WOW! kicks off NFL Network; Project Canvas less than transparent

> Wide Open West (WOW!) has tossed the NFL Network off its basic cable service as part of a programming price dispute. It "may be a worthy channel (but) it's not worth carrying at any price," said WOW! President-CEO Colleen Abdoulah, while also opining the "excessive ... increases demanded by many programming networks." Story.

> Perhaps Virgin Media was right to complain that the BBC is less than forthcoming about is Project Canvas joint venture broadband connection television platform initiative. Reports are that the big British broadcaster has yet to publicly release requirements specifications. Virgin Media complained that Project Canvas is anti-competitive and jeopardizes the future development of U.K. television. Story.

> The worldwide hybrid Web-to-TV set-top box market (there has to be a faster way to say that) will surpass $1 billion by 2014 according to a report developed by In-Stat. News release.

And finally... Following up on that, Adweek claims that Internet-connected TV with "application stores" is the next media area set to explode. Story.