Drinking and driving isn't such as good idea, but drinking WHILE driving is even worse. That's a whole other story -- and for entertainment marketers, not a good one. Budweiser has a major issue with Paramount Pictures' "Flight" starting Denzel Washington, whose character as a pilot does just that -- drink while driving.

"Be disruptive" is a continued cry for many media companies, both traditional and new. CBS might be taking much of this to heart. Years after major TV-based media companies committed to partnering and selling programming to Hulu and Hulu Plus, CBS has made a slow foray into the big digital video site.

We here at TV Watch may not have been the biggest fans of ice hockey over the years, until the Winter Classic came along four years ago. Something about hockey outside in the elements -- snow, cold, perhaps sleet -- made it seem like tough-guy stuff. This year's NHL Winter Classic was to be held outdoors in in Ann Arbor, Mich. on New Year's Day with two of the league's original franchises, the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, It would have been another great contest. But the league's continued lockout, the NHL's second in a decade (the other …

Well, well, well... Look who's back, perhaps looking to make some media company executives squirm: none other than Carl Icahn. The long-time "active" investor -- or formerly active company raider, according to some --- now owns 10% of the seemingly always-in-the-headlines Netflix.

TV fortunes come out of nowhere -- sometimes with less anger and more management. Charlie Sheen, already a mega-millionaire from his meteoric rise -- and then fall -- during CBS' "Two and a Half Men," now looks to gain with another show, although not to perhaps the same multimillion-dollar levels.

For weeks or months, I had been seeing a certain ad on cable news networks. It begins with a typical home filling up with water, and has a voiceover talking about homeowners being misinformed about protecting their home. It's for the National Flood Insurance Program, administered by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Considering that the commercial has been on for some time, the opportunity for viewers to see it now -- so soon after Hurricane Sandy -- means something more.

Death and taxes are a certainty. But troubling hurricane-type weather? Less so -- unless you believe in massive global weather change. Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast has made a mess of thing, with television and political campaign changes.

If you thought only cable news channels offered a politically polarizing view of the world, you'd be wrong: Try some mainstream prime-time entertainment. Recent analysis from Bruce Goerlich, chief research officer of Rentrak, says the current crop of TV shows also offer strong liberal or conservative views. But few shows offer political leanings from both sides of the aisles.

The number of self published books is up almost 300%. Could user-generated television networks be far behind? User-generated video is an obvious video forerunner, which continues to grow. The big issue continues to be finding the right monetization, as not all big-time advertisers are interested. Growing premium digital video, as well as the continued structure of the $70 billion traditional TV business, continue to be a better opportunity .

A recent general theory is that second screens help the first screen. But perhaps not in the ways you think. Watching a TV show by traditional means (first screen), you might be lured to find that show's specific app or website on your smartphone or tablet for more information (second screen). All that will foster a deeper engagement -- but not completely.