The International Trade Commission seeks comment by May 10 on a Rovi complaint seeking a ban on import of Comcast X1 digital video receivers based on infringement of a group of Rovi’s patents, said Thursday's Federal Register. The April 27 Tariff Act Section 337 complaint is the third Rovi has filed against Comcast’s X1 set-top boxes, with one having resulted in an exclusion order and another forming the basis for an ongoing Section 337 investigation. Rovi seeks a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale of set-top boxes that infringe this third set of patents. “Rovi launched this campaign in April 2016 by asserting infringement of 15 patents -- 14 of which have been held to be invalid and/or not infringed by Comcast, or have been withdrawn by Rovi,” said a Comcast statement Thursday. “We will continue to defend ourselves against allegations we determine to be meritless.”
"To encourage more broadband deployment," ACT | The App Association members back a Further NPRM to bar local franchise authorities from "duplicative and disproportionate demands in return for" ISPs building broadband facilities, the group told Commissioners Brendan Carr and Mike O’Rielly and aides to the other FCC members. The association itself also holds that position, a spokesperson emailed. The "FNPRM prevents unlawful taxation of broadband deployment," the association reported executives such as NeuEon Chief Technology Officer Scott Weiner; Hacksmith Labs co-founder Thomas Gorczynski; BadVR co-founder Jad Meouchy; Canned Spinach Partner Andrew Savitz; and Communication Circles founder Betsy Furler saying. Not all executives attended all meetings. The association and members "asked the FCC to continue on its current trajectory to ensure that states and localities facilitate 5G deployment without undue delay." The disclosures posted Friday in dockets including 05-311: here, here, here, here and here. The group also asked the agency to continue work to make more spectrum available for unlicensed use (see 1905030050).
Dolby expects the first pay-TV set-top boxes with Dolby Atmos and Vision to hit the market this year, an effort to get more live sports content in each format, said CEO Kevin Yeaman on a call about the quarter ended March 29. Profit rose about 16 percent to $73.4 million from the year-ago quarter, with sales up 13 percent to $338.3 million. Mobile generated 22 percent of revenue; broadcast, 39 percent; among other categories, said Chief Financial Officer Lewis Chew Wednesday evening.
Making clear rights-of-way fees fall under Cable Act's 5 percent cap on franchising fees charged cable operators will free up financial resources for network deployment, Free State Foundation Senior Fellow Seth Cooper blogged Thursday. He said authority to access the rights of way for distributing video content is "inherent" in the cable franchise concept and states and local franchise authorities must be blocked from levying two or more sets of fees as a way of sidestepping Congress' limit.
The latest version of the Altice One operating system includes a sports programming hub and optional voice command, the MVPD said Wednesday. It said the sports hub features an overview of games scheduled for the next 48 hours and the ability to select favorite teams for a customized view.
The Supreme Court will decide May 16 whether to consider related appeals by Comcast and Charter Communications about alleged racial discrimination in their programming decisions (see 1811190023). The court announced Tuesday both cases are to be distributed then (see here and here). In a reply brief Monday, petitioner Comcast repeated its arguments the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversal of a lower court's dismissal of the suit conflicts with other appellate court and Supreme Court decisions about but-for causation and plausibility of claims for relief. But-for causation "remains the 'default' standard today" for Section 1981 federal rights law, Charter said in its reply brief. Outside counsel for respondents Entertainment Studios Networks and the National Association of African American Owned Media didn't comment Wednesday.
Viacom networks will launch on its Pluto TV free streaming service starting May 1, the programmer said Monday. BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon will feature library content. Viacom is rolling out digital-only series for the service.
Cable-TV rule revisions mandating cable operators no longer need maintain a current channel lineup listing at their local office or as part of their online public inspection files are in effect, says Wednesday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the changes at their April meeting (see 1904120058).
The “pay video service arena is turbulent to say the least,” said Harmonic CEO Patrick Harshman on a Q1 call Monday evening. “We have several large customers who are in the midst of a variety of M&A activities, all fighting ferociously with each other as well as a whole host of new players.” A “dimension” of that competition involves “quality of service,” he said. “Incumbents” and “new players” are making “significant investments in new streaming capabilities,” he said. Quality is “a big deal,” he said. “Consumers more than ever are expecting high-quality services.” Streaming is an “opportunity-rich area,” he said. “You see some of our customers on the defense and some of them are on the offense.” They have “more flexibility than they've ever had to go to market with in this really rapidly changing environment,” he said.
Slipping DirecTV Now subscriber numbers mean it has a penetration level well below the 15 percent needed to constitute effective competition, Hawaii said in an FCC docket 18-283 posting Monday. Online video distributors, regardless of whether affiliated with LECs, don't have the inherent market power telcos do in communities served by that facilities-based infrastructure, it said, so the FCC should make clear Congress intends for its statutory LEC test to apply just to facilities-based video programming offerings of LECs and deny Charter Communications' petition for determination of effective competition. The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable, filing in the docket, recapped meetings with aides to all five commissioners at which it said it's not arguing that streaming services can't provide competition to cable, but that DirecTV Now doesn't pass the LEC test for effective competition. It said granting Charter's petition would "provide the elemental framework necessary" to claim all streaming video providers are MVPDs, and broadcasters could put retransmission consent obligations on streaming services and let streamers put nondiscriminatory program access requirements on cable operators. Massachusetts also said the FCC should focus more on the basic cable rates regulation Further NPRM proceeding as a route for easing cable regulatory burdens but without all the regulatory uncertainty. The states have argued against Charter's petition (see 1810260026).