Friday Items

’30 Rock’ premiere down from last year

ABC wins Thursday night; ‘Grey’s’ top performer

Despite winning yet another comedy series Emmy less than a month ago, NBC’s “30 Rock” declined in its season premiere Thursday compared to 2008, on a night when ABC topped the 18-49 demo and CBS per usual won in overall viewers. ● More from: Variety

ABC wins its fourth straight Thursday

Averages a 4.0 in 18-49s, 14 percent ahead of CBS

ABC maintained its firm hold on Thursday night, even with “Grey’s Anatomy” slipping from the previous week. ● More from: Media Life Magazine

Will Letterman leave by next summer, or…?

I have it on good authority — let’s call this one better than a hunch — that David Letterman has not, repeat not, signed an extension that will keep him on “Late Show” through 2012, as widely reported early last summer. ● More from: newsday.com

Fast Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland

Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right. ● More from: CNN.com

Jon Stewart on the GOP’s Support for Gang-Rape

As Jon Stewart reported on last night’s Daily Show, 30 GOP Senators (that’s 75% of all Republicans in the Senate for those keeping score at home) recently voted in favor of KBR and Halliburton’s right to gang-rape employees. ● More from: Comedy Central

N.B.A. Takes Multimedia Rule Book Online

The N.B.A. rule book defines a second-degree flagrant foul as “unnecessary and excessive contact,” and leaves the painful details to the imagination. ● More from: NYTimes.com

Can Hulu Save Traditional TV?

Even for Hollywood, where long odds and high stakes are staples of storytelling, the plotline is a doozy: A couple of old business rivals facing the threat of a lifetime agree to put aside their differences and join forces on a half-baked experiment that makes them laughingstocks. (We’re thinking Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty.) And who do they put in charge? A young guy, a newbie to the biz. He promptly cleans house and hires an even younger guy who’s halfway around the globe. These renegades throw out the rule book — and they pull it off. Their idea kills. The naysayers feast on crow. ● More from: Fast Company

New York Times Bay Area Edition Rolling Out Friday

The rumors are about to become official: starting this Friday, Oct. 16, The New York Times will add a Bay Area metro report to its Northern California editions on Fridays and Sundays. ● More from: mediabistro.com: BayNewser