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Good news, entertainment fans.

Despite proliferating media platforms and a world of choice, more people spend more of their leisure time with TV than anything else, by far. But we don't rest on our laurels here at CBS. The explosion of video available online--both premium and user-generated--has flooded consumers with an overwhelming amount of choice. And it's growing every second.

And people need a guide to help navigate these options, too. Our mission is to make it easy for them to find and enjoy our content. People don't watch technology; they watch programs. But technology has enabled them to enjoy that content on many new platforms, starting with the biggest and the best: big-screen HDTV. Half of American households have at least one HDTV! There are even more out there now after some phenomenal Black Friday sales. And there are more TVs in the average household than people.

So, as holiday time approaches, it's time to buy gifts and gadgets and excellent new TVs. There are lots to choose from, and you will definitely need a guide to help you sort through, so check out CNET's Holiday Gift Guide.

Eric Kim, SVP/general manager, Digital Home Group, Intel and George Schweitzer, chief marketing officer, CBS, present at Intel Developer Forum.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)

I had the pleasure of being invited to participate in the Intel Developer Forum last week in San Francisco.

Eric Kim runs Intel's Digital Home Group. He is the genius who comes up with the technology to enable consumer electronics companies to develop for the connected home, including the whole world of digital entertainment like television, DVDs, DVRs, music players, set-top boxes, and other digital devices. What he and his team of developers, engineers, researchers, and others do is incredibly important to us at CBS, since we study consumers' technology experiences and try to learn as much as we can about how they make their viewing choices.

As part of Eric's hour-long presentation to the more than 4,000 attendees assembled in the Moscone Center, I did a few minutes on how content interfaces with this technology. After all, these terrific platforms have to have content or they are the equivalent of "merely wires and lights in a box," as Edward R. Murrow said many years ago.

Here's a digest of my talk. You can also watch it here.

My job at CBS is to get people to watch. It gets more exciting and more challenging all the time. That's thanks to Eric and our friends at Intel and to all of you, too, because technology has given us more platforms for our content.

And technology will be integral to helping us get around the age-old philosophical question: If a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there to hear it, was there a noise?

Because in the world of content, if a great show goes on a platform but nobody's there to see it because nobody can find it, then we've got problems. And if we have problems, the tech world has problems. So, in simple equations, my world works like this:

R + = : )

(Where R equals TV ratings.) Ratings up means people are happy. More people watching means consumers, advertisers, and everyone else who participates in the entertainment industry is happy. Of course, there is the inverse:

R - = :(

Ratings down means people are sad.

So this is the formula we want:

R + = : ) + $ + Food/Job

Ratings growth equals happiness, which equals money for you and me to invest in development, which leads to food and jobs for us and our kids, and money with which we can buy a ton of cool new gadgets to watch more video!

There's a whole lot riding on helping people discover and navigate to our shows.

It's particularly important this week. This is premiere week, when the TV networks will introduce more than 40 new shows. That's a lot of new stories and characters to dive into. But, for the viewer, the very act of finding the new shows has become a journey of epic proportions.

Navigation is the No. 1 viewer challenge for television marketers. How do people find the shows they want to watch? And how do they discover new ones?

It used to be simple. You looked up the listing information in the TV Guide or the newspaper

Then you watched your program at the designated time.

But thanks to the genius of people like you, consumers today have a seemingly infinite set of options.

People can watch virtually anything, anywhere, on any device they want and at any time they want.

The experience has evolved from watching television in a linear world, to managing video--a world where the consumer is always in control. In theory, it sounds great. But in reality, people are totally overwhelmed by the sheer range of choice. This brings to mind another formula:

MC2 = MC2

More content and more choice equals more chaos and more confusion. Consumers find themselves engaged in a game of high-tech hide-and-seek. The shows are out there, but we need to make it simpler and easier to find them.

That's why we like Intel's focus on connected television and its implications. It's a big part of our future, starting with the TV widget. The CBS Widget is soon to go live. It gives viewers easy access to our schedule, our shows, and all kinds of related information. It makes navigating easy. People love easy.

And we love what's coming up next with the Widget.

Tonight is the season premiere of The Mentalist. (I hope you are in your living rooms by then.) So, with the Widget, you can get everything you need to get up-to-speed for tonight. Want to watch the final episode of the last season? No problem.

Maybe you want to recommend the episode? Or see what your friends have recommended? That's simple.

The TV Widget is just one example of what's possible. It enhances the viewing experience. And it points the way to many more innovations.

Our job at CBS is to make the case that spending an hour, or two, or three with our programming is the best, most fulfilling entertainment choice out there. Your job is to make the TV user experience everything people want it to be, and more. When we both do our jobs well and that love match happens, people get connected with the content they desire, so everybody's happy. And we can all spread the TV love!

The first week of the new television season is history, and CBS came out the winner. More viewers watched CBS premiere week than any other network, and CBS was the only network to be up over last year. A mighty accomplishment considering the extraordinary amount of competition in the media space. (Spoken like a true marketing guy?)

Now the race goes into its next phase: solidifying the hits and attracting more people to the other shows. We watch the week-to-week trends and see what direction the ratings are headed. Obviously, up is better! So we keep the marketing machine turning, pumping out on-air promotion, radio, and other messages. The good news for CBS is that our platform share of voice is the highest, because we are reaching more viewers, so our on-air promotion is more powerful than our competitors. That's a good thing.

This is the result of months of planning, strategy, execution, gamesmanship, and show biz. As I've tried to explain in previous posts, there are a lot of moving pieces to this game: creativity, media strategy, instinct, risk, and gut feeling. We have a terrific team of programmers, publicists, researchers, marketers, and such; they all strive to get the job done. Ultimately, the decision rests with the viewers. They vote each night, and we get the results the next day. That instant feedback is part of what makes this all so exciting.

Now that the season is underway, I will get back to my posts about the connected/digital home, the growth of home automation, and related topics. Thanks for watching, now stay tuned!

It's finally here!

After months of preparation and anticipation, the new television season begins. The networks will launch some 40 new shows, plus bring back returning favorites. There's a lot of media choice out there, and a lot of product calling for the attention of the nation's television viewers. The barrage of messages from on-air promos, print ads, cable, radio, billboards, and interactive technologies all set the stage to create awareness and attention. Now it's up to the audience to tell us what they like, and what they don't. So stay tuned and enjoy the shows!

We've waited all summer and now it's almost here: on Monday, September 21, the new television season officially begins. "Officially" is when Nielsen says it begins, because in the ratings race, Nielsen is the scorekeeper. The TV networks will launch more than 40 new shows in the course of a few weeks. Fortunes and careers will be made and lost in that time. This is one of the only industries that launches so much new product all at once against its toughest competition. This doesn't happen with soft drinks, toothpaste, or detergent.

But that's also what makes show business so much fun! In May we announced our new shows and fall schedule. We developed marketing campaigns for each. We created on-air promotional spots, radio commercials, outdoor billboards, interactive ads, cable TV spots, and print ads. Beyond that, we even developed the world's first video-in-print ad!

Take a look at some of our promos for the new shows.

Year after year, the No. 1 place people find out about new TV shows is on television; seeing previews or promos, as we call them, is the best and most effective way. It's a sample that reaches the most people. That's good news for CBS, as we have had the biggest audiences this summer to sample our previews. And we have the Emmy Awards on the Sunday night right before the season starts. Nonetheless, as strong as on-air promotion is, we have to reach beyond our air to get to entertainment fans, so ads on radio, cable TV, outdoor billboards, bus sides, the Internet, and print all play a part.

Then there's the big intangible: word of mouth. "Buzz" is a critical element, and the recommendation of a trusted friend or a so-called "TV expert" can make or break a show. Word of mouth cannot be bought; it is created as a mixture of awareness, advertising, and conversation. It is certainly a very special brew. There's good buzz and there's bad buzz. Our philosophy is that the public is smart and they can smell a good show from a bad one. Show me a clip and I'll tell you, they say. So here we are inside the 20-yard line. It's the red zone for the TV networks, and our goal is to score with viewers.

At CBS we have four new shows, and we are returning our schedule of America's most watched programs. Now that it's back to school and after Labor Day, people's attention turns to the new season, so let the race begin!

The world of entertainment marketing takes a big step forward today with our announcement of the first "video in print" ad. That's right, CBS will present a video for its new fall programs in the fall review edition of Entertainment Weekly via a revolutionary new video chip. Here is a shortened version of CBS' official announcement:

CBS announced today an exciting new entertainment marketing breakthrough...the first use of video in a print advertisement. The revolutionary VIP (Video-in-Print) technology, to be packaged in a print ad spread in the fall TV preview issue of Entertainment Weekly, is the centerpiece of an exclusive partnership between CBS and PepsiCo's Pepsi Max designed to launch the Network's Monday night comedy lineup and new dramas.

For the very first time, readers can watch video content straight from the printed page via a paper-thin interactive video player--featuring five channels of CBS and Pepsi Max content--to be inserted into CBS/Pepsi Max ads in select copies of Entertainment Weekly's Fall TV preview issue (September 18 issue, on stands Friday, September 11). The newest of CBS's long list of marketing innovations, such as the celebrated promotional eggs, flash drives in print ads, and roof-top ads for airplane passengers, this VIP promotion provides an opportunity to sample CBS's new series in a remarkably unique and involving way.

As Entertainment Weekly readers flip to the "Monday to the Max" CBS/Pepsi Max promotional spread they will be greeted with a specially produced brief video featuring "The Big Bang Theory's" Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki, in character as Penny, Sheldon, and Leonard. The trio explains how to use the VIP (Video in Print) player--while also chatting about Entertainment Weekly and exchanging some characteristically cutting remarks with each other.

After the introduction, readers can choose from the following five video menu options:

• "How I Met Your Mother" "The Bro Code" (a video montage of series character Barney Stinson's amusing codes of conduct for "Bros".)

• Two and a half minutes of "Two And A Half Men" plus "The Big Bang Theory" "Talk Nerdy to Me" (separate video compilations of humorous moments from both shows, the second of which features a musical homage to "The Big Bang Theory's male characters' endearingly geeky jargon and pastimes.)

• "I'm Good" by Pepsi Max (a funny spot promoting this "first diet cola for men")

• "Accidentally On Purpose" preview (a sneak peek of CBS's newest comedy)

• CBS New Fall dramas preview (a sneak peek of "NCIS: LA," "The Good Wife," and "Three Rivers")

The ground-breaking VIP player, developed and manufactured by Americhip, produces high quality video and audio--and is thin and durable enough to withstand the rigors of magazine binding and U.S. mail delivery.

"We're bubbling with excitement over CBS' partnership with Pepsi Max and our first-time ever use of video in a print ad," said George Schweitzer, president, CBS Marketing Group. "Pepsi Max is a great brand and a perfect fit for our Monday night comedies and new dramas. Since we're always thirsty for the newest marketing innovation, we're thrilled to be unveiling the inaugural use of an interactive Video in Print technology in Entertainment Weekly's popular fall TV preview issue. The best way to sample our terrific new programs is to see previews--and it's never been accomplished in a print ad...until now. EW is the ideal venue for this ground-breaking Video in Print ad, which is entertaining in its own right and is particularly well suited for their media-engaged readership."

"We're thrilled to launch our patented VIP technology with advertisers like CBS and Pepsi,"says Americhip CEO Tim Clegg. "This is exactly the type of application we had in mind when we developed this technology."

You can read the CNET News.com story here.

We are halfway through the summer, and halfway until the start of the new television season. Promotional spots for all our new shows are on the air. We're producing what is called the "key art" for the print ads and billboards. That's the photo design and ad copy we hope will get your attention in less than 2 seconds.

TV critics are attending what's called the "Press Tour," when the television press gathers in a Los Angeles area hotel for a few weeks. The broadcast and cable networks come in one by one and tout their new shows. The stars and producers attend these press conferences, which get written about in newspaper columns across the country, and in blogs and other electronic media. The advertising community makes their predictions as to what shows will be successful, and as usual, everyone has an opinion.

We'll build awareness about the new shows throughout the summer. Then it's the final lap of the race right after Labor Day. That's when the networks turn up the heat on other media--radio, cable, print, online, and outdoor--you name it.

It's also when viewing levels increase, so more people see the spots for the new shows. At CBS, we begin our 50th year of broadcasting the NFL, which also serves as a great place to promote new shows.

The adventure continues!

Can you tell which one is me?

(Credit: Personal photo of George Schweitzer)

OK, I have been to the Olympics, Super Bowls, Final Fours, presidential conventions, and NASCAR races, and not to mention CES, E3, CEDIA, and other trade shows. But last week was my first visit to Comic-Con. It was awesome. Why? Because it was the most fan-centered event ever. And for someone in entertainment marketing, that is gold. The passion and loyalty the fans displayed really resonated. Yes, people do camp out for hours (even days) to get into some of the panels that feature stars and producers of movies and TV shows. Yes, many fans wear costumes expressing their interests (vampires were big this year, so were video game characters and there were still many Starship Troopers). This year my costume was "Network TV Marketing Guy." I am sure I scared a few people there (see pic).

What was special about Comic-Con was its focus; it addresses the fans directly and satisfies their interests. The movie studios and game companies all pay a lot of attention here, as do we. It's just about the only time we get to be one on one with our fanbase on a personal scale. We get to meet them, and talk about what they like and what they don't like. It's all about the consumer. They have the power to build--and break--brands.

Most importantly, it demonstrated once again that in a world where technology is maximizing our ability to communicate, it's content that is the big magnet (see my post on the Seven C's). As an event, Comic-Con was extremely well planned and well run. Kudos to all involved.

George at Pompey's Pillar. Wonky hat for sun protection, not fashion statement.

(Credit: Personal photo of George Schweitzer)

Every Fourth of July week for 10 of the past 11 years, an intrepid group of travelers convenes to retrace a different leg of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

This modern day "Corps of Discovery," as they were called and as we call ourselves, is a group of friends and associates from around the country and from different professions and interests. It's about 25 people, some couples, both young and old. The Corps of Discovery is as inspirational as it is informational. My wife and I joined this expedition about 5 years ago.

This year we are headed to Montana: Big Timber, Livingston, Big Horn monument, Pompey's Pillar, and other sights. It's self-run, we stay in hotels--it's not camping--and we travel via bus.

To see America from ground level, to walk on the same ground as these brave explorers did, is an exciting experience.

The Corps of Discovery is about finding new things. I am always in awe of the people who settled this country and the incredible odds they faced along the way. And in those days, the new technologies were nothing more than a better compass and some more precise map-making tools--maybe a better form of dugout canoe. Who knows? What was so wonderful about the Corps of Discovery was just that: the pure joy of discovering what was on the other side of the mountain, not knowing whether river, ocean, friend, foe, or more mountains lay ahead. Does our exploration of new technology today have any parallel?

Watch for my posts and tweets.