Aereo TV streaming service from Barry Diller faces showdown with News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, who threatens to take FOX cable-only, as Intel cooks up its vision of future of TV.

Apple, which can now trademark iPad mini in U.S. and captured 74% of mobile app revenue in Q1, reportedly will release new iPhone 5S in "at least" two screen sizes.

Billabong in talks to sell out for $300 million.

Airbus juggles order book to meet record demand for A320neo Jet.

AT&T joins Boeing in backing U.S. cyber bill facing privacy fight.

Audi promotes in-vehicle Wi-Fi in new TV campaign.Continue reading...

The U.S. federal government still defines the act of marriage as one taking place between a man and a woman even though a number of states have made gay marriage legal and President Obama made it clear in his Inauguration speech (and other speeches since) that gay marriage is something he firmly believes in. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” Obama said after being sworn in on Jan. 21 by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Roberts will have a lot to do with possibly making a change to the way the federal government defines marriage when his Court hears two gay-marriage-related cases on March 26 and 27. Nearly 300 companies came out Wednesday to “urge the U.S. Supreme Court … to strike down a federal law that restricts the definition of marriage to heterosexual unions,” Reuters reports.

Considering the size and number of brands taking part, it will be hard for conservatives who have long opposed gay marriage to try and boycott everyone involved.Continue reading...

The International CES show in Las Vegas put branding on the main stage on Wednesday.

The "Brand Matters" keynote focused on the social media aspects of marketing. Moderated by Michael Kassan, chairman and CEO of MediaLink, the keynote began with a one-on-one with Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com. Benioff discussed social marketing, the explosion of consumption and sharing of content thanks to the proliferation of wireless. “The mobile revolution has taken over everything,” said Benioff. “When you walk the show floor like I did yesterday, you see in real-time that everything is connected.”

The keynote then broke into a panel discussion with executives from AT&T, American Express, Coca-Cola and Unilever to explore the magic of unlocking a brand. As CNBC noted, Benioff quipped: "It's amazing that a software professional is on a panel with CMOs; that's never before happened at CES," Benioff said, chalking it up to a shift in CMOs' spending. "These marketers are going to spend more on technology than their Chief Information Officer counterparts in a very short amount of time."

The Brand Matters SuperSession (watch above) then focused on how consumers are really engaging with digital media.Continue reading...

Amazon teases new Kindle Fire devices during NFL kick-off while Kobo unveils new range of "e-readers for everyone."

Albertsons scales back retail operation with store closures.

Andy Roddick retires after U.S. Open loss, as Roger Federer is knocked out and loses world #1 title.

Ben & Jerry's sues over x-rated Ben & Cherry's.

Bentley moves US management team to VW HQ.

Bill Clinton helps seal Barack Obama nomination at DNC convention.

Billabong attracts $700 million bid from Bain Capital.

BP unveils new technology to boost oil production.Continue reading...

A recent McKinsey Global Institute study, “The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies,” concludes that social technologies could contribute $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in annual value to business.

"Two-thirds of this potential value lies in improving collaboration and communication within and across enterprises," with improved consumer focus and better-functioning teams as additional benefits. 

The current crop of social media acquisitions, including Microsoft's acquisition of Yammer and Salesforce.com's purchase of Radian6, underscore large companies’ increasingly expensive quest for internalized productivity tools to better help them manage customers. 

The most effective social technologies include wikis, instant messaging, content searches and user forums, and apply to several levels of employees from managers to sales representatives to engineers. The largest impediment to overcome, both organizationally and individually, is the embrace of a nonhierarchical ethos where acumen and information are shared rather than hoarded. Continue reading...

Today, at 2pm Eastern, the White House makes history with its first Twitter Town Hall, featuring President Obama answering users’ questions.

Topic A: the economy and jobs, with Obama fielding questions that were asked in advance and in real-time. Twitter notes in a blog post about the event that it has partnered with Mass Relevance to “curate, visualize and integrate conversations for the event,” and Radian6, the Canadian social marketing firm recently acquired by Salesforce.com.

Tweet your questions with the hashtag #AskObama, and track the event live at askobama.twitter.com or by following tweets via @townhall. Twitter cofounder and executive chairman Jack Dorsey will moderate the Q&A, which must — of course — fit Twitter’s 140-character limit.Continue reading...

AARP rolls out new Betty White spots as organization ends opposition to cutting Social Security benefits.

Alibaba revamps consumer business.

BJ's Wholesale gets a serious bidder.

BP's former CEO Tony Hayward sees payday in new venture IPO.

Capital One to pay $9B for ING Direct, subject to regulatory approval.

Casey Anthony case dubbed "social media trial of the century."

Chrysler faces high expectations for 300.Continue reading...

Apple reportedly cuts licensing deal with EMI and moves closer to cloud-based music service, as iPad sales impact HP and Dell.

AT&T presses case for T-Mobile merger.

CBS brings Ashton Kutcher and his Two and a Half Men co-stars at advertisers' fall upfront.

Citigroup awards CEO Vikram Pandit with big retention package.

Coca-Cola launches 2012 Olympics promotion a year early.

Delta cuts capacity to Europe with Air France as airline’s executives recount complex merger with Northwest.

Disney reportedly seeks to develop TV series about SEALS team that killed Osama bin Laden.

Facebook gets new scrutiny over kids in social ads.

Gap CEO undertakes urgent revamp of the brand.Continue reading...