• Monday night is another Cable TV Pioneer induction night that kicks off the biggest annual show in cable ... 13 new Pioneers will join us including a couple of old and good friends and good guys who spend too much time across too many ponds ... Liberty Global’s Mike Fries and former MTV Nets Int’l’s Bill Roedy.  Others coming in are Ellen Cooper, Skip Kraus, Terry Cordova, Bill Myers, Randy Elliot, Steven Neu, Steven Richey, Rick Howe, Ellen Rivard, Jeffrey Huppertz and Cathy Serksnas ... a toast to all.

• Should be an interesting NCTA ... a new leader makes his official debut as former FCC Chairman Michael Powell steps up ... another stellar lineup (news from the show each morning and evening) that’ll be capped by Comcast’s Brian Roberts reaching for more rings on Thursday morning as he highlights what’s next ... the underlying issues that won’t go away including spectrum, politics in a polarized world (whatever happened to “divided we fall”? ... and I promise never to mention that oddly arrogant Congressional techno-idiot from NY), facts that aren’t facts, retrans, carriage, lots of sports and entertainment celebrities, renewals, new technologies, some good parties, OTT, the Cable Center’s Cable TV Hall of Fame Tuesday evening, OTA, cord-cutting, copyright, content, the fear of hacking a la Sony, probably losing with the Cubs, the ongoing quest for a user interface that makes sense and the ever higher costs of doing business as the marketplace’s ability to pay continues to erode ...

Meanwhile, I’m sad to report my presidential exploration committee suggested to me that going to rehab would do more to sell my book than running for President.  However, I shall do neither ... for now.•

Programming "Gotta Share" Upheld (Mostly)

Cablevision lost a big one on Friday as the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. said the FCC has a right to close that terrestrial loophole used by some cable ops to keep their sports channels off satellite and telco TV.   Watch for cheers (and a whole lot of door knocking) from AT&T, Verizon, DIRECTV and DISH.  (The latter promptly put its 2¢ in, issuing a "win for consumers" statement.)

As with most things D.C., however, as the Court held that the FCC “failed to justify its assumption that just because Congress treated certain acts involving satellite programming as unfair, the same acts are necessarily unfair in the context of terrestrial programming.”  In short, case-by-case reviews.•

Etc: 3D Heartbreak – AT&T Eyes Even More Spectrum – Online Ad Growth

Signs of the (3D) Times?  The latest innovation in movie going appear to be new 2D glasses designed to convert 3D back to 2D for folks who get headaches from the viewing experience.  They cost $10/pair at Amazon. Meanwhile, IHS Screen Digest is reporting a precipitous drop in the global box-office admission revenues, with many countries (including the U.S.) down more than 20% in the first quarter.  Part of the blame is pegged on the lack of a 3D blockbuster like last year's "Avatar."  (Get the report here.)  And finally, Dreamworks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg blames Hollywood for recent 3D debacles telling the Hollywood Reporter, "It's really heartbreaking to see what has been the single greatest opportunity that has happened to the film business in over a decade being harmed.  The audience has spoken, and they have spoken really loudly."

Spectrum: BTIG's Walter Piecyk writes, "We believe that not only should the FCC/DOJ approve the AT&T/T-Mobile deal but we think they should also allow AT&T to acquire even more spectrum through government auctions or by purchasing existing unused licensed spectrum.  While AT&T is very careful about anything they say given the pending deal, it was clear at an investor meeting in NYC last [Thursday]night that AT&T would be active bidders in any spectrum auctions that occurred after the T-Mobile acquisition if the FCC permitted them.  CEO Randall Stephenson remarked that he has yet to regret any spectrum purchases and would be interested in acquiring more spectrum even after the T-Mobile acquisition."

Analyze This Redux (in case you missed it from The Evening BRIDGE): Google is to have a deal to acquire AdMeld. --- NY Times’ DealB%k reports Morgan Stanley bought about 2% of LinkedIn. --- Midcontinent bought about 33K cable subs from US Cable in Minnesota and Wisconsin. --- NY Post reports Liberty Media’s Dr. John Malone is talking with Live Nation’s Irving Azoff about taking Live Nation private. --- Bloomberg News reports investors who withdrew money from Harbinger Capital Partners in Q1 were required to take over half in LightSquared non-tradable shares.

Inside the Beltway:  Lots of fallout from last week's FCC report on local media as pundits ponder the reported dearth in local news ... and just who might find themselves in the government's sights.  (More public interest set-asides, anyone?)

Advertising:  As online audiences grow, so do online ads.  According to the AP, CBS has doubled the number of ads on its website videos from a year ago, The CW is up 4x and, for some major cable nets, online ads now equal those via TV. --- Here's an ad pitch from the Television Bureau of Advertising.  Looking at the steady decline of "wired cable" basic video subs, the bureau proclaims "cord cutting" via alternative delivery systems (AKA DBS) and, in the words of TVB president Steve Lanzano, “Advertisers who buy cable locally need to know that local wired cable systems’ ability to deliver commercials continues to erode."

Good for You:  The Sportsman Channel's Hunt.Fish.Feed community outreach is happening today, from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Chicago.  --- Cox Enterprises has announced a $1M gift to the Nature Conservancy's "Georgia for Generations" campaign.
 
Retrans & Renewals: NBC affiliates are girding for a tap by Comcast/NBCU to help pay for that Olympics' bid.  It's been done before ... question is how retrans dollars will figure in.

Buying Backers?  POLITICO notes that some of the non-profits backing the AT&T/T-Mo merger appear to have profited from the move.  Says the site, such deal backers as the NAACP, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Education Association have all received nice contributions from AT&T ... although, it should be noted, some of these date back several years.

Advertising/Marketing Redux (in case you missed it from The Evening BRIDGE): AdWeek says the ‘upfronts’ had ABC CPMs up 10-11%, about the same for Fox and CW but CBS outfront with +13% and NBC lagging at +9% (but all looking good dollar-wise) ... click here.•