New research indicates iPads offer marketers an opportunity to reach consumers simultaneously on both TV and the devices. A survey from Discovery Communications found 43% of iPad owners say they watch TV and go online concurrently "all" or "most" of the time (compared to 33% of non-owners). During its Shark Week last year, Discovery offered apps for the iPad and iPhone that allowed a viewer to interact with added content that was synched to the shows. (ABC has experimented with the sync-to-broadcast concept with several shows, including "Grey's Anatomy," where Lexus served as a sponsor and Nielsen technology powered the …

In a speech at a cross-platform measurement event this week, NBCUniversal top researcher Alan Wurtzel not surprisingly urged industry executives to invest more in research. But, just two days after NBCU announced an initiative to pursue a "single source" metric tracking viewing on multiple platforms for this summer's Olympics, Wurtzel wondered if this "holy grail" is "realistically attainable in the new media world." Separately, he called on the industry to move away from relying on data about who watched and shift towards who watched and what did they buy. Behavioral targeting methods are needed - fast -- he said.

As consumers increasingly watch TV with a smartphone in hand, it bears asking whether the direct-response TV (DRTV) business will suffer. The device-in-hand behavior gives advertisers a chance to get the immediate sales results DRTV can generate, while avoiding the associated spots with D-list endorsers and a 1-800 number filling half the screen. Marketers are benefiting from a "bounce" effect, where a TV spot builds interest and a viewer swiftly taps the smartphone or tablet keypad to search for more information or, better yet, make a purchase.

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) hopes to rev up TAXI - an initiative announced in late 2010 -- this fall. Plans call for a pilot study on developing a Trackable Asset Cross-Platform Identification (TAXI) method to launch as the new TV season kicks off. The aim: establishing a type of UPC code to track content and advertising as it moves from screen to screen. There are ways to do that now - watermarking, fingerprinting, wrapping - yet when Arbitron uses one way, Nielsen another and Kantar a third, how do cross-platform metrics move from the research department to …

Don Draper's iconic free fall dominates a big chunk of New York's Grand Central Terminal. The image of the "Mad Men" character dropping uncontrollably -- symbolizing his unending conflicts -- covers expensive billboards AMC has purchased to promote the show's March 25 return. Yet, just a few blocks away, there's publicity the network couldn't buy, courtesy of Billy Parrott, a managing librarian at the New York Public Library's art and picture collection.

Dogs can't fill out a Nielsen diary or light up a people meter, so data on what programming they enjoy would seem to be scant. Intuition might suggest this week's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on USA would be a smash, while Animal Planet would be a favorite network, especially when "America's Cutest Dog" is on. But if a dog is really a person's best friend, shouldn't people push harder for information on what their pets enjoy.

It's been disorienting reading the USA Today sports section these last few weeks without ESPN's ad on the front page, where it had been since January 1, 2000. But, the 12-year arrangement, which also involved ABC Sports in the early years, wrapped at the end of last year. ESPN's decision to pull out is curious and surely dispiriting to USA Today, where circulation has been declining, but still averages about 1.8 million. The ad, which ran in the upper right corner, was relatively small, but with so many newspaper ads unnoticeable, this one was unavoidable.

West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller had to be pleased with Clint Eastwood's Chrysler spot in Sunday's Super Bowl. As a Democrat, the clear pro-Obama message about auto bailouts was surely welcome, but there was a little-noticed shot at cable news that may have heartened him more. In late 2010 at a Senate hearing, he railed against Fox News and MSNBC for sowing division. And midway through the "Halftime in America" spot, there was an image of a man pointing angrily that resembled a railing "analyst" on one of the networks. It only lasted about a second. Yet, the message was …

It's Dickie V here, baby. This is awesome with a capital A! MediaPost is a real PTPer - prime time publication -- and my buddies there want to acknowledge what a ride my career has been and how thankful they are ESPN hasn't given me the axe. So, as I get ready to call my 40th Duke-North Carolina game tonight, they're giving me the floor, baby. Yes, me! Just a bald Paesan with one eye from North Jersey. They realize I might not be calling games forever. And, with all the indistinguishable analysts filling game after game on ESPNU, they're …

The media is cynical and sneering. As vigilant watchdogs protecting the American public, its members know all corporations are engaged in mercenary activity, willing to trample the little guy to keep profits coming. They laugh at supercilious press releases and believe a "no comment" means someone is hiding the next Watergate. They cannot be played. They would never grease a stunt like the one Will Ferrell and Old Milwaukee pulled on Sunday. No way.