It's not exactly Coke vs. Pepsi, or Chevy vs. Ford, but the intensifying battle of the gas-pump TV networks just got a little more interesting.

Outcast just signed an exclusive deal with Fox News Channel to distribute its programming to more than 13,000 screens at gas station in 130 U.S. markets via its PumpTop TV network. Its rival, Gas Station TV (GSTV), has been adding branded content as well, including news reports from Bloomberg TV.

In the distribution battle to win valuable eyeball-level distribution via gas stations, expect more exclusive programming deals with big media brands as the duelling "networks" spread across America. It's also good news for brand marketers, expanding the quality of "place-based" or out-of-home opportunities to reach drivers.Continue reading...

Anheuser-Busch InBev moves to trademark US city area codes, while Apple trademarks "280."

Charlie Sheen hopes to return to TV in Anger Management.

Claudia Schiffer launches a fashion collection.

CNN cancels Eliot Spitzer's talk show.

Ford is the first brand on Google+, with two accounts.

Louis Vuitton and Burberry awarded biggest counterfeit settlement in Canadian history.

PyeongChang, South Korea, selected by IOC to host the XXIII Winter Olympics in 2018.

Nancy Grace's Casey Anthony obsession boosts ratings for HLN.

P&G, Asda and Tesco consider joining brand advertisers that are boycotting News of the World.Continue reading...

Apple store employee moves to unionize.

Chipotle expansion plans hit by rising costs.

Citi defends delay in disclosing hacking.

Dell gives precedence to Chinese market for tablet roll-out.

Dole blitzes US cities to pump up banana sales.

Edmunds.com to launch Groupon-type channel for cars.

Ford is ordered to pay $2 billion to dealers in old pricing dispute.Continue reading...

Apple's iPad eats into global PC market.

Big East conference adds Texas Christian University in 2012.

Bing search trends: The Year of the Kardashian (even as sisters cut ties with prepaid credit card).

British Airways and Iberia agree to £5bn merger amidst strike action.

Cadillac returns to PGA sponsorship following two-year break.

Clinique tops L2 Digital IQ study on beauty.

Disney may make Tangled its last animated fairytale feature.Continue reading...

Liberals and conservatives agree: the Obama Administration's recent campaign to delegitimize Fox News Channel as a news source is a huge boost to the Fox News Channel brand.

Fox's success shows the rewards for cable news networks of building engagement among a dedicated base of diehards, following the vaunted "80-20 rule" that says that 80% of a channel's ratings come from 20% of its audience. Keeping the core audience tuned in for repetitive programming that confirms their beliefs turns out to be the recipe for success. That it has transformed US politics is a mere side-effect. (The 80-20 rule probably caused Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998, when FNC rode the Lewinsky scandal to ratings glory.)

The latest controversy began in early October, when White House media advisor Anita Dunn rounded the talk shows to argue that Fox -- which has been attacking Obama all year -- "often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party."Continue reading...