Might Liberty Media's John Malone be willing to give up its super-voting shares in IAC – and let both parties drop their lawsuits – if the scream queen just hands over HSN?

The TV shopping network is among the few bright spots in IAC's latest earnings report. A year ago and a few times in recent months, a similar deal to exchange assets was on the table, but was squashed because of concerns about HSN's future; the unit's 8 percent gain this quarter, under Nike import Mindy Grossman, might have calmed those fears.

With HSN, Liberty Media would have a lock on television shopping, given its ownership of QVC. (What else is out there? The Jewelry Network?) Malone's company, meanwhile, is thisclose to securing its buy of DirecTV from News Corp., a deal that's been lingering in front of the FCC for the past year. Chairman Kevin Martin has lent his approval of the deal, with a few small restrictions like Liberty ridding itself of interests in Puerto Rican cable systems.