Steve Jobs seemed to know what consumers wanted -- even when they themselves didn't know. Is there someone out there who has the same pulse when it comes to TV shows?

CBS says its profitable Friday show "Blue Bloods" has sold advertising deals based not only on 25-54 demographics but, in some cases, on total viewers. Total viewers? I guess that's why they still call it broadcasting -- the ability to reach the most people.

Longtime content entertainment device maker Sony Corp. wants to finally get consumers into a better mindset concerning its digital devices connecting with entertainment content. Sony wants to tie in premium TV content from Netflix or Amazon with the sale of a device, perhaps at a discount.

This reality show has been going on since May, with 10 episodes done and more to come. Evictions from the house will start next year, perhaps in February. Then again, these show participants might stay. That's what's different with this show. Staying will bring them more money -- kind of like endorsement deals. I'm talking about the Republican presidential debates.

Is there a schism about the size of our entertainment screens? We are not only talking about those large, 6,000-square-foot, colored beams of light attacking public places like New York City's Time Square and Port Authority bus terminal, or the almost 100-yard- long worth of video screens in the Dallas football stadium, but about the littlest screens on our smartphones.

Ashton Kutcher finally gets it. Writing for public consumption can be tricky. Even one's fans expect a lot. The rub is that writing or producing any content takes research, editing, and, oh yes, the thing this modern society hates most: time. This can run directly against what Twitter touts as its most valuable asset: immediacy and raw opinions.

TV networks don't need to panic yet when it comes to the NBA. But the real issue is cumulative: What happens when another major sports league lockout, strike, work stoppage -- or whatever anyone calls it -- happens. This stuff can result in collateral damage.

Google doesn't really need TV. But it would really like to sell many more TV ads -- and maybe use TV to market more of itself.

Too much of a good thing? TV stations will be getting a whiff of this next year when it comes to a really big kick up of TV political ad revenues -- estimated to net north of $3.2 billion. The rub of these big election years always hits regular, nontraditional political advertisers like a black-eye. That's because political advertising -- by FCC mandate -- not only gives marketers the "lowest unit charge," it allows political spots to pre-empt a TV station's more regular, nontraditional political media. Regular TV advertisers can be left in the …

"Why are you using that towel?," my father complained. "Well, it was by the sink, Dad," I said. "I figured it was...." "That's a 'show' towel!" he said angrily. Show towel? For "show," I guessed, not for drying. Which now has me wondering: What if a TV network put on a show that wasn't exactly made to be watched -- a show, in effect, that just filled space.