Cash for Content

Reader Joel wants to know what I think about the news that Seth MacFarlane's made a Windows 7-sponsored Family Guy episode that's airing this Sunday.  TechCrunch seems devastated, reading the episode as a sign that MacFarlane's irretrievably sold out Family Guy.  I can't say I much care.  I don't know how much of Family Guy there was left to sold out.  30 Rock's been joking about commercial exploitation of content for going on four seasons now.  It's a fact of life.  And MacFarlane, who has never seemed particularly shy about making a buck, is probably just ahead of the rest of us on the curve.

Update: Commenter David points out that "Microsoft backed out because someone actually watched the show. The commercial free broadcast will be sponsored by the Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes flick."  My massive shrug remains the same.