MTV NETWORKS has signed a deal to use TNS Media Research‘s audience measurement service in Los Angeles. The service offers second-by-second audience data, using information collected from 300,000 Charter Communications boxes. Nielsen is working on a similar offering.
MUSIC PUBLISHERS have joined a copyright infringement lawsuit against YOUTUBE. YouTube has signed licensing agreements with all four of the major labels, but has not signed licensing deals with most music publishers, who own the rights to lyrics and song melodies. As a result, the National Music Publishers Association has decided to join the infringement suit against YouTube initiated by the British Premier League.
QUALCOMM faces a ban on its 3G chips, after the Bush administration refused to overturn an earlier International Trade Commission ruling. The chips have been found to infringe on BROADCOM patents. The pending ban means that cellphone carriers cannot introduce new phones that contain the infringing chips. T-Mobile and Sprint will be most heavily affected. Verizon has signed a deal with Broadcom to avoid any supply interruption.
NIKE has launched an interactive ad, available on DISH NETWORK DVRs. Users can choose to view the ad in first-person perspective, taking on the role of LaDainian Tomlinson. The campaign is for Nike ZOOM footwear, and also features 22 minutes of interactive content on Nike.com.
TBS has launched a broadband channel on MLB.com, in hopes of stimulating low Major League Baseball ratings. The channel will be called “Hot Corner,” and feature 90-second daily news updates, player interviews, and pre-game webcasts. The channel will also feature the all-new “Dugout Cam” during the post-season.