Sinclair's New Acquisition Could Be The Best And The Worst Thing To Happen To Cable News

It was announced on Monday that Sinclair Broadcasting had acquired all 7 ABC stations which Albritton Communications owned, including the crown jewel of the deal, WJLA-TV. Many reports deemed WJLA, the best of the deal before it was made, because of the fact that it gets a big chunk of advertising dollars from politicians and lobbyists who are trying to spread their message in the nation's capitol. 

But it's looking like the REAL crown jewel of the deal is the regional cable network that also came packaged with the deal which reaches over 2 million subscribers in the D.C. area, News Channel 8.

(TWO RANDOM NOTES -- 1. WJLA and NC8 were featured prominently in one of the best movies of the summer "White House Down" 2. I don't why in the hell Albritton sold NC8 when they could've turned it into "Politico TV" and used Sinclair's strategy of spreading the station across the U.S. with DC as it's starting point.)

How Will The NBA's TV Rights Be Sold? (PREDICTION)

The NBA's television rights are up for renewal soon and it looks like it may be a television battle for the ages. The incumbents, ESPN and Turner, face the stiffest competition they've ever had in the industry with the emergence of all new 24/7 sports networks as well as Internet television providers who are all content hungry.

If my life depended on it, I would have to predict that ESPN and Turner would renew their deals and nothing new changes but there are other scenarios which could come into play.

NBC Sports Network's Top 5 Steps To Becoming Legitimate

NBCSN has faced a lot of scrutiny lately for it's lack of viewership (besides big events such as the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Olympics) compared to ESPN and it's lack of sports rights compared to the brand new incoming rival, Fox Sports 1.

While NBCSN may not necessarily have a stake in the big sports which matter to majority of Americans, they have the tools to still be as successful as the other networks but haven't used those tools wisely. Here are my top 5 steps for what NBCSN needs to do to become legit.

An In-Depth Look At Ryan Seacrest's Quest to Work At Every TV Network

This dude literally does EVERYTHING! Slowly but surely, Ryan Seacrest is taking over television, if he hasn't done so already. If I could predict the next media mogul who will eventually start their own network in the vein of Oprah, I would probably have to go with Seacrest. Here's a list of everything he does for each network.

- "Today" correspondent

- NBC News Special correspondent

- Olympics anchor and reporter

- host/executive producer of "The Million Dollar Quiz"

- host and executive producer of "Dick Clark's Rockin New Years' Eve"

- co-owner of AXS TV together with CBS (Mark Cuban, CAA, AEG as well). The network serves to be a content provider for everything happening live from concerts to other special events. Seacrest and CBS haven't played much of an active role in the network in terms of producing programming or making decisions but they are both parties of ownership for the network. CBS will utilize AXS TV next year to promote and provide access for the Grammy's and the Tony's.

- host of "American Idol"

- host of I Heart Radio music specials which air on the network

- key player with Clear Channel/I Heart Radio's music concerts/specials

- host of nationally syndicated "On Air With Ryan Seacrest" radio show

- host of morning drive radio show on 102.7 KIIS FM

- partner in TV production company (C.C. owns a minority stake)

- producer of a new show titled "Second Chances", which tells stories about inspirational women seeking to fight adversity. The show is produced together with Gwenyth Paltrow

- partners with the biggest multi-channel network on YouTube known as "FullScreen" to create new entertainment shows/channels for YouTube audiences as well as give his production company's shows a home on YouTube (i.e. starting a YouTube channel for a new show which he produces which has behind the scenes clips/previews/teasers etc.)

- his own YouTube channel featuring interviews from his radio show, covers from independent artists and previews of his production company's shows including the Kardashian franchise. 

- managing editor of E! News

- host of Red Carpet pre-shows for various awards shows

The man is crazy for all the things he's doing. Let's not forget that he is also invested in Pinterest and is a partner in that social network. I definitely forsee Seacrest either buying out AXS TV or starting his own music and entertainment channel together with NBC which can co-exist with E! or NBC giving Seacrest an ownership share of E!

 I also believe he's going to lead his production company into becoming the new leader in live programming, rivaling other companies to produce live awards show, special events and concert franchises which he hosts, produces and owns. He may also eventually get a bunch of radio affiliates and satellite/online radio to join a Ryan Seacrest Network which features a roster of people that he's trying to bring out in the industry (similar to what O did with Oz, Phil, Gayle etc.). This helps him gain influence on the top 2 key mediums of media worldwide.