Week of June 25, 2007

Online Fails To Dent TV Upfront Advertising

Friday, June 29, 2007

While online advertising continues to grow at a substantial rate, the efforts by online advertisers to have an impact on traditional media advertising timetables and systems have thus far been a complete failure. This was underscored recently when AOL and Yahoo created online presentations during the spring up-front selling season which is used by television networks to sell their upcoming fall television inventory. The result as reported by Mediaweek? Zero impact at all. As Margaret Clerkin, North American managing director of MindShare Interaction told them: "What I don't think they were able to do was to get people to think of online as a complement to broadcast."

Online (And Live) Fantasy Leagues Not Gambling

Thursday, June 28, 2007

A bunch of radio and record industry professionals breathed a huge sigh of relief last week as a U.S. district judge ruled that fantasy league, including those that have a prize at the end, cannot be considered gambling. Permission to scout for your NFL fantasy league is hereby given!

Live Earth: Broadcasting To The World

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Pollack Media Group is proud of our role in helping to produce the upcoming Live Earth concerts on 7/7/07. The concerts, which will take place in cities on every continent, are being produced to bring attention to global warming and other environmental crises. Our company is producing the worldwide radio broadcast of the event.

The concert cities are New York, London, Sydney, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Hamburg, and Johannesburg. Some of the 150 artists performing include Metallica, Madonna, Linkin Park, Rihanna, Genesis, Kelly Clarkson, Kanye West, Dave Matthews Band, the Beastie Boys, the Police, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Jack Johnson, the Black Eyed Peas, Duran Duran, the Foo Fighters, and dozens more.

Pollack Media Group has a history of being involved in events of this magnitude, the last being Live 8. We were also proud to be a part the 2002 Winter Olympics and Live Aid. But this will be the biggest of them all; we're looking at 24 straight hours of performances, covering over 150 artists performing. We hope you join us in being involved.

Day Of Streaming Silence

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Today Internet streaming companies across the country have turned off their streams to protest the increased rates dictated by the U.S. copyright office. Several major webcasters, however, do not plan on silencing their streams, including Last.fm, CBS, Clear Channel, and others.

Is Premium SMS Voting Illegal?

Monday, June 25, 2007

RCR News reports that lawsuits have been brought against companies using text message voting that requires a payment to vote. This includes American Idol, Deal Or No Deal, and other popular television shows. The essence of the complaint is that because people are paying to vote and not getting anything in return, the lottery rules should be in effect, and based on the nature of the voting, companies can't offer free alternatives to voting to get around the rule. RCR states that the only way to make the premium voting legal is to give the voters something in return, whether it is a ringtone, wallpaper, or something else.