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In Depth

Spelling Moves Back to ‘90210’

Tori Spelling will reprise her role as Donna Martin in The CW’s “90210,” The CW and CBS Paramount Network Television announced. Spelling’s Donna will be featured in guest-starring appearances as the owner of a hip Beverly Hills store that the…

Deconstructing the TV Season From Hell

It’s become an instant cliché: The 2007-08 TV season was broadcasting’s annus horribilis, a year from hell that brought only pain and misery to the business. “There will always be an asterisk next to this season,” said Fox scheduling chief…

Measuring Online Engagement Seen as Key to Boosting Ad Dollars

Online video sites and services like Break.com and Blip.tv are in the early stages of striking partnerships with Web analytics firms to offer more detailed information on how long consumers watch online video. That type of data can help sites…

Creating, Tracking Video Ads

Media Contacts, a division of Havas Digital, offered its suggestion on guidelines it would like to see for video ads. For video content: 1. Count only a user-requested piece of video content. 2. Differentiate with vs. without sound. 3. Enumerate…

Stations’ Political Ad Bounty Isn’t Over Yet

The Democratic race for president may be nearly over, but there are signs its conclusion will kick off a new flurry of political advertising, pushing this year’s record spending even higher. That’s good news for television stations, which are struggling…

NCTA Addresses Interactive Technology at Gathering

When MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath was asked last week about the future at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s annual conference in New Orleans, she gave one of the week’s least technical answers. “I’d like to come to an…

CBS Agrees to Discuss Ad Integration Costs With Task Force

Of the Big Three networks, only CBS has accepted an offer to speak with a task force formed to address the $125 million in integration fees paid by advertisers. ABC declined to address the task force, formed by the American…

Will the Price Be Right for Upfront Buyers?

Media buyers are waiting to get a fix on how much television networks are looking to increase prices before jumping into advertising deals after this month’s upfront presentations. Buyers and sellers said they were unsure when negotiations would start in…

NBC Affiliates Upbeat on Network’s Schedule

Newly anointed “Late Night” heir Jimmy Fallon collected business cards from NBC affiliate station executives when they met with network executives last week in Los Angeles and promised to visit local markets to promote his succession to Conan O’Brien in…

Fox Takes Total-Viewer Crown in Strike-Blasted Season

The tombstone on the 2007-08 television season, which officially ended last week, perhaps should be carved in the shape of an asterisk. A writers strike planted directly in the center of the season cast a pall on prime-time ratings. Networks…