Time for another talk with branded entertainment TV professionals. My nine-year old daughter is now booing a segment on NBC's "The Voice in which Kohl's dresses up a contestant. "It's poo-ey!" she says.

HBO's stand-alone streaming service might start out very different than some nervous cable operators might believe -- it could be a more of a niche-like operation. Only the marketing of that new service will tell the true story -- at least initially.

Far be it for any digital platform to learn from traditional TV sellers. But perhaps Google's YouTube has let a TV tactic sneak in. Google, which has been offering a limited amount of premium inventory -- called "preferred" inventory -- for YouTube, says it essentially "sold out" those avails in "upfront" deals this summer after the traditional TV upfront market ended. Now, Google is perhaps taking another page from traditional TV networks: selling a few bits and pieces of more YouTube inventory in "scatter" market deals.

Some former NFL players want compensation from the league for using video footage of them playing football in old NFL Films productions - like the "1973 Houston Oilers Season Highlights" and "Cliffhangers, Comebacks & Character: The 1981 San Diego Chargers." So far, a Minnesota judge has ruled against former Los Angeles Rams defensive end Fred Dryer, former Houston Oilers defensive end Elvin Bethea and former Minnesota Vikings offensive guard Ed White.

Where's the growth going to come for broadcast networks? In the past, many analysts said they should look to new shows. But it's a more complicated story. Looking at Nielsen's live plus same day 18-49 ratings for the first two weeks of the season, this year's new broadcast shows have been performing worse than new shows did last season.

The TV advertising market may have been wavering a bit in recent months. Some warning signs exist, especially when it comes to falling viewership -- not just among broadcast networks but, more alarmingly, cable networks.

Don't expect to see the networks releasing any C3 numbers -- the average commercial ratings plus three days of time-shifting viewing. Specifically, they're focusing on live program ratings with three or seven days worth of time-shifting attached, rather than on live plus same day ratings. That's because time-shifting numbers are a lot higher than other ratings.

A CNBC study says 49% of 805 respondents "economize" to afford tech devices. One area they cut spending on: food. Those skimping the most are women between the age of 18 and 49 and people with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000. And10% have reduced spending on health care in order to afford technology.

Everyone wants to be Netflix, or maybe Amazon Prime Video or Hulu Plus.Subscription video-on-demand services may sound like winners to anyone with the nerve to jump in with two feet, especially at discounted prices for consumers. At least that's what kiosk video rental company Redbox thought in starting Redbox Instant by Verizon in February 2013. But Redbox couldn't make a go of it, achieving much lower subscription levels than it had hoped.

The modern media ecosystem continues to be one where consumers ask, "What have you done for me lately?" Media executives, meanwhile, continue talking about "real-time media," not only in relation to content consumption but to advertising messaging.