Amid sharply higher overall cable TV news viewership -- up anywhere from 15% to 25% and more over the last several months -- other massive changes have taken place.

Given the power of "influencers," the FTC has laid responsibility not just on those celebrity endorsers but to marketers paying for these social-media promotions.

Younger digital media platforms for traditional TV programming have been seen as offering a good trend for TV networks. Still, one should also consider entertainment consumers purchasing power.

Will inventory from the big TV networks -- broadcast and cable -- be available? Syndication? Local TV, or local cable? And if so, what kind of scale/reach will be offered? Traditional TV is still largely a scarcity game -- which is why good TV ad inventory probably won't be available on Google's new effort.

Going to many upfront/newfront presentations? Some say there are honorable reasons to attend and get a full understanding TV network/digital video ventures. Others say that's not the point -- which has forced some TV-video sellers to reconsider the process.

Imagine if TV stations groups could, through ownership of VHF and UHF, get coverage of around 70% of U.S. TV homes -- TV network-like levels? Well, that looks to be a reality for major TV station groups, now the FCC has stepped in.

Overall annual Fox News Channel national advertising revenue comes to $1.2 billion in 2016. Add in network affiliate fees Fox News gets from cable, satellite and telco providers? That's a whopping $9 billion a year. Bill O'Reilly is just a drop in a big bucket.

For some TV networks -- perhaps midsize cable networks -- digital-only advertisers are now making the jump to linear TV. That is due, in part, to the somewhat lower out-of-pocket cost of buying commercials, as a result of industry-wide erosion of linear TV viewing.

Jefferies' media analyst John Janedis predicts the upfront will be "weaker than a year ago" because the 4% digital factor from last year won't be in evidence as much this round. He believes this year's revenue will be return to its sinking ways -- $18.2 billion, broadcasters down 3% and cable off 1%.

New digital live, linear TV network services sound great when compared to pricier traditional pay TV packages. But one major component won't necessarily be similar with new so-called "skinny bundles" - the ability to skip TV commercials via DVR technology.