Inside Media - July 24, 2006

Massive Offers Interactive Ads in Games

Microsoft-owned Massive Inc., which delivers ads within Internet video games, has launched its first interactive ads. Through a partnership with game publisher Funcom, Massive will serve "dynamic billboards" for Toyota within the game Anarchy Online. Players will be able to interact directly with the billboards, which will offer information on the new Toyota Yaris. Massive execs say that care will paid to ensure that game play is not disturbed.



Shape Vet Brodey Steps Up as Fitness EIC

Denise Brodey will be the next editor in chief of Meredith Corp.'s Fitness. Brodey joins Fitness after serving since May as special projects editor at sister title More. She succeeds Emily Listfield, who left the magazine in February after six years. Brodey will report to editorial director Michael Lafavore. Prior to joining Meredith, Brodey was executive editor of American Media Inc.'s Shape. Brodey takes over Fitness as paid circulation for the second half of '05 was flat at 1.5 million, while newsstand sales plummeted 17.3 percent, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.



ESPN Radio Acquires Sub Rights to BCS

ESPN Radio has signed a four-year radio rights sublicense agreement with Fox Sports to air the college Bowl Championship Series football games. The pact does not include satellite radio rights, nor does it provide exclusivity in the contending schools' home markets. Fox Sports signed last November a four-year deal with BCS officials, which includes all media distribution and sponsorship rights for the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl. Sources familiar with the negotiations say ESPN Radio will pay about $200,000 per game.



FX Nabs Two and a Half Men Cable Rights

FX has picked up the cable rights to the CBS comedy series Two and a Half Men, in a deal valued at around $750,000 per episode. The terms with syndicator Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution allow FX to rerun episodes of the Charlie Sheen/Jon Cryer sitcom starting in 2010. For the 2005-06 season, Two and a Half Men, in its third year, was the highest-rated half-hour series on TV and top among adults 18-49 and 25-54. FX's deal is the second richest in cable history, bested only by the $1 million per episode Turner Broadcasting paid for Seinfeld in 1998.

NBC's Williams to Host "Early Nightly"

NBC has launched "Early Nightly," a new video blog featuring NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. The new "vlog" features Williams, just after the division's morning editorial meeting, chatting informally on the big news stories of the day.