• Texas A&M Fans Need to Battle Verizon
    Texas A&M fans who subscribe to Verizon FiOS and do not drop it immediately are traitors and deserve to have their intelligence questioned. It's one thing to get knocked down in a fight, it's another to just lay there and let your wallet be taken. That's exactly what Verizon is doing to you by offering the Longhorn Network -- the 24/7 kiss-up to the University of Texas. By paying Verizon, you are sending money to UT, subsidizing a rival. One that holds a 75-37-5 record against you in football.
  • Fox Moves to Majority Position in Big Ten Network
    Protective of its brand, the Big Ten inked a deal with Fox that gave it a 51% stake in the Big Ten Network when the channel launched in 2007. Now, Fox has taken over the majority stake. And, while that may have little impact on the network day to day, it comes at a time when many are wondering whether TV dollars are having too much of an impact on college athletics.
  • Perry Could Be Perfect Storm for News Business
    If this coming winter doesn't offer much in the way of bad weather, Texas Gov. Rick Perry could be the perfect storm for the news business. One argument holds that Perry's outspokenness and coarse commentary make him un-presidential as he runs for the White House and tries to capture the Republican nomination. But, he's defying conventional wisdom as he performs well in the polls, while harboring some of the tendencies of traditionally fringe candidates, which is good news for the news business.
  • Hulu's Move Into Originals Fails to Impress
    If Hulu had designs on building an original content business, its first foray doesn't augur much success. The first two episodes of "A Day in the Life," where documentarian Morgan Spurlock follows personalities for a 24-hour period, offers little more than extended promotional videos for his subjects.
  • Broadcast and Wireless Industries Acting Scary
    The trade groups for both local broadcasters and wireless carriers are trying to persuade the FCC and Congress to take their side in the debate over what to do with America's broadcast spectrum. Disturbingly, they didn't let this week's earthquake go to waste, each using it to try and gain an advantage with the feds.
  • Yankees Join With Goldman Sachs on Promotional Effort
    The latest aspect of Goldman Sachs' image-boosting campaign touts its involvement in helping the New York Yankees get the YES Network off the ground. The centerpiece is a splendidly produced short online film.
  • Millennials Research Offers Insight for Network Marketers
    New research shows the potential value of Facebook and Twitter for network marketers in reaching millennials to promote shows for the new season. Some of it is intuitive, but validation doesn't hurt.
  • Battle for Tripoli Gives Al Jazeera Another Win
    Just as it did during the Egyptian uprising earlier this year, once again Al Jazeera's English version provided gripping, stellar coverage over the weekend as a revolution was on the march in Libya. Its correspondents seemed to always be a step ahead, notably in broadcasting from the Green Square in Tripoli as the rebel forces took over, while showed showing the massive, scary structure erected there to display an image of Colonel Qaddafi that would be coming down.
  • GlennBeck.com Traffic Grows, Augurs Well for GBTV
    Remember that populist, rabble-rouser Glenn Beck. He used to have a highly rated show on Fox News. Then, he left with plans to launch some sort of Internet network, even saying he was going to charge people for it. Who pays for content on the Web, short of Netflix or MLB.com? Beck might be on to something. Traffic on GlennBeck.com was up notably last month, suggesting his GBTV could do well. Take that, liberals.
  • Toyota Boosts Networks, But Upfront is the Real Boon
    It was quite simply the kind of press release ad sales executives love, the type that get forwarded from in-box to in-box rapidly. Toyota, hurt by the Japanese tragedies earlier this year, which slowed ad spending at least in local TV, indicated Thursday it's ready to spend liberally again. But, its shares were trading down 4.5% amid another rugged day on Wall Street. Other large advertisers such as Ford (7%) and Macy's (7%) fell notably, too. Yet, networks have nothing to worry about until at least New Year's.
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