Internet Programming

Journalists like to talk about "owning" a story. But the people at RadarOnline.com have practically stamped their corporate logo on the forehead of Nadya Suleman, the "Octo-Mom" from Whittier whose shockingly prolific reproductive habits have made her a media sensation. They really, really love to talk about Octo-Mom over at RadarOnline. In fact, since the news of her octuplets first broke in late January, the website has published 56 items about her, an average rate of nearly two per day.

If there is one thing that every studio, network and cable channel has in common these days, it's that they are all frantically obsessed with finding the Next Hot New Thing -- i.e. a compelling pop culture concept or phenomenon that will spawn a new hit franchise.

Hollywood talent agencies pride themselves on placing their star clients into the biggest movies and TV shows. Now, add YouTube to the list. William Morris Agency, one of the largest talent firms, is in talks for a deal that would funnel its clients -- both actors and consumer brands -- into videos created for the Internet giant.

An old-fashioned Kentucky thunderstorm is coming down around him, but Rick Dees doesn't mind -- he's on a mission to start something new. Crackling through a bad cellphone connection while preparing to board a plane from Louisville back to Los Angeles, the popular radio host explains that he has been out promoting his new Web channel, All Number 1 Hits, with teen sensation Miley Cyrus.

Walt Disney Co., seeking to broaden the audience for its broadcast and cable shows on the Internet's most popular video site, struck a deal Monday with Google Inc.'s YouTube to distribute short-form content from ESPN and ABC. The agreement would extend the Internet reach for ESPN's sports highlights and ABC News updates and provide another outlet for video snippets taken from the ABC broadcast network and ABC Family cable channel shows.