Next week will bring with it an extraordinary broadcast milestone: on April 1, the 50th anniversary of ABC's "General Hospital." Given all the excitement surrounding this event, it is somewhat sobering to note that just last year ABC seemed ready to cancel this still-vital series. Happily, "GH" survived a real-life cliffhanger that rivals those of classic serials on the radio and at the movies, not to mention prime-time and daytime soap operas themselves, and now here we are, marking a significant broadcast accomplishment at a time when significant broadcast accomplishments are increasingly few and far between.

One of the best research-oriented conferences in the industry is the ARF Re:think, which took place in New York City this past week. "Re-think" is an appropriate word to describe the role of research in the media industry today. Research is no longer the corporate function that we have known for the past 30+ years. Instead, it has evolved into a range of disciplines including analytics, strategic insights, big data mining and even storytelling.

I'm all for the maturation of broadcast television content. In fact, I can't imagine how broadcast series entertainment will survive in the years to come if it doesn't continue to push boundaries ... and if advertisers don't continue to support bolder programming ... and if the FCC doesn't loosen up a bit and acknowledge the realities of new and old media alike. Still, I have to admit that recent episodes of Fox's daring new drama "The Following" and advance screeners of NBC's upcoming "Hannibal" have me wondering, how did this material even get on broadcast television?

For years, only television networks possessed what every consumer brand desired to create: a portfolio of sought-after content. Today, however, leading brands like Red Bull, Coca-Cola, and American Express are themselves content networks. Are they TV networks? No, but they've reimagined their brands to be content publishers fully integrated into social media feeds. They're creating content that's built around their customers' passions in order to gain relevance and a unique, authoritative voice in a crowded sea of sameness and ineffective ads. Having spent my career uniquely straddled between brand agencies and TV networks, I see TV networks clearly facing the …

I have written articles on the value of targeting Baby Boomers, and now NBCU's Alan Wurtzel goes one step further. He says that it is not specifically Baby Boomers that advertisers should target, it is the AlphaBoomers, a valuable subset of adults aged 55-64. Who exactly are the AlphaBoomers and why are they so important?

Is it too early to talk about "House of Cards" -- or is it already way too late? As all the world knows, Netflix unleashed all 13 season-one episodes simultaneously rather than doling them out weekly like a regular TV series, so we have no idea how many viewers have finished it already, how many are partway through, or how many haven't even started watching yet.

The sad news about Valerie Harper's battle with terminal brain cancer has me thinking about the incredible power broadcast television used to have. How else to explain the massive outpouring of love and support from millions of people for Harper at this very challenging time?

There are a number of excellent industry get-togethers, but there is only one I can think of that blends the actual happy hour with the program itself: Simulmedia's Happy Hour Salon. This provocative monthly speaker series gives media and tech people the chance to mingle and share opinions on a trending industry hot topic, all over a pint of beer or a glass of wine.

Aside from HBO's "Girls," there hasn't been significant talk lately about current original series on the pay-cable networks. That has a lot to do with the absence of such showcase franchises as HBO's "True Blood," "Game of Thrones" and "The Newsroom" and Showtime's "Homeland," "Dexter" and "Nurse Jackie." But there is still much to get excited about in the pay universe.

Addressable advertising has been an active, although custom, application for media purchasing for several years. Some agencies have been very strategic in folding in addressable advertising campaigns for certain clients, and several data-oriented companies have built successful businesses helping advertisers -- from insurance companies to political candidates -- more efficiently and successfully target their consumers. A recent conference discussed the necessary next steps that need to be taken before addressable advertising becomes a universal component of an advertiser's buy.