However, Cheddar has been running brand-sponsored shows and brand integrations — those sponsored segments will still air on Molotov, and Cheddar is keeping the money.
The sponsored segments were formally identified as such only at the end of each show, when during the closing credits the words "Promotional consideration provided by," followed by the name of the segment sponsor, appeared briefly on screen.
The sponsored segments, created by the longtime Lee agency, Fallon Worldwide in Minneapolis, part of the Publicis Groupe, are the first foray into branded entertainment by Lee and MTV2.
Neither NBC Enterprises nor the sponsors would discuss the prices being charged for the sponsored segments on "The Other Half," but it is estimated that the advertisers paid a five-figure sum for each segment.
The sponsored segments were included in about two dozen shows appearing during the 2001-02 seasof of the entertainment program "The Other Half," which is owned, produced and distributed by the NBC Enterprises division of NBC, part of General Electric.
Mr. Damman declined to discuss the cost of the sponsored segments, as did Mr. Cohn and Ms. Cahill; she said they were bought separately from the package of traditional commercials Lee has run for many years on MTV and MTV2.
NBC, which also has a home-shopping network called Shop NBC and sells merchandise on a Web site, says it has no plans to expand the sponsored segments beyond the type talk-show entertainment genre represented by "The Other Half".
"There's nothing duplicitous about it, nothing being withheld or hidden," said David Brenner, the president of Marathon Ventures and a sales and marketing consultant who is overseeing the sponsored segments for NBC Enterprises.
Also, "it's an interactive video show," he added, "so why shouldn't the audience pick the way the branded content plays out?" MTV2 executives plan to "evaluate this to see if it works well," Mr. Cohn said, looking at factors including how many viewers vote in the sponsored segments compared with the level of audience participation in the voting for the music video clips.
Well for one, it means that we no longer need a single source to tell us the news, what we need is a sharp witted pair of eyes to search the media ecosystem for contradictions, false impressions, politicians who change their story, or media sources that replace information with sponsored segments from Hooters.
