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Daily Bagel: Tennis channel wins major FCC ruling

The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Great news for tennis: In a groundbreaking ruling, the FCC has found in favor of Tennis Channel in its ongoing program carriage dispute with Comcast. You can read more about it here, but what's the upshot? While Comcast is likely to appeal the decision, if it stands, it means Comcast must give Tennis Channel the same treatment it gives Versus and the Golf Channel (two channels Comcast owns) when deciding how to offer Tennis Channel as part of its cable offerings. Unless Comcast decides to demote Versus and Golf Channel, this means Tennis Channel would move from being an add-on channel, to being automatically included in Comcast's offerings without additional fees. Given the fact that Comcast is the largest cable operator in the United States, this is huge. If the decision goes into effect, Tennis Channel is looking at an additional 20 million homes. That's a lot of potential tennis fans.

• This is jaw dropping: The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells will become the first non-Slam tournament to offer $1 million each to both the men's and women's singles winners, boosting the total prize money offered to over $11 million. Larry Ellision, you sir, are a saint.

• Tom Tebbutt looks back and gives his thoughts on 2011.

• Good list here of 2011's top marketing moments. Sometimes I forget that Mardy Fish is sponsored by Bumble Bee tuna.

• Lots of changes for Jelena Jankovic during the off-season. She's hired a new team based out of Las Vegas, including Henner Nehles, a former UNLV player from Germany, as her new coach, and she's split from IMG.

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