The Federal Communication Commission's media regulations are incoherent and have no rhyme or reason, according to Liberty Media Group Chief John Malone. For example, the agency has taken a very long time considering new rules on broadband and 'Net neutrality. The FCC still maintains some limits on same-market newspaper and TV-station ownership, while cable behemoth Comcast can go purchase NBC. The 69-year-old billionaire also railed against the U.S. tax rate and said his company has thought about moving out of Colorado. "Big companies are sitting on their cash because they are not sure what they should do, but small …

The Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN have announced a 12-year multimedia-rights agreement, beginning in 2011-12, that gives ESPN full rights to all of the conference's content, without a separate broadcast component. It also doubles the television revenue that each member school will receive. The deal covers the rights to every conference-controlled football and men's basketball game, as well as the lower-profile competitions in women's basketball and Olympic sports over 12 years. That amounts to nearly 5,000 ACC events on ESPN's television, digital, and mobile platforms, including syndication, over the life of the contract. The agreement also includes a sublicense …

Lonna Thompson, interim CEO and general counsel of the Association of Public Television Stations, met with Federal Communications Commission officials to remind them of the value of leaving spectrum in the hands of the noncommercial stations she represents. Smaller commercial and noncommercial stations in big markets are among those expected to be targeted with an FCC offer to give up some or all of their broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband in exchange for a payout when that spectrum is re-auctioned. Congress thinks enough of the value of noncommercial HD service to make satellite carriage of those signals on an …

Pandora Radio is finally on solid footing. It's about to reach the milestone of 60 million registered users and reported its first profitable quarter at the end of last year. At any given time, there are 500 simultaneous targeted advertising campaigns on Pandora, with 45 of the nation's top 50 advertisers spending money on the site. And the company is now expanding into automobiles and TV sets in an effort to turn Internet radio from the redheaded stepchild of the radio industry into a legitimate competitor. Founder Tim Westergren, is a passionate believer that Pandora will one day change …

After a meeting with gay and lesbian activists, NBC's "Today" show said it is changing the rules for its annual wedding contest to allow same-sex couples to apply for a ceremony conducted on morning TV. "Today" has sponsored the on-air wedding for a decade. report AP. Viewers plan every aspect of the wedding, from the cake to the clothing styles of attendants. NBC picks four couples from thousands of applicants, and viewers vote on which of those couples will participate. Same-sex couples have been excluded because New York state law does not allow them to get wedding …

If you never surf the Web while watching TV, you are distinctly in the minority. That's according to new study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Yahoo, which found that three out of four Americans use the Web and TV simultaneously, and half do so every day. The average multitasker spends over 2.5 hours per week using the Web and TV at the same time, and the total time spent multitasking has surged by 19% over the past year, says Nielsen. On behalf of Yahoo, Nielsen surveyed 3,417 individuals in total, including 490 folks who are part of the …

CNN on Wednesday removed its senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs, Octavia Nasr, from her job after she published a Twitter message saying that she respected the Shiite cleric the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who died on Sunday. Ayatollah Fadlallah routinely denounced Israel and the United States, and supported suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. Ayatollah Fadlallah's writings and preachings inspired the Dawa Party of Iraq and a generation of militants, including the founders of Hezbollah.

National Public Radio wants to be known simply as NPR. The Washington-based organization has quietly changed its name to its familiar initials. NPR says it's abbreviating the name it has used since its 1971 debut because it's more than radio these days. Its news, music and informational programming is heard over a variety of digital devices that aren't radios; it also operates news and music Web sites. Hence: "NPR is more modern, streamlined," says Vivian Schiller, NPR's chief executive. She points to other "re-brandings" by media organizations, such as Cable News Network, which has been plain old CNN for …

Cable operators and entertainment companies are talking about selling cheaper cable TV packages with fewer channels to attract and keep customers trying to save money in a weak economy. The talks, which are still at an early stage, also could give cable companies an advantage in competing with cheaper Web TV services offered by companies like Google, Netflix and Apple. Basic cable bills have ballooned in the United States over the years as distributors add more channels, usually negotiated with program makers. Basic cable packages typically have more than 60 channels and are priced close to $80 in some regions.

Quirky musical comedy "Glee" and 1960s advertising drama series "Mad Men" led the nominations on Thursday for prime time Emmy Awards in a cross section of new faces and old TV favorites."Glee" and "Mad Men" received 19 and 17, respectively, reports Reuters. The Emmys will be handed out in Los Angeles on August 29 in a live ceremony hosted by Jimmy Fallon. HBO was also the leading network, with 101 nominations overall, followed by networks ABC with 63, CBS with 57, NBC with 48 and Fox with 47. ABC's new hit "Modern Family," got 14 nominations, including …