News Round-up: Byrne, Online Ads, DTV

INTERVIEW: GH's Martha Byrne (Andrea)
"I have such respect for the industry, period. I know the hard work these actors put in every day. These actors on this show are really good. They are really strong, but I came from one of the best casts in daytime on AS THE WORLD TURNS. So, I think I am little spoiled in that regard. I feel like everybody needs to show up. If you are going to survive in this medium, you really have to work hard, and the actors on GH work very hard."

Showtime creating DEXTER prequel as animated webisodes
Showtime is creating 12 animated webisodes that will be a prequel to DEXTER, according to James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog. Michael C. Hall, who plays the title character on the series, will do his character's voice on the episodes, which are called "Earl's Cuts." The webisodes will explore how Dexter "honed his killing craft," Hibberd says, and are expected to be online this fall. Some of the show's cast and crew spoke about the project at Comic-Con in San Diego yesterday.

Catering TV Advertising Content to Online Campaigns
What's the secret to making online advertising scalable and sticky with the consumer? Is it about new formats, fresh content, or catering to a different viewing experience? The answer is all of the above, but most of all, it's about an increased level of interaction.

Agencies like VivaKi have been working steadily through a long-term project, "The Pool," to test new formats, both long and short, to gauge what resonates best with the consumer in achieving maximum stickiness. Even online-video providers are getting in on the race to find a new ad format that works: CBS's TV.com unit, Hulu's ad selector, Tremor Media's vChoice and YouTube's "choose your own ad."

Government Exceeds Original Converter Box Coupon Funding Limit
The government has officially redeemed more coupons than it could have paid for with the original funds set aside for the DTV-to-analog converter box coupon program, though there will likely be some funds left over from the larger allocation. According to the most recent figures from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (as of July 22), the government has redeemed 33,578,000 of the $40 coupons that allow viewers to continue to receive a digital TV signal on an analog set. The original $1.34 billion in funding for the program would have covered 33.5 million of the $40 coupons.

E. Lynn Harris dies in Beverly Hills at age 54
E. Lynn Harris, a pioneer of gay black fiction and a literary entrepreneur who rose from self-publishing to best-selling status, has died, his publicist said Friday. He was 54.