Media Roundup: Ad Spending Worst Since Depression, Hollywood Ends Year on High Note, and More

Ad spending worst since Depression — For the first time since The Great Depression, advertising spending is likely to see three consecutive years of decline. Prior to the current cycle, the last three years where a spending decline occurred were 1961, 1991 and 2001. [Source: Ad Age]

Hollywood ends year on high note — Led by dog-flick Marley and Me’s $37 million take, the movie industry only saw a .9 percent dip in yearly sales from 2007. In the midst of a recession, the industry is celebrating the news. [Source: Wall Street Journal]

Music labels may choose Hulu over YouTube — After agreeing to pull out of a distribution deal with YouTube last week, the major record labels may partner with Hulu. Other rumors include a new venture or a new deal with YouTube. [Source: ReadWriteWeb]

Flight of the Conchords season premiere gets over 250,000 online views — Released on the comedy Web site Funny or Die before its broadcast debut, The HBO series Flight of Conchords has received a quarter million online views. Last year’s season premiere received over 100,000 views on MySpace. [Source: VentureBeat]

Trouble for the PlayStation 3 — The PlayStation 3, Sony’s video game console, is having difficulty attracting game publishers amidst its sagging sales numbers. Sony is expected to make more price cuts to the console to help spur sales. [Source: Silicon Alley Insider]