BlackBerry services has been shut down in Saudi Arabia after all, as Research in Motion continues to negotiate with Saudi and other governments.

General Motors plans to return to Super Bowl TV advertising in the next telecast, new CMO Joel Ewanick tells Ad Age, and will proclaim Cadillac as "the new standard of the world" in an upcoming campaign. CEO Ed Whitacre says that 1,000 U.S. dealerships will get a makeover this year and that an IPO is down the road.

News from AIG and more after the jump.Continue reading...

Americans love their online video. According to eMarketer, 147.5 million of Americans, 2/3 of U.S. Internet users now watch online video at least once a month. Click through for more on its latest stats.Continue reading...

Microsoft is scrapping its social youth-aiming Kin phone after less than two months on the market.

AIG's chairman and CEO are at odds.

Amazon acquired deal-of-the-day site, Woot, which celebrates with $150 Kindle special. Kindle DX also slashes price.

Apple launches iAds today with Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Best Buy, and Chanel.Continue reading...

Following months of speculation, Hulu has taken the wraps off its paid premium service. For $9.99 a month, Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to watch multiple seasons of programs no longer available on-air, as well as current episodes from Hulu’s media owners including ABC's Modern Family and NBC's 30 Rock.

NBC Universal, News Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are Hulu stakeholders, and this move is a direct challenge to not only their own online services but broadband TV offerings in the works from soon-to-be NBC owner Comcast, which is in the midst of streamlining its TV Everywhere initiative with Time Warner.Continue reading...

Madonna's new Material Girl teen fashion line for Macy's, a tribute to her early 80's heyday, is ramping up marketing ahead of its August debut. Daughter Lola, collaborating with mom, also started a blog to discuss her fashion influences. Madonna fan Britney Spears is also launching her own fashion line.

More branding news:

BP's shares are up as it's battling through Tropical Storm Alex in the Gulf of Mexico. The Wall Street Journal features an in-depth look at BP's safety record.

Celgene is buying Abraxis BioScience for $2.9 billion.Continue reading...

Apple acknowledges iPhone 4 antenna issue, suggests users hold it differently.

AXA unloads British assets for $4 billion.

BlackBerry-maker RIM misses profit targets as Apple gains market share.

Boeing denies fleet grounding while 787 Dreamliner technical issue is investigated.Continue reading...

Facebook aims to help brands better connect with fans ... prepares to launch local ads ... looks to China and Russia ... beefs up privacy staff ... and calls for federal oversight of rogue apps.

Foursquare Avoidr app helps users avoid people they don't wish to see.

Microsoft and Yahoo join industry consortium to monitor online trackers.

Twitter is barred "for 20 years from misleading consumers" by FTC in privacy ruling concerning 2009 hacked accounts (including Barack Obama's).Continue reading...

More people are now watching Web video series – and at night, in lieu of primetime TV programming – marking a seachange for consumers and brand marketers alike.

Online viewing of longform content is on a steady increase, increasing 11.3% between 2008 and 2009. eMarketer projects annual growth in longform video viewing of 8% to 9% a year from 2010 through 2012, dropping to about 5.2% growth from 2013 to 2014, when 77% of US Internet users will be watching online video at least once a month.

A key factor in this trend is broadband proliferation and online audience demographics. Not surprisingly, the highest penetration of Web video consumption is with 18-24-year-olds, followed closely by teens and 25-34-year-olds. This audience grew up not tethered to the TV set, but plugged in to PCs, laptops, cellphones and mobile devices.

They also weathered the early days of negligible online content as the burgeoning platform found its legs. Consider the first Web series to catch worldwide attention, the lonelygirl15 viral video phenomenon on YouTube.Continue reading...