Branded entertainment is the combination of an audio-visual programme (TV, radio, podcast, videocast...) and a Brand. It can be initiated either by the Brand or by the broadcaster. The purpose of a branded entertainment programme is first to entertain (it must be a good and of course an entertaining programme). The other purpose is to give the opportunity to Brands to echo their commercial benefits and the positioning they want to defend. Originally, branded entertainement started some 50 years ago under the name of "soap operas". Now they have become the way for advertisers to let their messages come accross in a "not so commercial" way. This development is one of the consequences of the fragmentation of medias and the fact that the good old 30 seconds TV spot has become less and less effective to reach consumers fragmented over hundreds of channels, not to mention the Internet of course.