NEW ORLEANS -- In a move likely to raise industry hackles, some senior cable engineers are pushing for cable operators to adopt more flexible programming packages to stave off growing competition from such over-the-top (OTT) video providers as Apple, Netflix and Google. Without using the dreaded “a la carte” term, cable technology executives at the Society of Cable Telecom Engineers (SCTE) convention last week urged their counterparts to consider breaking up their traditional subscription packages into smaller chunks of channels and shows. Now that Internet video providers are offering consumers the ability to order individual shows, the engineers said, cable operators should think about changing their decades-old practice of only selling broad tiers and packages.

Industry commenters saw potential problems in various proposals by the FCC to change its rules to push more use of spectrum for wireless backhaul, as proposed in part in the National Broadband Plan. Comments on the Aug. 5 proposals were due this week. The comments said more use of wireless backhaul could both cut the cost of CMRS service and mean better coverage in rural areas (CD Aug 6 p5). The NBP proposed extensive spectrum sharing among the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS), the Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) and the Fixed Service, sought comment on the use of adaptive modulation and on a Wireless Strategies proposal to allow FS licensees to coordinate primary and multiple auxiliary links.

Career FCC staffers are reviewing responses from Cablevision and Fox to see whether negotiations that led up to a carriage blackout that’s in its 12th day were done in good faith, agency and industry officials said. They said Media Bureau staffers are reviewing the responses received late Monday from the companies on their retransmission consent dispute (CD Oct 26 p8) to determine whether to fine either or both if they're found to have acted in bad faith. If the bureau finds that FCC rules on retrans talks were broken, it could have the policy basis to order interim carriage. Because the bureau still lacks a complaint, it may not have statutory authority to order Fox’s three stations in the New York and Philadelphia areas back onto Cablevision, agency and industry officials said.

The S-band spectrum allocated to mobile satellite service is largely expected to be lost as a primarily satellite band, satellite industry executives and lawyers said. The FCC proceeding involved isn’t a major source of interest to companies outside the bands, and there’s little concern over other domestic repurposing of satellite spectrum, they said.

Don’t open the floodgates for more TV programmers to start airing shows based on cartoon characters that hawk goods, by allowing a Viacom cable channel to keep running a show based on characters sell kids’ sneakers, a dozen groups asked the FCC. Those groups and Free Press backed a request by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood that the commission find the Zevo-3 show that began running Oct. 11 on Nicktoons violates the Children’s Television Act. Opposing a petition for declaratory ruling was the cable programmer, Skechers -- the sneaker maker whose Z-Strap, Kewl Breeze and Elastika characters are on the show -- and several ad industry groups. How the FCC treats the petition may show how, under Chairman Julius Genachowski, it will tackle the issue of increased commercialism on kids media (CD Sept 23 p6).

NEW ORLEANS -- Cable engineers are looking at various ways to boost their upstream bandwidth capacity for high-speed data, user-generated video, commercial services and other possible applications, they said at the Society of Cable Telecom Engineers (SCTE) convention. But don’t expect too many moves right away.

An FCC vote on net neutrality principles proposed by Chairman Julius Genachowski in September 2009 appears unlikely before the January open meeting, industry and some agency officials said. Genachowski in particular appears ready to give Congress one last chance to approve net neutrality and broadband reclassification legislation during an expected lame-duck session, though congressional action seems unlikely.

The FCC should block or attach significant retransmission consent conditions to two proposed TV station transactions involving LIN TV, Time Warner Cable said in petitions to deny the deals filed with the FCC Friday. The cable operator is seeking to stop LIN’s purchase of WCWF-TV Suring, Wis., from Acme Communications and Acme’s sale of WBDT-TV Springfield, Ohio, to Vaughn Media, following which the station would be run under a joint sales agreement by LIN. Allowing the transactions would give LIN undue market power in retransmission consent negotiations in the Dayton and Green Bay markets, where it already owns other stations, TWC said in its petitions. LIN and Acme didn’t immediately respond to our queries.

Congress is unlikely to make changes soon to retransmission consent rules despite stepped up lobbying by pay-TV companies trying to make the most of an ongoing dispute between Cablevision and News Corp., according to broadcast, cable and Capitol Hill officials. A bill on FCC handling of such disputes that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has said he'll introduce soon (CD Oct 20 p1) seems unlikely to pass this Congress, they said. Legislators focused on getting re-elected means there’s less time to pay attention now to the blackout of three Fox TV stations owned by News Corp. on Cablevision systems in the New York area, a cable executive acknowledged.

Fox and Cablevision are to describe how they've met a statutory obligation to negotiate in good faith during their retransmission consent dispute, FCC Media Bureau Chief William Lake wrote them Friday. He asked Chase Carey, President of Fox parent company News Corp., and Cablevision CEO James Dolan to explain how each is satisfying the “important statutory obligation” to conduct good-faith negotiations. Also asked: “If you are aware of any conduct by the other side that you believe violates the good faith requirement, please so indicate and provide supporting evidence.” The responses are due at the close of business Monday. Cablevision welcomed the letter. Fox declined to comment.