The organization launched with such promise. It was going to avoid politics as usual. It was more interested in justice than the ballot box. It would have appeal across party lines. But now it needs a reboot. The leader, Stephen Colbert, needs to meet with himself and devise a plan to win hearts and minds between now and election day.

Questions about the possibility of a DirecTV merger with Dish Network keep coming up. Shareholders and executives of the two companies might embrace one, but hopefully for consumers, the marriage will never happen.

There are multiple reasons why advertisers are drawn to the 18-to-49 demographic. The least interesting is the potential for a more efficient buy. As one long-time industry observer put it: you pay for the 18-to-49 viewers and anyone 50-plus watching, you get for free.

President Clinton didn't have a monopoly on all the great lines at the Democratic National Convention. How about this one from President Obama poking fun at the deluge of political ads: "If you're sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me - so am I." But all those spots from him and his opponent and their affiliated super PACs and national committees may not be working. A law of diminishing returns may apply.

With a slew of issues impacting the video marketplace expected to become an increasing point of emphasis in the next Congress, Comcast has been making contributions to federal candidates at a far higher rate than other media companies. The Comcast PAC has donated $1.51 million to House and Senate candidates, triple the amount of the next leading media company, Cox Enterprises.

It can be comical listening to Rentrak executives speak. They're fanatical about not mentioning their competitor by name as if such an acknowledgment would mean some kind of surrender. Whether the avoidance policy is having an impact is debatable, but Rentrak has been an extraordinary success in just a few years. There are ample metrics as evidence, but perhaps most impressively it has simply stuck around.

Give Glenn Beck credit. The wacky, sometimes irresponsible TV commentator looks to be one astute businessman. Or he has some smart people around him. Or he has many more rabid fans than people on the Upper West Side can believe.

Dish Network will gather media in New York on Thursday for what it is billing as "The War of The Words." To pump the event, the graphic features a couple of boxing gloves facing off. What type of battle may be coming?

A federal judge has brushed aside a request that could have affected Time Warner Cable's leverage in carriage negotiations with local stations. The Texas judge denied Nexstar Broadcasting's request for a preliminary injunction, which could have prevented Time Warner Cable from transporting out-of-market signals to avoid blackouts.

Get ready for ESPN UHD? The future of ESPN 3D is still being sorted out. ESPN HD seems to have debuted just yesterday. And, now network futurists look to be huddling to figure out what to do about ultra-HD.