August 2005 News

By Sheree R. Curry

Special to TelevisionWeek

When the 30th annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists convenes Wednesday in Atlanta, broadcast journalists of color will have the chance to network, have their tapes critiqued and participate in workshops that run the gamut from makeup application to how to become a decision maker in sports broadcasting to conversations with CEOs about the state of the media industry. Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote address, his third to the group.

Then-candidate Clinton spoke to the organization in 1992 in Detroit, the first major U.S. presidential candidate to do so. Five years later, in Chicago, he appeared before the group again, this time as the first sitting U.S. president to address the conference.

"We draw movers and shakers from the entire industry as well as people from politics," said San Jose-based Bryan Monroe, NABJ's VP for print and Knight Ridder assistant VP of news. "Al Sharpton will be there and Jesse Jackson always shows up."

The celebration includes the induction of members into the Hall of Fame. This year's inductees include Charlayne Hunter-Gault, CNN's former Johannesburg, South Africa, bureau chief and correspondent; Carole Simpson, former longtime anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight Sunday"; and Max Robinson, NABJ co-founder and the first black journalist to anchor a nightly network newscast, who will be inducted posthumously. Ed Bradley, CBS News correspondent and co-editor of "60 Minutes," will receive the NABJ's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Given the caliber of journalists in attendance, "NABJ is excellent for networking, particularly for younger journalists because you meet such a large variety of people, including managers, veterans, mid-career, beginners and students," said Carol Ash, the 5 a.m. producer for NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in Chicago.

"I try to help those journalists who are younger than I am, just like I have been helped," said Ms. Ash, a board member of Unity: Journalists of Color, who added that she has obtained jobs because of her NABJ contacts. "Most people are willing to help steer you in the right direction careerwise."

The NABJ conference, which is expected to draw more than 3,000 attendees to its annual gathering, claims the nation's largest journalism career fair.

"You get so many people with jobs [available] who are looking to hire right now at the job fair," Mr. Monroe said.

"NABJ should be on the speed-dial of every news director and general manager who is truly interested in achieving diversity in the newsroom," said Barbara Ciara, NABJ VP for broadcast. "It's 2005 and I still hear that stale expression, 'We can't seem to find qualified blacks to fill our positions.' To those folks I say, 'You're not looking.'"

Of particular interest to broadcast journalists are several workshops. Broadcast news directors from across the country will share their most effective tips for short- and long-term success in "Ten Management Tools to Use Now," scheduled to take place Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The session will focus on "news you can use" that journalists can take with them to their newsrooms. The moderator is Ava Greenwell, associate dean at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Panelists are Blaise Labbe, news director for KWTV in Oklahoma City; Eva Bowen, executive producer for KNXV-TV in Phoenix; and Denise Hendricks, associate producer for "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

"Television Faces," also on Thursday, will show on-air personalities how to create a polished, clean makeup application. The moderator is Jacque Reid, host of "BET Nightly News." Panelists are Fairweather Faces makeup artists D'Angelo Thompson and Saisha Beecham.

At 2:45 p.m. Thursday, moderator Sandy Williams, an anchor and reporter for Fox Sports Net in Atlanta, will lead a seminar on moving up the ranks in sports broadcasting and becoming a behind-the-scenes power hitter. The panel will include Andrea Berry, senior VP of broadcast operations for Fox Network; Al Jaffe, VP of production, recruitment and talent negotiations for ESPN; Matt Edgar, program director for WQXI-AM "790 the Zone" all-sports radio, Atlanta; and Jeff Gammage, producer and photographer for Fox Sports Net South, Atlanta. Panelists will address the lack of minority representation in upper management and programs designed to increase those numbers.

For those reporters who have been pulled off a story to cover breaking weather, or for those producers who have had their rundown turned upside-down 15 minutes to air because of an approaching storm, there is the "Breaking Weather!" session with meteorologists who have been in the "eye of the storm." The moderator is WNBC-TV, New York, chief meteorologist Janice Huff. Panelists are experts from The Weather Channel, including on-camera meteorologists Paul Goodloe, Vivian Brown, Jim Cantore and Stephanie Abrams, climate expert Heidi Cullen and senior meteorologist Stu Ostro.

30th Annual NABJ Convention and Career Fair

When: Aug. 3-7

Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta

Why: The annual event attracts more than 3,000 attendees from around the U.S. and is the nation's largest professional gathering devoted to black journalists. The convention's 30th-anniversary theme, "Telling Our Story," reflects the NABJ's mission to "continue to voice the passion, pride, purpose and power of black journalists."

By Sheree R. Curry

Special to TelevisionWeek

Minority faces were less prevalent in television newsrooms in 2004 than the previous year, and virtually no improvement has been made in that area in the past 10 to 15 years, according to a report by the Radio-Television News Directors Association and Ball State University.

Journalists from organizations such as the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists cite unpaid internships and the slackening of equal employment opportunity guidelines as contributors to the problem.

"People made progress in the '60s because of the Kerner Commission and EEO rules. But with [Federal Communications Commission] regulation, it has been very watered down and there is no incentive or pressure [on local stations] to make sure that news operations reflect the communities they serve," said Joe Torres, NAHJ communications director.

The percentage of people of color in the newsrooms of local television stations (broadcasting in all languages) declined slightly, from 21.8 percent of employees in 2003 to 21.2 percent in 2004, according to the survey released July 11 by the RTNDA. Taking Spanish-language stations out of the mix, the decline was slightly smaller, to 19.5 percent compared with the previous year's 19.8 percent.

The surveys analyze numbers from the previous year.

The declines occurred across ethnic minorities, with the exception of African Americans, who held steady in local TV newsrooms at 10.3 percent from 2003 to 2004.

Numbers for Native Americans were at 0.6 percent in 1995 but fell to 0.5 percent in the 2004 study and again to 0.3 percent with the 2005 study. Asian Americans made up only 1.9 percent of the total television news work force, down from 2.2 percent the previous year.

The percentage of Latino journalists working at local TV stations dropped slightly, from 8.9 percent in 2003 to 8.7 percent in 2004, despite a steady rise in the U.S. Hispanic population.

When it comes to news directors, the percentage of Latinos working at English-language TV stations increased from 2.4 percent in 2003 to 2.8 percent last year, while the total percentage of minority TV news directors is 12 percent, compared with 12.5 percent in the 2004 survey. Native American journalists made up just 1 percent of TV news directors in the 2005 study, down from 1.3 percent in last year's survey but basically at the same level as 1995.

The percentage of Asian American news directors held steady at 1.3 percent, while African Americans bumped up to 3.9 percent from 3.2 percent in 2003.

The survey notes that the percentage of Caucasians in the newsroom increased slightly from 78.2 percent in 2003 to 78.8 percent, and for news directors it inched to 88 percent from 87.5 percent the previous year.

"The results of the study serve as evidence of a trend that diversity in newsrooms is falling to the bottom of the to-do list in many newsrooms," said NABJ VP of Broadcast Barbara Ciara, who is also managing editor and anchor at New York Times-owned CBS affiliate WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Va.

"In the last 15 to 20 years, very little has changed," said Bob Papper, professor of telecommunications at Ball State University and director of the annual RTNDA survey. "And if it is going to change in an appreciable way, the only way that is going to happen is by a significant commitment on the part of broadcast companies to make diversity in the newsroom a real priority-and make that clear."

Mr. Papper suggested that since news organizations make ratings a priority by giving bonuses based upon those numbers, they can do the same for diversity. "If diversity can become a critical part of what managers have to do, then change [for the better] is likely to happen."

Spokespeople from the top three networks have said that though the numbers in the survey are not surprising they are doing what they can on their end to increase diversity in newsrooms.

Broadcasters "have to be able to put on programming that is reflective of our community," said Michael Jack, VP of diversity for NBC Universal and president and general manager of NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington. "That is what we [at NBC] have done and continue to do."

Mr. Jack pointed to three initiatives that NBC uses to recruit, mentor and develop people of color for the newsroom.

One is its involvement in the Emma Bowen Foundation, which identifies minority high school juniors and seniors and mentors them through a six-year program intended to end with permanent jobs. NBC has about 40 students in the program now. "We are the single largest user of this program," he said.

Another is a page program that places new college graduates and others into positions in various divisions with an eye toward grooming them for news positions.

The final initiative is the associates program. "It is an extremely competitive program. We have about 1,200 applications a year," Mr. Jack said. The program takes candidates with some work experience and places them in a news-only program in one of NBC's divisions.

Candidates are recruited from organizations representing journalists of color, through word of mouth and from historically black colleges, such as Howard University, where Mr. Jack sits on the John H. Johnson School of Communications Board of Visitors.

"It is tough to figure out what works and what doesn't work in this industry, but I will tell you that we [at NBC] significantly over-index what those studies show. For all newsrooms [the study] shows just over 21 percent and we and Telemundo double those numbers. If you look just at non-Hispanics, then we are more than 25 percent better than those numbers," Mr. Jack said, pointing out that out of the 14 owned-and-operated local NBC stations, four have general managers who are people of color, including himself in D.C. and GMs in Birmingham, Ala., Columbus, Ohio, and Los Angeles.

Ms. Ciara is a bit disheartened, however, that the top three network CEOs refuse to disclose their numbers of minority employees. "All you have to do is tune in to 'NBC Nightly News' and count the faces with one hand tied behind your back," she said. "I don't think you will see the diversity that reflects the melting pot of America."

Calls to several ABC offices were made for this story, but no one willing to speak on the record was available by press time.

Linda Mason, senior VP of standards and special projects at CBS News, didn't discuss numbers, but she did say that CBS offers internships to college students. "To accept this internship they have to live in New York and do it without pay," which she said is a "double whammy" for students who need to save to pay for the next semester of school. "Some minority students, after paying all of that money for college, want better-paying jobs for the summer," she said.

"Internships can wind up discriminating against minorities and those who are economically disadvantaged," Mr. Papper said.

To ease the financial strain, NABJ and other associations give scholarships to students who accept internships. But it is not only nonpaid internships that can lock out people of color, it's also the low-paying jobs post-college, some say.

"This is not a business that pays well starting out, and I think we miss out on a lot of talent and will keep doing that until we start paying more," Mr. Papper said. "[But for now] broadcasters are not prepared to go the extra mile to compete in a marketplace where there are a lot more [career] options that pay better."

"There has been complaint about the lack of Asian Americans-particularly men-who are reporters or TV anchors," said Stanton Tang, national VP of broadcast for the Asian American Journalists Association and managing editor of the cable news operation of Landmark Communications-owned KLAS-TV in Las Vegas. He added that many Asians tend to choose higher-paying jobs in the sciences and technology. "We have been working on encouraging people to go into journalism," he said. "It is a viable career choice."

The RTNDA, which has been bringing newsrooms and predominantly ethnic high school journalism classes together to help encourage people at a younger age to consider journalism, has also created a diversity toolkit, available on its Web site, to help stations foster dialogue with and recruit and retain journalists of color. "It is a guide to help them initiate conversation in the newsroom," RTNDA President Barbara Cochran said. "Diversity isn't just the responsibility of people of color but [of] the entire newsroom."

But Mr. Tang won't let the community take all the responsibility for the lack of Asians behind and in front of the camera. He places some blame on advertising and viewership demands.

"Nielsen doesn't report Asian American viewership in most areas; only for five select cities [New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Chicago]. There are other markets that should have Asian American breakouts, like Sacramento, [Calif.], Seattle and Honolulu. By having the demographic breakouts, it gives a certain economic power to the community. You can't sell to a community if you don't know if they are viewers," he said.

But Mr. Tang added that news managers still "need to have a diverse population in their own newsrooms if they are going to cover a diverse population."

For its part, CBS last year launched a training program that will place two journalists of color a year in local newsrooms. "We will finance the careers of one producer and one correspondent for two years at the largest affiliate that will take them," Ms. Mason said. "They will be monitored from New York. We will look at their tapes and advise them."

The first two candidates will be placed this fall, but they have yet to be selected. "We got between 80 and 100 applications for this," Ms. Mason said, generated by an announcement made at the Unity conference of journalists of color organizations in August 2004 as well as on the CBS Web site and through word of mouth. "We need diversity at every level of the news division so that people see the world their way and share it with all of us."

For NAHJ's Mr. Torres, digital broadcast is another cause for concern with regard to the numbers of minorities in the newsroom. "As television stations soon become digitally broadcast, we are concerned that if they are having a hard time reflecting the community with one station, they may have a harder time reflecting in other stations as well," he said. "It is a greater concern as we move forward with multichannel capacity."

By Sheree R. Curry

Special to TelevisionWeek

Young journalists just starting out should know that integrity is a major part of the journalism world, said Paula Madison, president and general manager of KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, who is scheduled to serve on a National Association of Black Journalists panel Thursday that will allow veteran journalists to speak with their younger colleagues about the promises and pitfalls of the craft.

"They may one day face that issue, as the courts become more stringent and more demanding to reveal sources," Ms. Madison said. "If you are not prepared with your integrity to fulfill your promise, then you really don't want to be a journalist."

But assuming one is committed on all levels, "A critical skill to have, no matter how digitized and modernized the business becomes, is writing," she said.

Some young journalists may not realize how important writing is for broadcast journalism, although it is different for those who want to be a photographer or an editor, said Ms. Madison, who will be attending her 29th consecutive NABJ conference since the start of the professional association 30 years ago. "It is less about your ability to look good on-camera and have a good voice. You have to be able to write."

One might be surprised that writing is truly what attracts managers to television journalists, she said, adding, "An enterprising reporter who can develop his or her own stories when they walk into a market is how a reporter separates themselves from the pack."

Though an assignment editor or news director will not likely put a person new to the market on a live assignment before the new hire gets up to speed on the market, she recommends that journalists begin their research on a market long before they arrive there.

"With digital technology today, the ability to research the market you are going to is a lot easier than back in the days when you had to get to town early and go to the library or newspaper archives and read as much as you could. Today it is at your fingertips," said Ms. Madison, whom Black Enterprise named one of the 75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America for 2005. "You spend a week or two [browsing the Internet] in the middle of the night getting up to speed so that you know who the members of the city council are and what the issues are affecting the school district."

While researching an area, Ms. Madison suggested as an aside, a reporter should also look into what is culturally relevant to his or her personal life. "Go out and find where the barbecue is, where you can go to church, where to get your hair done," she said, noting that fitting into one's community is very important, especially for people of color.

But on the professional side, just having writing skills that are superb and knowing a market doesn't guarantee that up-and-coming reporters and anchors will land jobs at stations in the top 10 or even top 20 markets easily, even though the news covered in Tulsa, Okla., is not that much different from what is covered in Chicago, Birmingham, Ala., or Detroit-it's all politics, education, crime and various lifestyle topics, Ms. Madison said.

Presentation skills partly make the difference in where one lands. "When I was a news director, I was looking for reporters who could enterprise and I looked in a variety of markets," said Ms. Madison, who joined NBC owned-and-operated KNBC in 2000 from NBC O&O WNBC-TV in New York, where she had been the station's VP and news director since March 1996. "Beverly White is probably one of the best live reporters. She can arrive on a scene and assemble the facts in her head and convey them on-air in an excellent manner."

(Ms. White, who was dubbed a "Live Shot Diva" in the April 2000 issue of Essence magazine, is a 13-year veteran of KNBC who hailed from NBC's O&O WTVJ-TV in Miami. She co-anchors the weekend editions of "Today in L.A." and reports for KNBC's "Channel 4 News.")

One's tenure and longevity in the business is probably a good indicator of how good one is at the live shot, said Ms. Madison, who added that it is a given, however, that to be on-air at all, one has to be fairly good at presentation: "You can't have a reporter stumbling and assembling all of the facts on the air."

Ms. Madison, who honed her reporting skills from 1982 to 1989 at KHOU-TV in Houston, KOTV-TV in Tulsa and WFAA-TV in Dallas after a career in newspapers, said it is best for a journalist to gain experience in broadcast in a small market. "When you are in a 150-plus market, your news managers are poised and ready to continue to teach you. They will help you with your writing and help you with editing," she said.

But Ms. Madison, who is the first African American woman to become general manager at a network-owned station in a top five market, also said it is important to find an industry mentor.

"Career mentors in my newsrooms were white males because those were the people who had the jobs. They have been very helpful to my career. But mentors can come from all around you. They will be Hispanics and Asians at your level and some subordinate to you," she said, adding that NABJ is a good place to find mentors.

"Many of the experiences you may encounter as a news operator or journalist, there are others at NABJ who have also encountered them. Have a network [of mentors], so when you face something, you can turn to folks who can say, 'Here is what

I did.'"

Sheree R. Curry

Special to TelevisionWeek

Ed Bradley, CBS News correspondent and co-editor of "60 Minutes," is this year's recipient of the National Association of Black Journalists' Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mr. Bradley, an 18-time Emmy winner-three won just last year-has produced unforgettable news stories that made a difference. His June 2002 report "The Church on Trial," about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, won him an Emmy, as did his March 2000 interview with condemned Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Mr. Bradley's interview with Mr. McVeigh is the only television interview Mr. McVeigh ever granted.

When Mr. Bradley reported on the plight of Africans dying of AIDS in his hour-long June 2000 special "Death by Denial," he not only won a Peabody Award but also helped convince drug companies to donate AIDS drugs and discount prices.

"Ed has had a life and a consistency of journalistic excellence," said Bryan Monroe, an NABJ VP and the assistant VP of news at Knight Ridder in San Jose, Calif. "He has broken many stories on African Americans and has been a beacon for many journalists working today. They see the great journalism he has been doing and say, 'I want to be like him.'"

Surprisingly, this 64-year-old Philadelphia native originally started out as a teacher. In 1964, armed with a B.S. in education from Cheyney (Pa.) State College, he taught in Philadelphia-area classrooms, eventually becoming an interim principal. All the while, he volunteered or worked part time for $1.50 an hour at Philadelphia radio station WDAS.

At WDAS he did a variety of jobs, including spinning records by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Billie Holiday, according to an interview with writer R.J. DeLuke that is posted at allaboutjazz.com. (Mr. Bradley was unavailable for an interview with TelevisionWeek due to his being on vacation while "60 Minutes" was on hiatus for the month of July.)

When the riots broke out in Philadelphia during the civil rights era, Mr. Bradley was there. According to a video interview he gave the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, Mr. Bradley took the initiative to cover the riots for the radio station, calling in stories from a pay phone. "I knew I wasn't suited to be a classroom teacher," he said.

One day he arrived to interview Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was sitting in his Philadelphia hotel room in his stocking feet and a T-shirt, eating potato salad and collard greens, Mr. Bradley recounted. Even in the casual circumstances, "I remember being stunned watching this man," he said, but he also knew Dr. King was going to be late for the interview, so Mr. Bradley improvised and interviewed others while waiting for Dr. King.

In August 1967 Mr. Bradley followed a mentor to New York and took a full-time position with WCBS radio. He said he was one of three blacks on staff; the two others were a radio technician and a janitor. He was given mainly black-related stories until he went to the assigning editor and said, "I want to be treated at this station the same way you treat anyone else. If you can't see your way clear to do that, I'll take it up with the news director." From that point on, he said in the Maynard interview, he saw a change in the kind of assignments he received.

In September 1971 Mr. Bradley jumped to CBS News as a stringer in its Paris bureau.

A year later he transferred to the Saigon, South Vietnam, bureau and in April 1973 he was wounded while on assignment in Cambodia.

In June 1974 he was assigned to the bureau in Washington. He became anchor of "CBS Sunday Night News" in November 1976 and joined "60 Minutes" during the 1981-82 season. This fall will mark his 25th season with "60 Minutes."

"I remember when I first met Ed at NABJ in New York in 1989," said Mr. Monroe, the NABJ VP. "I was a young journalist and there was Ed Bradley sipping on a glass of wine. He was one of the kindest journalists I met, but a fierce journalist and fierce competitor. Singling him out for lifetime achievement recognizes his career of work in journalism."

By James B. Arndorfer

Advertising Age

When a new management team took control of McDonald's Corp. in January 2003, it inherited a marketing model as messy as a table at the end of a Happy Meals party.

The fast-food giant had become notorious for lacking focus, being out of touch with the culture, stifling ideas in bureaucracy and producing subpar work. The solution: instill the youthful "I'm lovin' it" message-which covers everything from advertising to new products to packaging-across all channels globally. Then pit agencies against each other in jump-balls for new campaigns.

Agencies are used to hearing marketers make bold pronouncements about pursuing new directions, only to see inertia prevail. But the McDonald's team early on left no doubt it was serious.

"I remember the day we sat in a meeting and [then-McDonald President and Chief Operating Officer Charlie Bell] said, 'Hey, whoever doesn't want to do this and whoever doesn't believe in this and whoever doesn't want to come back and show us you've embraced it, there's the door,'" said Leo Burnett USA Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Cheryl Berman, who's worked on McDonald's for 23 years. "In the past maybe you have these meetings and you want to placate every person there and let them have their point of view and [have] advertising different in different locations."

The plan drew skepticism. But by the most telling measurement there is-sales-the campaign (helped by operational improvements and new products) is working.

"Give McDonald's credit," said Bob Scarpelli, worldwide CCO at DDB Worldwide, "for having the conviction … to stick with it and say this is going to work."

The "I'm lovin' it" message that debuted in 2003-coined by Unterhaching, Germany-based Heye & Partner-expresses the chain's so-called "Forever Young" positioning. Created by McDonald Executive VP and Chief Global Marketing Officer Larry Light, "Forever Young" contemporizes the fast-feeder by linking the marketer to elements of the culture such as music and sports.

The ad campaign, aimed primarily at young adults and moms, brings this concept to life through the "brand journalism" approach, in which ads tell stories about what customers love and how McDonald's fits into their lives.

DDB's french fries advertising, for example, shows two Chinese sisters who share everything as they grow up-until they eat the golden fries.

"Brand journalism has been about having the customer tell the story about what they like about life," said Dean Barrett, senior VP and global marketing at McDonald's. "The next generation of 'I'm lovin' it' is to continue to lead and innovate" in touching consumers' "passion points."

"I'm lovin' it" has proved elastic enough to link McDonald's to everything from soccer to healthy lifestyles and exercise, themes that help the company respond to the anti-obesity forces that criticize its menu.

Mr. Light thinks "I'm lovin' it" is far more than an ad campaign, however, because it covers all forms of marketing, including packaging and in-store displays, and even employee communications.

Since the program's launch, McDonald's' annual employee turnover rate in the United States is down to 130 percent from 135 percent, while the industry average is 140 percent. "It's a significant improvement and … if we get to 75 percent, we'll be pretty happy," Mr. Light said.

Next year McDonald's plans to run advertising specifically directed at employee pride and employee programs. "When companies are cutting back employee benefits, we've increased ours," Mr. Light said. "We need to figure out how to make 'McJob' a badge of pride again."

The new marketing approach puts a premium on agencies digging up actionable consumer insights. McDonald's spends "more time with our agencies looking for customer insights, what do they enjoy in life and how does McDonald's fit in as part of that," Mr. Barrett said.

But the strategy comes with its own challenges. While same-store sales are growing, McDonald's has set aggressive future targets. That means it must keep finding ways to move the idea forward.

"The innovation of the campaign is to consistently and constantly look for those new things, those new opportunities and ways to connect to the customers through what they're thinking and where they're going in life and how we remain relevant to them from a cultural standpoint," Mr. Barrett said. "That's a constant challenge."

Agency resources are also being challenged. McDonald's allots work to its lead agency, DDB Chicago, and Burnett.

But in some cases it holds jump-balls, which can be draining and distract from work an agency already is doing for McDonald's. In addition, Mr. Light has said he plans to encourage agencies to share ideas in progress with other shops, which could create friction among agencies.

"Every agency has a certain sense of competitiveness and a certain sense of we can do this better than anyone else can do it," said Burnett's Ms. Berman. "The jump-balls keep you on your toes. I don't think you can have so many of them that everything's up for grabs, but they keep you from becoming complacent."

Previously, McDonald's marketing efforts were undermined by different regions running ads with different looks. "I'm lovin' it" imposes constraints so the company's message remains consistent. For instance, the line "I'm lovin' it" has to be used.

But McDonald's allows agencies flexibility in expressing ideas, the so-called "Freedom Within a Framework."

A standout example was DDB's "Lincoln fry" effort. Assigned to create a Super Bowl spot, DDB went further and created blogs touting the fictitious fry and auctioned it off, giving the effort a life well beyond the sports event.

And as McDonald's seeks to contemporize itself, it's more open to these sorts of ideas than in the past.

As DDB Senior VP Paul Tilley, the agency's top creative on McDonald's, said in a recent speech: "McDonald's consciously is trying to do things that are unexpected."

Kate MacArthur contributed to this report.

From the '60s through the '90s, Robert Conrad was the consummate television tough guy. As the star of half a dozen series, including the hits "The Wild, Wild West (1965-69) and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (1976-78), as well as several dozen TV movies (many of which he also produced) and a handful of features, he was quick with a quip and even faster with his fists as he set things right and cast a spell over every pretty lady in sight. A former boxer and martial arts master, the Chicago native is vividly remembered for a series of battery commercials he did in the late 1970s. He was the guy who put a battery on his shoulder and dared anyone to knock it off.

Today Mr. Conrad is semi-retired, still recovering from the devastating effects of a 2003 auto accident that led to his pleading no contest to drunken driving charges and serving time under house arrest. He broke his skull and has been left with nerve damage in his neck and spine. He doesn't have full use of his right hand, for now. Even at 70-something, he still talks tough, only now it is about overcoming his physical ailments. Some of his physical problems, he added, are also the result of doing many of his own stunts over the years.

His career has made him wealthy. He could stay retired in his longtime home in Bear Valley and enjoy life with his wife of 22 years, LaVelda, nine children (from two marriages and an early relationship) and 20 grandchildren. Instead, Mr. Conrad has thrown himself into a new battle, to become the 24th president of the 120,000-member Screen Actors Guild. He said he is not associated with either of the two factions that have polarized the union, but rather is in it to bring all sides together as a first step to rebuilding the power and clout of SAG.

"I'm very serious," insisted Mr. Conrad in his first in-depth interview on his candidacy. "I have other things to do with my life than to subject myself to criticism, which I know is coming. I think the ultimate goal of getting a better, stronger union is more important than me personally."

There is no question Mr. Conrad is the dark horse in this election, which will be decided in late September. His opponents are "Falcon Crest" star Morgan Fairchild, spiritual successor to outgoing President Melissa Gilbert and now leader of the Restore Respect group, which controls the New York board and by a slight margin the national board; and current board member Alan Rosenberg, who is married to actress Marg Helgenberger and leads the Membership First group, which controls the Hollywood board and wants a much tougher stance in negotiations with producers.

Ms. Gilbert, after winning three elections to serve two terms, announced last month she wouldn't run again. During her four years in office she supported three major referendums, all voted down. She was involved in contract negotiations that produced some increases in pay and medical but failed to get gains in the key areas of new media and DVD. In parting, Ms. Gilbert said, "There are rifts that may very well be irreparable."

Mr. Conrad doesn't agree. "She had four years," he said. "If you can't do it in four years … maybe she was a little too accommodating."

Mr. Conrad has never been a guild board member but has been active at times, usually supporting conservatives.

He has a production company and negotiated numerous deals over the years and knows the players, even if some of those he knows best are no longer in power. He wants to return to what he calls the glory days, when the union was run by James Cagney, Ronald Reagan, Charlton Heston and others who in his memory brought a majority of members together. "This is one of the most powerful guilds in America," said Mr. Conrad, pointing to the union logo. "It says, 'actors united.' Obviously, based on Gilbert bowing out and two candidates coming in representing factions, we're not united."

His issues include a better living wage for actors who work, continuing medical insurance for actors who no longer qualify for coverage in terms of income, a fair share of DVD revenues (which he said are currently "pathetic"), higher residuals from cable TV, a stronger stand on runaway production, safer conditions for stunt people and greater enforcement of SAG jurisdiction around the globe.

He thinks some actors, especially stunt people, should be able to retire at 55. He's against a SAG merger with the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. He wants more aggressive negotiations but will remain flexible. He wants to charge more to join SAG, and would support a dues hike to strengthen the guild's position.

Mr. Conrad, a self-described political independent, said he has the backing of the entire Teamsters Union, though he was unclear about what that union might do to support him. He is not advocating a link between SAG and the Teamsters, though he would like to see some mutual cooperation.

He'd call for a strike only as a last resort and if the resources were there to do the job. "You don't strike unless you plan on winning something really significant," Mr. Conrad said. "You don't threaten to strike, because that arms the opponent. What you do is negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Then at a particular time, if you're not satisfied with the progress, then you strike and stay out as long as it takes to win."

One point he comes back to again and again is the need for more respect for SAG and for actors. "Actors aren't getting a fair share of anything," Mr. Conrad said. "I don't want it to be sour grapes. I've been in this union and this guild when we got respect and were treated properly and were well compensated, when the daily [minimum wage] was something you could live on and the weekly was something that you embraced. That's not today."

He plans to run a low-budget campaign, what he calls "groundroots." He will spend some of his own money on the campaign as well. His primary plan is to appear at SAG forums and debates alone or with the other candidates in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

If elected, Mr. Conrad will move into a townhouse in the L.A. area, closer to most of his family. He loves being with his family. And to him, his fellow actors, stunt people and others in SAG are an extension of his family. He's ready to be a tough guy on their behalf.

"I'm only 5 foot 8 and I only weigh 165 pounds as of this morning," said Mr. Conrad, "so I'm not the world's meanest guy. But I do walk around believing I'm David (as in David and Goliath). And I am biblical. I've got the slingshot. If you treat me nicely, I'll treat you nicer. If you're rude to me, put your headgear on. Here it comes."

Finally poised to give Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin a Republican majority at the agency, President Bush was expected to nominate Richard Russell and Deborah Taylor Tate to be commissioners at the FCC, sources said late last week.

Senate confirmation of the candidates, which is expected after lawmakers return from their summer recess in September, will clear the way for Mr. Martin to begin pursuing a more aggressive agenda at the agency.

He has been politically handcuffed since President Bush named him chairman March 18 because the agency, which is authorized to have a total of five commissioners, has been deadlocked with two Republicans and two Democrats. The political party that controls the White House also controls three of the agency's five seats.

Four seats are currently occupied, and one Republican seat is vacant. Another is occupied by Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, whose official term has expired. She has made clear that she wants to move on.

The term of Democratic incumbent Commissioner Michael Copps expired at the end of June, but Mr. Copps is seeking a reappointment.

Mr. Russell, a biologist by training, is associate director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy. Ms. Tate, a lawyer, is a director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which regulates telecommunications and utility firms in the state.

Despite his educational training in the life sciences, Mr. Russell has been working on technology issues for years, both at the White House and in previous posts with the House Committee on Science. Among his White House responsibilities is to serve as the liaison to the FCC.

Sources said Ms. Tate, who also has chaired the Washington action committee for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, has the backing of Tennessee's two influential Republican senators: Lamar Alexander and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Mr. Russell was confirmed by the Senate for his current White House job in 2002. Before being named to that post he served as the Office of Science and Technology Policy's chief of staff and was with the House Science Committee from 1995 to 2001. He also served stints on the staffs of Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., and Sen. John Seymour, R-Calif.

Before she was appointed to the Tennessee Regulatory Authority in 2002, Ms. Tate was director of the state and local policy center at Vanderbilt University. She was a senior staffer to then-Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist, a Republican.

As recently as last Tuesday, another White House staffer-Mike Meece, special assistant to the president and deputy director of the office of public liaison-was poised to get the seat that now appears destined for Mr. Russell, sources said. But one industry source said Mr. Russell appeared to have a more relevant background for the FCC post because of his service as the White House's FCC liaison.

The most important issue that is stalled until these seats are filled is the media ownership issue. The Supreme Court refused to review a decision by an appellate court that overturned most of the FCC rules on how many TV stations one company can own in the same market and regulations barring newspaper owners from also owning broadcasters in a single market. It is now up to the FCC to reconsider these questions.

John Roberts Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, has shown himself to be media-savvy throughout his career. As an attorney, his client list included News Corp. and NBC. He also dealt with media issues as deputy solicitor general in the Justice Department and as a federal appeals court judge.

In 2002, while a lawyer in the private sector for more than 14 years, Mr. Roberts argued a case in a federal appeals court that cleared the way for Rupert Murdoch to simultaneously own The New York Post and two major broadcast stations in New York, the nation's largest market.

The situation arose after News Corp. acquired 10 TV stations from Chris-Craft Industries and received a two-year waiver from the Federal Communications Commission from the agency's cross-ownership rules, which bars owners of daily newspapers from buying TV stations in their markets. The United Church of Christ challenged the FCC's decision and appealed, arguing that the agency had failed to present the necessary public interest rationale.

Under fire in the appeals courtroom, the lawyer for the FCC was unable to persuade the judges that the public interest case had been made, according to an eyewitness.

That's when Mr. Roberts, then an attorney with the law firm Hogan & Hartson, stepped forward on News Corp.'s behalf. He dredged up an arcane precedent from an old radio industry case that held that the information supplied in a standard FCC transfer application form provided sufficient information for a public interest case to be made.

"His oral argument saved the day for the FCC," said Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, who was in the courtroom. News Corp. retains the waiver to this day.

In his more than 10 years at Hogan & Hartson, Mr. Roberts also represented NBC, working on a legal brief for the 2002 case in which the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington threw out the FCC's broadcast-cable cross-ownership rules and seriously undermined the legal justification for agency regulations establishing a cap on national TV station ownership. The court ruling also undermined a regulation prohibiting owners of daily newspapers from buying broadcast stations in their markets.

Judge Roberts has also been an investor in the media sector. In his federal financial disclosure form filed last year, he disclosed that he invested heavily in media and telecommunications firms. He had stock valued at more than $100,000 in Time Warner (a client of Hogan & Hartson), Microsoft and Intel, along with smaller positions in The Walt Disney Co., Cisco Systems and Scientific-Atlanta. (According to the disclosure form, he held Comcast stock and sold it in 2003.)

Mr. Roberts is a judge on the same appeals court in which he saved Mr. Murdoch's bacon.

Spokespeople for several watchdog groups said the fact that Mr. Roberts once represented News Corp. and NBC in no way disqualifies him to serve on the Supreme Court.

"He is among the half-dozen best qualified in the country [to serve on the Supreme Court]," said Media Access Project's Mr. Schwartzman.

But others say his record sets off enough alarms about his attitude toward media consolidation and other critical media issues that some groups will urge lawmakers to confront him about during Senate confirmation hearings, which are expected to start in September.

"The Roberts-Murdoch connection needs to be better understood," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "One of the key questions is whether Roberts will have to recuse himself from media issues."

Said a News Corp. source, in response: "[Mr. Roberts] worked for us once, as just about every lawyer in Washington has worked for us."

Despite the best efforts of liberal critics to paint Mr. Roberts as a conservative, supporters note that he served as a behind-the-scenes adviser on a case involving Playboy in 2000 while at Hogan & Hartson.

In that case the Supreme Court struck down an effort by the federal government to prohibit cable operators from offering partly scrambled adult programming between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The court majority, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the fact that cable TV companies could block sex channels for concerned customers mitigated the need for a stronger remedy.

At the same time, according to People for the American Way, when Mr. Roberts was solicitor general for the Department of Justice in 1990, he co-wrote the government's brief in U.S. v. Eichman, arguing that a law prohibiting flag burning was constitutional. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, disagreed.

In the one media industry-related case he has written as an appeals court judge, Mr. Roberts in 2003 upheld an FCC decision requiring TV set manufacturers to include digital TV tuners in sets as an important component of the DTV transition.

Those who know him describe Mr. Roberts as a brilliant lawyer-one who has carefully kept many of his private opinions close to the vest.

"Most people assume he's conservative, but it's not based on anything he's said," said Bob Corn-Revere, a former Hogan & Hartson attorney who said he has known Mr. Roberts for 20 years. "He's never worn any ideological outlook on his sleeve."

"He's a humble guy who is always the smartest guy in the room, and it's rare to find that combination," added an industry admirer, who asked not to be identified.

In addition, Mr. Corn-Revere said the media-related cases that Mr. Roberts worked on for Hogan & Hartson hadn't involved "hot-button" issues that would create a controversy about his qualifications for the high-court job.

"They're really about statutory interpretation and agency discretion," Mr. Corn-Revere said.

Still, the Center for Digital Democracy's Mr. Chester said it is critical that the public ferret out where Mr. Roberts stands on consolidation and other important industry issues.

John Glover Roberts Jr.

Mr. Roberts (born Jan. 27, 1955) is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He served from 1980-81 as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and was an associate counsel at the White House from 1982-86.

Mr. Roberts came to the law firm Hogan & Hartson in 1986, leaving in 1989 to become deputy solicitor general for the Department of Justice. In 1993 he returned to Hogan & Hartson and stayed there until 2003, when he became a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.

According to the watchdog Center for Investigative Reporting, Mr. Roberts served as a lobbyist for peanut growers in 1996-97 while at Hogan & Hartson.

In a break from the programming trends of recent years, three of the six broadcast networks plan to roll out new alien-themed sci-fi series this fall, reintroducing a genre that long has been considered a tough sell. Differentiating the new projects for viewers is a priority, according to the top marketing executives for ABC, CBS and NBC.

The new shows have striking similarities, but the marketing gurus are preparing to unleash very different promotional campaigns.

The three shows, ABC's "Invasion," CBS's "Threshold" and NBC's "Surface," all revolve around what appear to be visitors from outer space, with the mostly unseen aliens using bodies of water as a cover.

To promote the projects, ABC is focusing on family dynamics, CBS is highlighting an elite government team and NBC is touting a "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"-like wonder.

The campaigns reflect the different time periods slotted for each show and the varied audiences each is trying to reach. ABC's show will air at 10 p.m. and CBS's show will air at 9 p.m., so both are looking for a more adult audience. NBC, on the other hand, is airing its show at 8 p.m. and is looking for an audience that includes younger viewers.

Even with the three similar shows premiering within weeks of each other, opportunity exists for all of them to find some sort of viable audience, said John Miller, chief marketing officer for NBC Universal Television Group.

"Clearly there are about 10 procedural crime dramas on various networks right now, so there may be room for a couple of shows in the sci-fi realm," Mr. Miller told TelevisionWeek. "That's not to say that's not a challenging task for all three marketing departments."

As part of their plan, the networks held panel discussions for their shows during the Television Critics Association's tour.

At ABC, one important element in selling "Invasion" is resisting the temptation to focus on the detailed plot points of the pilot, which profiles a blended family of first responders in the Everglades town of Homestead, Fla., in the aftermath of a hurricane. Instead, ABC is giving viewers a look at the broader themes that define "Invasion," Senior VP of Marketing Mike Benson said.

He made a comparison to the strategy the network used with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," which were introduced to audiences last summer and fall minus many of the specifics that defined both shows.

"We sold the feel of those shows, and then the shows delivered on it," Mr. Benson told TelevisionWeek, noting that capturing the feel of a new series comes about by simplifying.

"The process that we go through is to drill down to what the show at the core is all about," Mr. Benson said. "'Lost' isn't a science-fiction show. 'Lost' looked more like a mystery show than anything. It's a character show, and the island is a character."

With "Invasion," the series at its core is about a family-specifically, a family going through great change, he said.

"It's a program about evolution more than anything," Mr. Benson said, noting that evolution offers families the opportunity to grow closer together but is a force that can also "tear families apart."

In his TCA press session, "Invasion" creator and executive producer Shaun Cassidy defined the new series in similar terms.

"This is a family drama and I come from a complicated family," he said. "You can explore a big picture on a big canvas by using interesting people."

The fact that two similar shows are out there isn't a concern, Mr. Cassidy said.

"I didn't know there were other shows until we delivered," he said, noting that he has created an overall mythology for the series but has left himself room to make specific adjustments when it comes to character and plot. In addition, Mr. Cassidy pointed out that his show, airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m. (ET), would have the added benefit of a "Lost" lead-in, a show that explores similar themes and provides "Invasion" with a large built-in audience.

"This show is about the emotional recovery of a family, of the town and ultimately the series," he said.



CBS developed its strategy for "Threshold" by first looking at the title, said George Schweitzer, president of marketing for the network.

In the series, "'Threshold' is the plan that the government has for dealing with an alien invasion," Mr. Schweitzer told TelevisionWeek. "Rather than a generic invasion, it's an actual plan the government has invented."

The CBS series profiles an elite yet unconventional team of scientists charged with traveling the globe exploring the phenomena caused by an advanced form of unseen life that may pose a threat to the human race. The team is required to keep its work secret from the still unsuspecting public. Unlike "Invasion," which will stay focused on one small town in Florida, "Threshold" takes a broader, more scientific approach to figuring out what the aliens are.

"Our selling point is 'The aliens are here, but don't worry, we have a plan,'" Mr. Schweitzer said. "That's our point of difference."



Embracing Scariness

"Threshold" will also embrace its potential to scare, said David Goyer, one of the series' executive producers.

"Our show is meant to be disturbing and genuinely scary, because I think if something like this did happen, it would be disturbing and scary," he said, adding, "It's more 'Signs' than 'Independence Day.'"

CBS plans to tap its corporate experience promoting sci-fi fare, Mr. Schweitzer said.

"We have a lot of experience through UPN with our 'Star Trek' franchise," he said. "We have a very good marketing base with sci-fi people."

The show includes a connection to 'Star Trek" thanks to the casting of Brent Spiner, who played the character Data in several "Star Trek" series and feature films.

Platforms Mr. Schweitzer plans to use to promote the show include CBS's male-skewing Sunday NFL games, the Paramount-owned "Star Trek" attraction in Las Vegas and the Paramount-owned theme parks.

"We follow all roads; we pursue all leads," he said.

But success will come only if "Threshold" attracts viewers beyond a cult audience, Mr. Schweitzer said.

"The key is, how do you go broader than the science-fiction fan," he said. "The bottom line for viewers is, is it entertaining, is it worth an hour of my time and why?"



Breaking the 'Surface'

NBC's Mr. Miller said all three networks are approaching their alien shows differently.

"CBS is probably approaching it with a harder sci-fi edge," he told TelevisionWeek. "I don't want to criticize what they are doing, but that's a tough sell, having done that a couple times before. You really niche down the audience when you go pure sci-fi. ABC is taking more a family approach, and they have not mentioned aliens one time in there. They say 'Invasion,' they say it's not what you think it is … they are selling it with an ominous air."

For "Surface," which profiles a San Diego teen, a Monterey, Calif., marine biologist and a Louisiana diver's interaction with a mysterious undersea force, NBC will try to invoke a "little bit more 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' a little bit more of an adventure," Mr. Miller said. That dovetails with executive producer/creator Josh Pate's comments about the show at TCA.

"We're an 8 o'clock show; we're a big family adventure," Mr. Pate said. "We're going after a really different tone. It's about awe and wonder. … People always want to know, 'Is the species good or bad?' And my answer is always, 'Is a tiger good or bad?' We're not about gore. We're not about horror."

Asked how "Surface" will compare with "Threshold" and "Invasion," Mr. Pate described his audience. "Our focus is a big, family popcorn adventure that an 8-year old can watch with his grandfather," he said. "We want to have a big tent."

In terms of marketing, Mr. Miller said "Surface" already has a tag line. "Our line is, 'Something is in the water,'" he said, noting that on both coasts NBC is hiring biplanes to fly along beaches on Labor Day touting the series, a stunt that will be clearly explained and shouldn't alarm beachgoers.

"Don't worry, there's nothing contagious in the water; it's just TV promotion," Mr. Miller said.

TiVo has signed five more major marketers for a new program that ensures their brand messages are seen by viewers even if they fast-forward through commercials. It also creates an opportunity for direct-response marketing.

The advertisers are Ameriquest, E*Trade Financial, Nautilus, Novartis and Tylenol.

Beginning immediately, when commercials for those advertisers appear, some TiVo consumers will see a branded tag on their screen that alerts them that more information about that brand is available by pushing a button on their remote.

"DVRs are growing and people skip through commercials," said Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo. The new program gives marketers a way to "express those commercials in a DVR environment."

Advertisers benefit three ways, he said. The brand comes through even in fast-forward mode, viewers have the opportunity to relate to the brand in great depth and marketers can use direct-response marketing techniques during the interactive ad experience. TiVo will be able to track how many viewers click for more information and consumers will decide whether they want to be contacted by marketers about the brands being advertised.

Because of TiVo's technology, which pauses live TV, viewers who move to these commercial messages will be able to return to their program without missing a minute of their program.

That separates this TiVo initiative from previous attempts at interactive advertising, said Mr. Rogers: "All other forms of interactive advertising forced you to go to another channel or disrupted the viewing experience."

The new ad tags will be seen by 1 million TiVo subscribers nationally who use the stand-alone TiVo Series 2 boxes. Subscribers who use integrated boxes provided by DirecTV, Comcast or other cable operators will begin receiving the service sometime in the future. TiVo has 3.3 million customers overall.

The advertisers are paying TiVo a fee to have their tags put up on the screen. TiVo also handles the back-end of the interaction, including the compilation of response data.

Advertisers have become increasingly concerned about viewers' ability to use DVRs to avoid seeing commercials and have been exploring a number of strategies to make sure the messages they pay for aren't simply being skipped over by consumers.

"E*Trade's marketing model is based on a test-and-learn approach, which provides us with innovative ways to reach our target, value-driven consumer," Nicholas Utton, chief marketing officer of E*Trade, said in a statement. "Our motto, to challenge the ordinary, compels us to work with a broad spectrum of partners and technologies, like TiVo and direct-response technology, to expose television viewers to our unique brand and value proposition."

Last month, TiVo said that General Motors and The WB Television Network had signed up for TiVo's new advertising features. GM planned to use the technology to support its OnStar, GMC, Chevrolet and Saturn brands. The WB was using TiVo tags with promotional spots for new shows.

Despite creating a device that enables consumers to skip commercials, TiVo officials have repeatedly said they are committed to developing solutions for advertisers. Shortly after becoming CEO in June, Mr. Rogers told TelevisionWeek that he sees TiVo "as a platform for dealing with, and allowing for the growth of, the advertising business." He said advertising is "a critical element" of the company's future and a company advantage that, because "other providers have not thought through" the advertising component, could enable TiVo to "pioneer some aspects of the advertising business."

A recent research report by ESPN said DVR households number about 12 million are expected to reach 33.5 million by 2008. The study found that among those DVR households, commercial avoidance was not the main impetus for acquiring the device. Many viewers said they actually like commercials, and some fast-forwarders are more aware of the commercials they fast-forward through than they are of other commercials, the study said.

Jay Sherman contributed to this report.

Expanding on Travel Channel's mandate to move away from specials and travelogues, the Discovery Networks-owned channel has greenlighted its first docu-soap reality series, ordering 18 half-hour episodes of "Flight Attendant School" from GRB Entertainment.

"We want to look at docu-soaps as something that will work for Travel. We're moving away from anthologies and becoming more series- and personality-driven," Travel Channel spokesman James Ashurst said.

The series follows eight students in a flight attendant training program for Denver-based Frontier Airlines.

"There's always been an allure or glamour to being a flight attendant, but it's also a serious job with serious responsibility, and we want to focus on both of those aspects," Mr. Ashurst said.

The series has a built-in competitive element: The difficult six-week training program typically weeds out less-qualified candidates.

Travel Channel recently debuted its first wave of programming pegged to its new strategy, with "Stranded With Cash Peters" and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations." At the Television Critics Association's press tour last month, Travel Channel General Manager Pat Younge announced "5 Takes," in which five young travelers take a six-week tour of Europe on $50 each person per day.

Though "Flight Attendant School" is the first docu-soap for Travel Channel, fellow Discovery-owned network TLC has recently embraced the format, scheduling "Hollywood Interns" and "Miami Ink" this summer. Competitor A&E pulled out of the ratings doldrums last year with docu-soaps such as "Airline" and "Growing Up Gotti."

Travel Channel averaged 400,000 prime-time viewers during the most recent quarter, 153,000 between the ages of 18 and 49, about on par with the same period last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. Among its recent debuts, "Cash" received a .2 average household rating, "Reservations" a .3.

The numbers are modest: The network's biggest hit, "World Poker Tour," often generates a .6, and nightly anthology programming typically receives between .1 and .2.

But Mr. Ashurst said he expects the numbers to build as viewers discover the show.

"The Tom Joyner Show" has obtained key clearances in New York and Los Angeles beginning this fall, giving it a presence in nine of the top 10 markets and 38 of the top 40 markets.

"Joyner" will air on ABC owned-and-operated stations WABC-TV in New York and KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

The syndicated one-hour weekly variety series, which stars radio personality Tom Joyner, also announced its creative team. Ehrich Van Lowe will executive produce, Don Weiner will act as director/producer and Jeffrey Kopp will serve as supervising producer. "Joyner" will premiere the week of Sept. 26, with the show taping in August in Los Angeles.

With these additional stations, "Joyner" will reach 90 percent of African American households in the United States and all of the top 26 markets for African Americans. The show mostly will air in late-night on Saturdays on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox stations and in prime time on Sundays on independent stations as well as on UPN and The WB affiliates.

Produced by Mr. Joyner's Reach Media and distributed by Litton Entertainment, the show was previously cleared on the independent WCIU-TV in Chicago, Tribune-owned WB affiliate WPHL-TV in Philadelphia, Granite's WB affiliate KBWB-TV in San Francisco and Viacom's UPN station KTXA-TV in Dallas.

"KABC and WABC certainly add cachet to the lineup," said Marty Raab, president of Reach Television Productions and the company's senior VP of marketing.

Mr. Van Lowe has written for and co-produced NBC's "The Cosby Show," executive produced Fox's "Roc" and helped develop Disney Channel's "Even Stevens." Mr. Werner was a director and producer for 16 seasons on the syndicated "It's Showtime at the Apollo" and produced the pageant finale for Fox's "The Swan." Mr. Kopp was a supervising producer of CBS' "The Cut" and worked on syndicated strips such as "The Howie Mandel Show" and "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show" as well as the pilot for "The John Salley Show."

The show has secured support from packaged-goods, restaurant and beverage and retail advertisers, but Mr. Raab declined to name specific clients. He described "Joyner's" ad partners as "blue-chip advertisers TV stations will be very happy to have supporting the show."

Lachlan Murdoch's surprise announcement Friday that he will step down as News Corp.'s deputy chief operating officer is unlikely to have much of an impact on the company's regular operations or its stock price, analysts said. But it is raising fresh questions about Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch's succession plans.

Generally, Wall Street had little reaction to the news that Mr. Murdoch's eldest son will leave his management post by Aug. 31 but will remain on the News Corp. board. Many noted that with News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin in place, little is expected to change at the media giant.

"From the standpoint of the whole company, it would have been a lot more significant on the stock price if Peter Chernin were to make a change of venue, though that is not to say that [Lachlan Murdoch's departure] is not of interest or importance," said Harold Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Management.

Jessica Reif Cohen, a Merrill Lynch media analyst, said she expects 33-year-old Lachlan Murdoch's departure to have "minimal impact on News Corp.'s operations." She said she expects Rupert Murdoch's youngest son, James, 32, who currently runs British satellite company BSkyB, to become the heir apparent to the media empire his father built.

"However, this remains a very long-term issue, as we continue to expect Mr. Chernin will take the helm of the company when Rupert Murdoch retires," she added. "James … should eventually take control, but not until Mr. Chernin decides to leave the company and/or the board deems [James] ready."

Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Chernin had no comment.

Regardless of whether James Murdoch is, by default, the new successor, the mere suggestion of him as a replacement might not be enough to satisfy investors, who in recent years have become more vocal about their demands for a clear succession plan, especially at large media companies.

Viacom's octogenarian Chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone found that out over the past year, after Wall Street pressed him to name a successor and he set up a horse race between his two lieutenants, co-COOs Tom Freston and Leslie Moonves, that was later abandoned for a new plan to split up the company with each executive running his own unit. The Walt Disney Co. likewise learned the same lesson after shareholders complained loudly that CEO Michael Eisner had not successfully articulated a succession plan. The company now has one, with President and COO Robert Iger expected to assume the CEO post in October.

At News Corp., the 74-year-old Mr. Murdoch has long made clear that he is grooming his sons to take over the family business when he retires. While both sons at one point were seen as having a shot, Lachlan Murdoch emerged as the more likely candidate, particularly when he joined the office of the chairman in 1999. That position was solidified last year when James Murdoch stepped down from the News Corp. board to assume the CEO title at BSkyB.

In addition to Lachlan, who plans to return to Australia from New York, and James Murdoch, who is based in London, the elder Mr. Murdoch has a 37-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, who at one time was a managing director at BSkyB, but quit in 2000 to start her own television production company in London. She has made clear that, for at least the near term, she has no interest in returning to the News Corp. fold.

Rupert Murdoch has three other daughters: Prudence, who is from his first marriage and has not had a role in the News Corp. empire, and two very young daughters with his third and current wife, Wendi Deng.

Lachlan Murdoch joined the company in 1994 and has served in many roles. He started his career at News Ltd., the Sydney, Australia-based parent company of News Corp.'s Australian operations, cleaning presses at the Mirror newspaper before moving up the management ranks. He eventually became general manager of Queensland Newspapers, publisher of The Australian and then deputy chief executive of News Ltd.

He joined the News Corp. board in 1996 and became a member of the office of the chairman in 1999. Since then he has had responsibility for publisher HarperCollins; News America Marketing, the freestanding marketing inserts business; and presently serves as chairman of News Ltd., chairman of the 35-station Fox Television Station Group and publisher of The New York Post. One of his key moves at the station group was a deal made at NATPE this past January to carry "The Tyra Banks Show," beginning this fall, which marks the first time in several years that Fox stations has carried a Warner Bros. program.

It was perhaps his role as publisher of the New York tabloid that generated the most headlines for Lachlan Murdoch. He replaced the entire senior management team of the paper in an effort to make it profitable, and in the process helped fuel a circulation surge at a time when most print publications are posting flat circulation numbers.

In leaving, Lachlan Murdoch said: "I have today resigned my executive position at News Corp. I will remain on the board and I am excited about my continued involvement with the company in a different role."

For his part, Rupert Murdoch appeared to remove any suggestion that he might have pushed out his son, saying in a statement: "I am particularly saddened by my son's decision and thank him for his terrific contribution to the company, and also his agreement to stay on the board and advise us in a number of areas. I have respected the professionalism and integrity that he has exhibited throughout his career at News Corporation.

"His achievements include driving all of his reporting divisions to record profits and the New York Post to its highest-ever circulation. I am grateful that I will continue to have the benefit of Lachlan's counsel and wisdom in his continued role on the company's board."

The odds of getting federal legislation that gives the TV industry more leverage against Nielsen Media Research were 50-50 or less in the wake of a Senate hearing last week, according to media executives and lobbyists who have campaigned to force Nielsen to submit to a ratings authority.

Whatever the outcome, however, a hard-fought battle over ratings regulation is expected to be waged in Washington for months.

Following last week's hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, Senate staffers planned to tweak language in the FAIR Ratings Act-or Fairness, Accuracy, Inclusiveness and Responsiveness in Ratings-to address some potential stumbling blocks. The measure, introduced by committee member Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., aims to give the Media Rating Council, made up of TV and research industry professionals, power to enforce the research standards it sets.

Among the issues: whether the MRC would require an audit or accreditation before clearing the way for new Nielsen Local People Meter services to be deployed, and whether empowering the MRC, a four-decade-old industry watchdog agency, would create antitrust concerns.

On Capitol Hill, there are questions about whether a consensus can be reached. Some TV executives have been demanding that Nielsen agree not to launch any new services before they are accredited by the MRC. But the MRC has proposed a voluntary code of conduct that would require an audit, not the final step of accreditation, prior to launch.

Nielsen has agreed to audit-before-launch of services in the future but is dickering over other language in the detailed proposal, a situation some on the Hill see as "like writing its own rules again," as one longtime Nielsen client put it.

George Ivie, executive director and CEO of the MRC, told Sen. Burns during the hearing that he hopes to have the voluntary code wrapped up by Oct. 15. However, Nielsen, which has a monopoly on TV ratings, questions whether a code that enforces standards and procedures could pass antitrust muster with the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission, one of which would have to vet any such agreement.

Nielsen also has argued that if accreditation is a requirement for charging for its data, it will have to shut down some of its services.

The language of the FAIR Ratings Act will make clear it will not shut down existing services and will add an antitrust exemption for the MRC, according to a source close to Sen. Burns. (Sen. Burns owned TV and radio stations before being elected to the Senate the first time in 1988.)

Some of the most aggressive Nielsen client-critics, who also are voting members of the MRC, are not ready to settle for the less-stringent audit requirement.

"George Ivie is really between a rock and a hard place," one lobbyist said. "One of the big things accomplished is to show this is just the beginning, not the end of the debate."

Some of Nielsen's more moderate clients think the debate has become increasingly politicized since Nielsen began its conversion to Local People Meter services last year. Of the seven markets in which the LPMs are operating, only two-Boston and San Francisco-are accredited.

Mr. Ivie did not return calls seeking comment.

"My goal is to see the MRC come out of all this more empowered," said David Poltrack, executive VP of research and planning for CBS.

"The hearing provided a forum for the industry to take a first look at the FAIR Ratings Act. Based on [Wednesday's] testimony, Sen. Burns will make changes in the legislation to ensure it does no harm and is fair to all affected parties. He will continue to monitor the developments in the industry, including progress toward acceptance of the MRC's voluntary code of conduct," a spokesman for Sen. Burns said.

So the lobbyists will continue to work the Hill throughout Congress's August break and into the fall. Lobbyists for the broadcasters who complain that high fault rates in LPM markets are costing them viewers-and thus advertising revenue-will work to frame the debate as rooted in public policy and not as a business dispute between individual and powerful parties, one of them a monopoly.

"It's like everything else: You petition your government every way you know how," said Shaun Sheehan, Tribune VP and Washington lobbyist. But other broadcast executives note that while all the jawboning has focused intense pressure on Nielsen, "The broad cross-section probably doesn't think there is a strong federal role here," said one broadcaster.

"If their ratings were going through the roof, we wouldn't even be having these hearings," said Nielsen spokesman Jack Loftus.

Ad-supported cable is posting its highest-rated summer yet, fueled by new dramas such as TNT's "The Closer" and FX's "Over There" as well as returning series such as USA's "Monk," Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica" and FX's "Rescue Me."

Nielsen Media Research data for the summer season so far show cable leading broadcast in audience share, up 4 percent over last summer to a 61 percent audience share. The figure compares about 60 ad-supported cable networks to the seven broadcast networks from May 30 to July 24 during prime time.

"Despite people asserting broadcast has the buzz, the drumbeat continues for ad-supported cable extending its lead over broadcast and leading for the fifth consecutive summer," said Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner Broadcasting.

But cable may have broadcast to thank at least in part for its success this summer, according to at least one cable executive.

Tim Brooks, Lifetime's executive VP of research, said cable is benefiting from broadcast renewing viewer interest in scripted programming.

"Cable networks have some very high-profile scripted shows … after watching 'Lost' and 'Desperate Housewives,' those desiring scripted programming are going to cable," Mr. Brooks said. "On broadcast, 'Everybody Loves Raymond' and 'CSI' [have] turned into wall-to-wall reality."

Among summer cable series premieres, dramas and reality led the pack, while a few comedy efforts struggled. On top was "The Closer," a ratings and critical slam-dunk averaging 1.8 million adults 18 to 49 watching the premiere of original episodes since its June 13 debut. TNT's "Into the West" started strong with 1.8 million 18 to 49 viewers, but dropped about 40 percent by its sixth and final installment (see related story, this page).

For USA, "Monk" (an average 2.2 million 18 to 49 viewers for episode premieres) and "The Dead Zone" (1.9 million average) returned with double-digit increases among 18 to 49, though the alien abduction drama "The 4400" (2.2 million) was down 26 percent from last year's six-episode limited-series version.

At FX, the Iraq war drama "Over There" premiered last Wednesday with 2.4 million 18 to 49 viewers , on par with the March 16 premiere of the fourth season of "The Shield" and besting the June 21 return of "Rescue Me."

ABC Family's "Wildfire" averaged 600,000 18 to 49 viewers since its June 20 debut and has continued to grow. The series gives the channel an original scripted draw to call its own after building ratings with acquisitions such as "Smallville" and "Gilmore Girls."

Some reality shows on cable are making ratings splashes as well.

After "The Closer," the top-ranked debut series of the summer was MTV's "The '70s House" (averaging 1.6 million 18 to 49 viewers since its July 5 debut), in which a group of young people live in a 1970s-themed pad. The series maintains a sizable share of audience from its Tuesday 10 p.m. lead-in, "The Real World," which in its 16th season is still running hard, averaging 2.4 million since its June 21 premiere.

For sister network VH1, Hulk Hogan's reality show "Hogan Knows Best" was another significant debut, scoring the highest premiere rating in the network's history and averaging 1.5 million 18 to 49 viewers per episode since its premiere July 10 at 10 p.m.

Discovery's crab-fishing reality series "Deadliest Catch" was also a success, averaging 1.4 million 18 to 49 viewers since its April 12 9 p.m. debut.

In the battle between dueling tattoo reality shows-A&E's "Inked" (premiered July 20, airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m.) and TLC's "Miami Ink" (premiered July 19, airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m.)-the A&E version has the edge among 18 to 49-735,000 viewers to 673,00 for TLC, though the Discovery-owned network draws more total viewers. Neither show fared as well as A&E's illusionist reality series that follows "Inked," "Criss Angel-Mindfreak," which averaged 1.1 million viewers since its July 20 premiere.

ABC Family's reality effort, "Venus & Serena: For Real," performed solidly, receiving 500,000 average 18 to 49 viewers since its Wednesday, July 20, premiere, about the same as the network's summer prime-time average.

Morgan Spurlock's documentary series "30 Days" on FX averaged 1 million 18 to 49 viewers during its now-completed six-episode season this summer, lower than the network's scripted dramas.

Bravo had mixed results with its reality offerings. "Being Bobby Brown" has averaged 821,000 18 to 49 viewers of its episode premieres since it debuted at 10 p.m. June 30, a good number for the network that averages 221,000 during second-quarter prime time but below what "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" typically garners.

Bravo's "Situation: Comedy," a quest to find an NBC-worthy new sitcom, barely registered, getting 119,000 18 to 49 viewers during its two-telecast premiere night last Tuesday.

The comedy situation for other cable networks also was grim. TNT may be experiencing the highest summer average in the network's history, but sister channel TBS's return of "The Real Gilligan's Island" and the Pauly Shore reality show "Minding the Store" managed to barely match the network's second-quarter prime-time average

Comedy Central's effort to find a sketch comedy show to replace "Chappelle's Show" also struggled, with a modest showing by "Stella" (533,000 average among 18 to 49 since its 10:30 p.m. June 28 debut), though "Mind of Mencia" fared a bit better (814,000 18 to 9 average since its 10:30 p.m. July 6 premiere).

A standout among the smaller networks was OLN, which drew a network record of 1.7 million total viewers with its live coverage of Lance Armstrong's seventh Tour de France victory the morning of July 24. OLN also scored by airing exclusive reruns of the first season of "Survivor," the network's highest-rated noncycling program.

TNT last week labeled "Into the West," its six-episode miniseries that is part of the network's $125 million commitment to original programming this summer, as a huge success.

"It's been an incredible summer for us," said Steve Koonin, general manager of TNT and TBS.

Turner said that 81 million people watched part of "Into the West," which premiered June 10 and wrapped July 22.

"That's staggering," he said. "The program helped TNT draw more 18 to 49 viewers than broadcast weblets The WB and UPN during June."

TNT averaged 1.4 million viewers in the demo in prime time in June, compared with 1.1 million for both UPN and The WB, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"I've never been more pleased or proud of a project my whole career," Mr. Koonin said.

Ratings for the miniseries trailed off as it went along, particularly after the network opted to not show it over the Independence Day holiday weekend. The premiere episode of "Into the West" drew 1.8 million viewers in the 18 to 49 demo in its first play on Friday. The finale drew 1.1 million, a 42 percent drop.

"We hoped people would stay with it, and a large portion did," Mr. Koonin said. "From opening weekend till closing weekend, it definitely went down. We anticipated that happening, and our second-quarter [ad] prices were more expensive than our third-quarter prices because of that. We did ask the viewer to do a lot. It was very ambitious."

The show also skewed relatively older, with Friday night's premiere audiences averaging 56.7 years versus the network's prime-time year-to-date average age of 47.5.

Westerns traditionally attract an older audience. "We have a long and very smart history with Western-related product," Mr. Koonin said. "There were no surprises here for us."

But he said beyond ratings numbers, the show helped Turner reach other goals, including promoting the launch of its new hit "The Closer" and setting the stage for the premiere of "Wanted."

The miniseries established Turner in the originals business, he said, noting that Michael Wright, senior VP of original programming for TNT, "did a brilliant job as our executive on this project and it's allowed him to increase the quality and level of people who are coming to the network with ideas." "Into the West" sent an important message to the creative community, he said. "We're willing to take big risks, make big investments and support our properties in a big way. And the dividends from there will be positively felt for years to come."

"We feel like we had a fantastic return on our investment. We'd do it again tomorrow and we hope to do it again," he said. "Into the West" will come out on DVD and will air again next year on TNT. He said Turner is having "ongoing conversations" with Steven Spielberg, who executive produced "Into the West," about other projects.

Looking ahead, Mr. Koonin said TNT has nine scripts in development. "We have several huge projects lined up for '07 that we just can't speak about right now," he said, adding that TNT is working with "some of the biggest people in the entertainment business."

The cable industry has talked for years about the need to improve its marketing in the face of stiffening competition. But it wasn't until last week that cable executives actually seemed serious about achieving that goal.

Their motivation: the phone companies.

As cable marketing executives gathered in Philadelphia last week for the annual CTAM Summit, it was the Regional Bell Operating Cos. that loomed large over the event. The RBOCs are spending billions upgrading their networks as part of a plan to offer video service via telephone lines at the end of the year, and this has created among many cable executives a greater sense of urgency about the need to refine marketing efforts ahead of the arrival of what many believe will be a formidable competitor.

Indeed, this year's CTAM Summit seemed less focused on lamenting the industry's weak marketing efforts to date and instead concentrated on providing the 3,300-plus attendees with tools that would help them battle deep-pocketed phone companies such as Verizon Communications and SBC Communications.

The CTAM Summit featured guest speakers from other industries, who were brought in to discuss how a company can reinvent itself. A Harvard Business School marketing professor discussed alternative marketing strategies for companies in mature industries. Jon Bon Jovi discussed how he has leveraged his musical career into acting stints, philanthropy and more.

Shelly Lazarus, chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, gave a speech that emphasized the importance of cultivating brands and loyalty.

"Brands are the most valuable asset a company has," she said, later adding that "loyalty goes to the bottom line."

For cable, the stakes are high. Multiple system operators' market dominance has already been chipped away by satellite operators DirecTV and EchoStar Communications, which have generated substantial growth in part by stealing cable customers. With the arrival of the phone company as a video provider comes a competitor that many believe has to make its video dreams come true or face extinction.

In a lot of ways, the Bells have little choice but to begin offering video. Their bread-and-butter wire line business is shrinking as customers dump their traditional phone service for offerings from wireless companies or cable. Profits derived from the long-distance business are dwindling as the cost of a long-distance call tumbles. And though the RBOCs have made some inroads in the high-speed data front by aggressively undercutting cable's broadband product on price, analysts say any gains they have will be short-lived due to the limitations of the Bells' high-speed data product, known as digital subscriber lines, or DSL. Thus, RBOC executives see video as their way to stay in the game.

That kind of motivated competitor might not cause much stir among cable executives if the industry weren't already challenged on the marketing front. Most industry players readily admit that despite the sector's technological advances and a plethora of new features, cable companies have not done an effective job at getting the message to consumers.

"If we're not telling our story, plenty of people will," Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, told CTAM attendees. Mr. McSlarrow said later that he wanted to speak specifically to cable industry marketers because he sees them playing a pivotal role in beating back the Bells' attempts to offer video.

Many people agreed that an area that could receive a quick fix is customer service. Ogilvy & Mather's Ms. Lazarus said that if cable operators were to do one thing to cultivate the kind of loyalty that MSOs crave, it would be to improve the customer service experience.

The cable industry "has not done a lot to reach out to customers," she said.

Court TV executives finalized a deal last week for the network's first venture into mobile video content.

The pact, which was hammered out during the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing summit in Philadelphia, is with cellphone service provider SmartVideo and calls for the cellphone company to deliver Court TV in four ways to video-enabled cellphones.

The deal made at CTAM is one of several for new interactive services that are emblematic of the conference's overwhelming theme of embracing new services that provide consumers with new ways to access television brands.

GSN finalized its plans to earmark on-air contestant slots on its next season of "Lingo" for the top winners of an online "Lingo" tournament starting this week. And specialty video-on-demand service Akimbo Systems said it has developed a program for cable operators to incorporate Akimbo's service into their existing DVR-capable set-top boxes, providing consumers with access to more niche content on-demand.

As consumers increasingly control where, when and how they consume media, the cable industry will need to entice consumers by building brands, said Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide CEO Shelly Lazarus during her opening keynote speech at CTAM.

"Every single marketplace trend can be traced to one simple truth-consumers are taking back control of everything," she said. Cultivating a strong brand is the only way to survive in this new environment, she added, and one of the ways networks and service providers are doing that is by embracing their lack of control and actively ceding it to customers with the new services they introduce.

The Court TV deal is one of the most ambitious mobile debuts by a network because it gives consumers several ways

to experience the content. SmartVideo will deliver the network in four forms to video-enabled phones. Consumers can access a live feed of the 24-hour network, the network's daytime news programming block, prime-time content from its VOD lineup and online content such as Web clips and trial coverage.

What's more, Court TV gets paid, unlike what typical VOD arrangements provide. The network will receive a per-subscriber fee from SmartVideo since the content will be included with about 20 channels in SmartVideo's $12.95 basic package of content, said Claire Cowart, Court TV's senior VP of business development and strategy.

"We believe it will give us exposure to the younger viewers, which helps us drive our demo younger," she said.

Separately, the network inked a deal last week to provide content for a 2006 pilot test with ViseonMedia, which offers a digital telephone for Voice over Internet Protocol service that also displays video.

Over at GSN, the network will host a new online "Lingo" tournament each week for the 13-week season of the series, which starts this week. The top winner each week will secure a spot to compete on the game show on-air in the next season, said John Roberts, senior VP of interactive for the network.

"In this new season of Lingo, [host] Chuck Woolery will say, 'You think you are good at Lingo? Go to GSN and join the league,'" he said. Users will pay $1 for each five-minute session. Some of that money goes to a prize pool for contestants; part of it will go to the network's coffers, creating a new incremental revenue stream for GSN. To date, the network has generated strong numbers for "Lingo" online, with 700,000 game plays per month. "Lingo" is GSN's highest-rated original game show.

Also at CTAM, GSN debuted its "GSNi service," a branded slate of one-screen interactive applications for the network's shows that lets viewers play along in real time simply by using a remote control. The network tested the service with Time Warner Cable in Hawaii using GoldPocket Interactive technology for more than a year and is now broadly marketing the service to cable operators.

Mr. Roberts said the service, which includes 10,000 episodes of interactive content, will be rolled out with a major MSO this fall, with others to follow. He declined to name the operator, but it's widely believed the service will be introduced in an East Coast Comcast market. Once the GSN service is up and running, operators can use the GoldPocket technology to sell local interactive spots, either on GSN or other networks, he said.

Akimbo's news that it will offer its service as a set-top box download for operators should boost uptake for the service, since consumers will no longer need to buy a separate Akimbo box. Under the new plan, consumers choose shows, such as foreign-language films, from Akimbo's service for download to their cable box. The new program represents an additional revenue stream for operators, since Akimbo is a subscription service.

Akimbo also lets operators take advantage of the increasingly popular notion of the "long tail" of content, which posits that consumers have an appetite for vast amounts of niche content.