Keyword Prices Fall 8.6% in Q2

The average price that advertisers bid for search keywords fell in the second quarter, continuing an ongoing trend, according to Fathom Online’s Keyword Price Index.

New Fox Morning Show to Compete with Today, Regis

Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television will launch a new, live, national morning program, scheduled to begin airing in January 2007. The new show will originate from New York and will air on all the owned-and-operated Fox affiliates.

Wall Street Journal to Sell Front Page Ads

The Wall Street Journal will begin placing ads on its front page, a move that could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year in revenue, The New York Times reports.

The Journal refers to the front-page ad as a “jewel box,” and will probably begin offering the real estate in September. The ad, which can be in color, will probably be square-shaped and run in the bottom right-hand corner. A second option might be a strip ad along the bottom of the page.

It is unclear how much the ad will cost. Media buyers speculated that it could bring anywhere from $75,000 to somewhere in the low six figures. The journal is offering the space to its largest advertisers.

Yahoo Shares Drop on News of Ad Platform Delay, Weak Search Revenue

Yahoo’s shares plummeted after it reported relatively weak search ad revenues and a delay in Project Panama, the new online ad platform it has pinned its hopes on for catching Google, MarketingVOX reports.

Google Grabs 44.7% of Searches in June

Market leader Google’s share of the U.S. search market continues to increase - the eleventh consecutive month of growth, according to comScore Networks (via MarketingVOX).

ESPN Radio to Air BCS Games

ESPN Radio has signed an agreement with Fox Sports to air the college Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games, reports MediaWeek. The sub-license agreement is solely for radio rights, and does not include satellite radio or exclusivity in the home markets of the participating schools.

Media Horizons to Manage Rodale Inserts

Rodale has replaced Millard Group with Media Horizons to manage 16 media insert programs, Direct reports.

Idol Launches Coke to Front of Product Placement Pack

According to Nielsen’s Product Placement tracking service, Coca-Cola ranked the highest for overall product placements during prime time in the first quarter, MediaPost reports.
Coke acquired 2,551 “product occurrences” in the first quarter of 2006 with 98 percent of them on the Fox hit American Idol.

On Idol, Coca-Cola logos are stamped on cups which are shown near the judges throughout the show. In second place was 24-hour fitness which accumulated 399 “product occurrences” most of which occurred during NBC’s reality show The Big Loser.

Discovery Raises Balloons for Shark Week

The Discovery Channel is using giant shark balloons to promote its annual “Shark Week,” which takes place July 27 to August 4, MediaPost reports.

Discovery has installed five giant balloons on top of its corporate headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Each balloon represents a section of the great white shark, and are located on the four sides of the building near its top floors, with one balloon on the roof. The balloons appear as the head, tail, dorsal fin and lateral fins of the shark.

XM Announces Live Show From the Living Room

XM Satellite Radio recently announced it will showcase live performances on a new show From the Living Room to the Loft. The show will take place live at The Living Room on Manhattan’s lower east side and will highlight well-known musicians as well as emerging singers and songwriters. From The Living Room to The Loft will premiere Sunday, July 23 at 6:00 p.m. EST on XM Radio’s “The Loft” (XM 50). The debut show will star The Little Willies.