The FCC Enforcement Bureau disrespected Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel and abandoned its responsibility to the public interest by asking for an extension to file comments in a proceeding and then deciding not to do so, said Sippel in an order filed Wednesday in docket 12-122, Game Show Network's carriage complaint against Cablevision. Sippel, at the bureau's request, granted the bureau seven additional days to file comments on a motion for summary decision filed by Cablevision. But Tuesday the bureau filed a submission saying it had carefully reviewed the filings in the case, and it would file no additional comments because the GSN and Cablevision filings “fully and fairly state the issues pending before the Presiding Judge.” This “pointless submission” didn't “enlighten” anyone involved in the case, Sippel said, and insulted his willingness to grant extensions. Sippel ordered the Enforcement Bureau to file comments on whether summary decision is appropriate by noon May 27. The FCC didn't comment.

Competitive alternatives to cable are “ubiquitous,” said NCTA in a meeting Tuesday with an aide to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, according to an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 15-53. The FCC needs to update its effective competition rules “to reflect these marketplace realities,” NCTA said. Opponents of making effective competition a rebuttable presumption haven't demonstrated consumer harm, NCTA said. Even if effective competition rules change, the availability of must-carry broadcast stations still would be governed by the 1992 Cable Act, NCTA said.

The FCC should narrow the scope of the effective competition proceeding (see 1505150035) and take targeted steps to streamline the current process in an effort to assist small cable operators, NATOA said in an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 15-53. The Intergovernmental Advisory Committee also expressed concern that cable operators, once subject to a presumption of nationwide effective competition would seek to move public, educational and governmental (PEG) access channels from the basic tier of service. The commission's proposed rule would not only affect rates charged for basic tier services, but also PEG carriage, uniform pricing within the franchise area and equipment fee increases, the ex parte said.

Charter, Cox and NCTA said cable voice customers understand the services may not work in power outages. Their comments came in a meeting with FCC Office of Strategic Planning and Public Safety Bureau officials on the agency's battery backup and IP transition proceedings. That apparent widespread consumer understanding in the "decade since the Commission adopted disclosure and labelling rules -- a period in which cable operators have added roughly 30 million voice customers -- strongly suggests the current rules are achieving their intended results," said NCTA in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday to docket 13-5. "Cable operators are open to discussing ways in which we could work with the Commission to facilitate the distribution of additional educational material." Consumers relying on legacy voice services may need additional efforts to ensure they understand the capabilities of IP-based networks once they switch to them, and are mainly LEC and not cable operator users and would be covered under any IP transition rules, said NCTA. It, Charter and Cox asked the agency to hold workshops or start a working group "to discuss the myriad issues raised" by extended power outages. Even following such blackouts, "an exceedingly small percentage of cable voice customers purchase batteries" for customer premises equipment, said the association. "Any mandate to provide batteries to all VoIP customers would be tremendously wasteful and would impose significant unwarranted costs on consumers." Cablevision, also an NCTA member, and Charter made similar arguments in another recent FCC meeting (see 1505060046).

The Video Advertising Bureau is replacing the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau to unite nearly all broadcast and cable networks with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), raising the bar on research, data and analytics, and expanding the market for ads in professionally produced video content, said VAB in a Monday news release. The organization comprises 110 networks and the 11 largest MVPDs, it said. Leading the VAB will be the team that has run CAB for the past 12 years, it said. Sean Cunningham will be president-CEO; Chuck Thompson, executive vice president; and Danielle DeLauro, senior vice president-strategic sales insights, said VAB.

The FCC should move forward with the proposal to presume that all cable companies face effective competition, said ITTA in separate presentations to aides to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly, Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday and Thursday, according to an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 15-53. “Opponents of reversing the presumption have provided no evidence of consumer harm in the more than ten thousand communities throughout the United States that already have been found to face effective competition." Friday, Wheeler's office circulated a draft order that would presume all cable operators face effective competition (see 1505150035).

Charter Communications’ proposed buy of Bright House Networks will move forward despite the demise of Comcast/Time Warner, said Charter and Bright House parent Advance/Newhouse in a news release Monday. “The companies have extended their good faith negotiating period for an additional 30 days under the previously announced agreement for Charter to acquire Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion.” The originally announced deal was part of the spinoffs and subscriber exchanges among Comcast, TWC and Charter under terms of Comcast/TWC, but Charter indicated shortly after Comcast withdrew the proposed deal that the Bright House deal could still happen. “The addition of Bright House brings additional scale and strategic flexibility to Charter over time” said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge.

Mediacom withdrew a request for an FCC ruling on pole attachments that the cable operator filed Feb. 19, 2014, in docket 14-52, it said in a filing posted there Friday. The petition for declaratory ruling was yanked because the underlying wrongful death lawsuit against the pole owner, Interstate Power and Light (IPL), by the estate of a deceased Mediacom worker was recently settled, said the cable operator's lawyer, Craig Gilley of Mintz Levin, in an interview Friday. He said part of the settlement called for Mediacom to withdraw its petition. In 2011, a Mediacom employee working on a pole owned by IPL was injured and later died because of what the operator had said was the pole's structural failure. Mediacom had sought a clarification related to an indemnification clause in a pole attachment agreement between a cable operator and utility pole owner. IPL had asked the agency to make other clarifications. A lawyer at IPL parent Alliant Energy had no comment Monday.

Ahead of its June 2 launch of summer programming, ABC Family said it's making all its new series available for sampling across social, digital and physical platforms. The series included in the sampling are Becoming Us, Kevin From Work, Job or No Job, Monica the Medium, Startup U, Stitchers and Next Step Realty: NYC, said the unit of Disney in a Monday news release.

Cablevision's request for summary judgment in Game Show Network's carriage complaint against it is based on the idea that the cable operator can't be found to be engaging in discriminatory behavior “unless it permanently cripples GSN on a nationwide basis,” said the programmer in an opposition motion posted in docket 12-122 Thursday. “Cablevision is wrong.” That “contrary, toothless” reading of the Communications Act would immunize all pay-TV companies from liability, GSN said. By moving the channel from the basic tier to a sports tier, “Cablevision violated the program carriage rules in its zeal to promote its affiliated networks at the expense of a competitor,” GSN said. The operator recently said that if the case goes to trial before a commission administrative law judge, the network won’t be able to prove that Cablevision’s tiering decision involved “discriminatory intent” (see 1504300051).