Any approval of Charter Communications' buy of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks should ensure New Charter doesn't impose data caps on broadband subscribers, especially since the growth of streaming as a primary means of video consumption means data caps will be a more significant issue three to seven years after the transaction, Roku officials including General Counsel Stephen Kay told FCC staff including Owen Kendler, who's overseeing the Charter review team. An ex parte filing Friday in docket 15-149 said Roku also talked about ensuring New Charter didn't put in place zero-rating schemes if it does impose data caps, and the need for anti-circumvention provisions to make sure New Charter abides with data cap and zero-rating requirements. In a statement, Charter said it "offers its customers a superior broadband product that does not include data caps, usage based billing, a modem fee or an early termination fee." Charter also said it's "committed to this consumer-friendly approach and [we] have no plans to change our practices.” During the FCC's open Internet proceedings, Roku also pushed for restrictions on data caps.

The FCC Media Bureau set a May 26 deadline for comments on a joint NCTA/American Cable Association petition (see 1603080052) to let cable companies send required notice or written information through email to subscribers for whom the operator has a confirmed email address. In a public notice Thursday, the bureau said reply comments in docket 16-126 will be due June 10.

Dish's Sling TV is offering a $20 per month version with live and on-demand streaming Fox content and the ability to stream on up to three subscriber devices simultaneously, it said in a news release Wednesday. The beta service also offers A&E, AMC, Epix, Scripps, Turner and Univision, Sling TV said. Sling CEO Roger Lynch said that "since launch, our customers have asked for more channels and multiple streams. We believe our new multi-stream service ... is the first step in answering their requests." Sling said its Best of Live TV multistream service includes Fox Broadcasting, Fox Sports, FX and National Geographic networks. Its existing single-stream Best of Live TV service -- which includes Disney and ESPN content -- is unchanged, it said.

Citing Major League Baseball and various pay-TV defendants having agreed to offer various choices to consumers, such as the upcoming "Follow Your Team" option for MLB.tv, the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against Comcast, DirecTV, MLB and some regional sports networks are asking for final approval of the settlement. In a memorandum (in Pacer) in support Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Fernanda Garber et al. called the settlement "fair, adequate and reasonable" and asked for final approval. The fairness hearing is April 25, according to court documents. Various MLB fans who bought out-of-market packages at what they claimed were inflated prices sued MLB, the multichannel video programming distributors and individual MLB teams in 2012, claiming the agreement MLB had with the pay-TV companies for distribution of games online and on TV was an "illegal cartel," stifling competition (see 1601210032). The plaintiffs said the defendants certified compliance this month with the notice plan, and of the millions of class members notified via mailings or other notifications by MLB, Comcast and DirecTV or through banner advertisements online, 24 exclusion requests and six objections were received.

Brightcove launched OTT Flow, an over-the-top system to let media and content companies launch their own OTT service offerings, it said in a news release Monday. OTT Flow was jointly developed with Accedo, Brightcove said. It said OTT Flow pricing depends on a user's operating model, with OTT Flow for ad-supported OTT video service starting at $10,000/month, and the service for subscription-based OTT service starting at $15,000/month.

Networks will be able to offer viewers high-dynamic-range (HDR) live linear programming and VOD through a new Technicolor/Vubiquity partnership, Technicolor said in a news release Monday. The joint service will use Technicolor technology for an "in-network HDR up-conversion and delivery service," with the aim being a large expansion of HDR enhanced content available, it said. Along with HDR content, Vubiquity will be able to offer standard dynamic range content up-converted to HDR, Technicolor said. The HDR service is expected to launch later this year, though the two will demonstrate the capabilities at the NAB Show later this month, Technicolor said.

Comcast's response to Entertainment Studios' complaint against the cable company "is absolute proof that the FCC must stand up and prove to the world that they are doing what is in the public's best interest" by forcing Comcast to document its compliance with its voluntary commitment in the NBCUniversal takeover approval process to add independently owned and operated programmers in which African-Americans have a majority or sizable ownership interest, Entertainment Studios emailed various FCC staff including Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake. According to the email -- included in an ex parte filing Monday in docket 10-56 -- Comcast's opposition (see 1604050018) to the Entertainment Studios/National Association of African American Owned Media petition for an FCC investigation of the cable company (see 1603280030) is an example of Comcast "thumb[ing] its nose at its existing merger condition regarding independent, diverse programming." Entertainment Studios also reiterated its claim that Comcast's "white executives are not used to an African American man holding them accountable." In its email, Entertainment Studios noted "Comcast has not executed on the commitments, nor have the FCC enforced the provisions," and compared the agency to the SEC, saying "the same malpractice of a major regulatory agency refusing to do its job lead [sic] to the crash of the world economy." Comcast didn't comment.

Rovi filed a complaint at the International Trade Commission against Comcast, requesting a Section 337 Tariff Act investigation on imports of allegedly patent-infringing DVRs, including set-top boxes, designed with interactive program guides and video recording technology. The ITC sought comments by April 20, it said in a notice slated for Tuesday's Federal Register. Rovi said Comcast “built its interactive cable business on the back of Rovi’s technology” as a licensee but now “refuses to renew its license on acceptable terms” and continues to sell and lease products that copy Rovi’s technology and compete with Rovi products. Arris, Humax and Technicolor have licensed the patents, but their license agreements don’t allow them to provide receivers for use with Comcast’s Xfinity service, Rovi said. It requested a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order banning import and sale of infringing products. Comcast had no comment Monday.

Since CNN and Team Video Services (TVS) were joint employers of numerous technical workers, and CNN violated the National Labor Relations Act when it brought those technical jobs in house and then refused to hire former TVS workers, a court should enforce the National Labor Relations Board's 2015 order that more than 100 employees be rehired and should deny CNN's cross-petition for review, the NLRB said in a petitioner brief (in Pacer) Friday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The appeal stems from a 2007 complaint against CNN alleging workers unfairly lost jobs after CNN took over news operations in New York and the District of Columbia (see 0704130138). Backing CNN in a joint amicus brief (in Pacer) filed in February are the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, International Franchise Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Businesses, National Restaurant Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. NLRB in its brief said despite CNN and amicus curiae arguments the agency retroactively applied new joint employer law standards without acknowledging doing so, its 2015 Browning-Ferris Industries of California decision didn't set a new standard, it merely clarified the decades-old standard. In its brief, the NLRB also argued it properly ordered CNN to reinstate fired TVS workers and restore their employment terms and that CNN has shown no proof that its operations have changed in any meaningful way that would make reinstatement an undue burden. CNN didn't comment Monday.

Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler met last week about the company's proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, Charter said in an ex parte filing Monday in docket 15-149. Charter said it cited the competition enhancement aspects of the deal, especially its broadband network expansion plan, its settlement-free interconnection commitments and its plans for broadband service without usage-based pricing or data caps. Also at the meeting were FCC General Counsel Jonathan Sallet and Charter Executive Vice President-Government Affairs Catherine Bohigian.