Forget Multiplatform, Fox Bets on TV Shows

Bottom Line: It All Starts With Broadcast

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- At a time when marketers are increasingly curious about media venues other than broadcast TV, executives from Fox network said they intended to keep their focus on the traditional living-room screen, while launching new programs for the 2008-09 season in staggered fashion. FULL ARTICLE

CBS Shows Rather Than Tells How to Buy

At Carnegie Hall, Celebs Explain Syndie, Radio, Digital Opportunities

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Before presenting its 2008-09 programming lineup at its upfront presentation yesterday, CBS spent about 45 minutes talking about opportunities in outdoor advertising, syndication, radio and online. CBS was thus able to do something the other networks have so far not: demonstrate how broadcast-TV content makes an appealing option when extended into media venues that are decidedly ancillary to traditional TV. FULL ARTICLE

With CNet, CBS Looks to Expand Web Presence

Plans Vertical Approach to News; Takes Aim at TMZ.com

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A day after its companywide presentation to ad buyers, CBS Corp. has acquired CNet Networks, owner of sites such as News.com, TV.com and MP3.com, for $1.8 billion. The deal unites two content companies -- one that is trying to figure out how it can make its broadcast TV business model relevant in the digital space and the other a web pioneer that is facing a swath of new online competition. FULL ARTICLE

Nickelodeon and Group M Close to Upfront Deal

$300 Million Pact Would Include Kids and Adult Brands

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Nickelodeon's Kids and Family Group is close to wrapping one of the first major upfront deals of this year with Group M, according to two executives familiar with the negotiations. The deal is said to be valued in excess of $300 million. FULL ARTICLE

Dobrow Respects All But Fears None, and That's the Problem

Media Reviews for Media People: NBC's 'American Gladiators'

It seems almost impossible that I would thoroughly dislike NBC's revamp of "American Gladiators." The fighters throw each other in the water. They tackle, snort and prod. They shoot stuff. This was my early adolescence. Sadly for lapsed teens and junk-sport aficionados alike, NBC has chosen to weigh down "American Gladiators" with manufactured emotion. As opposed to the campy, syndicated version of the show that aired in the 1990s, in which Nitro, Lace and the rest presented themselves as human cartoons, NBC's reinvention gives its warriors and contestants feelings. FULL ARTICLE

Time Inc. Relaunches Health.com

Aims for Audience That Visits WebMD, Revolution Health

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Time Inc. plans to introduce its reworked Health.com portal on Monday, delivering one of its priorities for the year and enhancing its offering in a content area it considers part of its core business alongside news, sports, entertainment and home. The portal will butt up against a crowded online market, however, that already includes everything from WebMD to AOL Body and, most recently, Revolution Health from former AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case. FULL ARTICLE

Mirror, Mirror on the Car

PlayStation 3 Motorstorm Puts Promo Into Real-Life Race

Cream's Idea of the Week
Sony Computer Entertainment wanted to build awareness and buzz around its new PlayStation 3 racing game, Motorstorm. To engage its target audience of male motor-sports fanatics, it sponsored two popular motoring TV programs and used them for a never-seen-before creative concept, blurring the boundaries between program and advertising. FULL ARTICLE

What You Should Have Read, May 14, 2008

Clear Channel Accepts Smaller Takeover Bid

The New York Times reports that Clear Channel Communications agreed to a revised $17.9 billion takeover by two private equity firms after settling a long and often acrimonious dispute with the six banks that agreed to finance the deal. As expected, Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio broadcaster, agreed to sell itself to Bain Capital and THL Partners for $36 a share, down from the $39.20 a share agreed to nearly a year ago. Many aspects of the original deal remain, but the settlement will require a new shareholder vote. Highfields Capital Management, one of Clear Channel's largest shareholders and one that helped broker the new deal, is expected to vote in favor of the proposal. FULL ARTICLE