The unintended consequences of Yahoo and AOL repositioning themselves as online content companies and magnets for television advertisers is that they will be targets for acquisition or strategic partnerships in an improving economy.

Hulu's online video platform may be a success with the masses, but it will have to begin charging for at least some of its content if it doesn't want to destroy the $185 billion television ecosystem it draws from.

A case can be made just a month into the new TV season that the Big 4 networks are not taking enough strategic risk to ameliorate the continuing erosion of ad revenues, audiences and content economics. It's not an option: It's do or die.

Some optimistic ad forecasts have been made in a vacuum, without taking into account the headwinds of real 17.5% unemployment, retailers' jagged recovery, media's struggling digital paradigm and the overall free-fall in ad spending. Advertising's gradual upturn will not be business as usual.

Comcast's bid to co-own NBC Universal is a grab for digital content dominance that will trigger influential paid models, force a revamp of broadcast television and spawn a new wave of media deals.