MediaPost | MediaDailyNews

Disney's ABC, Univision Mull News-Channel Launch

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:28:50 -0500

Walt Disney Co. and Univision Communications Inc. are in talks to create a new 24-hour cable-news channel that will broadcast in English to Latinos.

Belo: Revs Down, But Spot Ads Up

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:43:39 -0500

Big TV station owner Belo Corp. witnessed lower advertising revenue in the fourth quarter due to lower political advertising, but continued to see good results from its biggest ongoing category: automotive.

Time Warner Invests In Conviva, Ups TV Everywhere Growth

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:50:03 -0500

An arm of Time Warner has invested $15 million in Conviva, which provides the technological backbone for online video platforms such as TV Everywhere, from HBO to Turner. The company said the financing will be used for international growth and to hire more staff.

Redbox To Launch Streaming Video

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:45:00 -0500

Verizon and Coinstar said they would kick off a co-venture that will allow customers to obtain DVDs at Redbox's 35,000-plus kiosks and view content streamed online. Details regarding branding, pricing and content were not released, although a launch is expected in the second half of the year.

Super Bowl Ad Retention Highest Before Last Play Of Game

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:18:00 -0500

The best-retained Super Bowl commercials for TV viewers came moments before the last play of the game. The last four commercials before the end of the game -- the Hail-Mary pass of New England Patriots' Tom Brady into the end-zone, the last play of the game, according to Rentrak Corp. -- scored the highest results.

Nielsen Global Revs Up 8%, Set To Deliver Wal-Mart Data

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:11:00 -0500

Nielsen is set to begin offering sales data from Wal-Mart in the second quarter, which will supply a fuller picture of U.S. retail activity for clients. In 2011, global revenues were up 8% to $5.5 billion, including up 4% for its TV measurement business. Profits dropped from $130 million to $84 million.

Magazines Exploit Mobile Commerce With Snap-To-Buy

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:23:41 -0500

SpyderLynk is helping magazine publishers cash in on mobile commerce with the launch of Snap-to-Buy, which allows consumers to engage in a range of actions -- including purchasing products -- by scanning SpyderLynk SnapTags in print publications with their mobile devices.

Nickelodeon Buys 'Life With Boys'

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:17:00 -0500

Nickelodeon has acquired a new half-hour series, "Life With Boys" from Classic Media and Nelvana. The 22-episode series created by Michael Poryes ("Hannah Montana") stars Torri Webster as "Tess" and Madison Pettis as "Allie."

Super Bowl Hits 111 Million Viewers

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:05:00 -0500

For the third year in a row, the Super Bowl set a record for the most-watched program in TV history -- hitting 111.3 million total viewers, per Nielsen. On a household basis, the game earned a 47 rating/71 share, up 2% from a year ago. Almost three of every four U.S. TV sets that were turned on was tuned in to the Super Bowl.

TiVo Names Dorito's 'Friend' Most Engaging Bowl Spot

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:38:00 -0500

TiVo has declared Dorito's "Man's Best Friend" Super Bowl ad the most engaging commercial in Sunday night's big game, televised on NBC. Appearing in the second quarter, the ad featured a dog who bribed a man with Doritos to conceal the whereabouts of the family cat.

MediaCom Gets The 'Works,' Subway Consolidates Digital

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:59:00 -0500

MediaCom's Subway restaurant media account just got a little heftier. The WPP agency has been awarded digital media responsibilities in the U.S. for the Subway franchise. Estimated spending on the digital portion of the account is between $25 and $30 million.

Beasley Broadcasting Revs Dip 7%

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:15:03 -0500

Beasley Broadcasting said its total revenues declined 6.8% to $25.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. CEO George Beasley blamed it on a reduction in political spending in a non-election year.

First Tennessee Taps KSL For Planning, Buying

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:21:05 -0500

First Tennessee Bank, a part of First Horizon National Corp., has selected KSL Media as its new agency for media planning and buying, following a review that began in late June 2011.

'Peanuts' Debut In Super Bowl Met Life Ad

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:33:00 -0500

MetLife will join the line-up of first-time Super Bowl advertisers with a 30-second spot featuring the Peanuts characters, which have been central to its marketing for decades. The company has a relationship with one of the game's teams with its name on the New York Giants home field.

Public Citizen Blasts Advertising In Schools

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:27:00 -0500

In a new report, watchdog group Public Citizen blasts school districts willing to sell advertising on school-related real estate from lockers to cafeteria trays, arguing that the lasting impact on children far outweighs any financial resources a school district may raise.

Millward Brown: Driving Brand Loyalty Via Ad Emotions

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:10:00 -0500

WPP's Millward Brown is adding facial recognition technology to its commercial testing service to better assess the emotional impact of ads, the company has confirmed. "By adding facial expression analysis to Link, brand owners can get at the emotional response that people might not be able to articulate in surveys," says Millward's evp of neuroscience practice, Graham Page.

Tablet Owners: More e-Commerce In Digital Magazines

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:15:00 -0500

72% of tablet owners who read digital magazines on their devices in the last 30 days said they would prefer all digital magazines to be formatted in the same way, according to the iPanel results. 70% of tablet owners who read digital magazines on their devices said they would like to be able to buy items simply by clicking on ads in the digital magazines.

Super Bowl Draws 46% Women, Expands Demo Reach

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:02:00 -0500

The Super Bowl brings all types of viewers to its annual Sunday party -- but increasingly, this big TV event is more wealthy, female, and diverse. Nielsen also says more Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans are watching the game -- up two percentage points each to 9% and 11%, respectively. in 2011.

Media Companies: Stock Value Doesn't Reflect Profitability

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:43:00 -0500

The value of broadcast TV companies, as well as integrated media companies that include broadcast assets, have lagged the broader stock market gains in the last two years. Michael Alcamo, president of M.C. Alcamo, says this sluggishness is a mystery because usually media companies outperform other companies in a rising stock market.

Occupy Television: They Are the 4%

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:30:04 -0500

Even with TiVo, about 40% of TV is consumed live. But to make the inference that this behavior is representative of all DVR users is most likely unwise, since TiVo owners have to make the conscious decision to purchase a TiVo unit.

Follow Some Hail Mary Tweets At #MPSuperAds

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:15:54 -0500

Or tweet some yourself at Twitter hashtag #MPSuperAds Sunday before, during or after the kick-off of Super Bowl XLVI at 6:30 (ET) on NBC. MediaPost, in collaboration with TargetCast interactive chief Steve Minichini, will host a special tweet-up of impressions, reactions and predictions of industry pundits surrounding the Big Game, and the big ad campaigns that break during it. Or just sit back and watch the action unfold live on www.mediapost.com/publications.

MEC's Herrtage Handles Marriott Account Planning

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:33:45 -0500

MEC said communications director Dallia Herrtage will join the agency in New York from its flagship UK office. She will be responsible for driving integrated communication planning on the Marriott International account.

H-P Personal Systems Puts Creative In Review

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:48:00 -0500

Hewlett-Packard's Personal Systems Group, which covers business and consumer PCs, mobile computing devices and workstations, has put creative duties on its advertising account into review.

FSIs Challenged By Digital Coupons

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:43:00 -0500

Kantar reported that digital coupon distribution was up just over 12% in 2011 versus the prior year. By comparison, the number of coupons printed in free standing inserts last year was down 6.5%. And year-to-year spending on newspaper inserts declined by 12% to about $1.3 billion.

News Corp. Raids Bloomberg's Fenwick, Names Him CEO Of Dow Jones

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:04:00 -0500

News Corp. this afternoon named Lex Fenwick CEO of Dow Jones & Co. Fenwick had been CEO of one of Dow Jones' chief business news competitors, Bloomberg LP, and the man who stepped in to run the company when Founder Michael Bloomberg left to become mayor of New York City.

'Battleship' Super Bowl Ad Pushes Ticket Sales

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:49:00 -0500

NBC Universal's Universal Pictures and its digital movie ticket company Fandango have inked a rare movie marketing deal for "Battleship," a big summer action movie, promoting the opportunity to buy advance ticket sales through a TV commercial in the Super Bowl.

Viacom's Mixed Report: Media Networks, Affiliate Fees Up, Cable Ads Dip

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:08:00 -0500

Advertising revenue for Viacom's media networks, including MTV and Nickelodeon, decreased 3% on both a domestic and worldwide basis, driven by lower ratings and softness in the U.S. advertising market. Total revenue in the reported quarter was up 3% year-over-year.

NYTCO Ad Revs Drop 7%

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:52:00 -0500

The New York Times Co. reports that total revenues declined 2.8% to $643 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue declines for NYTCO, which last saw revenue growth in the second quarter of 2010.

3 W+K Ads Earn Most-Awarded Status

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:40:00 -0500

Three of the six most-awarded TV commercials in the world last year were created by Wieden + Kennedy, according to the Gunn Report's annual award compendium. W+K's Amsterdam office created two of the top three-awarded spots, including first-place Nike's "Write the Future" and Heineken's "The Entrance."

Wayand Leads MRM's Team Intel

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:32:00 -0500

MRM, a global digital and direct agency, named Jim Wayand global business leader for the agency's Team Intel.