Sound provided by interactive technology is the newest feature that provides consumers an additional, engaging element to outdoor ads projected on public floors and walls, Media Life reports.
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NPR will deliver 45 of its podcasts to mobile phone users via Mobilcast, Mobile Podcasting writes. NPR podcasts will receive a branded channel in the Mobilcast application. According to the story, NPR has had nearly 18 million downloads of its podcasts since its launch at the end of August 2005.
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Some 68 percent of active internet users in the U.S. had access to broadband as of February, according to a new study from Nielsen/NetRatings, reports DM News (via MarketingVox). The number of active at-home broadband users increased 28 percent from 74.3 million in February 2005 to 95.5 million this February.
Leading the overall increase in outdoor ad spending in Q4 of 2005 were the financial and communication industries, which spent an additional 33.4 percent and 31.5 percent more respectively in 2005. Though outdoor spending dropped in the industries of automotive access and equipment and public transportation, hotels and resorts, overall outdoor spending in Q4 of 2005 was up 8.2 percent over Q4 of 2004, eMarketer reports.
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CMP Media will be selling its consumer magazines, the company has confirmed; sources say that CEO Steve Weitzner no longer believes the titles fit strategically among CMP’s predominantly tech and healthcare-oriented media, writes Folio. The 20-title unit includes Guitar Player and Bass Player. It came to CMP from parent company United Business Media last summer.
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The first of a series of Maxim Magazine-branded lounges is planned for the oceanfront Royal Palm Hotel in South Beach, Miami. Construction will begin early summer and the venue will open in the fourth quarter of this year. While the Maxim Lounge is being constructed, the Royal Palm Hotel will undergo a multi-million dollar refurbishment to be completed in the fall of 2006.
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Michael Eisner’s one-hour talk show on CNBC will premiere tonight, and there is something “so naked, so vulnerable, about Mr. Eisner’s willingness to become a talking head in a kingdom he once lorded over, that it is worth a look,” writes the New York Times. In the first six shows, Eisner will interview Martha Stewart, Sir Howard Stringer of Sony and Bran Ferren, an industrial designer and special effects engineer.
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All but assuring that the internet willl play a greater role in American politics, the Federal Election Commission on Monday ruled, in a 6-0 decision that political communication on the internet, including the use of blogs, websites and email by individuals or groups - even in coordination with a candidate - was not regulated by campaign finance laws, reports the New York Times (via MarketingVox). The FEC said specifically that blog content, just like newspaper coverage, is exempt from the campaign finance law.
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According to sources close to the negotiations, executives at NBC and CBS are “wrestling with the implications” of whether or not Katie Couric will leave her 15-year run at NBC’s Today show to anchor The CBS Evening News, writes USA Today. While speculations currently outweigh any concrete answers, many observers bet Couric will make the move to CBS after her Today contract expires on May 31.
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Newsweeklies are showing signs of recovery from last year’s ad page slump caused by key advertising categories’ budget cuts, Media Life reports.
Conde Nast announced yesterday that it will cease publication of men’s shopping magazine Cargo after the May issue, citing a drop-off in readership and ad dollars, Mediaweek writes. Cargo had launched in 2004 with a rate base of 300,000. It had increased that number to 400,000, but Charles Townsend, president and CEO of Conde Nast Publications, is quoted as saying that “we now believe the market will not support our business expectations.”
According to a recent study completed by Multichannel Merchant and Direct magazines, 61 percent of business-to-business marketers have formal permission practices for collecting email addresses, while 93 percent of consumer marketers say they have formal practices in place, eMarketer reports.
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To compete with Yahoo, Skype and others fighting for voice-over IP users, Lycos has joined with India-based Globe 7 to provide its new product that combines low-cost and free ad-supported dialing with detailed media entertainment content, ClickZ reports.
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Discovery Communication’s TLC heads into its April 6, 2006 upfront with its new tag line “Live and Learn,” putting a revamped emphasis on its “learning” roots, Mediaweek reports. According to TLC executive vice president and general manager David Abraham, the network plans to target a younger demographic with fresh programming diverse in subject matter and scope.
Following the recent ruling which allowed Clear Channel the ability to include commercials on its four XM stations - denying XM the right to call itself totally commercial-free - XM Satellite Radio has announced it added 10 new commercial-free music channels and seven regional news and talk channels, which will come this spring and summer.
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If the first few months of the year are anything to go by, auto advertising in magazines will not revive as publishers have hoped, according to AdAge. In 2005, auto advertising loss cost publishers almost $100 million in revenue; magazines had pinned their hopes on a revival in ‘06 based on second-half launches and their own online offerings, but for now, at least, it doesn’t look as though this year will be any better than last. In January, automaker print ad spending plunged 23 percent, though in February numbers rallied a bit.
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