TiVo to Provide Video Transfer to iPod & PSP

A new TiVo feature will allow subscribers to transfer recorded television programming to their Apple iPod or PSP devices.
TiVo auto-sync will allow subscribers to choose if they want new recordings of their favorite programs transferred to their portable devices via their PC.

In October, Apple and Walt Disney inked a deal to provide next-day downloads of shows - currently Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Night Stalker - to the new video iPod via iTunes for $1.99.

IDG Sends Luxury Gifts in New Direct Mail Campaign

IDG broke its first direct mail effort in more than five years to promote eight publishing divisions within IDG Communications: Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, Bio-IT World, PC World, Macworld, IDG Entertainment’s GamePro and CXO Media, which publishes CIO, CSO and CMO magazines, DMNews reports. The B-to-B campaign combines a marketing appeal to its leading advertisers, agencies, lapsed clients and prospects with luxury gifts.

NBC Universal Offers TV, Movies on Peer Impact

NBC Universal will make Universal movies and NBC Universal TV content available to Peer Impact, a legitimate P2P service. This marks the first ever license of major studio content to a P2P service. Titles will be available for rental for a 24-hour viewing period after purchase.

Clear Channel, Yahoo Partner for Mall Advertising

Clear Channel Malls, a new division of Clear Channel Outdoor, will carry a network of full-motion video screens in the food courts of 10 malls in New York and Los Angeles, according to Mediaweek. The company plans to roll out the network to 200 malls in the top 20 markets over the next two to three years.

Google Websites Allow Advertisers to Sign Up Directly

Google has launched its “Onsite Advertiser Sign-Up,” which allows advertisers wishing to place ads on Google-supported websites to sign up directly on those sites, Reuters reports.

The feature was first tested in September. The new feature comes as Yahoo Publisher Network begins to compete in earnest with AdSense, according to MarketingVox.

Men’s Sync Magazine to Close

Ziff Davis’s Sync magazine, a men’s magazine devoted to electronic gear and gadgetry, will close after 18 months of publication, The New York Times reports, confirming Friday’s rumors. The final issue will be on newsstands Dec. 6.

Big Q3 Revenue Drop for Big Three

According to the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association, ABC, CBS & NBC saw revenue decrease 21.5 percent to $2.2 billion in the third quarter, Mediaweek reports.

Combined revenues for the big three are down eight percent to $8 billion for the year. Prime-time revenues for the year-to-date period are up a little less than 2 percent to $4.6 billion.

Quince Girl to Target Young Hispanic Women

Quince Girl, a resource for Hispanic women planning quincenaeras, will debut on March 1, 2006 as an annual publication with a rate base of 300,000, the magazine says, and has plans to increase its frequency to twice a year in 2007.

Stunting Bad Move for NBC

CBS and ABC have remained in a head-to-head heat during the first two weeks of the November sweeps, each pulling a 4.5 rating in adults 18-49, Mediaweek reports. Those two networks have stuck mainly with regular programming and have each jumped in ratings compared to season-to-date averages (up 12 percent and 7 percent respectively), while NBC, focusing a bit more on stunting during the sweeps period, has averaged the same 3.3 18-49 rating during sweeps as it has season-to-date.

Chrysler Sponsors Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

Chrysler has signed a $5 million to $7 million multimedia platform deal with CNN for Time magazine’s 2005 “Person of the Year,” MediaPost reports.

Most of the Ad dollars will be spent on TV, but other medium include print, Internet, wireless, podcasting, video-on-demand, broadband, and interactive TV elements. The ads begin today and will continue until December 18, when the “Person of the Year” is selected.