NCTA and Hawaii disagree on replacing basic rate-setting methodology for cable operators, in FCC docket 17-105 postings Monday. Given the little such regulation, a big overhaul would be "a tremendous waste of administrative resources," the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said. The department said it would be "inappropriate" for the FCC to revise its Communications Act Section 623(b)(5) interpretation of whether equipment used to receive the basic service tier should be exempt from rate regulation if the gear also can be used for other signals. It said that would sidestep Congress' "clear intent" and let cable operators avoid regulation by using mixed use-capable equipment. Any replacement of the rate methodology for operators that become reregulated should start with basic service tier rates allowed by the franchising authority before that rate regulation was eliminated, Hawaii said. First-time regulatees would need a new mechanism to reach back to when that operator was subject to effective competition, it said. NCTA said the FCC should continue to set rules about local regulation to give local franchise authorities direction. The association pushed an updated comparative benchmark methodology to compare regulated rates to a sampling of basic tier rates charged by the same operator in communities with effective competition. Or cable operators should have the option of justifying current basic service and equipment rates and future rate increases with simplified versions of forms 1240 and 1205 that don't require looking backward.

The FCC Media Bureau will give enhanced confidential treatment to some confidential and competitively sensitive information that may be filed as part of beIN Sports' carriage complaint against Comcast (see 1902060052), said a docket 18-384 order posted Friday. The order covers such information as affiliation agreements involving Comcast's NBC Sports and Universo networks, plus the cabler's viewership analyses.

Cable rate regulation has no reason for being in today's competitive market, and even though regulation is applicable only to some larger operators and systems, small systems owned by small cablers should be exempt just to eliminate even the threat, the American Cable Association said in an FCC docket 17-105 posting Friday. It said Section 623 of the Communications Act, covering rate regulation, explicitly gives the agency authority to grant such relief. ACA said processes and forms for larger cable systems should be simplified.

Small and midsize cable operators' push for adopting local franchise authority rules proposed in an FCC Further NPRM (see 1902040061) has questionable probative value since it doesn't provide specific complaints or name any alleged offending community, NATOA said in a docket 05-311 posting Friday. That precludes communities giving their perspectives and shows the absence of a market issue, the association said. NATOA said nonfinancial obligations in locally negotiated franchises aren't subject to offsets against franchise fees, and the Cable Act doesn't support the FCC's proposed mixed-use rule.

Charter Communications and New York could be nearing a settlement that would avoid kicking the cable company out of the state. The Public Service Commission Thursday voted 3-1 to confirm Chairman John Rhodes’ latest 30-day extension in case 15-M-0388 (see 1902040053). Commissioner Diane Burman voted no, as she did for process reasons on previous extensions. The parties are “considering proposed settlement frameworks,” and “should reach a term sheet agreement within two weeks and a full written agreement within four weeks,” the Rhodes order said. “The Staff advises that any final settlement will include: (1) an agreement on eligible passings that will count toward the 145,000-passing buildout condition pursuant to the 2016 merger order; (2) a penalty and/or funding provided by Charter to expand broadband access to further customers in addition to those passed pursuant to the buildout condition; and (3) an enforceable schedule to complete the remaining buildout work.” Also at the meeting, the agency cleared T-Mobile buying Sprint (see 1902070009).

IntoPIX introduced a codec that allows Crestron DM NVX AV-over-IP products to deliver high-quality video and still images over a standard 1 Gbps network, it said Wednesday. The company promises “flawless link quality” from source to display without requiring high bandwidth and said the codec supports resolutions up to 8K.

RCN added seven dedicated 4K channels -- Insight TV, Travelxp 4K, The Country Network, NASA TV UHD, C4K360, NatureVision TV and UHD1 -- and special live events coverage, it said Tuesday. It boosted bandwidth speed with 1 Gbps internet and is offering whole-home Wi-Fi and voice remote via TiVo. RCN customers with 4K-enabled set-top boxes have access to more premier channels: Travelxp 4K, C4K360 and NatureVision TV via Vivicast Media. There's a required $7.95 monthly 4K technology fee, says the fine print.

Newsmax TV's cable news channel will be on Altice USA's system for Optimum and Suddenlink subscribers nationwide, the programmer said Wednesday. It said it initially will be in Optimum's Expanded Basic package in the New York City metro area and on Altice's Suddenlink systems within a year.

BeIN Sports is again bringing a carriage complaint against Comcast to the FCC Media Bureau. The bureau dismissed a similar complaint in August (see 1808030038). The redacted amended complaint posted Wednesday in docket 12-1 includes an allegation Comcast unlawfully refused to deal with beIN and asks the bureau to convene a status conference about the necessity for an amended complaint. BeIN now said Comcast favoritism of its NBC Sports and NBC Universo resulted in the company and beIN not reaching a carriage renewal agreement last year and beIN channels with similar soccer and sports programming being removed from Comcast's lineup. Comcast didn't comment.

Harmonic continues to see growing demand for its Ultra HD “solutions,” said CEO Patrick Harshman Monday on a Q4 call. Harmonic’s UHD-related sales rose 58 percent sequentially, “which continues the strong sequential UHD growth trend we saw throughout the year,” he said. “Frankly, it's been a long time coming, and we're pleased to be finally taking advantage of a growing worldwide investment cycle and deploying and monetizing high-quality ultra-high-definition programming.” The cable gearmaker expects total Q1 revenue to fall sequentially, to as low as $80 million from Q4's $113.7 million. Its outlook missed expectations, Raymond James' Simon Leopold wrote investors. "Harmonic’s business pivot has progressed, but the process will take time." The weaker guidance and other financial bad news from Casa "could fuel concerns regarding a pause in cable TV operator spending," the analyst said. Harmonic closed down 8 percent Tuesday at $4.97.