Ad Industry Roundup: Wither Big Media Budgets?; Backchannel's DTV Ad Network Grows; Jack Daniels
This story was written by Tameka Kee.
Economic recovery may not bring ad budgets back: At least not the massive budgets that media giants like *Disney* and *News Corp*. have become accustomed to. The WSJ piggybacks on remarks the two companies' CEOs made during their poor Q4 earnings reports last weeknoting that both Disney's Robert Iger and News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch suggested that the economy wasn't the only factor dragging down their ad revenues: the slump also stemmed from audiences shifting away from mass media to the web. And though *Disney*, *News Corp*., and other companies have increasingly been focusing on their digital properties, some analysts think it's already too late. JP Morgan's Imran Khan told the Times that "advertising-supported industries are undergoing a structural shift" and that their revenue bases would "continue to face significant challenges" as a result.
Gray TV's local stations get "clickable" ads: 36 local broadcast stations under the Gray Television (NYSE:GTN and) (NYSE:GTN.A) umbrella will start rolling out DTV ads from ad technology firm Backchannelmedia. The ads show up as small icons at the bottom of specific programs; viewers can use their remote control to forward offers they're interested in to a special portal. They can also send their ad collection to an email address at regular intervals. Backchannel says the deal expands its reach to 68 stations that reach nearly 17 percent of U.S. TV households. Release.
Jack Daniel's launches Spanish-language video microsite: Jack Daniel's has launched the starMedia Lounge, a branded microsite that features video clips, celebrity gossip and nightlife info; the whiskey brand developed the site with Hispanic portal starMedia (a subsidiary of French telecom provider Orange). Release.
By Tameka Kee