No. 1 Spanish-language TV broadcaster Univision could lose much of its current prime time programming as Mexico's Televisa is trying to end a 16-year-old exclusive license agreement in a spat over royalty payments. A 3-year-old lawsuit between the parties is set for a trial next month in federal court in Los Angeles and if Televisa prevails, Univision could be out 15 of its 20 hours of prime time programming per week, including an entire 7-10 p.m. telenovela block. The odds of a settlement, or after-the-verdict reconciliation, are looking pretty long. "I would be willing to bet my …

FSN Detroit has locked in to long-term contracts with three local pro sports teams, signing deals with the National Basketball Association's Pistons, baseball's Tigers and the Red Wings of the NHL. Terms were not disclosed, but the agreements give FSN exclusivity on all of the clubs' local telecasts and some published reports put the combined value at over $1 billion. Insiders say the pacts each run for at least 10 years. The FSN Detroit program lineup will now include more than 300 games annually among the three teams, with most in high-definition format. "The size and scope …

The Audit Bureau of Circulations is moving to overhaul the way it counts paid newspaper circulation, approving changes that will affect how publishers report starting in April 2009. Among the new changes is that newspapers will now be considered "paid" by ABC regardless of their price. Right now, the group breaks out paid circulation in three categories: copies where 50% or more of the cover price is paid, copies where 25% to 50% of the price is paid, and other, the last including employee, newspapers in education, hotels and third-party copies. Then, all three categories are rolled up into the …

Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of NAB, says the organization is happy the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an FCC appeal of a lower court ruling that overturning its policy on "fleeting indecency." Wharton says the high court will "provide badly needed clarity to both broadcasters and policymakers on this critically important First Amendment case." Further, "we're confident that whatever the outcome of this case, local radio and television stations will be mindful of broadcasting's long history of providing programming that will reflect and respect the audiences that we serve." In June of 2007, the …

The owner of Georgi vodka says he is in discussions to put the rear-end of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's call girl on bus ads all over New York. Star Industries CEO Martin Silver, who owns U.S. rights to the brand, says his firm is talking to Ashley Dupre about accepting a low six-figure amount to be this year's Georgi "butt girl," an annual pinup the brand posts on the backs of city buses and the tops of taxicabs. One possibility is to create a brand called "No. 9," which was Spitzer's designation by the call-girl …

Some lawmakers are questioning the Air Force's new "Above All" campaign that features TV, print and online ads, charging that it is an illegal attempt to lobby Congress. Notes Rep. Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat and member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, the ads seem to be of the same type "advocacy groups would run." The $81 million campaign rolled out last month and focuses on the Air Force's contributions to national defense rather than calling for enlistment. But Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley deny the charge: "We've had …