Fake News without the Gatekeepers

It's "the most aggressive example yet in a growing trend of marketers utilizing broadband video downloading to bypass traditional TV outlets," writes Joe Mandese. During the ABC network's Super Bowl coverage, Anheuser-Busch debuted "Bud TV," a "direct-to-consumer network ... offering viewers the opportunity to download advertising, programming and branded entertainment content directly to their computers, iPods and other devices." Bud TV is run by Maven Networks, which previously ran a "limited channel" for PepsiCo's Mountain Dew. General Motors is readying similar efforts for Chevrolet trucks. The PR firm Medialink Worldwide recently "announced the creation of its own direct-to-consumer distribution channel with the release of a new VNR (video news release) for General Motors' Buick division featuring golf superstar Tiger Woods." Medialink CEO Larry Moskowitz calls the approach "narrative marketing," and says it gives "marketers more control over their messages than relying on traditional TV news department gatekeepers."