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The overall ad industry was off in 2008. There’s no surprise there. With banks and “big auto” in trouble, there were fewer dollars passed around.  New data from Nielsen released Friday quantified the extent of the decline.  According to the preliminary data from Nielsen Monitor Plus, 2008  US ad spending was off 2.6 percent.   Total spending was down $3.7b to $136.8 billion.

Among Nielsen’s initial findings, by the numbers:

• The bright spot for the year was Cable TV.  It showed 7.8% growth in 2008.  Hispanic Cable TV was also strong with a 9.6% gain.

• Ad supplements for Sunday newspapers were hit hard. Spending in the sector dropped 11%.  National papers were down 9.6%.  Local papers saw a 10.2% decline.  National Magazines fell 7.6%. Local Magazines dropped 3.7%.

• Internet display ads were off 6.4%.  (Pay for click ads, text, search and other performance based campaigns were not counted in the survey).

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Thursday was a busy day in the executive wings at AOL and News Corp. Both companies made changes to their org charts.

News Corp
With the announcement of Peter Chernin’s departure in February, Rupert Murdoch hinted News Corp would shuffle around some executives to “streamline.” Today, in a memo to staff (reprinted below), the first of these changes were announced. 

At the top, News Corp’s LA-based creative businesses will be combined and report to Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, co-chairmen and CEOs of Fox Filmed Entertainment. 

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Music videos are among the most popular clips on YouTube but the battle to keep them there is getting more and more contentious.  Back in December, faced with failing licensing negotiations, Warner Music, pulled its programming off of the site.  Monday, it was Google playing the role of the aggressor. The company took a hard-line stance with the UK’s royalty collecting body.

After failing to reach an agreement with Performing Rights Society for Music (PRS), Google said it would block UK users from watching premium music videos on its YouTube site.

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Apple’s said it again and again: it has little interest in the netbook category of computers at this time.  As recently as October, Steve Jobs called it a “nascent” market segment.  Still, no matter the denials or rejections, the rumors just won’t quit.   They’ve been trailing the company for months and they’re back at it again.

The latest batch took flight Monday when DigiTimes published a report saying Taiwan-based Wintek had been contracted to deliver touchscreen panels for a new netbook. Click to Read More

When MTV Network’s Harmonix (Viacom) locked up the coveted rights to bring the Beatles to the digital age last fall, only a few details were revealed about the project.  The company said simply that the new game was being developed from the ground up, that it wouldn’t be merely a customized version of the Rock Band franchise, that Electronic Arts would be involved with publishing, and that the game has the full support of the band members (or their heirs).

Today, new details emerged.  Though still entirely new, the game will tie-in to the Rock Band series in name.  It’s title:  “Beatles: Rock Band”

The game will launch in Australia, Europe and North America on September 9th.  It will be released simultaneously for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

Beatles fans are almost guaranteed to chime in that the scheduling, 09.09.09,  is no accident. It may or may not be coincidental but the number 9 has been connected to the band many times in lore, and urban legend Click to Read More

Incoming CEOs invariably build their own teams, it’s just a matter of time.  John Riccitiello did some housekeeping when he rejoined Electronic Arts, and Carol Bartz was certain to do it at Yahoo.   Thursday, after six weeks of “being in student mode” and “slowly getting smarter about what makes [the] place tick,” she announced her sweeping changes.

CFO Blake Jorgensen is out.  He’s tendered his resignation but will stay on until a replacement is found.    

CTO Ari Balogh will keep his title and also take the added moniker of EVP of Products.  In the combined roll, he will be at the helm of a newly created “Products” group responsible for all of the “vision, strategy, and quality of every product [Yahoo creates] regardless of region, device format or category.” 

Programming, partnerships and sales will be handled by two groups, distinguished by region.  The North American side will fall to the charge of Hilary Schneider, EVP, North American Region.  Among her tasks, the onetime CEO of Knight Ridder Digital and Red Herring will also oversee Yahoo’s global mobile initiatives. (David Ko, working under Schneider, will be the lead for Yahoo’s mobile business, strategy and monetization teams.  He’ll replace a departing Marco Boerries).   The International Group’s head is yet to be determined.

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A year removed from vanquishing HD DVD, Blu-ray DVDs are finally getting some retail respect.  At least, so says a forecast from market research firm FutureSource Consulting.  The UK based firm released a prediction (PDF) this week saying consumers will buy more than 100m high definition Blu-ray discs across the U.S., Western Europe and Japan in 2009.  The company expects 80 million units to sell in the U.S. alone.

A large part of the growth is attributed to decreasing prices for both Blu-ray hardware and the discs themselves.  Another lesser reason, FutureSource explains, was preparatory overproduction in 2008.  To “fill the channel” and “enable retailers to build their in-store displays,” the industry produced more than 200m discs in 2008 despite only selling 36m.   Retailers are now ready for a more aggressive sales push.

Blu-ray “has moved from early adopter phase through to early majority” in the U.S., said Mai Hoang, a sr. analyst at FutureSource.   The company predicts by 2012, 50% of U.S. DVD sales will be Blu-ray.

Some critics are skeptical of these near term numbers. They think the economy – both by pinching consumer spending and by restraining the funds available for big budget movie production – will slow Blu-ray’s adoption.

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