From MarketWatch: "CBS News said Thursday it would simulcast the 'CBS Evening News with Katie Couric' online when the revamped program and its new host debut Sept. 5, as CBS Corp. keeps up its efforts to reach a growing Web-based audience.

"The news follows CBS's announcement earlier this  week that it would stream several of its prime-time television programs beginning in September [read previous RAIN coverage here]...

"CBS News President Sean McManus said in an interview that the March Madness experience showed that 'quality live programming' shown on both the Web and television can each draw large audiences, putting to rest fears that the two might cannibalize each other...

"Following the live, advertiser-supported simulcast, 'Evening News' will be available as an on-demand Web  offering...

"In addition, several other components of 'Evening News' are to be made available over the Web, including a blog titled 'Couric & Company,' which will be updated throughout the day with reports from various CBS News correspondents, links to free video items and other content, and 'CBS News First Look with Katie Couric,' an online exclusive featuring the anchor's rundown of stories that are being considered for coverage on that night's 'Evening News.'

"Two other features, 'Eye to Eye,' which offers extended interviews with a given day's newsmakers conducted by Couric or a CBS News correspondent, and 'Katie Couric's Notebook,' a one-minute look into a top story or issue by Couric, will be made available as audio and video podcasts at iTunes."

Read the entire article at MarketWatch.

From the Washington Post: "You've had it with the disappearance of musical variety on the radio. You spend all too many hours in the car and you'd like one source for sophisticated music choices, a range of news and talk, comedy,  audiobooks, kids' programming, and as full a menu of sports as cable TV offers. You're finally ready to shell out $13 a month for what used to be free.

"But you can't tell the difference between the Coke and Pepsi of the satellite radio business, Washington-based XM and New York-based Sirius.

"I've spent the past four months with both services in my car and house, listening to just about all of the two companies' combined 300 channels. Conclusion: Like colas, satellite services do differ, if subtly...

"As both services reach beyond the early adopters to capture a mainstream audience, they are looking to big-name celebrities to win new subscribers...

"But while both services vie for big names, the main attraction on XM (6.9 million subscribers) and Sirius (4.7 million) is the music. The tunes are often similar; how they're presented is the difference.

"In their original visions, the competitors touted a world of musical choice unfathomable on FM radio; they promised all the formats that listeners enjoyed before corporate consolidation so greatly narrowed the kinds of tunes available on free radio, plus lots of niche formats never before heard on the air.

"Sadly, however, that vision yielded to a more mainstream approach. And some of satellite's early experiments have already been pulled down from the bird...

"XM subscribes to more of a jukebox model, providing long sets of uninterrupted music on many channels. The theory is that since song and artist names appear on satellite receivers' displays, most listeners just want the tunes, thanks. On Sirius's more highbrow channels, especially, announcers provide more background about the music than do the deejays on similar XM channels...

"In general, if you're looking to hear new music and understand where it fits in, Sirius is the place. If you'd rather the jocks let the music do the talking, XM's for you."

Read the entire article at the Washington Post.

From Digital Music News: "Radio Disney is now the latest addition to the iTunes radio dial, part of a continued expansion for the channel.

"Radio Disney, which is targeted towards kids and tweens, is already present in fifty terrestrial markets in the United States - often on the AM band. The channel will be filed under 'Top 40/Pop' within iTunes, alongside a heavy selection of other stations.

"Jill Casagrande, a top executive at Radio Disney, pointed to a younger demographic that is 'advancing a digital media revolution,' and 'accustomed  to listening to their music, their way'. That makes the iTunes a smart distribution point for the channel, and both companies will likely feel the lift."

Read the entire article at Digital Music News.