Did This Spot Blur the Line Too Much Between What Is Programming and What Is a Commercial?

"The day when commercials are indistinguishable from the programs they support finally arrived -- just before 10 p.m. Eastern on Thursday night [March 11]."

That's the provocative first sentence in an article from Brian Steinberg at our sibling publication, Ad Age.

To see the commercial he's talking about, and read his important, thought-provoking piece, click here.

Entering the Lion's Den: FCC Commissioner to Talk to Broadcasters at Their NAB Convention in April

Federal Communications Commissioner Julius Genachowski will give a keynote speech at the National Association of Broadcasters Annual Convention in Las Vegas in April, B&C reports.

The speech will be of key interest to broadcasters in light of the FCC's recently released National Broadband Plan, parts of which many broadcasters have major doubts.

Says B&C, "The FCC is looking to fit broadcasters into six fewer channels and get others to give up some of their spectrum in an effort to get that 120 MHz for wireless broadband."
 

YouTube Accuses Viacom of Secretly Putting Videos Up While Publicly Complaining About Them

More accusations in the war between Google's YouTube and Viacom.

YouTube is saying that Viacom was secretly uploading videos to its site at the same time Viacom was complaining that the videos were appearing on the site, says a BBC News article.

The story says that Viacom "deliberately 'roughed up' any uploaded videos to make them look stolen or leaked."

According to  the BBC piece, " 'For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there,' said Zahavah Levine, YouTube's chief counsel wrote in a blog post."

Viacom, back in 2007, filed a lawsuit against YouTube for copyright infringement for posting unauthorized copies of material owned by Viacom.

Just this week previously sealed documents in the case were released.

Oral arguments in the case are expected to be finished by June, according to the BBC article.

Discovery Teams with Yahoo for Major Promotion

Discovery Communications is teaming with Yahoo! in major promotion, reports Multichannel News.

The promotion starts on Saturday, March 20th, and it is to push Discovery's big spring programming effort, the 11-part series "Life."

According to the article, "In a first, Discovery will takeover Yahoo!'s home page, including floating elements, on the premiere date. Users will be able to select a Life-themed design that will remain up on the computer for the balance of the day. In another first for the portal, Discovery will have use of Yahoo!'s rich ads in search and have tandem units that interact on the Yahoo! Mail welcome page."

"Life" premiere's on Sunday, March 21.

Consumer Electronics History Will Be Made At Next Week's Hockey Match Between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden

It will be a red letter day in the history of consumer electronics this coming Wednesday night, March 24th, when New York's two professional hockey teams, the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders skate against one another at the historic Madison Square Garden.

That's because, it will mark the first time a National Hockey League game will be telecast in 3D, Multichannel News reports.

According to the story, by Multichannel's longtime news maven Mike Reynolds, the 3D feed "will be offered to Cablevision MSG HD subscribers with 3D-compatible TV sets. The operator said it is in discussions with other carriers about carrying the HD contest."

Furthermore, according to the article, "The game will be shot using 3ality Digital's image-capturing technology, which integrates with existing broadcast equipment to produce top-flight 3D imagery. 3ality Digital has behind a number of recent 3D sports productions, including BSkyB's January Premiere League soccer broadcast; the first live 3D broadcasts of NFL and college football games shown in theaters; and the 2010 Sony Open golf tournament."

Unsealed Documents Reveal Mudslinging in Viacom/YouTube Case

Documents unsealed today in the three-year $1 billion copyright suit between Viacom, Google and YouTube revealed some nasty mudslinging between the companies, CNET reports. 

Viacom filed suit against YouTube and its owner Google in 2007, claiming that both companies were encouraging users to post copyrighted material on the video site. 

However, according to the documents, Viacom took a distinct interest in purchasing YouTube before it was bought by Google in 2006, fueling speculation that this suit may be in retaliation for being outbid by Google. 

The documents also reveal emails between YouTube founders, which Viacom said proves that the intent of YouTube was to pirate copyrighted material, then sell the platform. Google countered, saying Viacom has taken the emails out of context. 

Google also said Viacom's attitude towards YouTube was hypocritical, as the media giant pushes to block certain clips that are uploaded, but moves to study viewing habits on other copyrighted clips. 

Video: Obama Frustrated by Constant Interruptions by Fox News' Bret Baier During Interview

Google, Intel, Sony Teaming to Bring Web to TV Sets in Major Way

Google, Intel and Sony are teaming up to develop Google TV, a platform for bringing the Internet to TV sets through new TVs and set-top boxes, the New York Times reports, citing sources.

The technology to be developed, based on Google’s Android operating system now used in smartphones, is expected to make it easier to use Web applications on TV sets. Google will open the TV platform to software developers within a couple months, the paper says.

Viacom, YouTube Fight Documents to be Unsealed Today

The three-year legal copyright battle between Viacom and YouTube is expected to get more interesting today when a federal judge unseals so-far secret documents amassed in the case, reports the Associated Press.

The confidential information is expected to revolve around the copyright strategy deployed in the early days of the video-sharing site. Viacom has been suing YouTube for allegedly violating the company’s copyrights.

Cable Companies, Studios Team Up for $30 Million Ad Campaign

Cable companies, including Comcast and Time Warner Cable, are teaming up with a number of studios, including 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment in a $30 million ad campaign, the companies have announced.

The concept is  to educate viewers about movies on demand, and the campaign is called  "The Video Store Just Moved In." It will feature online, print and on-air spots. Spots started airing this week (March 15) and the campaign will run for 12 weeks.