Americans Watching TV Less Due To DVRs - Niesen and MediaPost

For Nielsen to write this, and MediaPost too, and not point to The Internet and video is myopic at best.

Nielsen Finds Drop In TV Usage Is Real, Not Methodological, Impact Greatest Among Heavy Viewers

by Joe Mandese, Monday, Aug 27, 2007 9:00 AM ET

IN AN EFFORT TO ADDRESS client concerns over declines in TV usage this year, Nielsen has issued a report concluding the drop most likely is due to real changes in TV viewing behavior and is not due to TV ratings methods, or new technologies like DVD players, video game systems or digital video recorders (DVRs). But while concluding that "no single factor played a predominant role" in the declines, the Nielsen report found that the biggest impact was felt among TV's heaviest viewing households.

The report does not offer any explicit explanations as to why TV usage has declined, and Nielsen said it did not analyze the impact of changes in programming or in weather patterns that may have been a contributing factor. However, the report includes an ominous finding suggesting that the biggest impact may be among TV's biggest users.
After drilling into data for the 12 TV markets hat have had the biggest losses in TV tuning over the past year, Nielsen found that, "that the biggest losses in tuning appear to be coming from the homes that tuned the most last year."

While the presence of DVRs in and of themselves was not deemed a contributing factor, Nielsen said that the addition of a DVR into a TV household appears to reduce overall usage levels in those households.

"The biggest losses in tuning appear to be coming from the homes that tuned the most last year," Nielsen reported. "Some homes are tuning relatively more this year, these are generally the lowest tuning homes in the panel; the heavy tuners who acquire DVRs tend to tune less, more than offsetting these increases, resulting in overall [households using television] declines."

The report added that the changes in tuning cannot be attributed solely to the acquisition of DVRs, and that Nielsen plans to conduct additional research into how the addition of DVRs impacts TV usage in those households.

Nielsen said the penetration of DVRs in its sample has grew from about 7% a year ago, to 17% this year as a result of actual increases in DVR penetration, as well as in Nielsen's ability to recruit more DVR households. Nielsen's sample is still considered to be slightly lower in DVR penetration than the actual U.S. population.

"While the inclusion of DVR homes in the sample this year has been ruled out as the driving force behind the viewing level changes, it is clear that it has introduced a different viewing dynamic in these homes," the report concludes, adding, "A full discussion of how viewing changes when a home acquires a DVR will be presented in a separate communication that will look at homes in our Local and National People Meter samples."

Joe Mandese is Editor of MediaPost.

Ms USA Tells Us How To Spot A Geographically Smart American - Video

MICHAEL VICK SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY - NFL STATEMENT - NFLMEDIA.COM

This is from the website of NFLMedia.com and was released today, August 24th, 2007

MICHAEL VICK SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY

Commissioner Roger Goodell notified Michael Vick today that he is suspended indefinitely without pay from the National Football League, effective immediately.

Following are excerpts from Commissioner Goodell’s letter to Vick:

· “Your admitted conduct was not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible. Your team, the NFL, and NFL fans have all been hurt by your actions.”

· “Your plea agreement and the plea agreements of your co-defendants also demonstrate your significant involvement in illegal gambling. Even if you personally did not place bets, as you contend, your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL Player Contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.”

· “You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.”

· “I will review the status of your suspension following the conclusion of the legal proceedings. As part of that review, I will take into account a number of factors, including the resolution of any other charges that may be brought against you, whether in Surry County, Virginia, or other jurisdictions, your conduct going forward, the specifics of the sentence imposed by Judge Hudson and any related findings he might make, and the extent to which you are truthful and cooperative with law enforcement and league staff who are investigating these matters.”

· “I have advised the Falcons that, with my decision today, they are no longer prohibited from acting and are now free to assert any claims or remedies available to them under the Collective Bargaining Agreement or your NFL Player Contract.”

# # #

Mark Cuban Says "Internet Is Boring" But Just Trying To Move The Speed Needle For His Content

In an interview with Lloyd Grove at Portfolio, Dallas Maverick's owner Mark Cuban said "The Internet is dead and boring" and suggested that an increase of Internet speeds to the home of up to 1 G per second would do the trick.

But the question to ask is would the cost to do this launch the creation of a two-tier Internet -- one for the rich and the other for the poor?

Stay tuned.

Hillary Clinton - NeoCon (Neo Conservative) - Video

Video - Barack Obama With John Stewart On The Daily Show - Comedy Central

Barack Obama hit The Daily Show with John Stewart and was himself a hit. He focused on how the campaign deals with the often innaccurate perceptions issued by some media outlets like (my addition here) The Chicago Sun Times. With Barack appearance and Senator Clinton's support for the current Iraq War strategy, it's been an important week to say the least.

Michelle Obama Speaking In General Terms - Sun Times and AOL Being Evil

Someone over at CNN said to me that the media loves to make controversy of nothing. Here's an example. Michelle Obama was taking up a theme that the Senator himself started on Father's Day: the responsibility of men -- black men -- to their families. She's making a basic point that you have to have your family life in order if you're going to run the White House.

For anyone to spin that to a Clinton issue is just plain retarted. AOL's trying to do this, but then AOL's been trying to tear down Obama since he entered the race. So has the Sun Times, which has two reporters that do nothing but write stupid drivel aboout Senator Obama.

Tribune's Carl Stewart Is Wrong - Raiders Line Was Never Bad To Start

Hi Carl,

I have to correct you on your column. The Raiders Offensive Line was never so bad to be so good. It was poorly coached,
and that was why I called for Tom Walsh to be fired on August 15th of 2006.

Take note. That was preseason.

Preaseason.

And here's what I wrote:

Fire Tom Walsh

I continued the drum beat each week, and through the season. The reasons were based on my knoweldge of technical football. In other words, I can see just one game and tell you how an offense in going to perform for the rest of the year, in general terms.

The Raiders of this year use a more contemporary run blocking scheme, one that is exactly like the Denver Broncos in execution and design. For example, Lamont Jordan's 30-year second quarter run was a classic indictment of my claim. The line stepped to the left to get the defense to move that way, then fire blocked in zone fashion.

The result is that the whole defensive front seven moves that way, even though the running back does not. Thus, the back can see the blocks develop, then move toward the cutback lane. The weakside linebacker moved into the backfield too far, and didn't stay home.

Thus: a big run.

The Broncos are the master's of this. But note that the line isn't making a whole via brut muscle, it's just coaxing the defense to move in a certain direction.

It's this, and other techniques, that the Raiders are employing this year and why their offense is better and why I believe they'll go 9-7.

In closing, I ask that all reporters improve their ability to understand the technical aspect of the game, so they can see -- in one game -- what an offense is doing and why.

Thanks,

--
Zennie Abraham, Jr.

YouTube Launches InVideo Ad Platform - Media

YouTube Launches InVideo Ad Platform

by Tameka Kee, Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 6:00 AM ET

GOOGLE'S YOUTUBE UNVEILED A NEW ad model, offering advertisers like New Line Cinema and BMW the option to run rich media and video ads within both professional and user-generated content.
The YouTube InVideo Ads are semi-transparent overlays that appear in the bottom 20% of the video player. The rich media animations show up 15 seconds after the chosen content begins, with the overlay lasting up to 10 seconds. The overlays also have interactive functionality, allowing users to click through to an advertiser's linked URL--or to launch a new player within the original window that will run a video ad and bring the user back to the content at any time).

Advertisers have the option to target users by age, sex, geography, daypart, and video genre. YouTube is selling the InVideo Ads on an impression basis, with $20/cpm as the baseline, but YouTube also provides click-through data to ad partners. The overlay, once it appears, counts as an impression.

If users choose to engage further by watching the actual video ad, YouTube will provide advertisers with info in percentage quartiles on how much of the video is viewed. Based on tests, YouTube estimates that some 75% of the users who elect to watch the player-in-player ad will view the new video in its entirety.

With YouTube one of the most trafficked online video communities in the U.S., speculation has continued to grow as to how Google would monetize its $1.65 billion investment. According to Shashi Seth, YouTube's group product manager, the advertising team has been experimenting with a number of models, testing and gathering both marketer and user feedback.

"For the past three months, we've run millions of impressions to see how users react to the different models, and we've taken away the models that don't work," said Seth. "For example, we know that users don't want to be interrupted at the start of a video, which is why the overlay doesn't start until 15 seconds in."

Seth added that about 20 advertisers are currently running InVideo Ads, including New Line Cinema and BMW, and the model will be available to a wider base of brands in the weeks and months ahead. As to whether YouTube will become overwhelmed with InVideo Ads and overlays, Seth added: "I certainly cannot see that happening. Advertisers can reach a large number of impressions even if we are a little conservative in terms of how much content we monetize. And our users are not shy about telling us what they like and what they don't--so it behooves us to be careful."

Hillary Clinton - NeoCon: "The Surge Is Working" As 14 More Americans Die In Irag

More and more Senator Clinton's looking like a Neo-conservative. First she tries to slam Senator Barack Obama for taking a liberal stance on two foreign policy matters -- Bin Ladin and Third World Leaders -- that she herself took just earlier this year, and now, before a group of Vets, she says the Iraq surge is working!

And this as 14 more Americans pass on in Irag!

We're seeing a clear pattern emerge and it's not pretty. It's a Senator who will say anything to get a vote and so often that her real stance isn't clear. At present, Senator Clinton looks like the kind of Neo-conservative we already have in the White House.

Maybe she'll so anger Cindy Sheehan, she's run against her instead of Rep. Pelosi! Whatever the case, this latest news has caused a firestorm, and will negtively impact her California Primary plans.

Geez.

HillStars - The Detailed Playbook On Senator Clinton's California Campaign

In an effort to play catch-up with the Barack Obama For President Campaign in California, Senator Hillary Clinton's staffers have launched the "HillStar" effort. Let's take a look at this information in relevant detail.

First, the HillStar document, which you can see in full with a click here , or see the video below or here , opens with a welcome and then text on the importance of winning California stating that California's important because of its early start date and of course the size of the population. For Senator Clinton "our election will really start on January 7 and run until February 5, a 29-day-long election" as the page reads.



Senator Clinton then tickets a list of answers to the question "Why Hillary?" The answers mostly point to her experience as Senator of New York and as First Lady. But the problem here is no one can get any information on her time as First Lady; it's sealed.

Finally, the set of reasons ends with the statement "Hillary's fight for universal health coverage did not succeed while President Clinton was in office, but her commitment to health care for every American has never wavered."

That last one's a big "whoops" in my view. First, Senator Clinton's known for taking money from the health care lobbyists. Second, to offer a statement that she failed in trying to create a universal health care system as First Lady, then come under scrutiny for having health care lobbyists as donors, and finally to have volunteers saying "Well, she didn't pass universal health care, but she's committed to the idea of health care" or words to that effect, does not bring confidence to voters seeking change that she can indeed alter the U.S. Health Care system.



The 1000 x 20 x 100 system

The HillStar Campaign has an interesting bit of math called the "1000 x 20 x 100" system. This is where "an elite group of volunteers" will recruit 5 Hillary Corps members, and manage 20 HillaryCorp members over a 5 month period. They will talk to a minimum of 200 voters in their district. Out of that, they expect to gain 100 new supporters and 5 new members.

The HillStar Timeline



The HillStar Timeline works like this in basic (the details are in the photo and the links provided to the report here):

Day one is now, this week.

Within two weeks, hold house parties

Within one month, hold a Bring Your Own Phone party.

Continue training

And by November have 20 fully trained Hillary Corps volunteers.

With all of this, it still pales in comparison to the hundreds of online groups and members of BarackObama.com who are in California. What HillStars is has been in place for a long time, but only recently honed by an effort called "Camp Obama" which is already in motion nationwide. With little effort, the Obama forces could clobber Hillary Clinton in California.

Oh and that Field Poll of "Democratic Voters most likely to vote" that reports Clinton's "lead" -- don't bet on any poll that has a sample size of just 419 people and talks to a small set folks who voted in the 2004 election. There are several problems with this step, amoung them, YouTube didn't exist in 2004. So all of these polls of "most likely to vote" Democrats -- including the rigged USA Today /Gallup Poll of June 17th -- totally miss the new netroots. If a person just turned 18 that year, and didn't vote, they're now 22 years old, ready to vote, and consume the majority of their information online.

Senator Clinton, beware!

Iraq War Vet Rep. Patrick Murphy of PA Endorses Barack Obama - NYT

August 21, 2007, 9:53 am
Iraq Vet/Congressman Endorses Obama

By Jeff Zeleny

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention here yesterday, she told the story of how she met a “bright, young captain” in the 82nd Airborne Division named Patrick Murphy in 2003 during her first trip to Baghdad.

Last year, Mr. Murphy was elected as a Congressman from Pennsylvania. This spring, he joined Senator Clinton in sponsoring legislation to create a 21st Century G.I. Bill of Rights.

Today, Mr. Murphy is announcing his support for Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential race. The endorsement, which has been in the works for a while, comes one hour before Mr. Obama speaks to hundreds of war veterans gathered here.

The well-timed announcement will be used as a reminder – which Mr. Obama hopes will work – that one can be supportive of military veterans and still be opposed to the war.

Mr. Murphy, 33, is the only member of Congress who served in combat in Iraq. He has played a prominent role in this year’s Congressional debate over the war, delivering the closing argument over whether to set a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq.

In an emotional speech in March, he implored lawmakers to consider the 19 paratroopers from his command who died during his time in Iraq in 2003.

“’To those on the other side of the aisle who are opposed, I want to ask you the same questions that my gunner asked me when I was leading a convoy up and down Ambush Alley one day,” Mr. Murphy said. “He said, ‘Sir, what are we doing over here? What’s our mission? When are these Iraqis going to come off the sidelines and fight for their own country?’”