Connected TV viewing leveled off after being “pulled forward” due to COVID-19 in 2020, reported Leichtman Research Group Friday. Some 39% of adults in U.S. TV households watch video daily on an internet-connected TV, vs. 40% in 2020 and 31% in 2019. Just over a third of pay-TV subscribers watch video daily via a connected TV vs. 50% of non-pay-TV viewers. Some 43% of TVs in U.S. households are smart models, up from 32% two years ago. Fifty-five percent of TV households have at least one stand-alone streaming device, vs. 49% in 2019. Households with at least one connected TV device inched up to 82% from 80% last year and 74% in 2019. The April-May survey was of 1,250 consumers online and about 750 via phone.

Eighty-two percent of U.S. broadband households buy over-the-top video service, reported Parks Associates Thursday. High penetration is leading virtual MVPDs to explore new strategies, including expanded IP and AI-powered enhancements, said analyst Steve Nason. Service stacking is trending higher, with 46% of households subscribing to four or more OTT services, said Matt Smith, Symphony MediaAI vice president-business development, saying vMVPDs wonder “when, not if, the tipping point will come.” Preventing churn requires “solving the industry’s core challenge: making it easy for consumers to find exactly what they want,” said Scott Hancock, Plex vice president-marketing. Parks holds its virtual Future of Video conference Wednesday.

ISP and internet groups allied before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday in amicus briefs in support of Cox's appeal of a U.S. District Court's upholding a jury's $1 billion verdict that it's liable for subscriber copyright infringement (see 2101130025). NTCA, CTIA and USTelecom said (in Pacer, docket 21-1168) the 4th Circuit should clarify when, if ever, an ISP has specific knowledge that its services are being used for infringing purposes and thus must cut off access. They said for an ISP to be liable for contributory copyright infringement, it must know that it can do something about it, but transmission ISPs aren't able to do anything but cut off service on the assumption future infringements might happen. Because of the verdict against Cox, "transmission ISPs may have no choice but to terminate consumers’ internet access on a massive scale," they said. The Internet Commerce Coalition warned of "crippling damages." It's "Draconian" to require ISPs, on the basis of vicarious and contributory copyright liability, to terminate service to users accused of piracy, the Internet Association said. It said the lower court wrongly says Cox benefits from infringements by its subscribers since those are a minority of subs. IA said terminating access isn't reasonable "because it is a grossly disproportionate response to accusations of illegal downloading." The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology, American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries and Public Knowledge said affirming the lower court "would have dangerous consequences" because terminating an account "potentially cuts off every household member," and lack of broadband competition may mean no other way to connect. They said the "staggering and poorly justified" $1 billion statutory damages award against Cox "thwarts basic principles of due process and the public interest." IP law professors said there's no proof the infringing activity is a draw for subs, thus no proof Cox received direct financial benefit from piracy.

Warner Bros. Discovery will be the new name of AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery when they combine next year, said Discovery CEO David Zaslav Tuesday. The companies announced last month (see 2105170051) the $43 billion deal that will give AT&T’s shareholders 71%. For more, see here.

Altice service quality in New Jersey is improving due to increased network investment, the company said in a Friday-posted response to a Board of Public Utilities probe. The cable operator now responds to more than 90% of customer phone calls within 30 seconds, abandons fewer than 3% of calls “and has seen a noticeable decline in call volume overall and calls raising service issues,” it said in docket CX21020139. Altice resolved more than 99% of customer complaints BPU brought to the company’s attention since early 2020 and met with 18 of 23 municipalities that raised concerns, it said. The board held a hearing in March (see 2103160021).

NCTA asked the FCC to grant Midco and the Connect America Fund Phase II Coalition's petition for limited waiver to "align the CAF Phase II location requirements with those more recently adopted by the Commission for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund," said a letter posted Thursday in docket 10-90. CAF II recipients should be subject "to the same 65 percent location threshold for support reductions that applies to RDOF recipients, rather than having their support reduced for every location overestimated by the cost model," NCTA said. The Wireline Bureau previously granted a similar waiver allowing CAF II recipients to be subject to the letter of credit requirements adopted under RDOF.

The FCC rightly deciding noncash cable-related extractions by local franchise authorities count as franchise fees and wrongly went with market value for their worth, which should be assigned equal to the cable operator's marginal cost here. That's per the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday partially denying and partially granting petitions challenging the commission's 2019 LFA order. Deciding were Judges Raymond Kethledge, Richard Griffin and David McKeague, with Kethledge penning the docket 19-4161 decision. Oral argument was in April (see 2104150051). The court said the fee on broadband services levied by Eugene, one of the petitioners, doesn't count as a franchise fee but is preempted. It rejected the challenge to the FCC saying a cable operator can go to court on a request for public, educational and government channel support that's considered excessive. The FCC and counsel for petitioners didn't comment. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called the ruling “a good win for every American that wants better, faster and cheaper internet service.” The 6th Circuit decision upheld “key reforms that the 2019 FCC majority put in place,” he said. “Now is the time to double down on those successful infrastructure reforms, which allowed providers to increase speeds, lower consumers' monthly bills for broadband and extend their networks to more Americans.”

Roku’s dispute with Google over what it calls unfair terms (see 2104260071) for YouTube TV “has nothing to do with an economic deal,” Roku Chief Financial Officer Steve Louden told investors: Roku is "not asking for any more money or any more value." The streaming platform company is asking Google "to be reasonable" by not manipulating search results on Roku, not making Roku divulge personally identifiable information in consumer data “that we don’t provide to anybody,” and not requiring things on the device side “that would increase our cost basis, erode our [bill of materials] cost advantage” from Google streaming products including Chromecast and Android TV, he said Monday. Google didn't comment Tuesday.

The FCC wants comments by June 21, replies July 6 on Comcast's petition for a waiver of certain E-rate rules for its Lift Zone initiative, said a public notice Friday in docket 02-6. Comcast asked to waive the gift rule and requirement that libraries pay the "non-discount portion of services" (see 2105130059).

NCTA noted fears the chip shortage could slow broadband deployment. Federal policy on the shortage should be industry- and technology-neutral, NCTA blogged Thursday. It said government efforts to bolster this supply chain, if not "equitable," could strand the tens of billions of dollars being invested in broadband through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction and other actions. NCTA said the U.S. should invest more in R&D and chip manufacturing capacity, and it wants the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act fully funded.