Edmunds.com, Inc. has released a hybrid car study that shows that despite higher sales prices, purchasing some – but not all – of today’s hybrids can make good financial sense. “Our study revealed that high gas prices and generous tax credits now offset the high sales prices of some hybrids, assuming owners keep their hybrids for a few years,” said Alex Rosten, Manager of Pricing and Market Analysis for the company. Tax credits decline as the manufacturer’s cumulative sales increase, so it is important for the consumer to buy sooner rather than later, if at all. Edmunds is the Santa Monica company ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Websites by the Wall Street Journal. www.edmunds.com
Yahoo! TV, a provider of television news, information and exclusive content, announced the launch of its Fall TV Preview, which gives tube fanatics exclusive access to premiere episodes of network series and show clips and features from each of the broadcast networks. “Offering Yahoo! users access to content from new and returning shows” is part of the company’s effort to bring more entertainment options online, said Karin Gilford, general manager of Yahoo! Entertainment, a Santa Monica arm of Yahoo! Inc. of Sunnyvale, California. http://tv.yahoo.com
Activision, Inc. of Santa Monica is joining forces with Spike TV and Best Buy stores to introduce a game product by way of a television special (“Game Head”) in November, timed to the release of a video game (“Call of Duty 3”), which is somehow related to a Best Buy merchandise giveaway that is part of a promotional competition on www.gamespot.com. “Finalists will be flown to a top secret military location where they will hit the virtual battlefields in ‘Call of Duty 3’ and complete real-life boot camp challenges,” says the company’s release. The “intense competition” will be filmed on location for the Spike TV show. www.activision.com
Stardust Studios, a Santa Monica production company, has delivered a broadcast spot and print elements for a cross-media campaign for the Nokia 6265 phone via New York’s Grey Worldwide. The company provided design, animation, visual effects, live-action production and editorial, and also directed the print shoot. Stardust works in commercial, on-air, music video and in-store presentations. www.stardust.tv
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