Some of the stories people are talking about this morning:»  Former US Weekly editor Janice Min is spicing up The Hollywood Reporter—but is the venerable trade mag getting too gossipy? [The Wrap] »  Ad prices for Conan O’Brien’s new TV talk show on Turner are pretty close to what a…

No, we don’t have subscription numbers but we do have a little more insight into the differences between Hulu Plus and basic Hulu. Research firm One Touch Intelligence counted all the shows on Hulu and Hulu Plus during one week in August, providing a snapshot of the TV programming on…

NBC Universal’s iVillage is continuing to build up its wellness offerings, this time with a partnership with QualityHealth. In an interview with paidContent, Jodi Kahn, iVillage’s EVP, says that QualityHealth will give the NBCU property the exclusive right to manage display ad sales for its flagship site.

Some of the stories people are talking about this morning:»  Why did Fareed Zakaria, who was on the short list to succeed Jon Meacham as Newsweek editor, jump ship to Time magazine? He wants to continue creating content, not figure out the business model for Newsweek on the iPad, “although…

Cameron Death has been promoted to SVP/GM, NBC Universal Digital Studio. The studio, which Death has managed as a VP since its inception two years ago, creates original digital content for the company’s advertisers and distributes it across the various digital, cable and network platforms of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE).…

It looks like video JV Hulu can be added to the list of expected IPOs coming this year. The IPO could come this fall, the NYT reports, citing unidentified sources. The offering is said to value Hulu at roughly $2 billion.

Some of the stories people are talking about this morning:»  Funny, but wasn’t Demand Media always profitable, according to CEO Richard Rosenblatt? Well, as the IPO filing revealed, that really wasn’t the case. [WSJ] »  AppleTV is getting a makeover, starting with the name: the set-top box will be known…

Some of the stories people are talking about this morning:»  CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) have struck a major, comprehensive 10-year carriage agreement, that will prevent the sort of showdowns that threatens viewers’ programming with increasing frequency these days.  [CBS press release] »  Retrans fees have put some…

Just in time for the season finale of the Real Housewives of New York City-spinoff, Bethenny Getting Married?, Bravo is introducing an iPad app that it hopes will have users promoting the show as it airs. The iPad app features the NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) cable channel’s “Talk Bubble,” which…

Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is still pending before regulators, but the deal has already cost the cable operator $22 million in transaction fees in Q2. That sent profits down, though it didn’t completely account for the decline to $884 million from $967 million in Q209. Meanwhile, the…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q209	Net Inc. vs Q209
Comcast	Release		6%	8.67%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

With display advertising making a comeback this year, local TV stations are trying to see if they can capitalize on the resurgence. On the heels of Yahoo’s recent display deals with Gannett’s and Media General’s local broadcast websites, NBCU is now covering its owned and operated stations with an in-house…

NBC Universal’s earnings performance in Q2 was described as “good” by parent General Electric (NYSE: GE) this morning, as the expected sale to Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) inches closer. The broadcaster’s profit’s were up 13 percent, while revenues gained 5 percent, a sign that the recovery in ad spending began to…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q209	Net Inc. vs Q209
GE (NBC)	Release		4.3%	16%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and GE Capital joint venture Peacock Equity is the latest investor to back Vivox, which powers voice chat in online worlds including Linden Lab’s Second Life and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Online Entertainment’s Everquest. Peacock Equity is putting $2 million into the company and hints that NBC…

The Federal Communications Commission informed Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) and NBCU that on July 6 it had officially re-started the shot clock on its review of their proposed joint venture. That confirms a report in Multichannel News July 7. The FCC’s informal 180-day shot clock had been stopped for the second…

Is Hulu Plus worth $10 a month? It all depends on the programming you like to watch, how much of it you want to access and how often. I’ve been using the long-anticipated subscription service from the joint venture of Disney (NYSE: DIS), News Corp (NSDQ: NWS) and NBC Universal…

As part of its lobbying efforts to get approval—and acceptance—for its pending merger with NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) promised U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush in writing today that it will establish a $20 million venture capital fund for minority entrepreneurs to develop “new media content and applications” when…

For a large segment of women, checking Facebook has become a primary part of their morning routine, with the act of scrolling through status updates the first thing they do when waking. In a poll last month of 1,605 U.S. adults who use social media, 34 percent told NBC Universal’s…

The big idea behind just about every website redesign these days generally revolves around “less is more” minimalism. But it looks like MSNBC.com’s redo actually means it: the new site, which just went fully live, promises to do an end with clicking on stories and on ads. By introducing a…

The FCC is stopping the shot clock on the Comcast-NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) merger for a second time. Thursday, June 24, had been day 50 on what is an informal 180-day deadline for vetting the deal. The review began March 18. The commission says that the companies returned incomplete answers…