YouTube Flips Switch On New Sales ChannelBy Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
October 07, 2008 -- Online video leader YouTube has opened up its version of a home shopping network in its latest effort to wring more revenue from its massive audience and justify the $1.76 billion that Google Inc. paid for the site two years ago. In the new service, unveiled Tuesday in the United States, there will be buttons under YouTube videos to offer viewers a chance to buy music, movies, TV shows, concert tickets and other products featured or mentioned in a particular clip.

ANA Opposes Yahoo-Google PactSeptember 07, 2008 -- A group representing big-spending national advertisers said Sunday it sent a letter to the Justice Department asserting an online ad partnership between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. will stifle competition and likely raise prices. The Association of National Advertisers said on its Web site

On the Net: 'Content' Is New Label For Everything VIDEO OF THE WEEK: YouTube Mash (A Real Explosion in Toronto Became Fodder for Online Video Fiction)
By Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer
September 05, 2008 -- Somewhere, an artistic youngster is dreaming of growing up to be a "content producer."  In the terminology brought on by the Internet, few words have been repeated more often than "content." It's a magically general word that has come to stand in for film, music, video, photography, journalism, fiction, animation, graphics — anything that can draw "eyeballs" to a site and create large numbers of "clicks," and therefore advertising dollars.

Ad Targeting Based On ISP Tracking Now In DoubtCEO Of Embattled Web-tracking Firm NebuAd Leaves
By Anick Jesdanun and Peter Svensson
September 02, 2008 -- It sounded like a winning proposition — free money — for Internet access providers. By tracking their subscribers' personal Web surfing habits, they could help deliver ads targeted to the consumers' interests, and claim a share of the burgeoning online advertising market dominated by Internet search companies. But those efforts to sniff out consumers' interests are running into the ditch.

Researcher Lowers Projections For Online Vid AdsBy Anick Jesdanun, Internet Writer
August 14, 2008 -- Research company eMarketer is sharply reducing its spending projections for online video advertising, saying the market hasn't been as strong as the firm had previously estimated. Estimates that eMarketer expects to release Thursday show U.S. spending for online video advertising at $505 million in 2008, down from the $1.35 billion figure the firm circulated earlier...

Olympic Opening Uses Girl's Voice, Not FaceBy Cara Anna
August 12, 2008 -- One little girl had the looks. The other had the voice.
     So in a last-minute move demanded by one of China's highest officials, the two were put together for the Olympic opening ceremony, with one lip-synching "Ode to the Motherland" over the other's singing.
     The real singer, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, with her chubby face and crooked baby teeth, wasn't good looking enough for the ceremony, its chief music director told state-owned Beijing Radio...

Internet Political Ad Spend Low, Despite Obama's EffortsMay 21, 2008 -- eMarketer reported last week that online advertising from political campaigns will reach $50 million this year, which is a drop in the bucket compared with the $3 billion that will be spent on TV.

TV Networks Will Generate Higher Online Ad RevenueMay 21, 2008 -- National broadcast and cable TV networks generated two percent of their advertising revenues ($1.4 billion) through online programming in 2007 and will generate eight percent ($6.4 billion) in 2011, according to Convergence Network's New Challenges and Opportunities in the Content Market report, released in April.

Viral Film Is PSA For BurmaBy Ken Liebeskind
May 21, 2008 -- "Burma Viral," a PSA created for MTV and the Burma Arts Board by Ogilvy & Mather, Amsterdam, and produced by Shilo, New York, features war planes flying over Burma and dropping flowers instead of bombs.
"We were looking for a way to turn it into something with hope," said Carl Le Blond ...

iChat: iSPOT's Upfront Roundtable IIBy Ken Liebeskind
May 21, 2008 -- Last year, iSPOT published an Upfront Roundtable, where four industry executives spoke about the digital opportunities that were available. A year later, there's more to offer with a wealth of new content being played by broadcast and cable networks on a host of platforms, from their own sites to new ones like Hulu ...