CABLEFAX DAILY reports Liberty Media President & CEO Greg Maffei yesterday "mused aloud ... about why Dish changed up its much delayed OTT service." He suggested that Dish Network Chair & CEO Charlie Ergen is "targeting someone very different than traditional cable customers and also possibly is looking at the upsell potential of packages such as kids and sports." Maffei "warned of continued pressure on the video bundle, whether from Netflix, Dish, sports programming or more devices." He added that RSN failures "pressure the bundle, citing CSN Houston and arguing that the Dodgers RSN has 'some risk of being a large bust'" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 1/8).
FOR THE BLEEP OF IT: In Detroit, Vincent Goodwill Jr. notes Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy during Tuesday's game against the Spurs was caught on Fox Sports Detroit's camera telling his players to "form a (bleeping) wall!" Van Gundy later said, "Normally it doesn't end up on TV. I feel bad about that, but we were just making a point." Goodwill notes the words have "become somewhat of a rallying cry" for Pistons fans. Van Gundy: "It's been tough for our fans this year so if they're finding something to have fun with, I'm all for it" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/8).
BLOG CABINS: MEN'S JOURNAL's Mike Rubin profiles Univ. of Michigan fan blogger Brian Cook, whose MGoBlog was "seen as a catalyst" for UM hiring new football coach Jim Harbaugh. Fan blogs such as Cook's, which attracts 8 million page-views a month, "are proliferating as sanctuaries for fans who want their school pride pure and uncut." UM alone "has more than 20 blogs devoted to its sports programs." SB Nation "has capitalized on the new market, offering more than 300 blogs a hosting platform, tech support, and sliding-scale payment" (MEN'S JOURNAL, 1/'15 issue).
