CBS; Politics and Social Networks; ExpoTV; Twitter; Carat; OHVA

CBS Rumor Mill Active

Recent front-page stories on a confrontation between Shari Redstone and her octogenarian dad fueled speculation among equity funds that the family patriarch is lining up his ducks to cash out on CBS. Total revenues at CBS declined three percent in the 2nd quarter to $3.37b, reports JPMorgan, "trailing $3.40b forecast as lower than expected sales at TV and radio more than offset upside at both outdoor and publishing. A four percent decline in TV revenues was larger than [JPMorgan's] forecast for a three percent decline, driven by lower than expected ad revenues. Same station radio revenues declined a worse than expected five percent, while outdoor revenue growth of four percent outpaced our expectations." The father-daughter articles also suggested something less than a collegial warmth between Sumner and CBS CEO Les Moonves. However, Redstone and Moonves were all smiles and public displays of affection Tuesday at Michael's, where they held forth with CBS communications czar Gil Schwartz. Barry Diller stopped by table 1 to chat, and as he and Redstone departed, Moonves blew Diller a kiss.

Beyond the CNN/YouTube Debates: Politics & Social Networks

While presidential candidates are flirting with or snubbing Web 2.0 platforms (candidates Clinton and Obama offer sporadic podcasts; Romney has a proxy broadcasting on his behalf; Giuliani and McCain are AWOL) and John Edwards fleetingly Twittered. An upcoming research study suggests that online presence will have an evolving impact on the Election '08 outcome. In their upcoming August paper, Bentley College professors Christine Williams and Jeff Gulati focus on the effect that MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook will have on the upcoming presidential campaign. While the paper analyzes data from 2006, Williams, in an exclusive interview, is quick to point out that this is an ongoing study. Asked whether or not the recent YouTube debate on CNN will catalyze greater participation by both candidates and Netizens, Williams offers: "I would like to believe that if the YouTube debates generate something substantive that is not elsewhere available to meet media consumer and citizen needs, online participation will expand to more demographic groups as well as grow in size." Their research further reveals demographic distinctions between the larger social networks: On Facebook, which touts activism as part of its core mission, Obama leads in supporters (100,000 versus 75,000 for Clinton; 10,000 for Edwards); YouTube favors Obama for the Dems and Ron Paul (!) for the GOP; while MySpace is apparently the most politically agnostic. The study also interrogates how viral marketing expresses "unearned popularity" which should be parsed from true candidate support, noting that even the candidates with the greatest support on Facebook -- Clinton, Obama, and Paul -- have not built out their profiles beyond superficial register information. Noting that privacy and staffing issues at the major social networks have made data collection challenging, let's encourage News Corp., Google, and Facebook, in the interest of empowering the democratic process, to find a way to facilitate this work.

ExpoTV Gains Funding and Viewer Traction

ExpoTV announced this week the expansion of funding to include New York-based DFJ Gotham Ventures. DFJ Gotham Ventures joins venture capital investors Masthead Venture Partners and Prism VentureWorks. Separately, ExpoTV is reporting a quarterly growth rate of 132 percent in video submissions in the second quarter, reaching a milestone of more than 100,000 Videopinions^SM. Reviews representing the largest catalog of product reviews available on video.

All Atwitter About Twitter

If you're not up to speed on the new social networking phenomenon "twittering," check out our story from May 23. Twitter.com, last week announced the closing of additional financing with Union Square Ventures, Charles River Ventures, and angel investors including Marc Andreessen, Dick Costolo, Ron Conway, and Naval Ravikant. Twitter's Biz Stone reports "The Wall Street Journal recently took note of Hollywood's experimentation with Twitter. They cited some of our work with MTV, FOX, and CBS. Next week, the actor who plays Cappie on ABC Family's new series, Greek, is going to be Twittering and encouraging viewers to do the same during Monday night's episode." Follow Greekshow at http://twitter.com/greekshow and check out WSJ's twitter at http://tinyurl.com/ytm65r.

Carat Reorg as Fay & Sorokin Move Up and Ray Warren Moves Out

Last week, Carat America CEO announced the integration of Carat USA and digital marketing division Carat Fusion, creating a single operation under the Carat umbrella. The company will be headed by CEO Sarah Fay and President Scott Sorokin. As part of the reorganization, well-regarded veteran media executive Ray Warren, who has served as Carat USA president, will leave the company. Warren commented "the time is right for me to focus on what has proven to be my passion for the creation and marketing of content across multiple media platforms. Having spent the past few years immersed in understanding and activating the consumer marketing side of the business, I feel better prepared to make a meaningful impact elsewhere." The elevation of Fay reflects the positive performance of her Carat Fusion operation and the changes were anticipated following well-publicized account losses and failure to win major new business pitches.

Out of Home Video Ad Bureau Names Board

The newly formed Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau announced members of its advisory board: Alec Gerster, CEO, Initiative; David Verklin, CEO, Carat; Robert C. Martin, VP, Group Media Director, Universal McCann; Jack Sullivan, SVP and Media Director, OOH, Starcom; Jim Spaeth, founder and principal, Sequent Partners; Heather Armstrong, director of Out of Home Media, GSDM; Judi Crisileo, vice president, Outdoor Services; Norm Chiat, VP and director of Out-of-Home, MediaVest; Dan Wilkins, COO, Wilkins Media; Kris Magel, national broadcast account director, Zenith; Damon Peirson, VP and group director Out of Home Services, Zenith; Ryan Laul, managing director, Hyperspace Digital; Baba Shetty, EVP and director of media, Hill-Holliday; Jeff Minsky, director, NEXT OMD.

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