While yesterday may have depressed our TV friends, Bloomberg (following the journalistic principle of ‘balance’ we’re sure) has made sure to put in a story to cheer them up:

From almost the dawn of television, the networks set standard rates for all advertisers based solely on the popularity of a program. Today, with spending on broadcast TV in decline, they’re scrambling to capture more of the ad dollars aimed at video on the Web.

ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS are telling advertisers they can shape any deal to suit any need, according to ad agency executives. That means companies such as Coca-Cola Co. or Procter & Gamble Co. can choose any combination of advertising - - on TV, over the Internet or on mobile phones—and work out individual terms.

That is a nice spin they are putting on it but begging ad-buyers to work out a custom deal for every single one just smacks of desperation, no? We would love to see what one of these ‘custom deals’ looks like.