> Not surprisingly, considering the question marks and obstacles surrounding it, a proposed Hulu IPO that could be worth as much as $2 billion is getting short shrift from Wall Street moneywatchers. Among the problems with the deal: a lousy stock market with investors worrying about a double-dip recession (does that mean we ever came out of the first one?) and how Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBC Universal acquisition could shake up the company's ownership. Story.
> Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) is making a bunch of people in New Jersey happy by offering Optimum WiFi throughout the state. Those interested can access the operator's Web site for a listing of locations. Story.
> Speaking of acquisitions (see Comcast-NBC Universal above), Shaw Communications (NYSE: SJR) said that the Canadian Competition Bureau has cleared its 100 percent takeover of over-the-air and specialty television businesses now operated by Canwest Global Communications. News release.
> File this one under the ubiquitous dog-bites-man news slot. A survey of viewers conducted by Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) in anticipation of the new broadcast fall season (yes, the broadcasters still do that!) found that 62 percent of U.S. viewers own a DVR and use it to time-shift programming to more amenable personal schedules. Comcast, of course, provides (rents) DVRs and will soon, it hopes, become a broadcaster with a new fall season to promote. Story.
And finally... This stinks. Plans to upgrade the Bournemouth, UK broadband network by running fiber optic cables through the town's sewers were flushed after problems emerged between the i3 Group, which had the fiber network, and Wessex Water, which manages the sewage network. Story.