Comcast and Fox Networks Group reached agreement for Comcast to continue carrying the Big Ten Network and all the Big Ten games on FS1, they said Friday. BTN will be available to Comcast customers in states with Big Ten universities, and Xfinity customers in Delaware and the Washington, D.C., area will also receive their network given their proximity to such schools. In coming months, customers outside of the Big Ten states will have BTN access as part of Comcast’s Sports and Entertainment Package.

Cableview Communications, disappointed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision Thursday affirming a lower court's tossing out of its litigation against Time Warner Cable (see 1808230014), is reviewing its procedural options, including a possible motion for reconsideration or rehearing, outside counsel Jack Webb told us Friday.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta affirmed a lower court's rejection of a Cableview Communications lawsuit against Time Warner Cable. Cableview sued TWC in 2013, claiming TWC interfered in FTS USA's 2012 purchase of Cableview assets including TWC service agreements (see 1604010052). In the docket 17-10701 decision (in Pacer) Thursday, Judges Kevin Newsom, Elizabeth Branch and Lanier Anderson rejected Cableview arguments it resolved under duress an indemnity claim brought by TW. It said there's no evidence TW engaged in wrongful acts or threats when negotiating that settlement, and the settlement was clear enough to foreclose against TW claims of tortious interference and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Cableview outside counsel didn't comment.

California's McGill rule impedes or precludes bilateral arbitration, and thus conflicts with federal law and is pre-empted by the Federal Arbitration Act, appellant Comcast said in a docket 18-15288 reply brief (in Pacer) Wednesday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Comcast is appealing lower court denial of its motion to compel arbitration of subscriber claims it fails to properly disclose the true pricing of cable packages (see 1808030047). It said the McGill rule -- which voids contracts that deny consumers their non-waivable rights to pursue claims for public injunctive relief -- makes unenforceable individual contract provisions but doesn't provide grounds to revoke a contract. It said McGill doesn't apply in this case since the subscribers had an opportunity to opt out of arbitration and chose not to. Appellee counsel didn't comment.

Comcast's not reaching an interconnect agreement with advertising spot representation firm Viamedia isn't a form of anticompetitive conduct, said U.S. Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve, sitting by designation, in a U.S. District Court docket 16-cv-05486 ruling (in Pacer) in Chicago last week, agreeing with Comcast's motion for summary judgment in Viamedia's complaint. Viamedia sued in 2016, charging monopolization behavior by Comcast in markets where it operated interconnects (see 1607250037). The judge said Comcast didn't allow Viamedia access to the Chicago, Detroit and Hartford, Connecticut, interconnects, but it had no duty to deal with Viamedia and there's no evidence it was active in tying, exclusive dealing or other exclusionary conduct. Viamedia outside counsel didn't comment Tuesday.

The FCC continues to ask the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hold in abeyance NCTA's appeal of the agency's 2008 cable leased access order. In a docket 08-3369 status report (in Pacer) filed Monday, the FCC said if the agency ultimately decides to vacate the order being challenged, the appeal "will become moot." Commissioners in June adopted a Further NPRM proposing to vacate the order (see 1806070021).

Charter Communications has entered into all interconnection agreements with qualified parties as required by the FCC order allowing its buys of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, Charter said in its latest annual interconnection report, posted Thursday in docket 16-197. All such interconnection agreements have been submitted to the FCC, it said.

Gracenote's new mobile video analytics tool gives MVPDs, video streaming services and hardware makers visibility into performance of mobile video streaming applications and how it affects user behavior and engagement with their platforms and competitors, said the unit of Nielsen formerly owned by Tribune (see 1612200022). It shows wireless providers areas of network congestion.

Growing virtual MVPD services like Sling TV and DirecTV Now helped mitigate some subscriber defections of traditional MVPDs in Q2, Kagan said Thursday. Cable, direct broadcast satellite and telcos lost 860,640 video subscribers, for 89.4 million residential customers and 92.2 million overall. DBS had its second-largest quarterly decline, at 478,000. AT&T's DirecTV Now and Dish Networks affiliate Sling TV numbers cut overall quarterly subscription losses about 45 percent and raised the residential figure to 93.5 million. Residential MVPD penetration is 75 percent, when including Sling TV and DirecTV Now. The quarter had the second largest Q2 video subscriber drop for cable since 2015, bringing year-to-date losses to 685,790. Telco video losses improved, with the industry losing 56,000 subs, a fraction of its typical quarterly losses the past two years. Others have also said vMVPDs offset some traditional MVPD customer losses (see 1808150010).

BMG won't be barred from referring to copyright infringement as stealing, theft or some similar term when issues remanded to U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, are retried, Judge Liam O'Grady said in a docket 14-cv-01611-LO-JFA order (in Pacer) Tuesday. The judge said such a bar, as requested by Cox (see here, in Pacer), wouldn't be appropriate since such language is "not unduly prejudicial" to the company. The ISP argued such argumentative statements "risk confusing the jury" and asked that BMG counsel be ordered to use instead such language as "alleged infringement of BMG's Copyright rights." The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February reaffirmed the lower court's denial of a safe harbor defense for Cox in BMG's copyright infringement complaint and remanded the case for a new trial because of jury instruction errors (see 1802010026). That is scheduled to begin Aug. 28.