CBS inks deal with Verizon; Disney/ABC TV unit lays off workers

After the coffee. Before Joe rethinks his vacation plans.

The Skinny: The boss is going on vacation next week and wisely giving me reign over the Fix. Or maybe not so wisely, given I stayed up too late watching “The Thick of It” on Hulu. Today’s headlines include Disney layoffs and a carriage deal between CBS and -- wait for it ...

Daily Dose: There’s still no CBS deal with Time Warner Cable, but there is one with Verizon. CBS Corp. reached a new carriage agreement with Verizon that continues retransmission of CBS-owned stations and “dramatically” increases distribution of CBS Sports Content to Verizon’s FiOS TV customers. It sounds like they reached the 3-year accord pretty quickly.

PHOTOS: Cable versus broadcast ratings

Down and out at the mouse house: Disney/ABC Television Group, which includes the ABC network, local TV stations and the Disney Channel and ABC Family cable channels, is cutting about 175 jobs as part of its restructuring. The move fits with Walt Disney Co.’s larger slimming efforts. Cuts like these don’t always result in worse performance, as we’ve seen with ABC News. Details from the Los Angeles Times and Ad Age.

Iovine out at Idol? It looks like Jimmy Iovine’s going to have a little more time to make headphones with Dr. Dre. Deadline says the record producer is leaving “American Idol” and will be replaced by Randy Jackson as a mentor for the show’s contestants. Iovine came on in Season 10, replacing Simon Cowell, but not really. Cowell and Iovine actually have a pretty interesting history, which Deadline touches on.

CNN up, MSNBC down: There’s no topping Fox News, but CNN had a summer surge, with an assist from the George Zimmerman trial. The other two cable news giants actually slipped compared with last summer, helping CNN push past MSNBC in some categories. Variety has the full rundown.

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

Taming the Beast: Tina Brown’s contract with Barry Diller’s IAC is set to expire in January, leaving the Hollywood Reporter to wonder whether she will continue to run the Daily Beast or move on to something else. Brown was known to spare no expense on Newsweek, which Diller recently sold to International Business Times.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Mark Olsen reviews “The World’s End,” giving the comedy high marks, and Robert Abele assesses “You’re Next.”

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