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The Morning Fix: Play ball! Hey broadcasters, the government wants some spectrum back. “This Is It” is indeed it.

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After the coffee. Before breaking out the leather jacket.

Play ball! Here’s the deal. The World Series starts tonight. Yes, it’s two East Coast teams, but they’re both great teams with big-name players. The defending champs (Phillies) are squaring off against the team everyone loves to hate (Yankees). If that’s not enough, you’ve got the cast of ‘Glee’ singing the national anthem at one of the games and Kate Hudson in the stands. That said, Fox needs this bad boy to go at least six games for it to be a business success. Reuters takes a peek at the bottom line of the Fall Classic.

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Take back the airwaves. No, it’s not what you think. The government wants some spectrum for wireless broadband services and will probably try to take it from local broadcasters. That won’t sit well with the industry, says the Wall Street Journal. The FCC may be game to compensate broadcasters for their spectrum. Yes, this sounds dull, but it’s actually kind of important.

Yes, this is it. The reviews are coming in for ‘This Is It,’ the film of Michael Jackson’s last rehearsals, and most are positive with hints of sadness not only for what never was but for what he had become. Here are the takes from the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, USA Today, Variety and Hollywood Reporter.

So much for ‘family-run.’ Randall Mays is stepping down as president of Clear Channel Communications, the radio and TV giant built by his father, Lowry Mays. Randall Mays will become vice chairman and focus on strategic issues (we all know what that means), while his brother Mark remains as CEO. Of course, the strategy of selling the company to private equity firms Bain Capital and THL Partners has worked out really well if you don’t count the layoffs and crushing debt. Details from the Wall Street Journal.

Everything you wanted to know about TV Everywhere. Advertising Age does everyone a public service and explains just what TV Everywhere, the cable industry’s sort-of, not-quite answer to Hulu is and isn’t. Print it out and paste it.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: DreamWorks Animation’s profit fell almost 50%, but the studio still beat Wall Street’s expectations. Guess that’s like getting a C when your mom was expecting a D. ‘Southland’ is headed to TNT, but the cable network won’t order any new episodes until it sees how the show does.
-- Joe Flint

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