Poll: Supremes
got it wrong on campaign $
Other shorts: Comcast: Addressable ads hit their target
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 18, 2010
Poll: Supremes got it wrong on campaign $
If Washington ever worked, it's not working now, or so goes the theme of so much political commentary these days, and a good deal of the problem, voters believe, is that Congress is bought and paid for by lobbyists of powerful interests. So it should come as no surprise that a huge number of Americans are not happy with the recent Supreme Court ruling knocking down laws restricting corporate funding of political races. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that some 80 percent of Americans disagree with the high court's decision, and that disagreement spans the political spectrum about evenly: Democrats 85 percent, Republicans 76 percent and independents 81 percent. And almost as many, 72 percent of those polled, would support action by Congress to pass laws to reinstitute caps on the flow of corporate money into campaigns. That should give encouragement to members of Congress who are pushing for such legislation, such as New York's Sen. Chuck Schumer. But getting a bill through is another matter entirely. Congress has been very reluctant in the past to stand behind campaign finance reform, and for reasons that aren't hard to understand; they'd be turning off the spigot that pays for so much of their campaign efforts.
Comcast study: Addressable ads hit their target
Addressable advertising has been an intriguing concept for years, but even if the proper technology existed, would it deliver results? A new study seems to indicate it would. Comcast Spotlight and Starcom MediaVest Group collaborated on a test last year in Baltimore that found that such ads resulted in viewers tuning out of commercials 32 percent less than homes that got non-addressable ads. The ads were targeted based on demographics to 60,000 households in the area via six cable networks. Addressable ads were swapped in during certain commercial breaks, though all told they made up just 2 percent of the ads served during the six-month trial period. SMG and Comcast reported a 65 percent greater efficiency in ad buys through using the addressable system and reaching only the audience the client wanted to target. The research builds on an earlier but much smaller trial in Huntsville, Ala., involving 8,000 households. But there are some hurdles to full implementation of this sort of advertising among Comcast's more than 24 million households, including getting the proper hardware set up in each home.
Verizon FiOS offers special HBO site to subscribers
Cable providers continue to fret over their paying customers getting access to cable content for free online, which seems to have sparked this latest HBO offering. Beginning today subscribers to Verizon’s FiOS TV service who also subscribe to HBO will have access to HBOGO.com, a web site that will give them access to more than 600 hours of the network’s programming. The programming available will be updated continuously and include HBO original movies, series, documentaries and sports, as well as theatrical movies that air on the network. The HBO GO service will also include bonus features such as movie soundtracks and cast information. This is the latest in cable operators’ attempts to keep customers happy by delivering content via the internet. Comcast subscribers can watch movies and shows online using the company’s Fancast service, and Time Warner is also looking to give its customers access to content online. HBO’s new service includes features such as the ability to bookmark content, and it allows parents to restrict viewing of particular programs.
Programming notes: HBO gets 'Funny or Die'
Not only is HBO putting its content online, its taking content from the web and putting it on cable TV. On Friday at midnight the network will premiere “Funny or Die Presents,” a sketch comedy show featuring clips from the web site FunnyOrDie.com. The site was created in 2007 by actor Will Ferrell and “Anchorman” director Adam McKay, who also produce the HBO series “Eastbound & Down.” HBO bought a stake in FunnyOrDie.com in 2008. Meanwhile, in other programming, TLC will premiere the second season of “Police Women” on Feb. 25 at 9 p.m., with the new season set in Phoenix. Season one took place in Broward County, Fla. On March 4 Bravo will give viewers a double dose of “Real Housewives.” At 10 p.m. the network will air the season finale of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” with the third-season premiere of “The Real Housewives of New York City” following at 11 p.m. Bravo will also air a “Real Housewives” countdown special on March 1. On March 28 National Geographic Channel will premiere “Breakout,” a documentary series that looks at famous jail escapes. And on broadcast, CW is developing two new reality series, one with personal trainer Tracy Anderson, the other a scavenger hunt series called “Lost Weekend.” The Anderson project will follow her as she balances duties as a single mother and a celebrity trainer; Anderson’s clients include Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston and Shakira.
White House: We wouldn't do 'Colbert'
show
It's not often that the White House admits to any vulnerability, but apparently there's one area President Barack Obama's people fear to have him tread: "The Colbert Report." In what should have been a throw-away conversation between White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Time.com blogger Michael Scherer earlier this week, Gibbs admitted that while he would gladly send the president on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," he has reservations about a similar "Colbert" appearance. "I have yet to see a politician best Stephen Colbert in an interview on his show. I mean, he's really, really good," Gibbs told Scherer. As you can imagine, this news is now all over the web, with some even trying to play it as an insult to Stewart ("Gibbs: Stewart is the easy one!"). Comedy Central told Scherer that the president has a standing invitation to appear on either late-night satire show. Last year Obama made appearances on both "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Show with David Letterman," becoming the first sitting president to ever appear on a late-night talk show.
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