With a slew of issues impacting the video marketplace expected to become an increasing point of emphasis in the next Congress, Comcast has been making contributions to federal candidates at a far higher rate than other media companies. The Comcast PAC has donated $1.51 million to House and Senate candidates, triple the amount of the next leading media company, Cox Enterprises.

It can be comical listening to Rentrak executives speak. They're fanatical about not mentioning their competitor by name as if such an acknowledgment would mean some kind of surrender. Whether the avoidance policy is having an impact is debatable, but Rentrak has been an extraordinary success in just a few years. There are ample metrics as evidence, but perhaps most impressively it has simply stuck around.

Give Glenn Beck credit. The wacky, sometimes irresponsible TV commentator looks to be one astute businessman. Or he has some smart people around him. Or he has many more rabid fans than people on the Upper West Side can believe.

Dish Network will gather media in New York on Thursday for what it is billing as "The War of The Words." To pump the event, the graphic features a couple of boxing gloves facing off. What type of battle may be coming?

A federal judge has brushed aside a request that could have affected Time Warner Cable's leverage in carriage negotiations with local stations. The Texas judge denied Nexstar Broadcasting's request for a preliminary injunction, which could have prevented Time Warner Cable from transporting out-of-market signals to avoid blackouts.

Get ready for ESPN UHD? The future of ESPN 3D is still being sorted out. ESPN HD seems to have debuted just yesterday. And, now network futurists look to be huddling to figure out what to do about ultra-HD.

Competitors from Apple to Hulu have to be quaking. Google, which controls what could be one of the most powerful advertising media in modern times, is giving hints that it will begin to use it more aggressively.

Even as childhood obesity becomes an increasing problem, it's unlikely that heavy government restrictions on junk-food advertising will come anytime soon. Advertisers are making the case that they are already reducing the sugar and fat content in kid-targeted products, while ad industry lobbyists oppose restrictions.

In this month's Leaders & Bleeders, indications are consumer packaged goods advertisers will boost spending, while Amazon is making headway versus Netflix in online streaming. But Google TV Ads is disbanding after a similar effort by eBay failed and Jay Leno has to take a pay cut.