DTV Ford's All Fired Up

At the direction of chairman Kevin Martin, the Federal Communications Commission is paying $350,000 to NASCAR driver David Gilliland to sponsor the digital TV transition on the hood of his Ford Fusion in a three-race deal that concluded this past Sunday [Nov. 16] at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In his first two Sprint Cup races, Gilliland crashed and had to exit the competition. His Nov. 9 crash in Phoenix was spectacular, a nine-car pile up in which his No. 38 car, owned by Yates Racing, was engulfed in flames as it sat burning atop another racing vehicle. Video of the inflammatory action can be found at www.nascar.com/video.

Martin — named Porker of the Month in October by Citizens Against Government Waste for allegedly engaging in unnecessary federal spending in the NASCAR promotion — tried to put Gilliland's inability to finish a race in the best possible light.

“Actually, coincidentally, except for the cars that win the races, the ones that are in wrecks, I think they get a lot of attention during the race itself,” Martin told reporters last Monday.

Given that Gilliland is a middle-of-the-pack performer rarely in the top five, a reporter asked Martin whether the FCC wanted its NASCAR driver to crash on purpose to give the Feb. 17, 2009 digital TV transition date better media exposure.

“I didn't ask them to end up doing that,” Martin said.

Despite his best efforts to make the NASCAR spending seem a prudent use of taxpayer money, Martin still has his critics.

“Let us hope that the NASCAR pile up is not an omen about the success of the DTV transition and that the leadership changes now underway in Washington will act swiftly to address this other important 2009 transition without additional waste of taxpayer resources,” Barbara Esbin, Progress & Freedom Foundation senior fellow, wrote on her blog last Wednesday.

Puppy-Hating Claim Gets DirecTV's Goat

Sometimes, even a marketing message that is clearly hyperbole can draw the ire of competitors in the war for video customers.

Sam Howe, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Time Warner Cable, related at the CTAM Summit '08 in Boston last week that one of the ads TWC created with actor Mike O'Malley (of Yes, Dear) sparked a quick response from DirecTV.

Cable, satellite and telcos monitor each other's ads, challenging the veracity of claims of better technology, more high-definition content and better packaging. But what apparently stuck in the craw of DirecTV's legal team was a “claim” that the satellite-TV provider “hates puppies.”

The ad in question shows actor O'Malley holding a pup. DirecTV hates puppies, he says, and explains why: DirecTV charges extra for high-definition channels. That money could buy a mountain of puppy food. Therefore, DirecTV hates puppies.

“We got a two-page cease-and-desist letter from DirecTV,” Howe told a session on MSO branding, and TWC's legal team “had some fun” responding to the demand. The cabler didn't hear from DirecTV again about that particular claim, he said.

A generic version of the ad is on YouTube.

Lee Chatted With Obamas in the Park

BET chairman and CEO Debra Lee was one of the thousands of people at Grant Park in Chicago on Election Night cheering Barack Obama's historic presidential win. Unlike most people there, who sought a glimpse of Obama, Lee was able to exchange pleasantries with the president-elect and future first lady.

“It was amazing … I'm still coming down from the event,” Lee told The Wire. “I had a chance to talk to Barack and Michelle — it was so wonderful to be there that evening.”

A former Capitol Hill lawyer, prior to her more than 20 years at BET, Lee doesn't plan to send a resume to the Obama transition team.

“I like watching from the outside,” she said. “It feels like we're in the thick of things, and to be in Washington and to be a black network in this day is very exciting.”