Apple's new stand-alone TV service has lofty ambitions, big revenue projections, and a projected legion of crazily devoted consumers. Is that enough? Apple has three of four broadcast TV networks nearing a deal for its stand-alone service -- but as yet, no NBC, apparently.

HBO's deal to air a daily TV newscast from news/documentary outfit Vice provides the pay network with a big way to differentiate itself from Netflix -- and perhaps other networks as well.

Having a sports cable TV network might still seem like an easy route to big revenues. But then you need to consider what Time Warner Cable is going through with its Los Angeles Dodgers regional channel. Spending over $8.4 billion for 25 years -- or about $336 million a year on average -- for the rights to air the Dodgers on cable might seem a prudent exercise to some. Yet according to reports, two years into its deal, Time Warner Cable might be losing $100 million a year on SportsNet LA.

"Sometimes 'Jerry Springer' is better than 'Mad Men.'" That quote came from Dave Campanelli, senior vp of national TV for Horizon Media, during a recent 4A's panel on programmatic TV, as reported by Ad Age. What? How can that be? The daytime NBCUniversal syndication show can't be have the same "quality" as the highly touted AMC Network drama, can it? It can if you're talking about context, "an element that programmatic misses in TV," Campanelli also said.

Strong interest in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament has arrived again, in the form of higher TV ratings for early-round games for CBS and Turner Broadcasting networks. Surely those networks where NCAA grabbed around a billion dollars in rights fees - and marketers who spent tens of millions of dollars on those networks to gain big TV opportunities -- have seen the value. But what about the college players themselves? Nada. Zip.

"Your TV show sucks. I mean, it really sucks. And my friends think so as well. What are you going to do about it?" Imagine the above remark was a comment left on a popular social media site. Think a TV network should offer this person something better for their less-than-happy experience with their product?

TV marketers have constant needs of fresh-faced athletes to connect with new, upcoming audiences. In that regard, how well do your young children know big-time sports figures? My wife teaches a yoga class and mentioned that a cyclist named Chris was a regular. My nine-year-old daughter responded quickly: "Is that Chris Horner or Chris Froome?"

Yes, journalism still exists, but you have to know where to look for it. And then there are a bunch of others who look to play in the same sandbox.

Arguments have raged for years over financial formulas for after-market sales of TV shows. One formula came through the budding syndication marketplace in the late '80s and early '90s. Then U.S. media gained strong influence internationally, and revenues also came from U.S. cable networks. Now there has been a move for many to non-advertising-based platforms. Some now wonder how much big media content creators can expect from advertising-supported after-market TV marketplaces in the future.

It's now mid-March. Do you know when your favorite TV/video shows are on -- and/or when they're coming back in the next year? How much prep will you have to do so you don't miss the next round of, say, Showtime's "Masters of Sex"?