TVSquad

I sometimes look around the internet and am amazed by the sheer volume of content. People can write about almost anything -- especially when they're obsessed with a specific topic. And a lot of people seem to be specifically obsessed with television.

Not that I can judge. I'm TV addict who writes for TV Squad. But I sometimes wonder if it all really matters. Is anyone listening to any of us? And more importantly, do we have any influence on the television world at large with our opinions and criticisms?

As a devoted TV addict, I headed out last week to cover the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) and listened in on a panel discussion which looked at the explosion of blogs and TV fan sites and questioned their impact (if any) on the industry.

Came across this interesting news while perusing the personal blog of the Newark Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall: The Bravo network, part of the NBC Universal family, has bought Television Without Pity for an undisclosed sum.

In the deal, site founders Tara Ariano and Sara D. Bunting will remain on board as editors, and the site's other co-founder, lead designer and community engineer David T. Cole (who is Ariano's husband) will stay on as a manager of media technology production. The site will be part of the growing number of sites under the Bravo banner, including Brilliant But Cancelled, OutZoneTV.com, and getTrio.com. Ariano's side project, Fametracker.com, was also acquired.

According to Sepinwall, the founders told reporters on a conference call that they will retain full editorial control, which (for now) puts questions of their objectivity to rest. In other words, if they want to eviscerate Top Chef, they're still free to do so. FYI, they also told reporters that the recent closing of a TWoP message board thread on The Real Housewives of Orange County, a Bravo show, was merely a coincidence.