It may be no coincidence that Sen. John McCain's bill to revamp most of the modern TV business -- including a plan to give consumers the option to buying as many cable channels as they want --- comes at the same time major TV networks are offering their new fall programming.

Networks test shows before pickup. But any real "test" comes from the first airing of a show -- which takes into account all the stuff a test can't account for: marketing, lead-in programming, scheduling and other factors.

Where is the seamless cross-platform media deal? The one one where, if you are watching an episode of NBC's "Parenthood" on TV, you can continue to see an commercial for AT&T on traditional TV, then view the same content and ad on a iPad?

Failure tax? Is that what marketers continue to pay to TV broadcasters? Yes, according to Mel Berning, president of advertising sales for A+E Networks. But there are ways to defeat this -- though a tax haven in the Cayman Islands isn't one of them.

If Sen. John McCain has his way, the whole broadcast/cable eco-system will be turned upside real soon. Nice wishful thinking by him and others who want drastic change. Except for one thing: There is no way what he wants will happen.

BitTorrent, the file-sharing service that has a bad rap because its technology gets mentioned in the same breath as piracy, cites a studyshowing that file-sharers are four times more likely to purchase digital music than people who don't use such services. BitTorrent says its own business has around 170 million users.

Young people may watch less TV these days, but they still watch a decent amount: 23 and-a-quarter hours a week. Now the downside: 18-24 year-old viewers watched about two hours and 20 minutes less per week - or about 20 minutes less per day -- in the fourth quarter of 2012 versus a year earlier, according to Nielsen.

Movie companies, in their big summer and winter selling periods, seek films with a big bang. Increasingly not-so-quiet word-of-mouth sentiment from consumer entertainment ambassadors has a major effect.

How much media sense does it make to get a message to one person by using one of the biggest and costliest cable networks? The answer might depend on who that person is, and how much power he/she has. A few organizations with a political bent have reportedly been buying time on ESPN to get their message to President Obama -- as well as to top Washington movers and shakers. So who is doing the media efficiency on this buy?

Home entertainment spending is up, continuing to confound skeptics but emboldening all traditional media creators. Entertainment content will surely be around. But its exact form is still anyone's guess.