Morning Fix: Viacom still off DirecTV. Who’s skipping Comic-Con.

After the coffee. Before not going to Comic-Con.

The Skinny: I’m still waiting for my California tax refund. Anyone else out there still waiting? Wednesday’s headlines include a look at who’s skipping Comic-Con, the latest on the Viacom-DirecTV feud and the search for Bob Dylan’s guitar.

Daily Dose: The longer the Viacom-DirecTV fight drags on (see below), the better it may be for some smaller channels. DirecTV has said Hub, the kids channel owned by Discovery and Hasbro, and PBS Sprout will be among the networks it will place in the channel that was occupied by Viacom’s Nickelodeon.

Sitting it out. It seems like everyone in Hollywood is hopping on the 5 and heading down to San Diego for Comic-Con. But as you roam the halls you may notice that a few Hollywood studios are taking a pass on the event this year. Skipping the fanboy fest: 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. More on who’s missing from Comic-Con from the Los Angeles Times.

We’ve got a situation. DirecTV subscribers are on Day 2 without Viacom’s cable channels including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and VH1. The issues are not just about money. DirecTV is also upset at the level of content Viacom puts on the Web for free. While both sides are negotiating, viewers are griping about missing their favorite shows. We’ll see how much griping they do after their bills go up when a deal is reached. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Aereo takes Round 1. Aereo, a start-up that offers broadcast TV programming through the Internet along with a digital video recorder in the sky, won what will be the first of many legal fights against CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox. A federal judge in New York denied a request from the broadcasters for a preliminary injunction against Aereo, Broadcasters claim the service violates their copyright. Details from the Los Angeles Times and Broadcasting & Cable.

Why I should have been a lawyer. Here’s a shocker. The lawyers for the plaintiffs in a class action suit against Ticketmaster for bogus processing fees are going to rake in the dollars while the actual folks who went after the ticketing giant will get ... some discount coupons. A hearing is scheduled in Los Angeles Superior Court, where a judge will hear the complaint of the lead plaintiffs about how much the lawyers got in the settlement with Ticketmaster. More from Variety.

It’s hot in here. Every little kid wants to be a superhero. But it’s not all glamor and girls. Those costumes can get mighty uncomfortable. The Captain America outfit that Chris Evans wore in “The Avengers” took him 45 minutes to get on. A look at the struggles of getting into character for Hollywood’s superheroes from USA Today.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Everyone remembers when Bob Dylan went electric but what happened to the guitar he used may be a mystery.
Follow me on Twitter. I promise no Comic-Con tweets. Twitter.com/JBFlint