It's withdrawal time for millions of viewers of the wildly popular Downton Abbey, the British series that just concluded its second season on PBS. The period costumes, the two-track intrigue of the nobility and working class, the witty dialogue delivered in delicious British accents — all contribute to a success on American television not seen at this level since British classics such as Upstairs Downstairs and All Creatures Great and Small had their lengthy runs on PBS.

As fans anxiously await Season Three of Downton Abbey, however, another Anglophile-wooing TV channel is trying to take advantage of the the hiatus and the halo effect of the show: BBC America.Continue reading...

Apple loses chief patent lawyer.

Arnold Schwarzenegger signs up for first post-scandal movie role.

BBC tests Facebook credits for Doctor Who rentals.

Cisco may eliminate up to 10,000 jobs, analyst says, while the company prepares to unveil upgraded switching.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group presses trademark case against part of its legacy.

Dunkin’ Donuts parent seeks to raise $461 million in IPO.

ESPN picks up Friday Night Lights.Continue reading...

Trending today on YouTube: What do you get when you combine Afghanistan, Marines, Britney Spears, and YouTube? Give up? A lip sync version of Britney Spears' song Hold It Against Me by the US marines.

Posted to YouTube (following a teaser) on April 18th, and now boasting more than 2 million views, this video shows that even marines in Afghanistan can have a little fun in their free time.

The video features Marines in different areas of their camp, from their posts to combat vehicles, lip syncing the entire tune in a video edited in the style of a music video.

Below: Earth Day meets Friday and more.Continue reading...

Besides unveiling the iPhone 4, Apple announced it will debut iAds on July 1st with more than $60 million in commitments from global brands including AT&T, Target and more.

PepsiCo announced PepsiCo10, a VC partnership with Highland Capital Partners to fund tech-based projects to enhance its brands.

President Obama's promises on BP monitoring criticized by public and press including NBC's Brian Williams.

Facebook's growth actually accelerated during last month's privacy flap.Continue reading...

As the global village envisioned by Marshall McLuhan continues to spread, the latest executive shuffle is Herb Scannell's hiring this week to run BBC Worldwide America, a position left vacant since Garth Ancier’s departure in March.

The BBC is at something of a crossroads in America: it posted record profits in 2009; BBC.com reaching 17 million unique users monthly in the U.S.; its iPhone app is a top 10 news app; and Doctor Who has gained new U.S. fans and boosted BBC America's ratings since relaunching with new "doctors" (including its latest, Matt Smith, above).

"We have a cable channel that has, if not the most affluent, one of the top two or three most affluent audiences on television," Scannell, a Viacom veteran, tells Ad Age. "But for the advertising business, we want to get to full distribution and let the brand shine a bit. I come from a place at MTV Networks where the branding was always in place, then we started getting the pieces together."

Top priority for Scannell is boosting BBC America's profile and revenues.Continue reading...