Linear TV's decline in the U.S. "is irreversible," but it won't disappear all at once, S&P wrote investors Wednesday. Instead, watch for a steady, yearslong process, with the pace of pay TV cord-cutting abating over the next two years due to Charter Communications' video and bundling strategy, S&P said. It said pay TV likely saw a 6.7% subscriber decline in 2024, but 2026 should bring it closer to 5.8%. It predicted that advertising would shrink more quickly than affiliate fees as audience ratings are dropping faster than cord-cutting. It said general entertainment networks are on pace for double-digit audience losses and single-digit price cuts for ad inventory, while sports-focused networks' revenues should fare better -- though they will still slow. Programmers will likely focus on managing their operating costs to keep pace with the shrinking revenues, it said. S&P also identified trends that will likely increase, such as eliminating original content on smaller networks, consolidating operating teams and focusing more on cheaper, unscripted reality shows.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Mike Flood, R.-Neb., want C-SPAN added to the YouTube, Hulu and FuboTV virtual multichannel video programming distribution platform channel lineups. In a letter Wednesday to the CEOs of the streamers, the lawmakers urged the addition of C-SPAN so that its non-partisan coverage of Congress and the White House will remain accessible in a cord-cutting era. They said the per-subscriber cost of C-SPAN is a "relative pittance" compared to what Fox News or CNN cost, while its programming "is irreplaceable." "While carrying C-SPAN may not dramatically grow your companies’ subscriber numbers, it will provide your current subscribers an essential resource for understanding what their government is doing," the two said. Retired C-SPAN co-CEO Susan Swain applauded the Wyden/Flood letter in a post on X.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to signal in posts on X Wednesday that the agency could consider stepping up enforcement of the Calm Act, which combats loud advertisements. “I’ve asked my team to look into this,” Carr said in a post. He was replying to a request for FCC intervention on loud ads; his Chief of Staff Greg Watson affirmed the response. The FCC sought comment on the effectiveness of Calm Act enforcement in 2021 under then-Chair Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2105210043), but that proceeding didn’t prompt rules or a visible increase in enforcement. MVPD groups said then that most complaints the FCC receives concerning Calm Act violations either aren’t specific enough to be actionable or concern streaming services.

With programmers facing ever-increasing competition from Netflix and Amazon, speculation on mergers and acquisitions will ramp up this year, particularly around the future of Warner Bros. Discovery, MoffettNathanson told investors Tuesday. It said the most likely consolidation targets include film studios, cable networks and streaming services, and a WBD deal with Comcast makes the most sense. There also could be speculation about whether Paramount Global will make a play for WBD, or at least for Warner Bros. studio, HBO and Max, MoffettNathanson said. In addition, it predicted "less-contentious affiliate fee negotiations" in 2025.

Nexstar programming is back up on Altice USA's cable lineup. Nexstar and Altice said Saturday they had reached a carriage agreement, ending a blackout that began earlier this month (see 2501130068).

Altice USA and its critics are raising the idea that refunds are owed to Altice subscribers as a result of MSG Network's blackout (see 2501130068). Accordingly, Altice said Thursday that MSG owes its cable subscribers some $125 million in refunds. Altice said the refund figure represents the $10 per month per subscriber that MSG says its sports programming is worth and that Altice subscribers paid for but didn't receive last year. It added that MSG "continues to play games with our customers while refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations." Meanwhile, two Republican House members representing parts of the New York City metro area wrote FCC leadership, saying Altice's handling of talks with MSG and Nexstar involving carriage of WPIX New York (see 250114004) "appears inconsistent" with FCC guidance. "Consumers should not pay the same fees for diminished service, and providers should proactively issue rebates when significant content, such as sports or local news, is removed," said the letter dated Thursday from Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Chairman-designate Brendan Carr. Pointing to the agency's new retransmission consent blackout reporting requirement (see 2501060032), the lawmakers said it "will provide valuable data to inform solutions [to such blackouts], and we stand ready to collaborate with the FCC and consider legislative remedies to address these issues."

Manufacturers of covered set-top devices and multichannel video programming distributors must make closed captioning display settings “readily accessible” to the deaf and hard of hearing by Aug. 17, 2026, said an FCC Media Bureau public notice Wednesday. The agency adopted the readily accessible requirement in July (see 2407180037). The requirement is intended to make it easier for caption users to modify the color, fonts, sizes and other features of closed captions.

Tencent's investment in Skydance Media should give the FCC pause, considering Tencent is a member of DOD's list of Chinese military companies operating in the U.S., the Center for American Rights said Tuesday. CAR petitioned the agency to put conditions related to Chinese control on any approval of Skydance's proposed purchase of Paramount Global (see 2412170038). CAR said the fact DOD considers a Skydance founding investor to be a “Chinese military company” should refute the FCC presumption that foreign-ownership interests of 5% or less aren't generally contrary to the public interest. It said the FCC could condition approval on New Paramount having board diversity through board members coming from different geographies, industries, backgrounds and political persuasions; its locating of executive and editorial staff in cities besides New York and Los Angeles; creation of an "independent, empowered, balanced ombudsman"; or committing to "an ideologically diverse hiring pipeline." Chicago-based CAR last fall filed news distortion complaints against CBS over the network's interview with Vice President/Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris (see 2410170051) and an equal-time complaint against NBC and its WNBC New York over Harris' appearance on Saturday Night Live just prior to Election Day (see 2411050049).

Comcast “should pay a BIG price” for programming that is “simply political hits, 100% of the time, to me and the Republican Party,” President-elect Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social early Tuesday morning. It was the latest in a series of threatening comments Trump has made about Comcast-owned NBC and other networks (see 2409230022). Trump’s FCC Chairman-designate, Commissioner Brendan Carr, has also broadly condemned the networks (see 2412030044). NBC is “run by a truly bad group of people,” and Comcast is run by “Scum,” Trump wrote in the post, which also blasted NBC late-night host Seth Meyers. “These guys should be paying a lot of money for the right to give these ‘in kind’ contributions to the Radical Left Democrat Party.” Comcast didn't comment.

DirecTV introduced a sports-only programming tier, MySports, it said Tuesday. The tier includes 40 sports and broadcast channels and is initially available in 24 metro areas, with more markets to come as additional local stations join the package.