Selected cable operators have a Dec. 20 deadline to respond to an FCC price survey questionnaire, data from which is used to compile the agency's annual report on average rates for basic service, cable programming service and equipment, said a Media Bureau order Tuesday. The bureau said it was past practice to hold off releasing next year's survey until after the report on the previous year's data was released, but it intends starting in 2017 to put out the survey in March, since that would give the respondents certainty about the timing of the survey and standardizing the timing of the receipt of the data. The most-recent report, covering 2014, was released earlier this month (see 1610120036).

Making more video-described content available in its VOD library can work, but Comcast warned the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Media bureaus that technical constraints are involved with video-described programming. An ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 11-43 said executives including Tom Wlodkowski, Comcast Cable vice president-accessibility, met with bureau representatives about video-described programming hurdles such as that digital signals can carry two audio tracks, with the second able to carry a foreign-language translation or video description, but not both: Video description of VOD would require a multichannel video programming distributor "double publish" the content, straining the storage capacity of the VOD platform and possibly confusing consumers. As cable migrates to an all-IP environment, the issue will fix itself, the company said, since VOD content can be stored with multiple audio tracks and the server can send only the specific video/audio track combo the viewer wants. NAB, Time Warner and NCTA (see 1607270060 and 1609200053) in recent months opposed expanding the video description rules as part of implementation of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.

Deep-pocketed companies like Amazon and Google might try to undercut multichannel video programming distributor competition when they launch their virtual MVPD services, perhaps by putting up with negative returns in exchange for growth and increased share, UBS analyst Doug Mitchelson emailed investors Thursday. He said investors are still wait-and-see on virtual MVPDs, but any shoring up of pay-TV subscriber levels in the U.S. could make them a big plus for media companies with such services, and those without would take particularly big hits. CBS also likely will see more virtual MVPDs add its over-the-top service since Google reportedly secured a licensing deal, Mitchelson said. He said since virtual MVPDs seem to be making sports content a key part of their offerings, concerns about skinny bundles hurting Disney/ESPN and Fox and its regional sports networks seem "overdone.”

The NHL Network is now available via Sling TV, making it the first over-the-top provider of the sports channel, Sling owner Dish Network said in a news release Wednesday. The network is part of Sling TV’s Sports Extra package and is $5 per month with a Sling Orange subscription, or $10 per month with a Sling Blue subscription, Dish said.

Louisiana property owner CMP, which had an agreement to lease property to HBO and subsidiaries for filming the miniseries Quarry Series I, is entitled for partial summary judgment against HBO and the others since there is no question HBO's Railway Spine Productions (RSP) is liable for additional fees as set out in the location agreement, plus legal fees and expenses, CMP said in a motion (in Pacer) for partial summary judgment Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. RSP didn't remove its property from CMP's land, the plaintiff said. Since CMP was paid $48,000 for RSP's 48-day use of the property, the $1,500 per day overage fee -- totaling $621,000 Sept. 13 -- is "not so obviously unreasonable," CMP said. In a statement Wednesday, HBO said it denies the plaintiff's claims "and will continue to vigorously defend the case."

Liberty Global is buying the cable business of Polish cable operator Multimedia Polska (MP), Liberty said in a news release Tuesday. MP has an enterprise value of $760 million, but the deal includes potential downward adjustments based on MP operational and financial performance before the close, Liberty said. Liberty said the deal will give it bigger scale in Poland, where it already is the largest cable operator. Liberty also said it would begin upgrading the MP network after close. The deal excludes MP's insurance, gas and energy operations, and is expected to close within the next year, Liberty said.

ABC/Disney content is now available on Android TV through ABC's various TV group apps, ABC said in a news release Tuesday: Viewers can stream various ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD programs.

Comcast is being overly formal when it says Viamedia was required "to follow ritualistic pleading rules" to state its Sherman Act Section 2 claim, including using the word "tying" in its complaint, Viamedia said in a supplemental reply (in Pacer) in opposition to Comcast's motion to dismiss the antitrust complaint against it (see 1607250037). Viamedia said its complaint shows "the substance of anticompetitive tying and exclusive dealing," and competition in the spot advertising market is gone because of Comcast monopoly control over interconnects. Viamedia said Comcast is misreading its claims when the cable company likens them to monopoly theories rejected in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 2006 Schor v. Abbott Laboratories decision, saying the type of tying and exclusive dealing Comcast is engaged in was recognized in Schor as violating the Sherman Act. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve of Chicago ordered Viamedia earlier this month to file the supplemental reply to address specifically the Comcast arguments referencing Schor and other monopoly cases.

All episodes of new ABC series in the 2016-17 season, plus some returning series, will be available to authenticated users of the ABC app and ABC.com, the network said in a news release Monday. ABC also said the in-season stacking will be available via Hulu and some pay-TV on-demand platforms such as Xfinity and DirecTV. The company said with the relaunch of its app over the summer, it added full seasons of 38 past series, plus original and derivative short-form content.

AMC Networks is lending $65 million to content distribution company RLJ Entertainment, the parent of the Acorn TV and UMC streaming services, with the money -- and support from AMC -- to help in developing and distributing RLJ content for various platforms, the two said in a news release Monday. AMC got warrants giving it the right to buy at least 50.1 percent of RLJ common stock, they said. They said with alignment of Acorn TV and UMC with AMC's cable channels and film business, the streaming services will be able to cross-promote, distribute and develop content. RLJ's founder and chairman is Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television who ran it for several years after Viacom acquired it.