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The Morning Fix: Travel Channel attracts looks; NFL makes play; sports cracks down on bloggers; Abdul rumors are just that

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After the coffee. Before a final salute to Don Hewitt.

Round up the usual suspects. NBC Universal, Scripps Networks and News Corp. are among the companies kicking the tires of Cox Communications’ Travel Channel, according to Bloomberg. More interesting is that so far Time Warner’s Turner, parent of CNN, is apparently taking a pass at peeking under the hood of the cable network for now.

Forever your girl, but maybe not ‘Idol’s.’ Paula Abdul’s manager goes on the record with the Los Angeles Times’ Denise Martin to throw cold water on all the rumors and gossip that her return to the Fox smash is in the works. While anything can happen, for now nothing is happening.

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Battling bloggers. The Southeastern Conference, which includes some of the biggest college sports teams out there, is cracking down on on fan sites, reports the New York Times. Specifically, the league is has issued restrictive rules on the use of video and photos of its games in real time. Look for more of the same from other college and professional sports leagues.

Now you can watch ‘Gossip Girl’ on YouTube ... legally. Google’s YouTube and Time Warner struck a wide-ranging content deal that will put clips and shows from Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting on the video site. It will also mean more ads too. Details from the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal.

How real is new ratings effort? News that Time Warner has signed a new seven-year deal with Nielsen has some scratching their heads over whether there is a serious push by big media (including Time Warner) to develop an alternative measurement system. Broadcasting & Cable’s Claire Atkinson tries to separate fact from fiction.

NFL makes leverage play. The National Football League has renewed NBC’s Sunday night deal and set the stage for big negotiating drama down the road as its four major TV deals with Fox, ESPN, CBS and NBC now all expire at the same time. The Los Angeles Times looks at the risks and potential rewards in such a gamble.

What’s behind the Redbox-Hollywood battle. The Wrap takes a shot at analyzing the dollar war between Redbox and the movie studios.

Let’s watch a magazine. In a marketing stunt, CBS is inserting a video clip into a copy of Time Inc.’s Entertainment Weekly promoting the network’s fall season for readers on the coasts. The network wouldn’t say what the promotion costs. CBS marketing chief George Schweitzer cracked that it was more expensive than a can of Pepsi, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Remembering Don Hewitt. The producers behind ‘Terminator Salvation’ have filed for bankruptcy. Jay Leno outlines his new prime time show. News Corp.’s MySpace is near a deal to buy music website ILike. Did Comcast goof by getting involved in Olympic Channel debacle?

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter.

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