ViacomCBS and Altice's carriage agreement includes rights to access the programmer's streaming services, ViacomCBS said Monday. It said it and Altice will continue to collaborate on addressable media and advanced advertising.
Cable and telecom stocks are hurting from growing investor sentiment telcos' expansion into fiber and cable's play in wireless will force incumbents to cut pricing amid shrinking subscriber numbers, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote Thursday. He said telco fiber overbuilding of cable systems will go from about 30% of U.S. homes now to 55% over the next decade or so. He said Charter's new mobile service family plan makes it more competitive than any telco, and it and Comcast are competing nationally with mobile carriers. Telcos' strategy is riskier because payback on their fiber investments becomes more difficult if prices or penetration falls or if deployment costs rise, said Moffett.
ViacomCBS and nonfungible token company Recur will partner to create a platform where individuals can buy, collect and trade NFTs as digital products and collectibles across the content company's portfolio of franchises and IP, said ViacomCBS Wednesday. It said the NFT platform will launch in spring.
Regional sports network AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain joins fuboTV's lineup through a carriage agreement announced Tuesday. This includes Utah Jazz, Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Rockies regional games.
Altice violated its Keep Americans Connected pledge when it shut off service to small businesses over supposed nonpayment of monthly service charges in the first half of 2020, a Bronx, New York, barbershop owner said in a suit seeking class-action status (in Pacer, docket 21-cv-05540) Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York. It said Altice charging a $180 “illegal 'ransom' fee” to restart service was a violation of New York consumer protection law. Altice emailed Thursday that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic it “has been committed to providing support and relief to our customers, including providing free broadband services to students, suspending disconnections for households and businesses during the height of the pandemic as part of the 'Keep Americans Connected Pledge,' ... While we have not yet received the complaint, we will respond appropriately upon receipt.”
MSG Networks signed a multiyear renewal of its distribution agreement with Verizon, ensuring Fios subscribers have access to MSG and its live games through their Fios TV packages and the MSG Go streaming platform, MSG said Wednesday.
Video cord cutting could mean a $33.6 billion drop in annual revenue for U.S. multichannel services 2021-25, with DBS and telcos having the steepest decline, S&P's Kagan said Wednesday. It's projecting subscription revenue for MVPDs going from $91.1 billion this year to $64.7 billion in 2025. It said cable revenue should stay relatively stable.
Cox Communications closed on buying the commercial services segment of fiber infrastructure provider Segra, it said Tuesday. Cox incoming President Mark Greatrex said the deal means an expanded geographical presence, more network capacity and more business services. Cox said the Segra brand will continue as a stand-alone Cox business. The deal was announced in April (see 2104270042).
Redbox is teaming with Comcast’s FreeWheel TV advertising platform to integrate “programmatic” technology across Redbox's free streaming services, they said Monday: This lets advertisers access and buy Redbox national and local “inventory” and “micro-target” audiences.
ViacomCBS and its streaming service Pluto TV agreed to a $3.5 million settlement with the Enforcement Bureau over violations of FCC IP closed-captioning rules, said a consent decree Wednesday. Pluto didn’t provide timely accurate information, “wast[ing] valuable Commission resources and delay[ing] the resolution of the accessibility issues,” the decree said. This stems from consumer complaints about nonfunctional captions on Pluto TV in 2018, the decree said. An agency investigation found that despite being in contact with the FCC about captioning issues, petitioning for a waiver and receiving a letter of inquiry about possible violations, “Pluto continued to offer Pluto TV on existing Platforms and initiated Pluto TV on several new Platforms without being in compliance.” The business “failed to provide timely and accurate information,” the decree said. It includes an elaborate compliance plan, with consultations with disability groups, creation of a consumer information website, testing procedures to ensure functional captions on all platforms, training, and a three-year reporting requirement. A Media Bureau order lets Pluto withdraw its waiver petition. ViacomCBS didn't comment. It's “the first consent decree and first enforcement action related to” IP captioning rules “since their adoption in 2012,” said an FCC release.