higher) CPMs for online viewing, there is …
  • Romney On "SNL" Would Be Comedic For Him
    Mitt Romney has Al Gore syndrome. Gore was said to be hilarious and full of bonhomie in private company, but struggled to show it on the campaign trail. Voters probably shouldn't care whether their president would make a good dinner party guest, but they do. And, Romney hasn't proven he would be anything less than a stiff one who makes others uncomfortable. So, should he host "Saturday Night Live" to try and reverse that perception? No way.
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