THE FCC has issued almost $3 million in fines to companies that are still shipping TV sets without digital tuners. As of March 1st, all TV’s that are shipped must be capable of receiving a digital TV signal. The Commission has also been warning retailers that they must display proper Consumer Alerts on sets that Continue Reading →
Archives
NAB unveiled prototypes of two digital-to-analog convertors made by LG and Thomson. The association also announced an upcoming public service campaign intended to educate consumers about the rapidly-approaching shutdown of the analog spectrum. NBCU will release widgets for its major news and entertainment properties, enabling users to syndicate its content across blogs and social-networking sites. Continue Reading →
If you follow the media, you have probably seen a dozen factoids this week decrying that the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric has hit an all-time ratings low. Since we live in a “Top 10,” everybody loves a winner society, many armchair television programmers are feeling a certain sense of schadenfreude. You should all Continue Reading →
TNS MEDIA INTELLIGENCE reports that advertising spending in the U.S. fell 0.3% in the first quarter. Network TV spending was down 7.2% (to $6.1 billion). National newspaper advertising fell 5.3% (to $810 million). Internet display advertising jumped 16.7% (to $2.7 billion). EBAY will begin auctioning radio ads today via its Media Marketplace. Advertisers will create Continue Reading →
ROCKETBOOM has adopted a sponsorship model. For $3000 per show, a sponsor will receive a 7 second post roll and a personalized blog entry. Quicktime versions of Rocketboom will also include an embedded link to the sponsor’s web site. Andrew Michael Baron, the CEO and founder of Rocketboom, recently discussed the challenges of finding advertising Continue Reading →
HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION has signed a revenue-sharing deal with YOUTUBE. Hearst-Argyle will post local video content from its 26 television stations on the video site, and profit from advertising. This is the first time YouTube has made an agreement with local TV. Five stations will begin posting content today. NBC Universal appointed Katherine Pope as President Continue Reading →
By definition, summer blockbusters attract blockbuster-sized crowds — especially on opening weekends. By the time the commercials start, the theater is typically SRO. Commercials? Yes, about eight of them taking over ten minutes to get through. Then, after a short promo for the concession stand and a Cingular commercial altruistically dressed as a “please turn Continue Reading →
EMI struck a licensing deal with YOUTUBE. EMI recordings and videos will be available on the site, and users will be able to include content in their own videos. All four major labels have now signed deals with YouTube. REALNETWORKS announced a new version of RealPlayer that will “rip” and save video from multiple internet Continue Reading →