Business

Better Than By the Minute Measurement for Commercials: Nielsen Gets Closer to Brand-Specific Ratings, or Ability to Track Ratings of Commercials

Nielsen is getting closer to providing brand-specific ratings, or ratings on a commercial-by-commercial basis, reports The New York Times Media Decoder blog. Nielson said it will adopt a method of digitally coding commercials through a system called Ad-ID, which is…

Facebook Was Recently Valued at $50 Billion. Forget That. Now It’s Said to Be Worth $60 Billion, as Employee Stock Sale Being Contemplated

After recently being valued at $50 billion following a round of financing that raised $1.5 billion, Facebook is considering allowing employees sell their shares in an offering that would now value the social-networking company at $60 billion, reports Bloomberg. An…

Lohan May Seek Plea Bargain in Jewelry Theft Case

A lawyer for actress Lindsay Lohan says his client will consider a plea bargain in the felony case in which she is accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice, Calif., jewelry store, CNN reported. The attorney, Shawn Chapman…

Trouble for L.A. Station That Recently Left PBS Fold–KCET Fined for Withholding Access to Public Records

KCET-TV, the Los Angeles station that broke with the Public Broadcasting Service on Jan. 1, has been fined $10,000 by the Federal Communications Commission for "willfully and repeatedly violating" rules that give the public access to station records, reports the…

Ricky Gervais Reveals Who He Wants to Bring Into ‘The Office’

Ricky Gervais, the creator of "The Office" and an executive producer of the U.S. version of the show, has revealed who he has in mind to join the show after Steve Carell departs, Deadline.com reports. According to the article, Gervais…

CBS Picks Up J.J. Abrams Pilot

CBS has given a pilot order to a new show from J.J. Abrams, the creator behind “Lost,” “Alias,” “Felicity” and other shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The new project is the crime drama "Person of Interest," written by "The…

Fresh Off News of His Poker Gig, Norm MacDonald Gets Another Show

It has been a good week for former "Saturday Night Live" comic Norm MacDonald, with the latest announcement that he has inked a deal for a new cable show, TV Guide reported. The news follows the announcement earlier this week…

TV Legend’s Son Interested in Resurrecting Role His Dad Made Famous in ’70s Sitcom

The son of one of the the most popular TV sitcom actors of all time is interested in taking on the role his dad made famous when the show is remade as a feature film and broadway play, TV Guide…

History Greenlights Second Season of Its Youngest-Skewing Show Ever

History announced Thursday that it is greenlighting a second season of a critically acclaimed series that has attracted the channel’s youngest audience ever. The show is “Top Gear,” a U.S. adaptation of the award-winning and wildly popular BBC automotive show….

Lohan Charged With Felony Grand Theft

Actress Lindsay Lohan was formally charged Wednesday with felony grand theft in connection with the alleged theft of a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store in Venice, Calif., People magazine reported. The L.A. District Attorney confirmed that one felony count…