For the DirecTV audience
DirecTV and Viacom reach deal, end blackout
By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times
July 20, 2012
"There was an increase, but not nearly the increase they were seeking," DirecTV Executive Vice President Derek Chang said.
...
Although programmers and distributors often bicker over new contracts, the Viacom-DirecTV battle was particularly public and nasty. Both companies ran ads blasting each other and their executives took potshots at one another as well.
...
When Viacom's channels went off DirecTV, which is in about 20 million homes, ratings for its networks dropped more than 20% in some cases. The longer the networks were off DirecTV, the more Viacom had at stake.
...
DirecTV did get one concession from Viacom. As part of the deal, DirecTV subscribers will now be able to access live feeds of Viacom's channels on tablets and mobile devices outside the home. This marks the first time that Viacom has agreed to allow such an arrangement with a distributor.
However, Viacom also is likely to continue to put a lot of its television shows on its own websites for free, which was a sore point for DirecTV.
The Stars Hollow Gazette/DocuDharma Digest
Friday 7/20
* 2012 Le Tour - Stage 18 by: ek hornbeck
* On This Day In History July 20 by: TheMomCat
* CNBC Financial Ignores the Facts by: TheMomCat
* Punting the Pundits by: TheMomCat
* Germany Flips on Spain & It's a Flop by: TheMomCat
Saturday 7/21
* 2012 Le Tour - Stage 19 by: ek hornbeck
* F1 2012: Hockenheim Qualifying by: ek hornbeck
* On This Day In History July 21 by: TheMomCat
* LIBOR- Not a Theory by: ek hornbeck
* Punting the Pundits by: TheMomCat
* Health and Fitness News by: TheMomCat
* Random Japan by: mishima
* My Little Town 20120718: Mathematics Made Hard and Easy by: Translator
Sunday 7/22
* Six In The Morning by: mishima
* 2012 Le Tour - Stage 20 by: ek hornbeck
* Punting the Pundits: Sunday Preview Edition by: TheMomCat
* "Corn sex is complicated" by: LaEscapee
* F1 2012: Hockenheim by: ek hornbeck
* On This Day In History July 22 by: TheMomCat
* Open Thread: 1960's-1970's Rock-n-Roll Music; The 5th Dimension: by: mplo
* Rant of the Week: Stephen Colbert by: TheMomCat
* Pique the Geek 20120722: More on Carbon by: Translator
Monday 7/23
* On This Day In History July 23 by: TheMomCat
* Mitt And His Fellow Vulture Capitalists See Venezuela As a Threat: It Is. by Justina by: Anti-Capitalist Meetup
* Punting the Pundits by: TheMomCat
* Sunday Train: Trains, Buses, Bikes and Plan C by: BruceMcF
* Undertakers by: ek hornbeck
The Stars Hollow Gazette
Friday 7/20
* Late Night Karaoke by: mishima
* Muse in the Morning by: Robyn
* On This Day In History July 20 by: TheMomCat
* HSBC: Money Laundering for Drug Dealers & Terrorists by: TheMomCat
* Cartnoon by: ek hornbeck
* Manifest Destiny In Reverse by: Rusty1776
* Le Tour de France 2012: Stage 17 by: TheMomCat
* Weaving Reality VI: On the Thickness of Skin by: Robyn
Saturday 7/21
* Late Night Karaoke by: mishima
* On This Day In History July 21 by: TheMomCat
* LIBOR: There Will Be No Prosecutions by: TheMomCat
* Cartnoon by: ek hornbeck
* Le Tour de France 2012: Stage 18; Bonneval and Chartres by: TheMomCat
* For the DirecTV audience by: ek hornbeck
* My Little Town 20120718: Mathematics Made Hard and Easy by: Translator
Sunday 7/22
* Late Night Karaoke by: mishima
* Six In The Morning by: mishima
* On This Day In History July 22 by: TheMomCat
* What We Now Know by: TheMomCat
* Cartnoon by: ek hornbeck
* Le Tour de France 2012: Stage 20 Rambouillet and Paris Champs-Élysées by: TheMomCat
* Cannabis Is "An Effective Treatment" For Cancer Patients by: mariathc
* Pique the Geek 20120722: More on Carbon by: Translator
Monday 7/23
* Late Night Karaoke by: mishima
* Muse in the Morning by: Robyn
* On This Day In History July 23 by: TheMomCat
* The case for prosecuting Wall Street Banks by: gjohnsit
* Cartnoon by: ek hornbeck
* Mitt And His Fellow Vulture Capitalists See Venezuela As a Threat: It Is. by Justina by: Anti-Capitalist Meetup
* LIBOR- Not a Theory by: ek hornbeck
DocuDharma
Guests
Fareed Zakaria is as Villager as they come and it's a sad commentary that he's one of the best and only repeats lies and says stupid and arrogant things 95% of the time.
Mike Tyson is hard to figure out because his speaking voice doesn't match any other part of his personality which is mostly pent up aggression and anger.
I guess the thing that ties them together (and I don't really think the pairings are anything but booker's accidents) is that most of the things Fareed says could have come from Mike's mouth. This is sad because one is Dementia pugilistica tabloid fodder and the other is supposed to be a respectable "news analyst" (or whatever they're calling pretty boy prompter readers now days).
This week's other guests are- Tuesday Matthew McConaughey and James Fallows, Wednesday Vikram Gandhi, and Thursday Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell and Peter Westmacott.
If you have any idea who these people are I'm sure you could write a superior piece. You'd certainly have a better attitude because I'm all tired, cranky and depressed that the Mets have gone into their customary post All-Star swoon. Not to mention Le Tour and Formula One.
Wednesday is the start of the Olympic Games, Women's Group Competition in Football and maybe some of the other longer events. Opening ceremony Friday. Now with Badminton!
Saturday and Sunday is Formula One Hungary, the last race before the August break.
So quite busy for me. I do have material of the same stellar quality if there are no volunteers, but as I was telling someone who said "You need your wits about you", it's more an observational kind of humor like Garrison Keillor or Jerry Seinfeld so it isn't hah hah funny and really depends on the room.