Jon Stewart Rips Morning Joe Starbucks Sponsorship

Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart ripped into Joe Scarborough and his cohorts on the MSNBC’s  Morning Joe for their blatant and shameless Starbucks product placements and shout-outs, including a pandering interview with the Starbucks CEO.

Now, I can’t stand Joe Scarborough but I have to wonder if it’s really such a big deal.  Sure, if you are looking for unbiased and untainted reporting this is not the show for you but the Morning Joe team was more than upfront about the deal with Starbucks so there was not real intent to deceive the viewer.

For those who found it distasteful, there are plenty of other shows on the cable dial, each with their own degree of corporate or brand or sponsor interference.  At the end of the day, somebody has to pay the bills.

The danger lies in programs that do not publicly, and clearly, disclose who is paying the bills.

It’s interesting that Jon Stewart has never done a similar takedown of his old friend Stephen Colbert, who has made a sport of integrating sponsorships numerous products into his show, including Doritos.

I think The Daily Show is one of the finest programs on television but I’m not sure this particular attack is one that holds up to scructiny.  Besides, there are so many more valid and compelling reasons to take down Joe Scarborough.

MSNBC Shilling for Starbucks?

Ok, so I am checking out the morning news on TV (I like to compare it to what I heard earlier on NPR) and I flipped on MSNBC where some innocuous blonde woman and the creepy Joe Scarborough are holding down the achor desk and what is displayed clearly on table in front of them?

Starbucks coffee cups!  To be specific, the blonde has something in what appears to be a “grande” paper to-go cup and Joe looks to be enjoying a “venti” frappaccino!

It’s one thing to see this sort of blatant product placement on American Idol but I am kind of shocked to see in on a news program.

I guess it could just be a coincidence but I REALLY don’t think so.

UPDATE: TVNewser got a pic:

Can Gaming Save the News?

The folks at MSNBC have launched a new effort called NewsWare, an attempt to blend the news of the day with the growing interest in casual gaming.

As YPulse points out:

“Although I can’t imagine getting my headlines while trying to race against time to destroy all of the orbs, it might be an appealing to stay informed to a Wii-obsessed teenage boy.”

There’s been lots of talk about the slow death of traditional newspapers and the evening network news, especially among younger people.  Will gaming be the thing that keeps America’s youth informed on current events?  I’m not sure this is the answer but it can’t hurt to try.

Microsoft’s Original Web Video Approach

AdWeek has all the details on Microsoft’s pretty aggressive move into the world of original online episodic video.  They already announced a partnership with a Hollywood producer for shows to be streamed on the XBOX and now this:

“Among the new series to come out of MSN’s Branded Entertainment group are In Need of Repair, a male-aimed home improvement show featuring a pair of sophomoric, mostly inept hosts; and The Men’s Room, an instructional fashion series geared for 20-something men who are averse to reading magazines such as GQ and Details. Also in the works are Seven Secrets About…, a light look at the secrets of pop culture icons such as Justin Timberlake; 50 Greatest, a spoof of the multiple pop-culture list shows common to cable networks; and What on Earth Is Going On?, a channel/series aimed at raising social consciousness.”

And…

“Beyond its core portal, Microsoft presented several concepts for its news sibling MSNBC.com, including Tom Brokaw’s Turning Points, an eight-episode show planned for this fall, which will revisit NBC News’ coverage of past presidential elections. In addition, the breaking news-heavy site is adding more regularly scheduled lighter series, including ZeitGeist — a show that will amass clips of the less important news items making headlines (hosted by Willie Geist, a regular on MSNBC’s Morning Joe). Also coming down the pike is The Scoop, a twice weekly celeb-centric series hosted by Courtney Hazlett, who currently pens a similar column for MSNBC.com.”

This is another clear sign that the web is becoming a very important marketplace for original video programming.  If the audiences follow it only makes sense that the advertisers will come along.  The less expensive nature of these smaller, more focused shows means more opportunities for a range of advertisers looking to reach niche markets.  Plus, not more media buys…

Technology still driving traffic

There is a self-congratulatory post over on MSNBC regarding their rather impressive increase in visitors to their video streaming site.

Obviously, news is one thing there is plenty of on the net and therefore the competition for viewers is intense.  MSNBC has long been an also-ran in the news world but has definitely been surging in terms of TV viewership.  While this certainly must boost their online traffic, they note that the single biggest factor may well be their vastly improved flash viewer.

“Msnbc.com’s recently revamped sleek, new video player continues to skyrocket in popularity. Msnbc.com’s online video surged to over 32.2 million streams for the week ending February 9, making that the third biggest video week on msnbc.com ever. With the introduction of the player, msnbc.com has redefined the online video experience by making it easier and more enjoyable for consumers to watch and discover video news stories. And the flash-based player allows msnbc.com to offer advertisers the broadest selection of new and engaging ad types of any video portal.”

Check it out for yourself.  While the news is exactly the same as you would find at CNN or ABC, the interface is really pleasant and user-friendly.

Much like the MacOS made the home computer something a complete novice could suddenly use with ease, the improvements in web video delivery will quickly increase the overall viewership of video online.

Soon, and sooner than many think, the difference  between watching something on TV or online will not be relevant.