How long will it be before YouTube finds that advertising alone won't be able to support its heavy investment in establishing a slew of original channels? It could be a while because of Google's philosophy and deep pockets - or should deep pockets come before philosophy? -- allows it enviable flexibility and a long-term approach. With all its recent turmoil, Yahoo hardly has that luxury and when it comes to online video, Yahoo's Ross Levinsohn was pretty clear Monday: ad dollars can't be the tug boat alone. Whether it's through some sort of one-time fee, subscription or one-day pass, top-tier …

If several years ago, TV Everywhere seemed like a cute technology play, offering distributors some extra advertising copy -- watch your favorite programs anywhere, anytime! -- it's now shaping up to be big business for content owners. Networks have an opportunity to stiff arm cable operators into tossing them more in affiliate fees, while a Wall Street analyst suggests there are huge ad dollars awaiting them. What's cool for them is the dough looks to come from just playing with house money.

Subway might be getting more airtime this week than Ryan Seacrest. The restaurant chain just pulled off an impressive triple with comically overt product placements on three successive days. In the process, its branded integration strategists showed remarkable nimbleness by using multiple genres to plug the subs, weaving them into a sportscast (Sunday on CBS), a drama (Monday on CBS) and a reality show (Tuesday on NBC). If the aim of product integration is to be seamless and artfully slide a promotion in the flow of a program, Subway flunked mightily. Pitches for the subs felt about as natural as …

Mitt Romney is beginning to grab more and more endorsements in his quest for the GOP nomination. Are people really swayed by these? There is one endorsement, however, that could actually tip the scales once the Romney-Obama match-up becomes official: Mark Harmon. Republican and Democratic operatives should be making pilgrimages to the "NCIS" star to woo him. New poll data makes it clear.

Last year, a quarter of the ads in the Super Bowl were run by auto marketers, according to Fanhouse.com. How many did people remember a week after the game, let alone now? Which ads featured Kenny G or P. Diddy's car being stolen or Neptune rising? This year, the traffic jam will continue. Is it worth it? Lexus is this year's Audi 2008, announcing its Super Bowl debut Tuesday en route to staking claim as a cutting-edge luxury brand. The company has posted a 15-second "sneak peek" on YouTube that suggests a Lexus may be able to breakthrough a fortified …

Planned or not, Keith Olbermann's petulance has given him a chance at relevance in the GOP campaign over the next few weeks that tops Rick Perry. That's not saying much since Perry should be on the sidelines by Sunday, but Olbermann has a shot at bringing his choleric liberalism out from virtual obscurity -- where it has mostly been since he joined Current last year. Recently, he has engaged in a high-profile dispute with his Current bosses and declined to host coverage of the results shows from the Iowa and New Hampshire GOP elections. That may prove to be helpful. …

Credit Newt Gingrich for taking a stand Friday against attack ads and a lengthy video that take brutal shots at Mitt Romney. Just not too much. Gingrich asked the "super PAC" supporting him that's behind the material to edit or pull it, after independent organizations pointed out distortions of Romney's record. Yet, Gingrich's move wasn't fully devoid of political opportunism. He challenged Romney to make the same edit-or-end request of a "super PAC" supporting him and he may have been seeking some moral high ground as he trails Romney in the polls.

There are plenty of twists surrounding the breakout PBS series "Downton Abbey." Among them: how NBCUniversal finds itself benefiting. In 2008, looking to move further into international production, NBCU purchased Carnival Films, the U.K. studio behind the show. Carnival had a distinguished record, but NBCU couldn't have known how valuable "Downton" would become since it was only in development back then. Since then, the Edwardian-era drama has become something of a phenomenon in Britain, where it airs on ad-supported ITV and delivers upwards of 10 million viewers, a big number in the U.K.

Arlen Specter, the 81-year-old former Pennsylvania senator, will begin hosting a TV show this week. For millions of people, this is downright shocking. Until a few weeks ago, it seemed hard to find a more unlikely politician to carry a program -- even one about dry public affairs. His gravelly, monotone voice might have worked better than Ambien. His cracking a smile seemed as unlikely as Barack Obama winning Texas. Yet, as he demonstrated in a stand-up routine in Philly, Specter is hilarious and has the makings of a comedic star. Al Gore and John McCain have hosted "Saturday Night …

Cable operators have been talking about upgrading their interactive program guides for some time. With Netflix offering such an appealing search interface and powerful recommendation engine, the feeling is they need to a swifter, simpler way to find programming. An option for giant steps was announced Tuesday that would blow past those scroll-and-click guides. A Harvard Square company has developed voice-recognition software that can allow a viewer to search by speaking into a smartphone. Besides transforming program selection, it offers potential to boost the effectiveness of interactive advertising. So, Comcast and Cablevision should consider offering Vlingo's "Virtual Assistant" for multiple …