NBC has announced its plans for a modified upfront. In April the network will release a 52-week schedule of staggered show premieres and then hold small presentations for advertisers in New York, LA and Chicago. On May 12 it will host a “spotlight event” in New York to present the full range of advertising opportunities available with NBC including online, mobile and out-of-home. The new year-long schedule will bring fresh programming to NBC at multiple times during the year and help gauge advertiser feedback before some shows go into production.
MICROSOFT is planning a proxy fight to takeover Yahoo and will attempt to nominate new directors for Yahoo’s board by March 13. That approach will be billions of dollars cheaper than raising the current offer price. In the meantime, Yahoo’s board has agreed to offer current employees enhanced benefits to keep them from leaving.
VIDEOEGG is expected to announce a new advertising system that de-emphasizes the CPM model and focuses on engagement. Advertisers will only pay when a user shows some sort of interaction with an ad, including “hovering” over it for several seconds or simply clicking on it. Microsoft has signed up to advertise MS Office under the new system.
MOBILE CARRIERS showed signs of a price war as Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all announced $99 unlimited calling plans within hours of each other. Sprint is rumored to have an unlimited nationwide plan coming soon. If you’re a heavy mobile user this marked a major paradigm shift for mobile phone pricing. Average users, however, shouldn’t be affected.
HEARST has launched YOUTUBE channels for Seventeen, Marie Claire and Good Housekeeping. 12 more magazine channels will soon be added. Hearst and YouTube will split ad revenue.
DISNEY has launched a new online studio to focus on creating virtual worlds, games and social networks for kids. The studio launched Fairies Pixie Hollow, a new online social network that is free for basic use but also offers tiered subscription levels. Unlike the Pirates of the Caribbean network, this community will not be ad-supported.
THOMSON‘s takeover of REUTERS has been approved by regulators, provided they divest certain assets and financial information products.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS will (unsurprisingly) begin to focus on Blu-ray releases while phasing out HD DVD.