Can Anderson Cooper Replace Oprah? Oprah's Answer Is Short and to the Point

Oprah Winfrey was asked at the TCA Press Tour whether Anderson Cooper, who is working on a daytime show to debut this fall, could replace her, and Winfrey responded with an emphatic "no," reports the Los Angeles Times' Show Tracker blog.

"I’m a fan of his,” she said. “It will be interesting to see. I will be watching it closely. I will be rooting for him. What I know for sure: He will not be the next Oprah," she said, according to the report.

Winfrey talked about her reaction to seeing the Oprah Winfrey Network upon its debut last weekend, noting that she has a new appreciation for TV commercials.

"Gayle [King] called from Vegas--she was at Jay-Z’s party for New Year’s--she called after we were on the air … and said, ‘You have commercials just like a real network!’ I’m thinking the same thing. I didn’t know I loved Febreze so much. I look at commercials so much differently," she said.

Separately, The New York Times' Media Decoder blog reports that Piers Morgan has booked Oprah Winfrey as his first guest on his new CNN show. "Piers Morgan Tonight" will debut Jan. 17.

Homeless Internet Sensation With Golden Voice Lands Cable Job

The homeless man with the golden radio voice who has become an Internet sensation has landed a television gig, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Ohio man, Ted Williams, was hired by MSNBC to do voiceovers for commercials, the story says.

As previously reported, Williams was discovered when the Columbus Dispatch made a video of him and posted it on YouTube. With the MSNBC gig, he'll be doing voiceovers for commercials for the network's "Lean Forward" campaign, which began airing Thursday.

Williams also appeared as a guest on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell."

Java Jolt: Widely Recognized Marketer Redesigns Logo

As part of a corporate effort to distance itself from a strict association with its signature product, one of the most recognized companies in the world has redesigned its logo. The change by Starbucks includes eliminating the words “Starbucks Coffee” from the design, the New York Daily News reports.

The familiar “siren” icon, which has been in the center of the logo in various forms from the beginning, remains.

The company reportedly has its eye on international expansion into profitable areas beyond the sale of coffee. This despite financial troubles for Starbucks in recent years, attributed in part to rapid expansion.

Observers note that the coffee marketplace has become overcrowded, but the story reports that Starbucks has been coming back in part by expanding into other branded items, including ice cream.

Major Media Agency, After Major Account Losses, Replaces CEO

"After a string of major account losses, WPP's GroupM today announced that Doug Checkeris, North American CEO of MediaCom, is leaving the agency and will be replaced by longtime MediaCom exec Harvey Goldhersz,"  Advertising Age reports.

According to the article, "During the past 12 months, MediaCom has lost several large accounts, culminating late last month when it saw one of its biggest, the $1.4 billion GlaxoSmithKline account, defect to Omnicom Group's PHD. The string of losses also includes Diageo ($130 million), Darden's Red Lobster planning business ($119 million), Ethan Allen ($23 million), JetBlue ($10 million), Lifetime Entertainment ($40 million) and the American Egg Board ($13 million). "

To see the entire Ad Age article, please click here.

Victory Is Declared in Pepsi-Coke Battle Over 'X Factor'

The high-profile battle over who will be the cola sponsor of Simon Cowell's new U.S. show, "The X Factor," is over, and the result marks a departure from Cowell’s longtime deal with Coca-Cola as sponsor of "American Idol," The New York Times reports.

Pepsi will be the sole season-long sponsor for "The X Factor," which the article points out gives Fox the ability to lock up both cola giants. Coca-Cola has locked up "Idol" for winter and spring and Pepsi will back "The X Factor" during its fall run.

Asked whether he takes personal joy in winning "The X Factor" sponsorship over Coke, PepsiCo Senior Vice President Frank Cooper laughed and said, "We love winning," the story says. "I love it. But I love it mostly because of what we can do with it."

Pepsi and Fox will work on marketing off the air and on a joint Web site, as well as creating a social media aspect. Pepsi will have regular commercial time through the show's season, while its products will be integrated into the show, the story says, with specifics to be hashed out over the next few months.

Business News Nets Thrived in 2010

Research firm SNL Kagan says 2010 was a good year for the business news cable channels, the New York Post reports.

The market-leading business news network remains CNBC, which had an 11% rise from last year with expectations of $273 million in ad revenue over 2009, the article says.

Fox Business News had an even bigger percentage increase, over 50%, with ad revenue of $25 million. Bloomberg TV is expected to bring in $80 million, up 19%.

Get Ready for a New Annoyance on Your Mobile Phone

A new type of mobile-phone ad may soon hit your mobile device, reports The Wall Street Journal. (Note: The WSJ is behind a pay wall and not all readers may be able to access this article.)

Called "intercept campaigning," the ads appear when a person uses a competitor's phone or network or browses the Web on their phone, the story says. The ad pops up and essentially tells the user, "You're still using THAT?," the article notes.

For instance, Nokia has targeted ads for users of Motorola's Razr phone, with ads popping up that read, "Are you really still rocking' a flip phone?" Then the ads suggest upgrading to the Nokia Twist, the article notes.

Research in Motion is using a similar technique to get people to switch to its BlackBerry devices, with ads that ask users of rival devices to "See the difference."

Most Americans Don't Want Online Advertisers to Track Them

Most U.S. consumers don't want online advertisers to track them on the Web, a trend that has been on the rise as marketers try to deliver specific ads to certain types of people, reports Advertising Age, citing a new Gallup poll.

Behavioral targeting has come under government scrutiny, by both the Federal Trade Commission and the Obama administration, the story notes.

The poll asked Americans if they felt advertisers should be allowed to match ads to people's interests based on other sites they've visited, and 67% said no, with 30% saying yes, the article notes. Asked whether tracking people is justified because it keeps costs down "so users can visit websites for free," 61% of respondents said no, with 35% saying yes, the article notes.

People Still Watch Commercials on Time-Shifted Shows, Nielsen Report Finds

Viewers actually still watch commercials during time-shifted programs, reports MediaDailyNews, citing a new Nielsen report.

The report found that C3 ratings, which take into account live viewing as well as viewing over the next three days with a DVR, rise 16%, boosted by people who watch commercials while using a digital-video recorder, the story notes. The data tracks viewers between 18-to-49 years old who watch ABC, CBS, the CW, Fox and NBC combined, the story says.

The commercial viewing average for the networks' live feeds from April 29 to May 26 was a 1.78, but that jumped to a 2.06 rating for C3 ratings, the story notes. Nielsen said that in homes with DVRs, commercials watched in time-shifted mode increase C3 ratings by 44%, the story notes.

The New Apple TV, On The Market Only Since October, Will Sell Its 1 Millionth Unit This Week

The new Apple TV, available just since October, will hit sales of over one million this week, the company has announced.

Here's the take on this news by Jay Yarow of Business Insider: Apple "probably wants to rub Apple TVs success in Google's face. We'll be curious to see if Google or its partners put out any numbers on Google TV. Apple also says people are renting or buying more than 400,000 TV episodes and more than 150,000 movies per day."

Yarow concludes, "This could also be read as a shot at the competition. As in: 'Hey big media companies, you want to make money on your content? Come to iTunes, come to Apple, we sell things.' "

The Apple TV device generally is available for $99.