Hirschhorn

Jason Hirschhorn, MTV Network's former digital guru, and Ben White, his deputy at MTV, have landed big roles at Sling Media, best known for place-shifting TV content.

Sling Media itself will be shifting into what Hirschhorn calls "phase two" - which aims to open doors for merging TV with the internet, reports AdAge. Sling Media's Slingbox device works by plugging into home entertainment devices - a TV or a DVR, say - and letting users get that content, such as local TV or recorded programs, on laptops and mobile devices anywhere in the world.

Slingbox is controversial with Big Media because it allows the free transfer of copyrighted content across any device - partly why a heavyweight like Hirschhorn came to Sling, to help convince corporations that's not such a bad idea.

"That means more advertising can be sold, subscriptions can be sold and content can be bought," he said. "Media will take up more of an audience member's time than ever before." (Any home in the Nielsen Media Research sample using a Slingbox still would be measured.)