Here's a story about rankings and positioning and, of course, football.

Going through my daily phone and e•messages I've noted that we seem to be in the age of superlatives.  Terms like "best," "first" and the ever-popular "No.1" are definitely in ascendancy.  Maybe that's got something to do with New Year's resolution guilt.  (I mean if you can't make it to Jan. 14 without blowing a resolution, you'll need to find solace somewhere.)  Or maybe it's a psychic spinoff from the just finished CES where virtually everybody is best ... or most innovative ... or game-changing at something.  

At any rate, in just the past week I have been assured that:

• Nickelodeon ranks "No. 1 in basic cable" for the 16th straight year;

• ESPN's telecast of the Tostitos Bowl game drew "cable's highest overnight ranking;"

• BET's debut of "The Game" ranks as the "#1 ad-supported sitcom telecast in cable ever;" and that

• "The Walking Dead" (on AMC) is "cable's highest rated show ever!"

Sound impossible?  Like maybe that's a "No. 1" and "highest" overload for one week in one business?

Not necessarily.   Of course you have to parse the wording carefully.  "Cable" is one key to effective interpretation; words like "ad-supported sitcom" are important too.  But the fact is that, near as I can tell, all the statements above are true.  And all the people responsible for making those statements true should be warmly congratulated.  

But it did get me thinking.  I mean, for really important news ... for stuff that you want to make absolutely SURE people pay attention to ... isn't it about time to go contrarian?  As in:

ESPN Announces The LAST Football Game!

Doesn't have to say the "last" of what.  But I bet you read it.

So there you go ... my little lesson in language for the day.•

OTT Adds & Duds

OTT programming is much in the news this week as, in short order:

• News broke via EW.com that Kiefer Sutherland will star in a web series shown via Hulu this March;

• AOL announced a partnership with Endermol USA to create unscripted programming for the site; and

• YouTube says it's expanding its mobile content via "pre-roll" ads in front of music videos.

So maybe the latter isn't really "programming" per se but it certainly serves as a sign of these TV-set blurring times.  To say nothing of the increasing interest in/hopes for OTT video.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the OTT line, PaidContent.org has a good piece on an OTT dud.  It's all about that Google/Weinstein Co. deal and how those movie rentals on YouTube have (so far) netted just $1,947 for the partners.  For the article, go here.•

Etc: LTE Threat to Cable; "Is So" on Wireless Spectrum; Cablevision v. Verizon

Tech:  According to the UK's telecom regulator Ofcom, LTE transmissions in the 800MHz frequency can pose a danger to cable services .  A field trial held for seven weeks last spring with nine set-tops and 12 cable modems found that seven of the set-top boxes and all of the modems experienced interference when the LTE handset was operating at full power and placed closely (within one meter) of the STB or modem.  The photo shows the onset of "un-correctable" errors on a 42" plasma set.  To download the full report, conducted by Cobham Technical Services, go here.

Analyze This:  27% of US internet users will play at least one game on a social network monthly this year, says eMarketer.  Revenues are expected to top $1B. For more, go here.  --- Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King opened coverage on Knology with a "buy" rating and $19 target price.  Says he, overbuilders are well positioned for growth. --- Mediacom shareholders vote today on Rocco Commisso's privatizing proposal.

Programming:   DISH Network has added Times Television Network's TIMES NOW and zoOm to its Hindi-language lineup. --- The Outdoor Channel is now available in HD on TWC systems in Dallas, Corpus Christi and Laredo, TX.

People:  Joe D'Ambrosia has been named VP, Programming, Disney Junior.

Over (Up & Under) There:  Two new HD channels (actually HD versions of two existing channels:  CBS Action HD and CBS Drama HD) are coming to the UK market courtesy of CBS Chellozone, a JV between CBS and Liberty Global's Chellomedia.  

Gov't & Regs:  In an apparent response to some wireless spectrum caution voiced by FCC Chair Julius Genachowski, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) declared that finding more spectrum for broadband services will be a "priority' and will "likely include voluntary incentive auctions."  So, for now, the lights are green.

Partnerships & Deals:  IMAX has a deal with Paramount Pictures to distribute four releases in giant-screen format.  They include "Super 8," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," " Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol" and "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn."

Markets & Money:  Add video-equipment maker RGB Networks to the list of those planning IPOs for 2011.

SkyREPORT:  Eutelsat's KA-SAT, which is designed to offer high capacity, multi-spotbeam broadband and data services, is has completed positioning at 9º East.

In The Courts:  Watch for a Cablevision v. Verizon showdown later this month as a judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission has turned down Cablevision's motion for a summary judgment that it isn't infringing on Verizon patents via plans to import three advanced set-tops made by Cisco.•