advertising dollars

It's not easy being a network executive these days. Consider the challenges: While NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox continue to siphon upwards of 60 percent of the television advertising dollars and to attract the biggest audiences, broadcast revenues are down an estimated 9 percent this year and may never be what they once were. Competition, meanwhile, is everywhere. The cable guys are making some of the most popular shows on TV and are pressing for an increasing share of advertising dollars as companies target the kind of audience niches in which the likes of AMC, TNT, and Bravo specialize.

The review Web site Yelp, which has garnered some criticism from the businesses put under its microscope, will soon let those businesses and others respond publicly to customers' critiques.

In an e-mail sent to some of Yelp's most active users Thursday, the San Francisco-based company solicited feedback about an upcoming feature that will let businesses post replies to user reviews. Businesses must first register for a free business owner's account. After a business posts a reply on the site, Yelp will alert the reviewer by e-mail.

Apple is taking some shots at Microsoft by launching its own series of commercials. It didn't take long for the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer giant to poke fun at Microsoft after it launched a $350 million advertising program with a series of "I'm a PC" and Jerry Seinfeld commercials.

One commercial, the bean counter, features an accountant sitting at a desk with two piles of money. The accountant is dividing the pile into two, with one pile for Windows Vista advertising dollars and the other to be used to fix problems with Vista.

According to the China Internet Network Information Center, more than 253 million people in China are now online. By contrast, Nielsen Online reports more than 220 million Americans have Internet access at home and/or work, and 73 percent of those were active in May.

"This is the first time the number has drastically surpassed the United States, becoming the world's number one," the nation's official net monitoring body said in a statement quoted by BBC News. However, western researchers say some caution is advisable when it comes to weighing statistics about Internet use in China.

As part of a yearlong initiative to redesign and rethink the core functionality of its site, MySpace is launching a new user interface this week in hopes of making it easier for members to communicate with friends and family. But analysts say the major motivation may be as much about attracting advertising dollars as making navigation more user-friendly.

The Associated Press announced Monday it will further cut fees paid by struggling newspaper members and will develop an advertising-supported service that will deliver stories and photos to advanced cell phones, including the iPhone.

The service, which will carry local news from participating newspapers as well as national and international news from the AP, is being tested with several newspaper companies and is expected to launch in the summer under the name Mobile News Network, the AP said.