VIACOM and MICROSOFT have signed an extensive multi-platform partnership. Viacom content will be distributed on Xbox Live and MSN with the two companies splitting revenue. Microsoft will sell and serve display advertising for Viacom sites and purchase advertising on Viacom’s TV and web properties. Lastly, Viacom will produce casual games for MSN and Windows and the companies will share revenue from them. The partnership stands in stark contrast to Google’s relationship with Viacom, which currently includes a billion-dollar piracy lawsuit.
HULU has begun its syndication efforts, with content now available at PrimeTime on MySpaceTV. Other partners have begun adding the free ad-supported shows including MSN, Yahoo, AOL and Fancast. Hulu.com is still in private beta and very slowly granting access to users. If you haven’t received your invite yet, the partner sites offer a good chance to experience Hulu.
LOCAL TV ad spending dropped 8.7% year-over-year for Q3, bringing in $4.2 billion. It is down 6.2% for the year, partially due to decreased auto spending. Syndicated TV fell 3.3% during the quarter to about $1 billion. That segment has seen a 4.6% drop for the year. Network TV has fallen 2.6% during 2007.
NIELSEN will supply demographic data to INVIDI for Advatar, its addressable advertising system. Invidi’s technology allows digital TV providers to show different ads to different viewers based on habits, preferences and other known qualities. The company recently raised $25 million from investors, including an undisclosed amount from WPP Group.
PROCTER & GAMBLE will air a user-generated commercial for Pringles on Christmas day. The winner of a recent contest called “Jingle for Pringles” was a $600 low-fi animation effort from a teacher, which features singing Pringles chips dressed in santa hats. The contest was only looking for a jingle, but Pringles liked this jingle’s video so much that it will now be seen by millions of viewers. The spot was made on an average home computer.