The Esquire Network says it's ready for prime time.

The new network, announced today, aims to “capture the essence of the magazine,” David Carey, president of Esquire publisher Hearst Magazines, told The New York Times. "This is not the magazine on TV; that would not work."

The male audience is an ever-sweet spot for brands, as evidenced by offerings that vary from Spike TV to Discovery's Velocity Channel. The Esquire Network will replace the Comcast-created G4 video gaming channel (which gave Esquire fave Olivia Munn her start as co-host on Attack of the Show) on April 22, and be available in 62 million homes with cable or satellite service.

The rebranded network is a strategic partnership between NBC Universal and Hearst Magazines. NBCUniversal cable executive Bonnie Hammer positioned it as "an upscale Bravo for men." She added, "If this was going to come under my portfolio, I’m a little brand crazy, so I said, let’s create a real brand, define a space, understand who we are programming for."Continue reading...

Nearly two years after getting a green light to acquire 51% OF NBC Universal from GE, Comcast is updating its logo to reflect its new identity.

No longer 'just' America's largest cable operator and provider of video, voice and data services, it has long been in the cable and broadband programming game with brands such as E! and G4 (soon to be Esquire Channel) and its regional sports networks.

But it truly became a player in the entertainment space as the majority owner of NBC's national broadcast services, the Universal studio and related brands and assets, and now it's strutting the tail feathers it inherited as part of the NBCU deal.Continue reading...

"Don’t leave home without it" is becoming "Don’t leave home at all." Or, at least, "just yet." American Express is kicking the tires on interactive television and branded content with its own video-on-demand channel, participating in a year-long test with interactive TV provider BrightLine and the Mindshare agency to launch what's being called the largest advanced TV campaign to date.

The AMEX Channel, which quietly launched in September, is available in more than 50 million households through five pay TV service providers — AT&T's U-verse service, Cablevision, DirecTV, Dish and Verizon FiOs —and through smart TV platforms, namely Internet-connected TV sets sold by LG and Samsung.

The advanced television ad test is being trialed on TV as the primary screen, with apps for tablets and smartphones as second screens. Viewers can access the channel via interactive banners, channel guide listings and overlays that appear next to American Express commercials, using BrightLine-based technology. The video-on-demand channel offers video clips, games and information and promotions like AmEx's annual Small Business Saturday shopping day after Black Friday.Continue reading...

Who really crosses the velvet rope in the summer nightlife scene? Those with beautiful hair, according to a series of vignettes produced by NBCUniversal's Integrated Media and Creative Partnerships & Innovations group — the ad sales unit that lines up product integrations for branded entertainment across NBCU's stable of media properties — about Unilever’s new premium hair care brand, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy.

Featuring 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski; Bravo exec/host Andy Cohen; Giuliana Rancic of E!; and NBC's "Saturday Night Live" alum Tim Meadows, the vignettes portray "Best Night Ever," the story of Logan and Chloe, who gain access to nightlife hotspot "Clear" and rub shoulders with NBCU talent, eventually making it into the exclusive inner sanctum, "The Source." 

The campaign is now running on NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, Style, NBC.com, Bravotv.com, Eonline.com, Oxygen.com, MyStyle.com, and DailyCandy, breaking May 21st during "Bethenny Ever After" on Bravo and ending the week of June 11th.Continue reading...

ABC edges out NBC in the morning.

AOL pushes to grab TV-ad dollars.

Apple loses luster on its shares.

Audi set to buy Ducati, Bloomberg reports.

BlackBerry store sits as quiet marker of RIM failed strategy.

Coca-Cola profit beats estimates.

Coty says it has lined up capital for Avon bid.Continue reading...

Perpetually in search of brand innovation since 1883, when it introduced its first major brand, Ivory Soap, Procter & Gamble’s corporate commitment to innovating is articulated in the June issue of Harvard Business Review, where P&G is dubbed the "new growth factory."

The HBR article, "How P&G Tripled Its Innovation Success Rate" (co-authored by P&G CTO Bruce Brown and Innosight managing director Scott Anthony) looks at how digital platforms have filled the branded content hole created by the collapse of TV soap operas, a branding medium that P&G helped invent with Colgate-Palmolive and Lever Brothers.Continue reading...

Katie Couric exits the CBS News anchor chair tonight with one final interview: Hillary Clinton.

Also stepping down this week: Mary Hart, who signs off Entertainment Tonight on Friday after 29 seasons in a final broadcast that brings out her former co-hosts.

Arnold Schwarzenegger puts projects on hold to deal with personal crisis.

Discovery Networks to run first in-show product placement under relaxed UK rules.

FDA pulls diabetes drug Avandia from shelves.

Gap quarterly profit falls 23%; partners with Goodwill for donated clothing discount.Continue reading...

Time Warner Cable and Viacom take iPad streaming dispute to court.

China's Tencent among interested buyers for Myspace.

Google tests game-mechanics strategies with Recyclebank.

Google and US Justice Dept. also near deal on ITA acquisition.

Bing's iPad app aims to make browsing beautiful. 

Bronx Zoo picks name for celebrity cobra; fauxbra not impressed.

ESPN launches TV Everywhere iPhone and iPad App with US cable operators.Continue reading...