Yahoo has acquired Associated Content for slightly more than $100 million in a deal that gives the portal new technology and a new strategy for producing low-cost media. It's part of an effort to shore up Yahoo's content offerings and underscores the increased use of low-cost, crowd-sourced content. Associated generates freelancer-produced content that can earn as little as $5 a story, and is optimized for search. Associated, backed by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, as well as VC firms Canaan Partners and Softbank Capital, had raised $21 million in venture funding. Founded by Luke Beatty in 2004, Associated Content …

The biggest surprise on next season's CBS schedule is a sitcom tentatively called "Bleep My Dad Says," was inspired by a page on Twitter. It stars which stars William Shatner as the title's dad, Sam Halpern, a 70something doctor exasperated with his 20something slacker son. The CBS show inspired by a popular Twitter page -- whose actual name is decidedly more profane than the "Bleep" title -- is an old-fashioned, multicamera, studio audience comedy, in the mold of CBS' "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory." Son Justin started the Twitter page in August at the …

The NAB, along with the affiliate associations for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, asked the FCC to deny a cable- and satellite-backed petition they believe would give pay TV providers increased leverage during retransmission consent negotiations. "Without the ability to negotiate for fair retransmission consent compensation, local stations would have fewer financial resources with which to compete with [cable networks] in the acquisition of quality programming, ultimately relegating the free, over-the-air television service to a non-competitive programming service." The local broadcast groups disputed cable claims that retransmission consent fees result in higher cable rates. "Retransmission consent fees paid to …

Best Buy Co. plans to roll out its new CinemaNow digital entertainment platform this month. It will provide customers instant access to new release movies and TV shows. Initially it can only be accessed through certain Blu-ray disc players, HD TVs and most personal computers via the Web. Later this month it will be available on new internet connected Blu-ray Disc players from LG Electronics. CinemaNow will give consumers the ability to buy or rent from an extensive library of premium content, including new release movies and TV shows, with no subscription required, Best Buy said. The launch …

CNN anchor Campbell Brown said she was leaving on her own accord, having concluded that she was unable to compete with the opinion-mongers that dominate cable news in prime time. For the last two years, Brown has tried to hold down the toughest time slot in cable news, 8 p.m. Eastern, the same time that Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel and Keith Olbermann of MSNBC go head-to-head, reports The New York Times. Compared with those bombastic opinion shows, her weeknight news program, titled "Campbell Brown," has struggled to gain an audience. It has attracted an average of …

Charlie Sheen has agreed to a new CBS contract that will keep him on "Two and a Half Men" for two more seasons. He's also in the upcoming film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," a sequel to the 1987 "Wall Street" in which he starred. Subsequent reports said that he was holding out for a payday of up to $2 million per sitcom episode. CBS and Sheen had declined comment on the reports, and Sheen's statement did not provide details of the new agreement. The show, which also stars Jon Cryer, is a key part of CBS' Monday …

Disappointed with Nielsen's decision to eliminate live ratings from its local market reports, the American Association of Advertising Agencies is, in the words of Horizon Media's Bill Koenigsberg and new chairman of the 4As Media Policy Committee, "taking it to the streets." Nielsen eliminated the live metric and replaced it with live-plus-same-day on April 1. The 4As, among others in the agency community, asked Nielsen to reconsider, but TV stations won out. Live data is available--but only in custom reports. According to the 4As Media Policy Committee and the Local TV and Radio Committee, availability of live data …

Some 182 NBC affiliates met with the network to discuss the long-term viability of the network-affiliate relationship, as both parties work toward 10-year agreements. The group also discussed mobile DTV efforts, and welcomed a new affiliates board chairman in Brian Lawlor, senior vice president of television at Scripps. NBC unveiled 14 programs, most of them dramas, at its upfront presentation Monday. Lawlor said NBC has set the standard in news and sports, but today showed that it's serious about getting back in the prime-time game with top producers and high-quality dramas and comedies.

A U.S. appeals court in New York last year upheld the FCC's decision to require Cablevision's cable systems on Long Island to carry WRNN, a station from upstate New York that broadcasts mostly home-shopping programing. Cablevision then appealed to the Supreme Court. It was supported by various cable TV companies including Time Warner Cable. The High Court will not hear the appeal. The National Association of Broadcasters said the Supreme Court move validates its long-standing assertion that must-carry rules protect the public's access to niche broadcast programing. In the past, broadcasters have let cable companies carry those signals for …

TV networks take note: YouTube says it has exceeded 2 billion video views per day.The announcement from the Google-owned site comes as part of a larger initiative that the company is launching relay the history behind YouTube and its growth. Part of that campaign is the launch of "My YouTube Story" and the related YouTube 5 Year Channel. The site wants users to send videos about the impact YouTube has had on their lives. It will eventually be curated by Stephen Higgins, a documentary filmmaker, who will add a timeline and videos from celebrities discussing the achievement, according to …