Cable mogul John Malone, chairman and CEO of Colorado's Liberty Media, is stepping down from the board of directors at Cablevision after only a few months, citing "conflict of interest" issues. Insiders, though, are buzzing that the move is actually a signal of "conflicts of interest" to come in the near-term future. Maybe some kind of deal involving Cablevision subsidiary Rainbow Media (which owns cable stations American Movie Classics and WE: Women's Entertainment) and Malone's Liberty Media:

"Strategically, it could be that (Cablevision's) Rainbow is contemplating some kind of partnership with Liberty Media in which there would be a conflict of interest... Rainbow could get folded into some of Liberty Media's networks, as Cablevision tries to create more value for its Rainbow networks... Specifically, Rainbow assets could be combined with Liberty's 50 percent stake in Discovery and QVC, which are to be spun out in a separate stock."

These media mergers and acquisitions are always head-dizzying affairs as media moguls divide up the spoils of war, but suffice it to say that John Malone is probably up to something. Stay tuned.