Virtual service providers are signing up live local stations to their lineups at an increasing clip, largely due to the Big Four networks' blanket arrangements letting affiliates opt into such streaming deals, Kagan reported Tuesday. It said CBS over-the-top service All Access has the highest household reach of live local stations among such virtual service providers, with stations reaching 96 percent of total U.S. households. The industry researcher said among virtual MVPDs, Hulu TV reaches 84 percent, followed by Sony Vue at 79 percent and DirecTV Now at 74 percent. Vue has been particularly aggressive in adding live location stations since July, when it raised its monthly subscription price on the strength of its local channel coverage, the firm said

Disney's rumored interest in buying part of Fox (see 1711060062) raises questions, BTIG's Rich Greenfield emailed investors Tuesday. He said news of Disney interest could lead to Fox finding out if other players, such as Verizon or Comcast, might also be interested. The analyst said word that Fox might sell its share of Sky could point to it being convinced regulators won't let the remainder of Fox's buyout of the rest of Sky go through. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is reviewing that deal (see 1710100029). Greenfield said Disney's wanting to increase its exposure to sports-centric overseas cable networks makes little sense. Greenfield said Fox TV Studios could help create content for Disney's over-the-top offering, but most Fox TV content heads would stay with the Fox TV network that would stay with Fox, and HBO's deal for Fox film studio content doesn't expire until the end of 2022. He said Disney/Fox could hit regulatory problems from dominance of film studios and opposition from theater owners and film industry guilds. Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker emailed investors that Fox could go for $41 per share, or $47 if all of Sky were included. She said Fox's cable networks could be worth up to $75 billion, the film business could be valued at $13 billion and the TV business $7 billion. Ryvicker said Fox has attractive assets and Disney "an exceptionally strong" balance sheet.

Fox and Disney didn't comment Monday on reports they had been in talks that would see Disney buying most of Fox, though not its broadcasting or sports assets. Fox stock closed at $27.45, up 9.9 percent, and Disney closed at $100.64, up 2 percent.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing on a decision on set-top box rental litigation, it said in a docket 15-6218 order (in Pacer) Thursday. Appellant Richard Healy sought rehearing of the appellate court's affirmation of a lower court's decision to overturn a jury's verdict that Cox Communications illegally tied cable services to set-top box rentals (see 1710050065).

The FCC's consideration of axing Form 325 reporting requirements for cable operators (see 1710260049) is being met with welcome relief, cable interests tell us, with some seeing as likely a 5-0 vote on the NPRM. With the form "outdated and duplicative" given the multiple forms and schedules video providers have to share with the FCC, its elimination is "low-hanging regulatory reform fruit, so to speak," TDS Vice President-External Affairs Drew Petersen told us. The NPRM on November's agenda asks for comments on whether to eliminate or alternately streamline the annual reporting requirement. The form -- filed by all operators with more than 20,000 subscribers and a random sampling of smaller operators -- has been an annual requirement since 1971, it said. It asks about such issues as numbers of subscribers, network structure, systemwide capacity and programming. The FCC said if it opts to keep the form, it would like input on modernizing it. Form 325 isn't a popular item with MVPDs. NCTA in the media modernization proceeding earlier this year (see 1707060060) said cable operators “devote many hours to completion” each year, even though much of the information is available from other sources, even as online video distributors and non-cable MVPDs don’t have similar filing requirements. One cable company executive said the form is significantly burdensome, but couldn't say how it compares to other reporting requirements. Petersen said as far as regulatory compliance burdens go, public inspection files "are more impactful" due to what needs to be kept and consistently updated, particularly given the utilization rate of those files being "pretty low." A cable official said with the industry also pushing to be allowed more use of electronic notification to customers instead of paper, there's hope that idea might come back around as Chairman Ajit Pai's FCC works through its regulatory modernization and streamlining efforts. The agency in June issued a declaratory ruling allowing cable operators to email annual notices to customers (see 1706190074).

Altice will make its Altice One platform interface available starting next week on New York's Long Island and roll it out across its footprint in coming months, the company said Thursday. The cloud-based Altice One interface ties video, broadband, Wi-Fi and phone services together and offers features including voice search and access to such apps as YouTube and Pandora, it said.

OneLink isn't liable under the "sham" exception for petitioning the Puerto Rico Telecommunications Regulatory Board and other government officials to deny or impede efforts by Puerto Rico Telephone Co. (PRTC) to get into the IPTV business on the island, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a docket 16-2132 decision Tuesday. Petitioning an agency or executive official as an anticompetitive weapon only falls in the sham exception if the petition is objectively baseless, and PRTC never argued any OneLink petitions were that, so those petitions don't support imposing antitrust liability on OneLink, Judge William Kayatta said. In a concurring opinion, Judges David Barron and Juan Torruella said a monopolist could still be liable under antitrust law for a pattern of petitioning even though no single filing in that pattern is objectively baseless. PRTC outside counsel didn't comment Thursday.

TDS Broadband completed buying Crestview Cable in Oregon, TDS said in a Wednesday news release. The deal, announced in August (see 1708040033), adds 21,000 service addresses to the adjacent BendBroadband system acquired by TDS in 2014.

Altice USA, which sells Optimum and Suddenlink-branded TV, phone and internet services, said Tuesday it’s adding Nest connected home products and services. It plans to offer the Nest Aware subscription service that provides intelligent security alerts and continuous video recording for Nest Cam users. Nest devices are available now in select Optimum and Suddenlink retail stores, and Altice said it plans to make the full Nest smart home product line available online, in stores and by phone in the future.

Many small and mid-sized cable operators will have options for accessible user interfaces by the Dec. 20, 2018, deadline, letting them meet accessibility obligations, and others will be able to meet at least some, the American Cable Association said in an FCC docket 12-108 filing posted Tuesday. Consumer groups representing the deaf or hard of hearing pushed for the agency to keep the due date. Monday was when comments on compliance for small and mid-sized MVPDs were due, replies due Nov. 13 (see 1709280057). ACA said commercial options available include the advanced user interface developed by TiVo, and various "plug-in" devices like the TiVo Bolt and a simpler digital terminal adapter under development. Those plug-ins are only partial solutions for some operators since they aren't compatible with QAM-delivered VOD, all-analog systems or systems not offering broadband, ACA said. But it said likely as much as 97 percent of all domestic MVPD subscribers will have access to three or more MVPDs that can provide a talking guide that meets agency requirements. The FCC "set generous compliance deadlines" in its 2013 user accessible interface order, and the ability of people with disabilities to access video programming outweighs "any challenges that may remain" for meeting the deadline, said Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the National Association of the Deaf, American Foundation for the Blind, Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization, and Hearing Loss Association of America.