Comcast is backing the plaintiffs suing it in saying a 2015 decision by a U.S. District judge in Philadelphia denying certification of a proposed settlement class should be reversed. In a brief (in Pacer) Monday in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Comcast said the District Court erred in rejecting a proposed $15.5 million settlement in a set-top box class-action lawsuit against Comcast when it said it lacks a reliable and feasible means for figuring out who falls within the class definition (see 1511060011). Those concerns "may prevent class certification in a litigation context [but] do not preclude class certification in a settlement context," Comcast said, adding the District Court wrongly applied 3rd Circuit precedent on litigation classes to the settlement class issue. "This Court has made clear that settlement classes raise different certification issues than litigation classes," Comcast said. It said that in agreeing to settle, Comcast also had agreed that claimants can prove class membership by less-rigorous methods than necessary in court. Appellants in the Comcast set-top litigation filed a similar brief in March.

Upgrades to Cablevision's network to give all customers access to broadband service of up to 300 Mbps will begin the instant Altice closes on its takeover of the cable company, the two said in an FCC filing Tuesday in docket 15-257. It was aimed at giving details on planned investments in the Cablevision footprint post-deal, and the two said Altice will also "maintain and advance" Cablevision's low-income Internet commitment by introducing a 30 Mbps offering for $14.99/month. That low-income offering will come without modem fees to households with children eligible for the National School Lunch Program and people 65 and older who are eligible for federal Supplemental Security Income benefits, so long as the enrollee has not been a Cablevision broadband subscriber in the past 60 days and isn't behind on any Cablevision bills, they said. That broadband offering will begin rolling out within six months of the close of the deal, and be available to all Cablevision footprint customers within 15 months of the close, they said. The FCC unofficial 180-day shot clock on reviewing Altice/Cablevision stood Tuesday at day 173.

Univision is buying ABC's share in their Fusion English-language joint venture, it said in a news release Thursday. Univision said it's immediately taking over ABC's distribution and advertising sales functions, with ownership transfer to come later. In a related move, Univision said it's launching Fusion Media Group, a media holding company for its interests A.V. Club, Clickhole, El Rey, Flama, Fusion, the Onion, Starwipe, Univision Digital and Univision Music.

Dish Network and Viacom agreed to a multiyear carriage contract renewal, heading off a blackout (see 1604200027). They had been operating on a contract extension that expired at midnight Wednesday. In a news release Thursday, they said the agreement also means some Viacom live and VOD content -- including BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Nick Jr. -- being added to Sling TV's single- and multistream lineups in coming months.

Any FCC approval of Altice's purchase of Cablevision should be predicated on the Dutch telecom following national security agreement terms similar to those it signed when it bought Suddenlink in 2015 (see 1512160051), DOJ said in a filing Wednesday in docket 15-127. Justice recommendations also include some minor alterations of the Suddenlink letter of agreement dealing with different deadlines and audit procedures for the Cablevision transaction. Altice didn't comment Thursday. Cablevision said earlier this year that it still expects the deal to close in Q2 (see 1602250011) and the New York Public Service Commission is finishing a review, with a May 20 deadline (see 1604050059). The FCC's unofficial 180-day shot clock for review of the deal was at Day 168 Thursday.

The FCC is seeing some push to follow up its notice of inquiry on independent and diverse programming with action. Tuesday was the deadline for replies in docket 16-41, and the FCC's filing systems were partly down. While numerous large conglomerates have argued that the video market is too competitive for them to have any real gatekeeping power, and that they also provide wide programming diversity in their lineups, indie programmers see the opposite, the American Cable Association said in comments to be filed in the docket. Indie programmers' comments also show that forced bundling is a problem since it constrains capacity on multichannel video programming distributors' systems, that penetration requirements often relegate indie programming to higher tiers, and that most-favored-nation clauses end up preventing carriage of indie networks, ACA said. It said the FCC at some point should move to a diversity rulemaking, and it "can and should act now" through addressing bundling involving stations via its current proposed retransmission consent rules changes and by updating its program access rules to let the National Cable TV Cooperative bring complaints. The FCC also could use its authority under Telecom Act Section 706, which allows for regulating practices -- including video service provision -- if they hinder broadband deployment, it said. The FCC's focus needs to not be on surface issues like what genres of networks are on an MVPD's channel lineup, but on ownership diversity and making sure indie networks have access to those linear platforms, One World Sports (OWS) said Tuesday in the docket. MVPDs often don't have the bandwidth and programming dollars to add such networks because of such practices as forced bundling by large media conglomerates, OWS said, saying the agency's next step should be an NPRM on a prohibition of or limits on forced bundling and tying of programming. Not every indie programmer is seeking an FCC fix. National Religious Broadcasters bemoaned the difficulties indie programmers have in getting carriage but cautioned against "a [regulatory] move in the name of diversity towards a subjective, government-favored content regime or so-called 'fairness' censorship on video programmers or any other form of electronic media." Instead, it said in a filing that it hopes the NOI will lead to programmer talks with MVPDs that result in their being more interested in carriage "for the valuable faith and family programming of religious channels."

Various Wisconsin communities can no longer regulate Time Warner Cable basic rates, the FCC Media Bureau said in an order Tuesday in docket 12-172, rejecting opposition from the cities of Kenosha and Racine. The cities argued that TWC had failed to demonstrate effective competition in the franchise areas and that TWC used ZIP codes in its petition that were not specifically for the cities. Racine also contended TWC hadn't established that rival AT&T's buildout was sufficient. The Media Bureau said in its order TWC had satisfied effective competition determination under the LEC test, that it had shown AT&T's video subscriber penetration in those cities was significant and that TWC had submitted additional information that specifically included Racine and Kenosha. The bureau also rejected arguments from the two cities that TWC hadn't satisfied the competing provider test, because TWC's petition didn't seek a finding of effective competition under that test. The order covers eight communities around Wisconsin.

More than 70,000 U.S. residents have signed petitions against the FCC's proposed set-top box regulations, the Future of TV Coalition said in a news release Tuesday. The coalition has a petition on its website, urging that the FCC "support app-driven innovation and to reject a one-size-fits-all tech mandate that will harm consumers, require obsolete technologies and limit the growth of new content, diverse voices, and new experiences." The coalition, according to its website, is backed by an array of communications companies and associations, including the American Cable Association, AT&T, Cablevision, Cincinnati Bell, Comcast, Dish, EchoStar, ITTA, MPAA, NCTA and USTelecom.

That CNN had "significant, direct and day-to-day control" over the working conditions and assignments of technical workers is proof the company was their joint employer alongside Team Video Services, so the National Labor Relations Board properly applied the joint employer standard in its 2015 order that more than 100 laid-off workers be rehired, labor unions said in a joint intervenor brief (in Pacer) Friday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. NLRB is seeking a court order enforcing its order, and denial of CNN's cross-petition for review (see 1604110021). The unions -- National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians locals 11 and 31 -- also argued those reinstatements aren't unduly burdensome because technology may have changed in those positions, such as photojournalist and studio operator, but "the fundamental nature of the positions ... remains unchanged." The unions also disputed CNN's argument that the NLRB order is punitive in requiring 12 years' worth of back pay and benefits to those laid off in 2003. "The consequences of unlawful conduct are not a penalty, and any harm is largely self inflicted," they said. Oral argument hasn't been scheduled. CNN didn't comment.

The FCC could get an extra 30 days to respond to a complaint from Entertainment Studios Networks and the National Association of African American Owned Media. The FCC and the plaintiffs in a joint stipulation (in Pacer) Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles said they agreed the FCC should have until June 16 to respond to the complaint against it and Charter Communications. The $10 billion complaint charged Charter with racial discrimination in its carriage decisions and accused the FCC of "facilitating sham 'diversity' agreements/[memos of agreement]" (see 1601280063). Charter separately sought and received additional time to respond and now has a May 31 deadline (see 1603280010).