Is ABC Really Going To Be Involved Much With Fusion?

Fusion is slowly coming out with its gameplan for launch in October and as more details begin to come out, it has become apparent how Fusion expects to make noise in the cable news world.

1. Serving as the English language advocate for Latinos through Univision personalities

2. Serving as the place for young people to get their news in a relatable, informative and satirical way

In my opinion, those are great ideas and with enough attention to detail and focus on high quality programming, I believe this network can make some noise and on a really good night, take down CNN.

Daytime TV Moves: Katie Couric and Kris Jenner

According to AllThingsD, Katie Couric is in talks with Yahoo! to host her own internet interview show which would be posted on the homepage. The interviews would feature everyone from business leaders to celebrities and sports stars and I would imagine that it would be in the vein of the only successful show she hosted for CBS, "@KatieCouric", which was basically the same thing.

Could CBS Sports Network Become Biggest Beneficiary of Fox-ESPN War?

Not too long ago in March, John Ourand of Sports Business Daily reported on the unlikely alliance in sports TV which has formed between ESPN and Fox. 

The amount of collaboration between ESPN and Fox Sports over the past two years has resulted in a partnership that is unprecedented in sports media as the two formerly bitter rivals have united on some of the biggest media rights deals.
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A lot of the speculation in the sports industry suggests that the building relationship is a way for ESPN and Fox Sports to keep NBC and its stable of sports channels at bay, more so than CBS, which has not been as aggressive pursuing sports rights. 

Could NFL Sunday Ticket Go Online? Google In Discussions And A List of the Most Likely Bidders on Rights

The NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, which helped make DirecTV the dominant force it is today, is set to be up for renewal in 2014. While negotiations seem are ongoing according to reports, there are always hits and snags that get in the way of making these deals work out. DirecTV has also openly stated in the past that it’s very open to moving on if the price is too high, and based on the numbers from the NFL’s other contract extensions with NBC, ESPN, CBS and FOX; those numbers might get higher than DirecTV wants them to.

If DirecTV isn’t able to secure an extension of its rights before the Super Bowl, don’t be surprised if some new disruptive technologies pull a “Fox” and surprise the world with a huge bid that moves the package to a digital product. Of course, cable operators such as Comcast and TWC (who have been actively acquiring sports rights lately) might have something to say before anything like that happens and they could possibly form a joint bid with DirecTV to keep out of market games on traditional programming providers.

But when all is said and done, don’t be shocked if a new emerging programming provider decides to take the rights. Here’s is my handicapping of the most likely disruptive technologies which could take the NFL’s rights.

New Media And Old Media Continue Their Convergence In The News Field

A very interesting move was announced on Friday which piqued the interests of the hipster world and the media world. Vice, once a failing magazine but now a super power on the Internet, sold a 5% stake to 20th Century Fox, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch has had interest in the company for a long time but he's now put $70 million of his money where his mouth is.

Who's heard of VICE media? Wild, interesting effort to interest millenials who don't read or watch established media. Global success.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) October 13, 2012

Since that tweet was published, speculation has been brewing as to whether Murdoch would become a partner in this alternative media empire which is slowly becoming one of the top sources for news among millenials. And sure enough he did it.

Brian Stelter Carves Out A New Niche In Cable News

New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter was the guest host for today's "Reliable Sources" on CNN, the media watchdog show which has been missing a host since Howard Kurtz curtsied his way to Fox News to host their media watchdog show. Saying that his stint was phenomenal would be an understatement. 

Shepard Smith Is The Engine That'll Keep Fox News Going If He's Used Correctly

Interesting changes are coming to Fox News prime time for the first time in 10 years as Megyn Kelly is being moved from the 1-3pm timeslot to the 9pm slot replacing Hannity who will most likely move to 7pm as Bill O'Rielly's lead in with Greta surprisingly staying at 10pm.

The most interesting piece of the puzzle with these moves though is Shepard Smith. At a press briefing yesterday, Roger Ailes hinted at a new initiative with Shep which will change the flow of news in a different way. What does that mean?

Top 10 Newest Additions To Football Coverage Online and On TV

Whether baseball purists like it or not, football has become our nation's newest pasttime. Fans across the United States are continuously thirsty for all the latest news and tidbits concerning college football and the NFL which means that there is a nonstop overdrive of media coverage. 

Beginning in a couple of weeks, there will be some new, innovative ways to consume coverage and analysis of the amateurs and the pros. Here are my top 10 favorites and a list of outlets and places to watch for. These outlets are ranked based on their potential to break news and/or ability to provide unique analysis of the game.

NSFWCorp Could Be The Real Life Version of #HouseofCards #Slugline

If you watch #HouseofCards, then you know there is an innovative, cool new website on the show which is transcending Washington, DC and putting everyone on notice known as #Slugline. It's a site which continues to break major stories, but is very different and alternative from other news sites and organizations which exist including the newspaper which the main character, Zoe Barnes, used to work for and CNN, which Barnes is slowly stepping her foot into.

Now, part of that has to do with the fact that Barnes is having an affair with a manipulator of news, Frank Underwood, but that's another story for another day. For the first time, we might have a real version of #Slugline which exists that is known as #NSFWCorp.

Fusion Could Be The Only Surviving New Cable News Network

Fusion, a joint venture between ABC and Univision, is slated to launch on October 28th. The new network is having difficulty gaining carriage (no deals with Comcast and TWC yet) but based on the descriptions of what is going to be on the network; it looks like it could be a major winner on television.

Kicking off primetime at 6pm will be a host who is not Latino known as Derrick Ashong, he'll be hosting an interactive news broadcast which will heavily feature social media. At 7pm, Alicia Menendez takes over with a more traditional cable news show about politics from her viewpoint.

WILL ABC REALLY BE INVOLVED MUCH WITH FUSION?

Jorge Ramos, will get an hour at 8pm, where he will specifically breakdown news stories from a Latino viewpoint and cover news stories which are mostly relevant to young Latinos. A comedy sports talk show will proceed at 9pm followed by a news satire show in the vein of Jon Stewart and finally another talk show from a Latino perspective with Leon Krauze.