Paramount and Lucasfilms’ Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull unearthed plenty of box office gold at the weekend, grossing an estimated $143m in the international marketplace and another $126m in North America.

Though it did not break any records, Crystal Skull will, if early estimates are confirmed, end up among the industry’s all-time top ten openers domestically, internationally and globally.

Paramount put the performance down to good reviews and a response from audiences of all ages to the first Indiana Jones sequel in 19 years.

The $143m international take came from 12,000 screens in over 8,300 locations in 56 markets, said Paramount Pictures International (PPI), with the film opening in many markets on Wednesday or Thursday.

It was Paramount’s biggest international opening ever (easily beating the $102.5m start made by War of the Worlds in 2005) and the sixth biggest international opening of all time, ranking between Star Wars: Episode III and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

The long-awaited fourth installment of the Lucasfilm-produced adventure franchise – with Steven Spielberg back in the directing chair, Harrison Ford returning as the title character and Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf co-starring – topped local charts in all its major territories.

In the UK (which has a holiday on Monday) Crystal Skull grossed an estimated $21.5m over four days from 536 locations. That was 70% more than Iron Man took during its first Friday-to-Monday run in the market, said PPI.

In France, the gross was $14.1m from 781 locations, 96% more than Iron Man.

Germany produced $12.6m from 841 locations, 262% more than Iron Man; Spain delivered $11.7mn over four days from 731 locations, 128% up on Iron Man; Korea reported $10m over four days from 619 locations, 76% better than Iron Man; Australia delivered $9m from 263 locations; Russia $8.4m from 602 locations; Italy $6.5m from 625 locations; Brazil $5.7m over four days from 257 locations; and Mexico $4.5m over four days from 426 locations.

For the North American market, Paramount on Sunday (May 25) estimated a Thursday-to-Sunday gross of $126m for the PG-13-rated film, which screened in some cinemas just after midnight on Wednesday and spread to a total of 4,260 locations over the weekend.

The studio estimated the film would take another $25m on Monday, the Memorial Day holiday in the US.

That would give Crystal Skull a three-day weekend total of $101m (the tenth biggest of all time), a four-day Memorial Day weekend take of $126m (the second biggest ever, after the $139.8m achieved this time last year by Buena Vista’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), and an overall five-day opening of $151m (the fifth biggest ever).

The $269m global opening tally (which does not include Paramount’s estimate for the Monday holiday in the US) is the fifth biggest of all time, again ranking Crystal Skull between Star Wars: Episode III and The Return of the King.

Other early estimates of North American box office takings (full estimates for the holiday weekend will not be available until Monday) put Buena Vista’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian at $23m for the Friday-Sunday period, representing a steep 58% decline from the film’s chart-topping opening last weekend.

Paramount’s Iron Man appears to have held up better against Indy, dropping 37% in its fourth weekend to an estimated $20.1m for Friday-Sunday.

In the international marketplace, meanwhile, Prince Caspian opened in Japan – the only major market that did not get Crystal Skull this weekend – and grossed an estimated and chart-topping $7.7m from 324 locations, said Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International (WDSMPI).

Overall, Caspian took an estimated $18m from 3,361 screens in 13 territories over the weekend, bringing its international total to $49.1m, 11% better, said WDSMPI, than the first Narnia film at a comparable point in its roll-out. Caspian has already beaten the first film’s total takes in Russia and India.

Iron Man, international leader for the last three weekends, grossed an estimated $12.5m from 8,000 prints in almost 6,000 international locations this weekend, according to PPI, one of the Marvel film’s several distributors outside the US. That brought the film’s total international gross to $228m – $191.5m from PPI markets, $10.8m from the single market handled by Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI), and the rest from other territories and companies.

Fox International reported the same estimated gross of $12.5m, this time from 3,800 screens in 56 markets, for What Happens In Vegas. But the studio said the final weekend figure for the film – which has now reached $77.8m internationally – could be higher.

SPRI’s Made of Honor took an estimated $3.4m from 1,745 screens in 25 markets, for a total to date of $25.6m.

Speed Racer, from Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI), dropped another 58% to gross an estimated $3m (representing 611,000 admissions) from 3,400 prints in 40 territories. International total to date for the big budget family entry stands at $29.8m.

SPRI’s 21 grossed an estimated $1.8m from 1,025 screens in 37 markets, bringing its international total to $49.3m.

WBPI’s The Bucket List grossed an estimated $1.2m (98,500 admissions) this weekend from 511 screens in 23 markets, for a running international total of $75.2m.

Universal’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall grossed an estimated $800,000 from 515 dates in 9 territories, raising its international total to $23.2m.

Nim’s Island, acquired by Universal for a parcel of territories, grossed $520,000 from 494 dates in three of those territories. The film’s running total for the three Universal markets now stands at $11.1m and its total for all markets at $27m.

Universal’s Definitely, Maybe grossed $115,000 from 122 dates in 15 territories (for an international total to date of $20.7m) and the studio’s The Other Boleyn Girl took $105,000 from 105 dates in seven Universal territories (for a Universal total so far of $33.1m). The film’s overall international total now stands at $37m.

Fox International reported takes of $430,000 from 300 screens in 15 markets for Shutter (international total to date $16.5m); $266,000 from 450 screens in 9 markets for Horton Hears A Who! (total $138m); and $263,000 from 500 screens in 13 markets for Street Kings (total $30.2m).

Source: Screen Daily News

Indiana Jones’ fourth outing scored the second biggest Memorial Day holiday weekend launch in North America as Paramount’s nostalgic adventure brand rang up $311.1m in worldwide ticket sales.

The four-day $151.1m domestic haul has only been bettered over the same holiday period by last year’s $153m launch of Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End, while $160m from international territories demonstrates the colossal power of day-and-date releases when a studio demonstrates global vision.

Paramount sources cited young parents in the their 30s and 40s as the key drivers here and must be very happy with themselves following a new global opening record for a Viacom-owned studio and director Steven Spielberg.

The previous mark of $202m was set by Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds release through Paramount over July 4 weekend in 2005.

The result easily set a new franchise opening weekend record, and the film should have little trouble overtaking Raiders Of The Lost Ark’s $242.4m final domestic tally to become the biggest in the series within two weeks.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull marks the return of a franchise that started with Raiders in 1981 and went on to gross approximately $1.2bn worldwide by the time Harrison Ford hung up his whip and fedora after The Last Crusade in 1989.

Ford reprises his role alongside original love interest Karen Allen as he battles a Soviet foe played by Cate Blanchett. Shia LaBeouf and Ray Winstone round out the key cast.

Prince Caspian in second place is several days away from $100m after a $28.6m four-day haul elevated the running total to $96.7m after two weekends. Indy’s stablemate Iron Man performed solidly in third, adding $25.7m for a terrific $257.8m cumulative total after four.

Fox’s What Happens In Vegas and Universal’s Baby Mama and Forgetting Sarah Marshall have all fallen short of expectations and rank fourth on $56.4m after three, sixth on $53m after five and eighth on $58.7m after six weekends, respectively.

Next weekend’s blockbuster-elect is Sex And The City through Warner bros and starring the original TV cast of Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.

Sony’s horror film The Strangers with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman also opens wide.

Estimated Top 10 North America May 23-26, 2008

Film (Dist)/Int’l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date
1 (-) Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (Paramount)
PPI $126m $151.1m
2 (1) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
(Buena Vista) WDSMPI $28.6m $96.7m
3 (2) Iron Man (Paramount) PPI/Various $25.7m $257.8m
4 (3) What Happens In Vegas (Fox) Fox Int’l $11.2m $56.4m
5 (4) Speed Racer (Warner Bros) WBPI $5.2m $37.4m
6 (6) Baby Mama (Universal) UPI $4.2m $53m
7 (5) Made Of Honor (Sony) SPRI $4.2m $39.9m
8 (7) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) UPI $2.2m $58.7m
9 (8) Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
(New Line/Warner Bros) NLI $1.2m $36.2m
10 (10) The Visitor (Overture) K5 Int’l $917,000 $4.6m

Source: Screen Daliy News

CBS Interactive announced on May 20 that it is once again reaching into the vast CBS Library to make five more of its classic television programs and related clips available online across the CBS Audience Network. The new shows that will be available for viewing starting today include THE LOVE BOAT, BEVERLY HILLS 90210, TWIN PEAKS, FAMILY TIES and PERRY MASON. These programs are in addition to the Television Classics that were made available online in February which included STAR TREK, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, MACGYVER, HAWAII FIVE-O and MELROSE PLACE.

With the addition of these new programs, CBS leads the other broadcast networks in terms of delivering more full episodes and hours of network programming online. The distribution of Television Classics and clips across the CBS Audience Network and its hub, CBS.com, follows the same open, multi-partner, non-exclusive strategy that CBS first implemented nearly a year ago. All content is ad-supported, free to the consumer, and available beginning today. The CBS Library is one of the largest television programming libraries in the entertainment business and additional content will be made available online in the weeks to come.

The lineup of added library programming across the CBS Audience Network and CBS.com includes full episodes and clips of the following shows and seasons:

•- THE LOVE BOAT: Season 1

•- BEVERLY HILLS 90210: Seasons 1, 2 and 3

•- TWIN PEAKS: Seasons 1 and 2

•- FAMILY TIES: Season 1

•- PERRY MASON: Seasons 1 and 2

In conjunction with the new shows, additional seasons of some of the previously released classics are now available including:

•- MACGYVER: Seasons 2 through 7 now available, in addition to previously available Season 1

•- THE TWILIGHT ZONE: Season 3 now available, in addition to previously available Seasons 1 and 2

•- HAWAII FIVE-O: Season 2 now available, in addition to previously available Season 1

“Bringing these great television classics to our online audience provides CBS with a unique and unparalleled depth and breadth of professional content,” said Joe Ferreira, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Content Acquisition, CBS Interactive. “Additionally, these classics are attractive to advertisers because the content is well known and comes with a passionate and highly engaged following. In making these shows widely available we expect to stimulate renewed interest and conversations around them.”

“We’ve just begun to tap the library’s programming potential online, on-air and anywhere in the digital space,” said John Nogawski, President, CBS Television Distribution. “There are 70,000 hours of programming to mine and a seemingly infinite number of platforms looking for content. The footprint of the CBS Audience Network is well positioned to stir renewed interest in these series from television aficionados, as well as introduce a new generation of viewers to characters such as ‘The Log Lady,’ and ‘Alex P. Keaton,’ and memorable hangouts such as ‘The Peach Pit’ and ‘The Lido Deck.’”

The more than 300 Web sites currently making up the CBS Audience Network includes partners such as AOL, Microsoft, CNET Networks, Comcast, Joost, Bebo, Netvibes, Sling Media and Veoh and social application partners including Automattic, Brightcove, Clearspring, DAVE Networks, Goowy Media, meebo, MeeVee, Musestorm, Ning, RockYou!, Slide, VideoEgg, Voxant and vSocial as well as Web sites from CBS’s owned television, radio, and affiliated stations. The growing slate of CBS entertainment, news and sports content available includes a roster of full episodes, clips and highlights based on CBS and Showtime programming as well as original made-for-the-web content from EyeLab, a programming unit that produces and distributes short form video to the CBS Audience Network. All content is ad supported and free to consumers.

About CBS Interactive and the CBS Audience Network

CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS), oversees all CBS consumer Interactive properties including CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSNews.com, CBS Mobile, CBS EyeLab, Last.fm and Wallstrip and the CBS Audience Network. Aiming to be the most widely distributed professional content on the web, the CBS Audience Network complements the best news, entertainment and sports content with original programming and short-form content and provides an all-embracing opportunity for users to incorporate CBS clips into their profiles, websites, blogs, widgets, wikis and community pages. The CBS Audience Network consists of online partners such as AOL, Microsoft, CNET Networks, Comcast, Joost, Bebo, Netvibes, Sling Media and Veoh and social application partners including Automattic, Brightcove, Clearspring, DAVE Networks, Goowy Media, meebo, MeeVee, Musestorm, Ning, RockYou!, Slide, VideoEgg, Voxant and vSocial as well as websites from CBS’s 29 owned television, 144 radio, and up to 183 affiliated stations.

News Corporation today on May19 it has secured additional shares in leading German pay-TV operator, Premiere AG, increasing its total stake to 25.01 percent.

News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of March 31, 2008 of approximately US$62 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$32 billion. News Corporation is a diversified entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers and information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.

Columbia Pictures has acquired from Scholastic Media the right to adapt Scholastic’s bestselling Goosebumps™ book series into a theatrical feature. The film will be produced by Deborah Forte and Neal H. Moritz; it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures.

Goosebumps is one of the most popular series of books for children ever – in fact, only the Harry Potter novels have surpassed Goosebumps in total sales.

Goosebumps has been published in over 32 languages and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. The series was successfully adapted by Scholastic Entertainment for television for the Fox Kids Network, where it was rated #1 for four seasons, and aired in over 100 countries. Episodes of the live action television series returned to the small screen in 2007 on Cartoon Network and instantly became a sensation. New Goosebumps HorrorLand books written by R.L. Stine hit the stores last month and, this fall, Scholastic Interactive unveils a highly anticipated Goosebumps videogame.

Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “Goosebumps is an international multi-media phenomenon, a truly global brand that excites kids everywhere. Children and parents alike love the Goosebumps series – it’s safe, scary fun that is completely accessible to audiences from 8 to 80. When kids think of Goosebumps, they’re drawn not to a single character or mini-series, but to an entire environment. We’re excited by that creative challenge and, with so much rich source material available to us, we expect to deliver a film that will chill and thrill fans of this unique family-friendly franchise.”

“I’m looking forward to bringing Goosebumps to the big screen with Columbia and Neal who value and respect the brand and the global fan base that Scholastic has cultivated. What better way to deliver the rollercoaster ride of scares and humor that the fans expect from Goosebumps than with a movie. Sony’s track record with franchises like Spider-man makes them an ideal partner,” said Deborah Forte, producer and president of Scholastic Media.

“Securing the motion picture rights to Goosebumps for Columbia Pictures and Sony comes with an enormous responsibility to the fans who have grown up with these books and have very high expectations about how these beloved novels will be adapted. We are truly delighted to be partners with Deborah Forte and the team at Scholastic as we work together to bring Goosebumps to the big screen,” said Moritz.

The Goosebumps book series returned to the top of the sales charts again last month with the release of the first two books in Goosebumps HorrorLand, a new twelve book series by R.L. Stine, featuring favorite characters from the original series such as Slappy the Dummy, the Haunted Mask, and the Mummy. It is the first Goosebumps serialized adventure in which each book is part of the same plot. Fans can also get exclusive Goosebumps Horrorland content at www.enterhorrorland.com; and additional Goosebumps chills at the official Goosebumps website, www.scholastic.com/goosebumps, which continues to garner 1.5 million page views each month.

The studio will begin developing the first Goosebumps movie immediately. Andrea Giannetti will oversee the project on behalf of the studio working closely with Original Films and Scholastic.

About Scholastic Media

Scholastic Media (SM), the entertainment and media division of Scholastic, is a leading producer of quality, family-oriented content across multiple platforms, including feature films, television programming, videos, interactive and audio products, and web sites, and is a major developer and marketer of children’s brands worldwide.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children’s books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs and school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, television networks and the Company’s Internet Site, www.scholastic.com.

About Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries.

The Nielsen Company announced on May 16 that it has completed the acquisition of IAG Research, Inc., a privately held company that measures consumer engagement with television programs, national commercials and product placements.  The transaction expands Nielsen’s ability to provide clients with more in-depth television and Internet analytics services.IAG Research will be rebranded as Nielsen IAG.  Alan Gould and Ken Orkin, co-founders and co-CEOs of IAG Research, will continue to lead the service as Co-CEO’s of Nielsen IAG, reporting to Susan Whiting, Executive Vice President of The Nielsen Company.

Nielsen IAG conducts research with viewers to measure the effectiveness of advertising and program engagement across television and the Internet. Its clients include major advertisers, advertising agencies, Internet providers, telecommunications services, television and cable networks and other content providers.

“Nielsen IAG already provides unique insight into how viewers are interacting with television and commercial content,” said David L. Calhoun, chairman and CEO of The Nielsen Company.  “As the service is integrated into The Nielsen Company, it will be able to draw on an unparalleled reservoir of data and information to deliver a greater perspective on the relationship between consumers and media.”

This is an exciting time to be working in the media measurement industry and we look forward to working with our new Nielsen colleagues to deliver Nielsen IAG’s services to a wider base of clients,” said Gould and Orkin. “At a time when advertisers and programmers need to increase the effectiveness of their media investments, Nielsen IAG can deliver real, tangible measurement of viewer engagement.”

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (Nielsen Online), mobile media (Nielsen Mobile), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

About Nielsen IAG

Nielsen IAG measures the effectiveness of television advertising, product placement as well as viewer engagement with TV and the Internet. Nielsen IAG’s suite of measurement products are used by such industry leaders as American Express, Toyota, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler LLC, Procter & Gamble, Verizon, Sprint, Warner Brothers, VISA, Merck & Co., Paramount Pictures and major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN, and TNT/TBS and MTV.

With only a week before the finale of FOX’s American Idol, The Nielsen Company reported data trends about American Idol and its contestants. Highlights include:

• TV Ratings — People age 35-49 watched American Idol Season 7 the most, making up almost 29% of the total audience. The most watched episode this season was the premiere episode on Tuesday, 1/15/08 averaging 33 million viewers.
• Mobile — The average American Idol participant voted via text message 38 times in April 2008.
• Music — Kelly Clarkson is the best selling American Idol contestant with album and digital download sales of 18.9 million. Carrie Underwood is second with album and digital download sales of 15.7 million.
• Online — Male contestants David Cook, David Archuleta and Jason Castro dominate the show’s consumer discussion online with 14.3% and 12.5% and 10.5% buzz volume, respectively. The most popular American Idol contestant from opinions and feedback from Hey! Nielsen’s online panel is Carrie Underwood. Web traffic to American Idol websites saw the most unique visitors in March 2007.
• Advertising — During 2007, American Idol featured 4,349 product placement occurrences. So far in 2008, the number of placements is surging—the program racked up 3,291 occurrences the first three months of 2008 alone.

TV Ratings

American Idol’s highest viewership was Season 5, where more than 30 million people watched on average, compared to 12 million the first season and 27 million this current season. The east central part of the United States has the highest viewing levels above the national average, while the south west has the lowest viewing levels below average.

People age 35-49 watched American Idol Season 7 the most, making up almost 29% of the total audience. The most watched episode this season was the premiere episode on Tuesday, 1/15/08 averaging 33 million viewers. The most watched American Idol episode ever was the final hour of Season 2 on Wednesday, 5/21/2003 – more than 38 million viewers tuned in live to watch the face off between winner Ruben Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken.

Mobile

According to Nielsen Mobile, the average American Idol participant voted via text message 38 times in April 2008, with the April 29th show generating many more texts per person than the April 1st show. Women tend to vote via text with greater frequency than men: in April 2008, female voters of American Idol submitted 44% more text-message votes than their male counterparts. Voting by text is only available to AT&T subscribers. Nielsen Mobile tracks text message voting and contest behavior through its panel of 43,000 U.S. wireless lines.

Music

Kelly Clarkson is the best selling American Idol contestant with album and digital download sales of 18.9 million. Carrie Underwood is second with album and digital download sales of 15.7 million.

Winning isn’t everything. Clay Aiken was the runner-up of 2003, but his first album has outsold winner Ruben Studdard (2.8 million to date, versus 1.8 million). Chris Daughtry came in fourth during the 2006 season, but his band Daughtry had the best selling album by any of that year’s finalists.

“Daughtry” sold 2.5 million copies during calendar year 2007, making it the year’s fifth best selling album. Prior winner Carrie Underwood was second among “Idol” contestants that year, moving 1.7 million copies of second album “Carnival Ride” in less than three months.

Until 2006, when the winner was Taylor Hicks, each season’s “American Idol” champ sold at least 1 million copies on his or her debut album. Hicks’ self-titled album has sold 702,000 to date.

Reigning “Idol” queen Jordin Sparks has moved 717,000 copies of her debut set to date, but with current single “No Air,” featuring Chris Brown, spending its 10th week in the top 10 on The Billboard Hot 100, her album still has legs, posting gains in four of the last five weeks.

Twice this year, performances by recently exiled contestant Jason Castro prompted huge digital sales spikes and album gains for original artists. His homage to Jeff Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” prompted the Buckley download to rocket to No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs, selling 178,000 copies. A few weeks later, Castro’s take on Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’Ole’s version of “What A Wonderful World” sent Iz’s track to No. 11 on Hot Digital Songs.

Online

Nielsen Online monitors consumer-generated content from approximately 70 million blogs on the Internet before, during and after Fox’s hit reality competition show, American Idol. Contestants, judges and the program itself are audited to provide advertisers with both quantitative and qualitative insight around popularity, virality and sentiment.

Male contestants David Cook, David Archuleta and Jason Castro dominate the show’s consumer discussion online with 14.3% and 12.5% and 10.5% buzz volume, respectively. Brooke White continues to be included in conversations after being voted off two weeks ago with 7.5% buzz volume, while Syesha Mercado trails with 5.4%, more than two times less the amount of buzz compared with Cook and Archuleta.

[chart, See PDF]

The most popular American Idol contestant from opinions and feedback from Hey! Nielsen’s online panel is Carrie Underwood. David Archuleta is this season’s most popular according to HeyNielsen.com.

Buzz for judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson has remained consistent throughout the January through May time frame, with notable increases in consumer discussion about Paula Abdul. The February spike for the show’s female host is linked to her pre Super Bowl game performance, up 200% from earlier that year. The more recent increase on April 30th, up an additional 83% since the February spike, was garnered by Abdul’s critique on two performances for David Castro although the contestant only sang one time.

[chart, See PDF]

Web traffic to American Idol websites saw the most unique visitors during March 2007. Of the top 10 months ranked by unique visitors, people spent the most amount of time on American Idol websites during Season 5, where time spent per person was over 10 minutes during the months of March, April and May 2006.

Advertisers

Top Advertisers

Coca-Cola was the top American Idol season 7 advertiser for the first quarter of 2008, followed by AT&T and Ford. Procter & Gamble and Apple rounded out the top five. All five of these companies have advertised on American Idol since 2002 and, with the exception of Apple, all of them also held slots among the top five American Idol advertisers in season 6 (Jan. 16 – March 23, 2007).

Product Placements

During season 6 (Jan. 16 – May 23, 2007), American Idol featured 4,349 product placement occurrences. As of March 31, 2008, the number of placements featured during season 7 was surging—American Idol had already racked up 3,291 occurrences.

Coca-Cola and AT&T Wireless were the top two featured brands on American Idol during the first quarter of 2008. In season 6, Cingular Wireless rounded out the top three—but in early 2008, Ford claimed the third slot. Coca-Cola, which has an ongoing advertising association with American Idol, far outpaced all other brands’ product placements on the program—beating second-place AT&T Wireless by more than 2,000 occurrences during both season 6 and the first quarter of 2008 (season 7). (See the chart below for more details.)

During both seasons 6 and the portion of season 7 included in this analysis (Jan. 15 – March 31, 2008), product placements on American Idol appeared most often in foreground shots. In season 6, there were 3,030 foreground placements on the program; in the first three months of 2008, there were 2,154 foreground occurrences. In season 6, background placements (372 occurrences) and prop placements (234 occurrences) rounded out the top three, while in the first quarter of 2008, call to action placements (310 occurrences) and wardrobe placements (206 occurrences) claimed second and third place, respectively.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (Nielsen Online), mobile media (Nielsen Mobile), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

CBS Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire CNET Networks, Inc., it was announced on May, 15th by Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation.  Under the terms of the agreement, CBS will make a cash tender offer for all issued and outstanding shares of CNET Networks for $11.50 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $1.8 billion. The acquisition will make CBS one of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the United States, with a combined 54 million unique users per month, and approximately 200 million users worldwide.

“There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks,” said Moonves. “CBS stands for premium content and unparalleled reach, and CNET Networks will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music and information content to a whole new global audience.  Together, CBS and CNET Networks will have significant additional exposure to the fastest-growing advertising sector and can accelerate our growth through a number of new content, promotion and advertising initiatives.  We could not be more pleased with the prospect of adding CNET Networks and its tremendous team of people to the CBS family. I look forward to working with Quincy Smith, Neil Ashe and the considerable combined talent at both companies, as we build upon our success.”

Based in San Francisco, CNET Networks owns many of the Internet’s leading entertainment, news and information sites including CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, CNET news.com, UrbanBaby, CHOW, Search.com, BNET, MySimon and TechRepublic. The company, which reported significant profits in 2007 on revenues of $406 million, has a large international footprint, particularly in China.

Upon closing, CNET Networks’ sites will be combined with CBS’s stable of dynamic and growing interactive businesses. These include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, CBS Radio and CBS Television Stations digital media platforms, and the distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites and reaches 82% of all online users in the United States.

“The core businesses of CNET Networks and CBS Interactive represent near perfect category symmetry in premium online content,” said Quincy Smith, President, CBS Interactive. “Together we will have a terrific opportunity to not only grow our established businesses, but to build new attractive verticals of content as well.  This is the beginning of an era for both CBS and CNET Networks; plus, it’s going to be great to work with Neil and his team, many of whom I have known for many years.” 

“We’re thrilled to join CBS and combine our interactive media experience with CBS’s world-class content,” said Neil Ashe, Chief Executive Officer, CNET Networks, Inc.  “CNET Networks operates some of the most important premium online brands, serving the most sought after online audiences. Today’s announcement brings together two organizations that complement each other and working with Leslie, Quincy and the talented people at CBS, we look forward to taking our business and our brands to the next level.”

“We look forward to completing the acquisition of CNET Networks and the terrific benefits it brings to CBS as Quincy, Neil and their combined teams build upon our success,” Moonves concluded. “At the same time our strong cash flow allows us to pay among the highest dividends in the industry, and we are committed to continue to pay our attractive dividend to return value to shareholders.”

The Board of Directors of CNET Networks has unanimously approved the merger agreement and unanimously recommends that CNET Networks stockholders accept the tender offer and tender their shares.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

About CBS Corporation

CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. The Company, through its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets. It has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and The CW – a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime and CBS College Sports Network), local television (CBS Television Stations), television production and syndication (CBS Paramount Network Television and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), in-store media (CBS Outernet) and motion pictures (CBS Films). For more information, log on to www.cbscorporation.com.

About CNET Networks, Inc.

CNET Networks, Inc. is a global interactive media company whose leading brands collectively attract more than 160 million people each month, making it the 10th largest Internet network on the Web.  The Company builds Web sites focused on the information and entertainment people crave, such as gaming, music, entertainment, technology, business, food, and parenting, and its premier brands include BNET, CNET, GameSpot,TV.com and CHOW. Founded in 1992, CNET Networks is headquartered in San Francisco, California.  The Company also operates internationally in countries including Australia, China, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Co-operation in the areas of music, mobile gaming, maps, advertising and location based services

Orange and Nokia today announced a strategic international partnership, extending the first agreement signed by the two companies in February 2008. The two industry leaders have committed to a three year partnership, which will include the addition of ten new Nokia handsets to the Orange Signature range and the addition of music to a combined offer of games, advertising, maps and location based services.
Orange and Nokia have agreed to launch a suite of integrated multimedia services on the new Nokia handsets, launching in H208 across nine major markets, in an initiative designed to boost the adoption of mobile digital entertainment. As part of the strategic partnership, customers will have direct access to the Orange Music Store, both Orange and NGage games, as well as Nokia Maps. Under the Orange Signature programme, all services will be integrated into the familiar Orange user interface, providing one click access to information and entertainment…

As part of the deployment of Orange’s triple play offer (telephone, Internet, TV), 24 million French households (98.3% of the mainland population) will be able to enjoy Orange TV from July 3rd. Agreements recently signed with Eutelsat have made it possible extend the Orange TV offer. Up until now, broadband TV technology only enabled half of France’s households to benefit from the offer. Thanks to this combined ADSL-satellite technology, Orange TV programmes will be available to virtually all French households.

At the MIPTV 2008 event in Cannes, Orange confirmed the selection of two orbital positions for Eutelsat HOT BIRD™ and ATLANTIC BIRD™3 (broadcasting from 13° East and 5° West) to handle the satellite broadcasting of the TV flow reception of its triple play offer (telephone, internet and TV), where this is not accessible via ADSL. Globecast, a subsidiary of the group, will handle the encoding, encrypting and transmission of the Orange TV channels.

As of July 3rd, nearly all French households will be able to subscribe to an Orange triple play offer (from €29.90 a month). Depending on where they live, customers will be equipped with either Orange TV via ADSL or via an installation combining ADSL and satellite reception. As of 23 May 2008, the orange internet site www.orange.fr will provide information on the practical aspects of Orange TV access and determine eligibility…