• by May 4, 2004

WHAT DO AL GORE AND RUPERT MURDOCH HAVE IN COMMON? READ HERE TO FIND OUT - Young viewers - particularly the 18- to 34-year-old set - have been bedeviling TV programmers and Nielsen media researchers lately, but Al Gore thinks he knows what they want. It's not video games, or even porn. Apparently, it's a new liberal-minded 24-hour cable news channel being launched by the former vice president. And Gore should know. After all, he invented the Internet, which is one of the places those 18- to 34-year-olds tend to be hanging out instead of watching TV. But Al thinks he can win them back.

"We are launching an exciting television network for young men and women who want to know more about their world and who enjoy real-life stories created with, by and for their own generation," said Gore of the anti-Fox News Channel network, which technically is still unnamed, though the name of the company that's launching it is INdTV Holdings LLC. "This will not be a political network," insisted Gore, who is chairman of the company, adding, "These stories will be in a voice that young people recognize and from a point of view they identify as their own."

The basis of Gore's "Real World" approach to television ironically does not come from the U.S., but north of the border: Newsworld International, a 24-hour news channel that Gore's team has acquired from The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. As part of the deal, the CBC will continue to provide the channel with news programming. Despite its Canadian roots, INdTV claims 17 million U.S. subscribers via DirecTV and distribution on Time Warner and Comcast cable systems. But that very same base should give Gore and his partners pause, given the fact that DirecTV is also controlled by Rupert Murdoch, owner of guess which rival news channel?

SEE SPOT STAY - Those plucky marketers at Court TV were at it again Tuesday, on the sidewalk in front of the Grand Hyatt with Dalmatians, handing out pencils and breath mints as media industry executives arrived for Television Week/Advertising Age's upfront forum. Cruella DeVille - who has the hots for the spots -- wasn't anywhere to be found, although the cable channel has been plugging the efficiency of its spots lately.

SEATS AVAILABLE, MEZZANINE SECTION ONLY - Feeling a little cash-strapped? In need of an extra $10 million to $75 million to fund that next big acquisition, or just looking to buy out an unsavory partner whose been getting in the way of your savvy business strategy? Well, if you're an advertising or media concern, the Riff hears the merchant bankers up at Veronis Suhler Stevenson are feeling a little flush these days with their new VSS Mezzanine Partners L.P. fund and are hoping to offer a helping hand. The new fund differs from earlier VSS funds in that it is not looking to take a controlling stake in the companies it invests in, just a nice rate of return. The "sweet spot" is for companies looking for $10 million to $30 million in capital that are likely too small to tap the high-yield equity markets, but need more than a traditional bank might be able to offer. We're talking about smaller to mid-size media and marketing concerns, possibly a family-owned business that is looking to expand, has a strong track record, but doesn't want to lose control of its operations.