TVSquad

• The WGA-East declares that "Ellen DeGeneres Not Welcome in NY."
• Lost's co-creator Damon Lindelof announces, "Television is dying" in the New York Times.
• Some soap writers are crossing the picket line to resume work.
• Today (Tuesday) was dubbed "Picketing with the Stars" as 100 actors from 30 TV shows joined the picket line at Universal Studios in a show of solidarity.
• Seventeen entertainment blogs went dark for a day in support of the writer's strike.
• Peter Chernin (president of Fox's parent company, News Corp) bragged that the strike is "probably a positive" for the company as it will most likely save them money.
• CBS News is preparing for a possible strike by 500 of their news writers.
• The Simpson's Mr. Burns tells striking writers they can't have the internet: "It's Mine!"

Early next year NBC Universal will launch Didja.com, a YouTube-like video site made just for advertisers. The site will feature TV spots both old and new, movie trailers and other brand-related stuff. Advertisers will also include special offers and promotions to coincide with their specific channel.

The idea was concocted by executives at the NBC Universal-owned USA cable network, so expect lots of ads for that particular network when the site launches. Eventually, other NBC Universal properties will show up on the site, as well.

We've been telling you about NBC Universal and News Corp's new YouTube-esque video service for awhile now, and today The Hollywood Reporter has news that the service has added the following channels to its lineup:

• Fuel TV
• Sundance Channel
• Oxygen
• Speed

(S18E22)

Rod: Daddy, what are you doing?

Ned Flanders: Imploring people I never met to pressure government with better things to do to punish a man who meant no harm for something nobody even saw, that's what I'm doing!

Like I said in my other review, the "24 Minutes" episode, on the surface, seemed like the better choice for the 400th episode, but I'm glad they picked this one. The only reference to this being a milestone of some sort occurred in the opening: a short from the Tracey Ullman days showing Homer trying to take a picture of his family. It was nice and simple and a way of saying, "hey, we've been going at it this long, and we're going to keep going." Maybe I'm just not one for a lot of fanfare and hoo-ha, but I found that quite touching.

You've all heard about the upcoming video-sharing site from NBC and News Corp. Well, now CNET has joined the venture and will be providing content for the new site. CNET, which also owns GameSpot.com and TV.com, will provide "thousands of clips" to the new service and also serve as a distributor. NBC and News Corp already have distribution deals with Yahoo, MySpace, MSN, Comcast and AOL (which owns TV Squad).

The site launches this summer with full TV episodes and more from close to twenty television networks and two movie studios.

I'm always in favor of more ways to view television programs, so I'm anxious to see how this new site turns out. I just hope they allow user comments like YouTube does, because if I can't read a comment from CyberMonkey56 in Sheboygan telling me "thjs showes is sucks!" it's just not worth my time.

If you somehow found yourself feeling unsatisfied after last week's inspirational "Idol Gives Back" smorgasbord, you can always head over to iTunes for a second helping.

For a limited time, iTunes is offering video and audio versions of the performances as well as some exclusive content that wasn't televised during the original air date.

While you can expect to pay a nominal fee for everything you download, all proceeds will be distributed to relief organizations within the U.S. and Africa via the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund.

Although "Idol Gives Back" has already brought in $60 million in donations, it's nice to see some ancillary methods like this iTunes arrangement continuing to bring even more money to the charitable cause.

Check out the American Idol official Fox Site for more details.

Citing sources close to OJ Simpson, Time is reporting that certain publication rights from his book, If I Did It, Here's How it Happened, could revert back to him before next Christmas. That means the book may still see the light of day, somewhere. Several European publishers have expressed an interest in the book, a "fictional" account of how Simpson would have committed the murders he was accused of had he actually done it. If the book ever gets published, here or abroad, Simpson is welcome to use this hypothetical blurb, written in the spirit of the book, based on what I would have said had I actually read it:

News Corp., Viacom, NBC Universal and CBS have been chatty-chatting with one another since the beginning of the year about one very important thing: THEY MUST KILL MISTER BOND. Wait, sorry, that's incorrect. I have trouble thinking of Rupert Murdoch and not seeing him seated at the head of a long table stroking a small exotic animal like some James Bond villain.