ADverse: Atkinson on Advertising
Commentary and analysis on the business of television advertising—from the upfront and scatter markets to TV events like the Super Bowl, the Oscars and the Olympics—courtesy of Broadcasting & Cable Business Editor Claire Atkinson.
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Moffett Floats AT&T Run at DirecTV
A Nielsen IPO Would Be First Big Test of Media Economy Health
Can CoCo and TBS Make the Economics Work?
Discovery’s Got Oprah, But Now TBS’ Got Conan
Madison Ave on iPad: Whatever
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Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010
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Moffett Floats AT&T Run at DirecTV
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Moffett Floats AT&T Run at DirecTV
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Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010
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Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010
Chase Carey: Hulu to Charge in 2010 (137)
For CNN's HLN, a new face at 9 p.m. (33)
Letterman Helps Rehab Leno (6)
Scripps/Cablevision PR Battle Escalates (4)
Morning Joe Brought to You By Starbucks (4)
Moffett Floats AT&T Run at DirecTV
Could AT&T be prepping a run at pay-TV distributor DirecTV? In a note out Monday, May 3, Bernstein Research telco analyst Craig Moffett floats the likelihood of that outcome, describing it as AT&T’s “only option.” In an investor note titled “The Process of Elimination,” Moffett says the telco industry is in a hole when it comes to finding growth avenues, ...... Read More
Comments (2)A Nielsen IPO Would Be First Big Test of Media Economy Health
Nielsen’s private equity backers are auditioning bankers to help the company conduct a long-rumored initial public offering. An IPO would be the first major test of how investors are feeling about the media economy in some time. It’s also the biggest financial news since Comcast swooped in on NBC Universal late last year. The news was first reported by the Financial Times. My sources ...... Read More
Comments (0)Can CoCo and TBS Make the Economics Work?
Conan O’Brien’s arrival at Turner’s comedy channel, TBS, has the TV business trying to figure out how the economics are going to work out. The former Tonight Show host’s jump to basic cable will inevitably deliver a halo affect for the entire TBS schedule. But the Turner ad sales team will have their work cut out given that cable has a much lower CPM than broadcast. (Cl ...... Read More
Comments (0)Discovery’s Got Oprah, But Now TBS’ Got Conan
As the cable upfront presentations get ever more competitive by the day, Turner effectively one-upped Discovery today, April 12, announcing that Conan O’Brien is to join the TBS line-up. His arrival in November is welcome news for the Turner folks who have been out talking up their slate to agencies ahead of their official broadcast week presentation on May 19. Alright, so Oprah’s la ...... Read More
Comments (0)Madison Ave on iPad: Whatever
What do Madison Avenue bigs think of Apple’s iPad? We all know Wall Street, Medialand and Apple fans on Main Street love it, but does the subscription media play offer much excitement for advertisers? I got a resounding no from the panelists who joined me at the Broadcasting & Cable’s Upfront Summit, April 6.When asked whether it’s a game changer, the top agency exe ...... Read More
Comments (0)A Home For 'Help Me, Martha?'
When producer Mark Burnett rolled out the concept for a new syndicated strip, featuring Martha Stewart, he showed the press and agencies a sizzle reel which included Ms. Stewart showing up on the doorstep of unsuspecting viewers and helping them to tackle house projects they were clearly useless at. That was after the requisite gasps of surprise followed by numerous exclamations of OMG. That conce ...... Read More
Comments (0)Ratings count switch could help station coffers
Local TV stations could be looking at a bigger payday as Nielsen gets set to change the way it counts TV viewership.On March 31, Nielsen will stop providing local clients and media agencies with live-only TV ratings and replace them with live plus same day numbers which include DVR play-back of shows, according to an item by Media Post, March 23. Stations could see up to a 7% bump in ratings, alon ...... Read More
Comments (0)Broadcast Net Unit Costs Fall in Q4
Even while the scatter market was buoyant in fourth quarter, a new survey suggests that broadcast networks on average were cheaper during the final quarter of 2009 than at the same point a year ago. The average cost of a thirty second ad, or unit, in primetime across the big four broadcast networks was $105,821, an 11% drop on the previous period in 2008. According to agency TargetCast, New York, ...... Read More
Comments (0)OK, Networks, No More Excuses
Once a sector in so-called “secular and cyclical decline,” broadcast networks are suddenly as welcome on Wall Street as the first crocuses of spring. The mainstream TV business is no longer subject to endless downbeat stories about ratings declines and ad revenue shifting to cable. There are new revenue streams to talk about: from a network’s own affiliates, from cable distrib ...... Read More
Comments (0)Upfronts 2010: Events Calendar
Stay on schedule this upfront season with B&C’s UpfrontCentral calendar. Check back for updates. ...... Read More
Comments (0)Barclays downgrades Discovery; Upgrades Scripps
Barclays Capital is downgrading Discovery Communications today, February 23, and upgrading Scripps Networks. Why? Discovery stock is up, and Scripps Networks stock is down. That might seem like crazy logic, but in the world of stock buying, it’s all about identifying the upside and here the Scripps’ chefs beat the Discovery sharks. Media analyst Anthony DiClemente outline ...... Read More
Comments (0)Cablevision Asks What Would You Pay for Fox/ABC?
Cablevision isn’t taking the retransmission wars lying down. According to our sources, the cable systems operator has been conducting customer phone polls to see precisely what channels they want to keep and how much they’re worth.Among the most surprising set of questions to consumers: “Do you watch broadcast TV?” If customers responded yes, then they were asked how mu ...... Read More
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