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.

CableLabs' membership now includes Chongqing Cable Networks of China, said a DOJ Antitrust Division notice in Thursday's Federal Register. CableLabs notified the FTC and the U.S. attorney general, as required by the National Cooperative Research and Production Act, it said.

A CBS/Viacom combination isn't a fait accompli because the two "do not go together naturally," said Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker in a note to investors Thursday as it upgraded its rating of Viacom to "market perform." Ryvicker said a CBS/Viacom doesn't appear imminent and could end up not happening since CBS CEO Les Moonves and National Amusements, the majority shareholder of both companies, "have some corporate governance issues to get through" that would give him free rein to make executive decisions. Exacerbating the issue are the different strategies of CBS and Viacom: "You can't just slap [Viacom] and CBS content together -- that would be like eating pickles and ice cream while not being pregnant." But Viacom is trading at close to its potential floor price of roughly $33 per share, and that should provide some stability to the stock for now, Ryvicker said. Any CBS/Viacom likely wouldn't face big regulatory hurdles, experts have said (see 1610050039).