Media Decoder: ‘Duck Dynasty’ Finale Sets Ratings Record for A&E

The finale was watched by 9.6 million viewers, the show’s biggest audience yet.

    

For Nearly 5 Hours, a Confident Putin Takes Questions

As a legal dragnet began to close around figures in Russia’s political opposition, President Vladimir V. Putin returned to Kremlin stagecraft with a live, televised question-and-answer session.

    

Plouffe, Ex-Obama Adviser, Joins Bloomberg Television

David Plouffe, manager of President Obama’s 2008 election, will also serve as a strategic consultant to the network.

    

Skin Deep: Best Actor in a Spritzing Role

Move over, male models. The face of men’s fragrance is now a leading man from the big or small screen.

    

Media Decoder: NBCUniversal Plans an ‘Upfront’ for Its Digital Properties

The decision to hold a stand-alone event reflected the company’s emphasis on interactive entertainment, including chats and playing along with a game show at home.

    

Chris Paul Finally Sits Down with Long Lost Brother, Cliff Paul

On Monday night, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul hit a 15-foot bank shot as time expired to put his team up 2-0 over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs. You should have seen it—it was really cool.

You know what’s even cooler? The fact that Chris Paul finally met his long-lost brother who we learned existed during the holiday season. Finally, State Farm and agency Translation’s sick little experiment, which included separating twins at a young age and documenting their lives for over two decades in the name of insurance, is coming to an end. Finally, Chris Paul can be at peace. And, finally, Cliff Paul has enough money to quit his job at State Farm once an for all, pursuing a new career of professional moocher.

However, having established a reputation for inhumane cruelty, don’t count out the possibility that Translation isn’t done toiling in the lives of the brothers Paul. Sure, they may have reunited the twins, but that doesn’t mean that before the NBA Finals, Cliff is “accidentally” run over by an uninsured driver. I’m just saying, if Blake Griffin shows up to Cliff’s funeral wearing an argyle sweater in a few months, don’t be surprised. Credits after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Scripps Networks Is Adding 52 New Series

Scripps Networks Interactive, which includes the Food Network and HGTV, hopes to please advertisers seeking original programming with a total of 52 new series.

    

Illustrator Inserts Husband Into Opening Credits of Classic Shows in Adorably Nerdy Video Birthday Card

Manhattan-born illustrator/graphic artist Leigh Lahav spliced the opening credits of several famous TV shows—Mad Men, Arrested Development, Lost, etc.—together into a really neat video birthday card for her husband, Oren. She tinkered with each opening sequence, too, adding pictures of his family and friends as if they were cast members. It's reminiscent, in spirit, of Sean Ohlenkamp's anniversary stunt for his wife on his Mac. This kind of lovey-dovey stuff usually turns me all barfy, but when it's applied with this much effort and creativity, I really have to applaud it. Besides, it was worth it to see Aviad Rosenbaum's hair (1:24 into the video). Yikes. Via Design Taxi.

    

Netflix Reports Strong Revenue on Strength of Subscribers

The company’s stock passed $200 a share in after-hours trading for the first time since 2011 after it reported robust first-quarter earnings.

    

Twitter and Starcom Sign Advertising Deal

The deal with Starcom MediaVest Group, one of the largest agencies in the world, will offer advertisers tighter coordination of online and television marketing.

    

You Can Watch Time Warner Sports on Many Devices, As Long as the Cable Works

Consider this a left-handed compliment: Time Warner Cable has better commercials promoting their cable service than they do actual cable service. That’s not an exaggeration. Anyone who lives in New York has either experienced firsthand or heard of the terrible reception and customer service. And for anyone planning on writing some snarky, contrarian comment about your perfect Time Warner service, don’t jinx the good cable karma by being an idiot.

That being said, Time Warner is back with another commercial about its sports package, which, according to the above spot, can be watched on just about every mobile device ever created. Victor Cruz, the man in half of all commercials on television, makes an appearance along with golfer Ian Poulter, driver Kasey Kahne, and former NFL coach/current CBS football analyst Bill Cowher (who tipsters have been taking for his acting skills in the last few days). The spot is a short and clever way to include four endorsers at once, a compliment directed completely at the agency behind this, Ogilvy, not Time Warner itself.

In closing, one more reason to dislike Time Warner Cable: Victor Cruz has one contract with TWC and zero contracts with the New York Giants. See another TWC spot with Cowher and Cruz called “The Test” after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Media Equation: In Boston, CNN Stumbles in Rush to Break News

When big news breaks, a common impulse is to turn to CNN, but the network suffers from self-inflicted damage.

    

Television Review: Robert Redford Narrates ‘All the President’s Men Revisited’

Robert Redford narrates “All the President’s Men Revisited,” a documentary on Discovery that gives almost as much credit to Mr. Redford as it does to The Washington Post.

    

CC Sabathia Is Dwarfed by Scott Van Pelt in ESPN’s New SportsCenter Ad

CC Sabathia is a large man, but he's not technically wearing a fat suit. That latter fact—and not just his slimming New York Yankee pinstripes—gives Sabathia the advantage over the horizontally striped (and comically fat-suited) Scott Van Pelt in ESPN's new This Is SportsCenter commercial from Wieden + Kennedy in New York. Now, if they can combine a fat suit and a mullet, they'll really be breaking new ground.

    

Pat Summerall, Star With N.F.L. Giants and on TV, Dies at 82

Mr. Summerall was a place-kicker who later went on to a career in broadcasting, forming a famous team with John Madden.

    

Viewers Flock to TV News After Boston Blasts

An NBC special report drew the most viewers, but all cable news channels reported a spike in audiences.

    

Jeff Zucker at CNN Hires Michael Bass, a Deputy From His NBC Past

Michael Bass, a longtime deputy of Jeff Zucker’s dating from their days at “Today,” left Katie Couric’s syndicated talk show to be a senior vice president at CNN.

    

AMC Shifts ‘Hell on Wheels’ to Saturdays, With High Hopes

AMC has filled its Saturday schedule with classic western movies and cowboy TV shows, and has high hopes for “Hell on Wheels.”

    

The Media Equation: More Cracks In TV’s Business Model

Television has thrived on bundling, which offers a way of protecting things but also tends to obscure the weaknesses within. Now those flaws are becoming more apparent.

    

Jenna Bush Hager Is Happy Reporting for ‘Today’

Jenna Bush Hager, daughter and granddaughter of former presidents and about to become a mother, says she is happy being a member of the press on the “Today” show.