News Corp. and CBS are staking their claim to additional retransmission dollars. Comments on earnings calls for the companies last week indicated that the tone of the debate has grown much more serious. In addition to pushing for cash retrans fees for their O&Os, the big media companies also are now looking to extract a portion of retrans cash garnered by their affiliates. A take of affiliates' retrans cash is a shift the station groups will no doubt resist. Look for sparks when Nexstar Broadcasting reports on Nov. 11. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has been outspoken in disagreeing …

Chase was the exclusive sponsor of the CNN.com live online event featuring Oprah Winfrey last night (Nov.9). CNN.com hosted a digital version of Oprah's Book Club, during which the talk host discussed her latest favorite, "Say You're One of Them," by the author Uwem Akpan. Chase bet that the combination of Oprah, her latest book recommendation and the replication of the mega-successful Facebook/inauguration treatment drew a crowd. To make the most of Oprah's presence, CNN.com turned to tactics reserved for President Obama and Michael Jackson. Viewers were able to instantly ask questions via their Facebook profiles and interact …

The Orange County Register unveiled a redesigned local community-oriented Web site on Monday. With a focus on customization, users can now add or minimize content, edit settings and rearrange the site. New hyperlocal community pages include business directories, school ratings, events, photos, videos, restaurant listings, discussion forums, traffic info, user-generated content and a "Deal of the Day" ad. A new crime map displays calls made to the local sheriff's department in the last 24 hours. The new site gives advertisers packages ranging from a basic $19/month deal to a $299/month listing that allows them to host their own …

Fox is hoping to boost the value of its upcoming DVDs with FoxPop, which makes its debut Dec. 1. With a free downloadable app for Mac, PC or iPhone, users can get a constant barrage of facts, photos, games and trivia questions on a second screen related to the movie they are watching on the first screen. FoxPop is the result of a partnership with Spot411. It works by "listening" to the audio of the movie and, within a few seconds, syncing to the exact moment in the movie. Fox isn't charging extra for FoxPopized movies, but believes …

Condé Nast Nast executives have tapped Washington, D.C.-based crisis manager and media coach Michael Sheehan to improve the company's image. Sheehan is known for coaching Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, AIG and JP Morgan. Lucky publisher Gina Sanders used Sheehan when she launched Teen Vogue. Help is needed because morale at Condé is hitting an all-time low. After the closure six magazines and hundreds of layoffs, the publisher's glitzy image has also taken a drubbing on Madison Avenue. Meanwhile, cutbacks are picking up on the newspaper side of Condé's parent company Advance Publications. The Staten Island Advance, one …

With Strategy Room, a Web video "network" that produces eight hours of live programming each weekday, Fox News is trying to catch up in the digital world. This past September, FoxNews.com's audience had nearly doubled, but it still trailed rival CNN by over 8 million users. Born as a wall-to-wall political channel during the presidential race, Strategy Room is an experiment that clicked. Live Web video has been fairly limited, but Strategy Room has a fully programmed lineup, including a regular entertainment show, a health series and a business hour. In September, Strategy Room averaged 28,000 viewers per …

General Electric and Comcast have agreed to value NBC Universal at around $30 billion, clearing a key obstacle to giving Comcast control of the television and movie company. The agreement could also reduce the cash Comcast would have to kick in when the deal closes. The two companies are now ironing out the final details and an announcement could come as early as the end of this week, say insiders. While the deal is advanced, one wild card is still Vivendi, which owns 20% of NBCU. It is unclear whether Vivendi has agreed to the deal being considered …

OMD is establishing a research partnership with CBS Vision and its Television City research facility in Las Vegas. Communications Lab @ OMD already has signed up Pepsi, McDonald's and Hershey's. The facility will serve as a sort of Petri dish for OMD's clients to test the effectiveness of multiplatform marketing campaigns, including figuring out the best levels of multimedia exposure. The clients will also be able to conduct consumer eye-tracking to establish the right size and placement for digital, mobile and video-game ads and scan consumers' brains to explore their physical response to advertising. Located in the MGM …

Mediabrands, which oversees Initiative, Universal McCann and other IPG media assets, is exploring various restructuring options. One possibility is combining the agencies' local spot-buying units with Mediabrands' barter trading unit, Orion. The move would maximize the use of Orion's sophisticated electronic trading platform. The restructuring discussion is being prompted by head count reductions and the fact that advertisers are devoting smaller shares of their budgets to local media -- anywhere from 8% to 27% less. Any restructuring plan will have to gather marketplace intelligence more effectively and accommodate efficient technology platforms. Mediabrands' willingness to combine a barter operation …

U.S. regulators say they are "actively" working on a request from Hollywood to use anti-piracy technology so studios can offer first-run movies over cable and satellite services. Opponents say the Hollywood proposal to block some signals to recording equipment wouldn't prevent movie piracy. The blocking could affect 25 million older televisions that rely on analog signals. The waiver should be denied, in part because it would frustrate viewers who don't have access to the proper equipment, says Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a digital rights group.