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Morning Fix: HBO leads Emmy nominations. Dish wants FCC to block Comcast deal.

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After the coffee. Before scrutinizing the Emmy nominations.

The Skinny: I watched the first episode of FX’s “The Strain.” I won’t give anything away but I will say you will never hear “Sweet Caroline” the same way again after watching it. Today’s headlines include the Emmy nominations. Also, satellite broadcaster Dish Network tells the FCC it should block Comcast’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable, and Nielsen lets a Univision radio station off the hook even though it tried to manipulate ratings.

Daily Dose: After unsuccessfully arguing that it was an antenna service and not a distribution system, Aereo is now saying the opposite. The start-up company that streams local TV signals over the Internet via remote antennas was found to be in violation of the Copyright Act by the Supreme Court last month. Now Aereo has told a lower court that it will pay the compulsory license that cable operators pay to cover carrying copyrighted materials. However, even if that move is successful, broadcasters are likely to push the FCC to define services such as Aereo as cable operators as well, which means they’d have to pay retransmission consent fees to get access to their channels.

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Maybe they should rename the Emmys the HBOs. The Prime Time Emmy Award nominations were announced early this morning and there were few surprises. HBO again was the most nominated network with “Game of Thrones,” “True Detective,” “Girls,” “Veep” and “The Normal Heart” cleaning up. Also doing well was FX, thanks to “Fargo,” “Louie” and “American Horror Story,” and AMC with “Breaking Bad.” Netflix can boast, too, as “House of Cards” got lots of love. The broadcast networks had little to feel good about, especially on the drama front. News and early analysis from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Variety, and Deadline Hollywood.

Just say no. Satellite broadcaster Dish Network wants the Federal Communications Commission to block Comcast’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable. In meetings this week with top FCC officials including Chairman Tom Wheeler, Dish said Comcast would gain an unfair advantage over other distributors when it comes to buying content and that it would have the ability to stifle new distribution platforms that might compete against it. Dish also expressed concern about AT&T’s announced acquisition of satellite broadcaster DirecTV. That is somewhat ironic given Dish also was in merger talks with DirecTV. Coverage from the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. Separately, programming giant Discovery Communications has retained powerful D.C. lobbying firm Glover Park Group to lobby against Comcast, reports Capital New York.

Is Sgt. Schultz in charge? Nielsen said it would not sanction a radio station owned by Univision Communications despite the fact that an executive there had tried to manipulate ratings. The executive, who was fired, had access to several of Nielsen’s portable people-meter devices and used that to drive ratings way up for KSCA-FM in Los Angeles. Although Nielsen adjusted the numbers after learning of the incident, it declined to impose any further punishment against the station. Details from the Los Angeles Times.

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Who will play Leslie Moonves? In a bit of generous casting, Robert Redford will play former CBS News anchor Dan Rather in a movie about a controversial story on President George W. Bush’s military record that ended up leading to Rather’s demise at the network. Cate Blanchett will play producer Mary Mapes, who did much of the legwork on the “60 Minutes II” story that alleged Bush got preferential treatment to avoid serving in Vietnam. The scoop from Deadline Hollywood.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Kenneth Turan on “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

Follow me on Twitter. It just makes life a little better. @JBFlint.

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