> The Tennis Channel wants some basic respect from Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and has gone to the FCC to get it. In a move that will no doubt further gum up Comcast's play to acquire NBC Universal, the channel is raising a racquet about being on a premium sports tier while Comcast-owned nets like the Golf Channel and Versus are more basically available. Of course this could be because the hockey, bicycling and rodeo carried on Versus and, of course, golf, have more appeal to mainstream viewers. Story.
> In a sign that might be less about love and more about the economics of a shrinking U.S. cable/broadcast opportunity, Mexican media monster Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV) has agreed to invest $1.2 billion (yes, that's with a B) in U.S. Hispanic broadcaster Univision, including providing expanded digital rights to Televisa programming. News release.
> A cynic might call it the lat roar of the dinosaur. CBS boss Les Moonves delivered a speech entitled "The Networks Strike Back: How Old Media has Adapted to the New World" to communications students, professors and interested parties (probably history majors) at the University of Texas. Moonves said his network is working to put CBS content on "the Googles and the Yahoos" as part of a morphing to 21st century delivery systems. Yahoo? Story.
> The idea sounded so good it spread around the World Wide Web like a wildfire, but Australian telecom provider Optus has dismissed reports that it was planning to move its 500,000 cable customers to the government-led National Broadband Network (NBN). Like a good cable operator, though, Optus did leave the door ajar. "Optus is engaged in ongoing discussions with NBN Co., the department (of broadband and communications) and the industry more broadly around the next steps for the NBN," the company said. In June, telco giant Telstra (ASX: TLS.AX) signed over access to its copper and cable networks to the NBN in an $11 billion deal. Story.
> NBC Universal is in a bought and buying mood. It's being bought by Comcast and it's buying addressable TV advertising infrastructure developer Invidi Technologies for an undisclosed amount that will no doubt be submitted on upcoming Comcast T&Es. Story.
> Also in a buying mood is Canadian player Rogers Communication (NYSE: RCI) which has ponied up $425 million in cash to acquire fiber optics networks provider Atria Networks. Rogers will use Atria's resources and employees to pursue a business-to-business market that "represents a significant opportunity," Rogers President-CEO Nadir Mohamed said. Story.
And finally... The U.S. government is neither buying nor selling, but it is handing out $35 million for low power TV (LPTV) stations to digitize through a federal grant program administered by the Commerce Department through the NTIA. There are about 7,000 of these stations around the country, so one's sure to pop up on the local MSO radar. Story.