Digital Multimedia comes to the rescue of broadcasting.

Given that, during the first half of 2006, network, local and cable television advertising in the U.S. remained flat--earning about $28 billion--and Internet ad revenue increased by 19 percent--totaling $4.7 billion--it can be assumed that the word "cume" will be popping up now and again.

"Cume," or cumulative audience, is what cable TV networks offer to advertisers since their quarter-hour ratings tend to be fractions of one. Cume, once scorned by broadcasters, is now being embraced by all TV networks and sold to the ad community as the unduplicated audience for a TV program over multiple airings across platforms.

Digital TV and the Internet was thought to be the demise of broadcasting, but, recently, these highly-feared new technologies have extended the life of broadcasting by creating Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB): the ability to count TV viewers across platforms, including DVRs, VoD, iPods and mobile. DMB has given rise to a new advertising model--the consolidated, cross-platform audience.

This is good news for network ad departments, who have seen unimpressive upfronts for the last four seasons. During the upfront sales season, TV networks sell about three-quarters of their ad inventory ahead of the fall.

One challenge for these traditional markets may be fragmentation--the average U.S. household now receives 96 channels but watches only 15. But, the biggest changes in the last few years have been the proliferation of DVRs (roughly 10 percent of households), the Internet (54 percent broadband penetration), mobile video (3.7 million subscribers) and video iPods. Now, with the launch of Nielsen's commercial ratings, the networks will finally have the tools to measure viewers watching shows played back on DVRs. Agencies and networks will know exactly who is watching which shows on DVRs, leading to a "cumulative" audience rather than just the "event television" audience. And the networks couldn't be happier. The only question now remaining is whether this cume should be added on a daily (as the ad agencies prefer) or weekly basis (as the TV networks favor).

"The market has evolved from an upfront buying cycle to a year-round scatter market," said Kim McCollough, Corporate Marketing manager at Toyota. After the upfronts, the remaining ad inventory is sold on a week-to-week or as-needed basis, known as scatter. Depending on demand, that scatter airtime can be priced at a premium.

Pricing based on the cumulative audience can help networks charge a premium for the young, affluent viewers who are most likely to follow their favorite shows to other platforms. For example, according to market research firm Telephia, mobile television subscribers last summer ranked The Daily Show and Lost among the top five programs they would most like to watch on mobile. In mid-2007, Telephia will launch an on-device meter to measure all television viewing on mobile phones.

Television and film is suddenly warming up to digital. This month, Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment announced an initiative with Nokia in which Mission Impossible III will be bundled into Nokia N-93 handsets in 10 European countries. Since the film has already grossed $400 million, releasing this during the DVD window in Europe is not likely to cannibalize additional sales.

According to Thomas Lesinski, president of the division, "Technology propels ahead of content, and as content creation catches up to the technology, we'll be able to take advantage of the opportunities created by it."

Digital distribution is already a means to a larger, cumulative audience at CBS. The company streamed more than two million episodes this season on platforms such as Google Video, iTunes, Amazon.com and AOL. Audience metrics and Digital Rights Management protection are now robust enough that networks are focused on reaching the one in 10 online consumers who watch TV online. The Internet allows viewers to engage with their shows. Ad-supported, on-demand episodes are now available from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.

The CW leveraged the Internet to stimulate interest among its 18-34 year-old demographic. Paul McGuire, executive vice president of Network Communications at the CW, emphasized the "community aspects, fueled by our website, at the heart of our strategy. Viewers and fans were able to preview entire episodes on MySpace. As a result, Veronica Mars and America's Next Top Model each maintained the audience they had on their previous networks ... For us, the Internet is central to everything we do."

In addition to the CW, Fox and CBS also previewed entire episodes of The O.C. and The Class, respectively, to create buzz. NBC and ABC are making ad-supported episodes available after their initial broadcasts to help viewers maintain continuity. ABC makes up to four episodes available. NBC, which offers all six new series on its website, provides the most recent episode.

Really popular shows with a large existing fan-base are sold or downloaded for a fee via iTunes ($1.99 per episode), Amazon and AOL. Among the top 10 downloaded episodes of shows listed on iTunes earlier this month were Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, The Office, South Park, Grey's Anatomy and Prison Break.

Look closely at that list above and it becomes apparent that on-demand is ideal for shows with serialized story lines, such as Lost or 24. CBS' most-streamed show is Jericho, while NBC's is Heroes.

Even the definition of a television network is blurring. Heavy.com is the number one broadband entertainment site for young men (hit-wise), with an audience of 14.4 million monthly unique visits (according to Nielsen Site Census) and they don't even do linear broadcasting. Shows leverage the participatory aspect of the Internet to incorporate user feedback. Heavy advertisers reach their audiences without using traditional 30-second spots.

So what will the revenue model of the future look like? Will it be a "cume" ad-buy or something completely different, that is more appropriate to the specific medium? On the Internet, viral video network Revver actually improves ad matches the more times a video is played. Advertising is encoded within a video file, so it can be served and tracked no matter where it plays. According to CEO Steven Start, "content creators should get paid for sharing their work, and it should be easy to do so. On Revver you can see how many times it was viewed, where it was viewed and if the ad was clicked".

What about mobile? We know that the global TV ad market is worth $147 billion and the global Internet ad market is worth $15 billion, and growing rapidly. But mobile already has more than double the penetration of both mediums. According to Jeff Treuhaft, svp Digital Content Services at VeriSign Communications Services, measurement now encompasses "interactions. We are monitoring the user experience and the revenue derived from that experience. Already, big brands like BMW, Hershey and Ford are exploring how they can engage with their customers through three screens. We absolutely have seen that content owners can generate new revenues."

The traditional television ad model, while not entirely robust, calls to mind the famous Mark Twain quote: "Tales of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Regardless of the technology on which it is delivered, networks and agencies agree on the need to measure, quantify and sell advertising against the cumulative audience.