EchoStar wants to cut a deal with broadcasters so it can keep providing signals to hundreds of thousands of subscribers who receive programming from stations outside their markets, reports the Rocky Mountain News. The company's Dish Network was ordered by a federal court in May to shut off "distant network transmissions"--i.e., sending signals from New York City stations to customers in Denver. It has appealed, but also acknowledged that the odds of success are "very small." Without a settlement, EchoStar will begin halting the signals next month to comply with the court order. It has reached accords with ABC, NBC, …

Over the last 25 years, the number of corporations that dominate television, movies, music, radio, cable and the Internet has dwindled from more than 50 to just a handful, write Norman Lear and Robert McChesney in the Los Angeles Times. The two ask: "Do we really want Big Media to get even bigger?" and note that "Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin does." Martin has just launched a formal review of media ownership rules and while the notice is "vague. . .its intent is clear: to let a few giant media corporations swallow up more local television channels, radio stations …

The U.S. Olympic Committee unveiled a list of 36 sponsors and 33 licensees that have already signed on to support teams, athletes and the Committee in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, reports Brandweek. Although other sponsors and licensees are still to be added, the current roster includes a virtual Who's Who of corporate America: 51% are in the consumer packaged-goods industry; 37% are service businesses, and 11% are largely business-to-business firms. And, says the USOC, corporations are responsible for more than 85% of its funding. Further ahead, three cities in the U.S. are possible sites for …

MSNBC on Tuesday stuck to a plan to run a block of documentaries from 10 p.m. until midnight, even as the biggest political upset of the year--so far--was taking place, reports TV Week. That night, Sen. Joe Lieberman conceded the Democratic primary to newcomer Ned Lamont. But instead of covering the Lieberman defeat, MSNBC aired two "MSNBC Investigates" documentaries: "The Vampire Killings" and "The Runaways." Meanwhile, rivals Fox News and CNN covered the results with break-in segments and special reports. MSNBC had made a determination earlier that it would announce the results of the primary on an MSNBC.com Webcast and …

EchoStar Communications' stock got beaten up this week after News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said the two companies were not in merger discussions, reports Multichannel News. Shares of EchoStar had been climbing in speculation that News Corp., which controls DirecTV Group, would attempt the merger. Then comments from DirecTV CEO Chase Carey to the effect that the regulatory environment was softening to such a possibility fueled the fire. But Murdoch threw water on it on a call discussing the company's fourth-quarter financial results. "We've had no negotiations at all," Murdoch says. "We've had a few friendly conversations, but there is …

Yahoo is so serious about its only online joint venture with a TV broadcaster that two of its bigwigs are moving to Australia to work at Yahoo!7, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. It is unclear how long they will stay, but Yahoo is intent on using Australia as a test bed for initiatives it can launch globally. Head of global sales, Markus Barnikel, and South American chief, Bruno Fiorentini, will arrive Down Under to take up their respective roles as chief sales officer and chief operating officer. Barnikel has been negotiating global online deals with companies such as Coca-Cola and …

Wenner Media will buy back a 50% stake in Us Weekly that it sold to Walt Disney Co. in 2001, Ad Age reports. The price tag: About $300 million for the same interest Disney bought for just $40 million. "The big question--why now?--doesn't have a clear answer," Ad Age says. .But Disney, which is trying to divest itself of "noncore" assets, made the approach. "The big payout makes the move a bit of a gamble for Wenner, but that's nothing new.." the story continues. After all, it was a big risk for Us to jump from a monthly schedule to …

The broadcast networks are accusing the Federal Communications Commission of trying to improve chances of having its fines upheld in court by making sure the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident is the first one to get appellate review. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia will hear CBS's challenge to the FCC's $550,000 fine for that fuss. But Fox Television stations and CBS are accusing the FCC of attempting to put off another indecency case in New York in hopes of the first being upheld. Fox and CBS are trying to overturn a March 15 FCC action ending a …

If the newspaper industry is losing young readers, one sector is defying the trend, reports The Wall Street Journal. While newspapers in general have lost that demo, college papers have held steady readership. Now, big advertisers are going on campus to reach them, including Ford, Microsoft and Wal-Mart. Last week, Gannett Co.'s Tallahassee Democrat acquired Florida State University's FSView & Florida Flambeau. The same day, Viacom's MTV agreed to buy Y2M: Youth Media & Marketing Networks, a company that hosts Web sites for 450 campus papers. "College newspapers are the most relevant brand on any campus," says Stephen Friedman, …

Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell has signaled that his agency could bring about changes to media-ownership rules bit by bit to help avoid snags that enabled an appeals court to strike down a similar proposal in 2003, reports TV Week. "It will be broken up into smaller pieces than last time," says McDowell, a former telephone- company lobbyist who has been on the commission juts a few months. When former FCC Commissioner Michael Powell attempted to loosen ownership rules, he was rebuffed by a federal appeals court that ruled the agency had failed to adequately justify its proposed changes and …