GM is buying back $200M shares from the U.S. government.

UBS fined $1.5 billion in growing Libor scandal.

Instagram backpedals following outcry on terms of service change enabling user images for ad purposes.

CW pulls plug on major placement platform with end of Gossip Girl.

DirecTV expands cross-platform reach.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg donates $500M to charity.

Grammys launches new social trivia game.Continue reading...

Apple and Android dominate mobile-platform impressions while Apple reports strong sales of iPhone 5 in China and talks with Foursquare about data-sharing deal.

GE plans to buy Avio Italian aerospace group as CEO perceives an "investment pause" in some industries over economy.

Walmart takedown by New York Times continues with searing update on Mexican bribery scandal.

Freedom Group, parent of Bushmaster rifle used to kill Connecticut kids, will be sold by owner Cerberus.

AOL gives all employees $1,000 year-end bonus.

Billabong gets another takeover bid.

BlackBerry 10 now in tests at 120 companies.

Brazil burger chain offers edible packaging.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...

Delta buys 49% of Virgin Atlantic, as Virgin's Aer Lingus hookup mocked by Ryanair and Branson bets on future of the brand. American Airlines, meanwhile, says decision on pursuing US Airways merger is coming soon.

HSBC to pay record U.S. penalty on money laundering.

Diageo terminates talks on "future" of Jose Cuervo.

AIG shares yield $7.6 billion to U.S. government, boosting taxpayers' overall profit to nearly $23 billion.

AOL postpones premiere of hip-hop-inspired TV ad.

Boeing faces revived concerns about 787.

Burberry launches Christmas events and global review.

Burger King expands digital marketing.Continue reading...

More and more TV viewers are turning to the web for their audio-visual pleasures, streaming shows and movies from such places as Hulu, Netflix, and AppleTV, among a growing list of others. 

YouTube, of course, is the grandpa of the online video-entertainment biz and is refusing to take a backseat to all the Johnny-come-latelys that are making their moves now. In the past year, YouTube owner Google has invested more than $100 million in 100 original channels to invite brands and professional producers create original high-quality content for the site. Even though viewership numbers weren’t particularly high, the site is shelling out some big bucks again, but this time to only 30 or 40 of those content creators, according to AllThingsD.com.

The metric of most interest to YouTube (and parent Google) execs is “the total ‘watch time’ a channel has generated” as well as cost, AllThingsD reports. The site’s top 25 channels averaged more than a million views a week, Ad Age reports, and “the top 33 have more than 100,000 subscribers, a key indicator of repeat viewing.”Continue reading...

The Golf Channel is doing a booming business. It just had its best third quarter in history and was recently named America’s fastest-growing television network, now available in more than 80 million homes in the US, and more than 120 million worldwide. This comes on the heels of the Comcast-owned (via its NBC Sports group) cable network’s best second quarter in its 17-year history. 

But just because the network, which was co-founded by Arnold Palmer, has so many folks paying attention to it doesn’t mean the channel is acting like it’s in the popular crowd now. In fact, the channel is going the extra mile to showcase that it’s not quite like everybody else. The network’s new ad campaign is entitled “We Know We’re Different.”

The campaign launched this week with five on-air spots and print advertising (see below), timed to Golf Channel’s exclusive, live coverage of the Tiger Woods-hosted World Challenge presented by Northwestern Mutual. Each spot tells “an observation of the sport, from eccentric fashion to ball marking rituals, from the Golf Channel’s point of view,” according to a press release.Continue reading...

Microsoft announces the departure of Windows chief (and Ballmer's heir apparent) in wake of Windows 8 launch.

LG breaks through with new smartphone.

Hostess Brands starts closing plants as workers strike.

Acura brings Dr. Phil and Suze Orman into its Christmas promo campaign.

Apple finally gives in on employee perks.

Bojangles recruits American Idol winner Scotty McCreery for campaign.

Cadillac shows design chops in China.

Callaway Golf drives buzz on Twitter for new high-tech driver.Continue reading...

Here's to the many brands that have been stepping up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastation on the U.S., providing everything from money to food to power and their employees, products and services to help disaster relief efforts. A partial list of charitable first-responders follows (and if we miss any, please let us know in the comments):

AT&T will extend late-payment windows for wireless and wireline customers, waive late payment fees and not disconnect services because of non-payment, and in an unprecedented open-network arrangement with T-Mobile, will enable roaming to customers of both companies in the impacted areas. AT&T wireless customers can make a $10 donation (up to $50) for Hurricane Sandy relief by texting to relief organizations. AT&T and T-Mobile also joined forces on a wireless roaming agreement, while Verizon Wireless is offering free charging for all cellphones.Continue reading...