Posted 9:53 AM by Gene

Speaking of boondoggles:

[I]t all begins with the rights fees. Irwin Gotlieb, the chief executive of GroupM, which does about $80 billion annually in billings, has pronounced sports rights fees “totally out of control.” Jon Swallen, senior VP of research at TNS Media Intelligence, suggests that we may be in a “sports rights bubble.”

PUMP IT UP!

The economy, according to Andy Donchin, executive VP and chief investment officer at media agency Carat, is giving marketers pause. And it may also temper the next round of bidding.

Now I know this is fake: Andy's one of the guys with his hands on the pump!

Kath & Kim, My Own Worst Enemy and Heroes received copious promotional consideration during the Beijing Games. Of the three programs, two are no longer on the air and the third is experiencing its least-watched season ever.

PUMP IT UP SOME MORE!

Winter Olympics viewers, according to one rival network executive, “aren't your traditional network television viewers, and they're not your traditional NBC viewers. Your promos are generally the same kind of promos you would use when you're talking to your audience. A lot of these viewers who tune in to these big events are inundated with network promos. And they go, 'Well, that's why I don't watch network television.'”

YOU PUMPED IT TOO MUCH!!!!!