We already noted that Florida Senator Marco Rubio will be appearing on all of the Sunday public affairs programs, but there is a baseball battle brewing too. This weekend the film “42″ is released, about the life of Jackie Robinson.

ABC’s “This Week” is talking about the film and Robinson’s legacy with New York Yankees stars Mariano Rivera and Robinson Cano. Rivera is the last player to wear the number 42, having been grandfathered in when Major League Baseball retired it in 1997. Cano wears number 24.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” has Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, as well as actor Harrison Ford, who plays Branch Rickey in “42,” and Ken Burns, whose PBS series on baseball drew critical acclaim.

Somewhat surprisingly, CBS’ “Face the Nation,” hosted by well-known baseball fan Bob Schieffer, will not be having a segment on the film. Update: “CBS Sunday Morning” did a segment on Robinson last Sunday. Watch below.
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Early this year mediabistroTV launched a brand new video series called “My First Big Break.” The premise was simple: sit down with big names in the media business, and have them explain what their first big break was. We spoke to a number of huge names, including Ken Burns, Spike Lee and Dan Rather. Below is a selection of some of the best “Breaks” we saw this year. And stay tuned for “My First Big Break: Christiane Amanpour” coming Wednesday. Enjoy.

The very first episode of the series featured “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams:

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith told us about his local news days:

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When you hear a letter written by Thomas Jefferson being read by actor Sam Waterston or see a photograph showing the intensity in the eyes of a Civil War soldier, you know you’re watching a Ken Burns documentary.

In this episode of My First Big Break, the iconic filmmaker tells the MediabistroTV crew how he channeled his feelings of humiliation into his first masterpiece on the Brooklyn Bridge and reveals how his mother’s death sparked his need to bring the dead back to life, shaping the style we know today as the “Ken Burns Effect.”

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Watching a Ken Burns film is like watching the past come alive through the expert use of narration and still photographs. So how did he develop his signature style? The iconic filmmaker sits down with MediabistroTV in, “Ken Burns: My First Big Break.”

>UPDATE: Watch “Ken Burns: My First Big Break” in three weeks on MediabistroTV, Thursday, December 6.

And if superstorms on the East Coast and unseasonably warm weather on the West Coast wasn’t enough to satisfy your craving for major weather events, PBS presents an Extreme Weather Night of TV this Sunday (11/18), beginning at 7pm ET.

NOVA gets the party started with the premiere of “Inside the Megastorm” an original one-hour documentary taking viewers moment by moment through Hurricane Sandy. Then Ken Burns gives us reason to give thanks when he presents “The Dust Bowl.” Burns tells the story of the worst man-made environmental disaster in American history in a two-part, four hour documentary detailing how the convergence of a terrible drought and the scramble for the American Dream nearly changed the southern plains forever.

You can view our other MediabistroTV productions on our YouTube Channel.

• David Gregory sits down with filmmaker Ken Burns to talk about his new documentary “The Dust Bowl” for Gregory’s online show “Press Pass.” Burns will be our guest for “My First Big Break.” Watch for that next month on TVNewser.

• “Real Sports” returns Tuesday on HBO. Bryant Gumbel profiles Michael Strahan and takes HBO cameras behind the scenes of his new gig as co-host of “LIVE with Kelly and Michael.”

• CNN is rolling out CNN Trends, a news discovery dashboard powered by CNN-owned Zite. Lost Remote found it’s the best example yet of a TV news outlet uncovering and presenting what people are talking about on social media.

PBS made a slew of announcements during its presentation at the 2012 Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Beverly Hills.

Leading the way was its 2012 Presidential election coverage, which will be featured on “Need to Know,” “Frontline,” “PBS Newshour” and “Washington Week.” The network also announced a pair of election specials to compliment its regular programming. The specials are “America By The Numbers: Clarkston, Georgia With Maria Hinojosa,” which examines the changing demographics of America through the lens of a small town in the Peach State, and”Race 2012,” which uses the election to update viewers on America’s racial landscape.

PBS also announced a new documentary from Ken Burns focusing on “The Roosevelts,” Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor, and a new series “Constitution USA with Peter Sagal,” which has the NPR host traveling across the country on a Harley Davidson to learn about the Constitution.

More, below.

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Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Illinois against DirecTV, the nation’s largest satellite provider, alleging deceptive advertising in claiming that DirecTV subscribers are going to watch “free” football this season. They called DirecTV “a serial false advertiser,” which some people will probably take with a grain of salt, not least because Comcast has been accused of underhanded dealings with consumers themselves.

Here’s the main complaint from Comcast against DirecTV, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter. (The bolding and underlining were made by Comcast, not us.)

“This is a false advertising case against a serial false advertiser. In the wake of the recent resolution of the NFL’s labor dispute, defendant DIRECTV has launched a multi-million-dollar multimedia advertising campaign, baiting consumers with the claim that DIRECTV’s popular NFL Sunday Ticket service — which ordinarily costs hundreds of dollars per year — is currently available for “free” or at “no extra charge.” Unfortunately for consumers the claim of “free” is an outright lie. As none of the ads disclose, the offer is not for free NFL Sunday Ticket service – the offer requires a two-year contract with hefty termination fees for early cancellation, with the NFL Sunday Ticket service automatically renewing in the second year at full price. DIRECTV has gone to great lengths to conceal this fact from consumers. Many of its ads, especially those aired on the radio, simply omit this critical fact altogether while DIRECTV’s television and Internet ads employ a carefully crafted scheme of purported disclaimers that were intentionally designed to deceive as many consumers as possible.”

Comcast is seeking DirecTV’s profits resulting from allegedly misleading misrepresentations, exemplary and punitive damages, legal costs, and an injunction. DirecTV, meanwhile, responded to the lawsuit by saying, “We believe that Comcast’s complaint is completely without merit and plan to defend ourselves vigorously.”

Surprisingly Comcast did not point out that satellite dishes on people’s houses looks kind of low rent.

“Countdown” will return to TV on Current June 20, and host Keith Olbermann is lining up a stable of contributors to appear regularly on the program.

TVNewser has learned that filmmaker Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, comedian Richard Lewis, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and National Association of Free Clinics executive director Nicole D. Lamoureux are among those on board as contributors.

Update: Olbermann just tweeted that he expects to have around 20 regular contributors in total. More to be announced at a later date.

Update 2: It’s Official, announcement from Current TV after the jump.

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Fox Sports thinks soccer is the future in America or, at the very least, a developing market.

The network, which broadcast all 146 Champions League games to American audiences for the first time last year and showed the final on Fox, extended its agreement through 2015.

“In 2009, Fox made an unprecedented commitment to bring the UEFA Champions League to the widest possible U.S. audience, and with this renewal agreement we have raised the amount of coverage to even greater heights,” David Nathanson, general manager of Fox Soccer said in a release. “We are elated to continue our partnership with UEFA and serve as the home of their flagship property through at least 2015.”

UEFA, the tournament’s organizing body, sounds pleased with the new deal.

“Showing the final on Fox’s over-the-air affiliates marks a huge turning point in the American psyche towards football, continuing in this vein for the 2012-15 rights cycle reflects Fox’s ongoing dedication to the best of European football,” Guy Laurent Epstein, head of media rights for UEFA said.

Turner Sports has signed a 14-year deal with the NCAA to operate the digital properties for NCAA.com.

Turner plans to re-launch NCAA.com during the first quarter of 2011 with a focus on increased original programming, enhanced selection shows and live video for all 88 NCAA Championship tournaments across 23 sports. The deal also includes March Madness On Demand.

“Turner Sports is a perfect fit to manage the NCAA’s digital assets,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA interim executive vice president for championships and business strategies. “The agreement will enable Turner and the NCAA to enhance the coverage of all 88 NCAA championships across multiple digital platforms. NCAA Digital will provide fans, student-athletes and their families with reliable, in-depth resources to engage with NCAA championship events both live and on demand.”

Earlier this year, Turner and CBS won a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal to broadcast the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Turner Sports and the NCAA first discussed digital rights during negotiations for a new college basketball deal.

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