Media matters

Cable TV and the Internet and college football. What could be more wholesome?

• Whew! This first item is complicated. The SEC is pondering the establishment of a cable network patterned after the proposed network the Big 10 is in the process of establishing. Got that? There’s a good summary, with tons of links, about whether SEC TV is a good idea in this post at Dawg Sports. Before getting too excited, though, take a look at this New York Times article about the pitched battle brewing over the Big 10’s network and the cable systems that are being asked to carry it. The bottom line question: are there enough subscribers willing to pay for the extra coverage? The cable folks are skeptical (or cynical, if you think it’s just a negotiating ploy). Maybe there’s more demand for a product like this in the Southeast.

• It’s hard to picture Columbia, South Carolina as “ground zero” for an Internet business operation targeted as illegal by the Federal Trade Commission, but there’s a major scandal developing over a lawsuit filed by the FTC alleging that an online franchise music operation called BurnLounge is nothing more than an illegal pyramid scheme. What’s noteworthy about BurnLounge is that there are a number of well-known college football names linked as investors, including Bob Stoops, Danny Ford and Steve Spurrier, Jr. There’s enough star power here for this to remain interesting for a while.  One thing’s for sure – it’s not a good thing to see your name in an article where comparisons are being made with Tank Black.