Daily Marauder

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Viacom chief Sumner Redstone and actor Tom Cruise are agreeing to put the past behind them after Redstone ended Viacom’s partnership with Cruise in 2006 because of his public behavior. Redstone says the two agreed to “renew” their relationship during lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel. (Iwantmedia 3/28, http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120665977580270081.html  3/2

HDNet founder Mark Cuban said Wednesday that the Internet was dead as an entertainment source and that cable companies had the best potential to offer high-definition and interactive-viewing experiences in the future. “You guys have the future right here, and you just don’t know it,” Cuban said at a cable show. “The Internet is dead. It’s had its time; say goodbye.” (San Antonio Express-News (Texas) 3/26)

Google TV Ads director Michael Steib says that the Web giant is eager to work with broadcasters to bring a much wider swath of the ad market onto television. Like Web ads, he says, Google’s television ads can be measured for accountability thanks to data pulled from set-top boxes. (Iwantmedia 3/28, http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6545652.html  3/27)

Kyle Chandler, star of NBC’s Friday Night Lights, confirmed the drama will return to NBC for a third season in an interview for NPR’s Fresh Air program, reports B&C. Chandler said an agreement was reached regarding costs so the show can continue and he said production will resume in Austin this June. NBC has not made a statement about the series. (Cynopsis 3/2

Speaking of baseball, overbuilder RCN is set to deliver up to 80 weekly out-of-market MLB Extra Innings games in its systems, including select games to be broadcast in HD. Comcast, Cox, Time Warner and Advance/Newhouse-owned In Demand will deliver the games in both standard and high def to cable operators, leaving it up to individual MSOs to decide whether or not they want to spend the extra bandwidth. A year ago fans were up at arms when MLB almost signed an exclusive deal with DirecTV for the Extra Innings package. (Cynopsis 3/2

Unilever’s Dove brand and MTV have created a new microseries titled “Fresh Takes” and starring R&B singer Alicia Keys. The series, which will play out in three-minute episodes, premiered this week during MTV’s “The Hills.” (The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard 3/27)

The congressional fight over changes to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s media-ownership rules is headed for its first Senate vote next week. A “resolution of disapproval” is co-sponsored by several senators, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. (Iwantmedia 3/28, http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=125972  3/27)

Charter is now offering super high-speed Internet service in parts of its North Texas footprint. Charter’s High-Speed Internet Max, which offers download speeds as fast as 16 megabits per second, allows users to pull in a song in about three seconds. (The Dallas Morning News 3/27)

Comcast is upping its high-definition offerings in California, with HD versions of nine channels going into service as early as Monday. The move involves popular networks such as Discovery Channel, HGTV, USA, Food Network, Sci-Fi, TLC, ABC Family, Disney Channel and Discovery Science. (The Sacramento Bee (Calif.) 3/2