A “paradigm shift” is occurring in the pay-TV industry, “with operators acknowledging the benefits of putting Cloud TV at the heart of their infrastructure," said Nuno Sanches, Kaltura general manager-media and telecom. Five years ago it was considered impossible to deliver operator-grade quality of service from the cloud, Sanches said Monday, citing economics and telecom operators not wanting to use the open internet to deliver pay-TV services. Today, multinational pay-TV operators are embracing cloud TV as “the best-of-breed solution to deliver future-proof services." The percentage of U.S. broadband households subscribing to a cable or satellite pay-TV service fell to 62% in Q1 from 67% in the year-ago quarter, reported Parks Associates Monday, while the average amount of video watched per week grew to more than 37 hours per household. The spike in online video consumption, decrease in pay-TV-only households and shift of pay-TV online are widening the gap between over-the-top video and traditional pay-TV, said Parks analyst Steve Nason: “Traditional services are looking to migrate to the cloud to get the best of pay-TV and OTT.” Parks will co-host a webinar with Kaltura on cloud TV Tuesday at noon EDT.

Microsoft backs the Epic Games motion for a temporary restraining order (see 2008180022) blocking Apple from permanently barring the Fortnite franchise from the App Store and cutting off Epic’s access to Apple development tools, including for the Unreal Engine game creation platform that Epic offers third-party developers. So said Kevin Gammill, Microsoft general manager-gaming developer experiences, in a declaration (in Pacer) Sunday in U.S. District Court in Oakland. Epic alleges Apple is retaliating for Epic’s launch of an independent in-app direct-payment system at the App Store. Apple counters that Epic is violating its App Store license. Unreal Engine is “critical technology for numerous game creators including Microsoft,” said Gammill. It’s one of the most popular third-party game engines available to game creators, he said. “In Microsoft’s view there are very few other options available for creators to license with as many features and as much functionality as Unreal Engine across multiple platforms, including iOS.” Microsoft has an “enterprise-wide,” multiyear Unreal Engine license agreement, said Gammill. It invested “significant resources and engineer time working with and customizing Unreal Engine for its own games on PC, Xbox consoles, and mobile devices (including iOS devices),” he said. Apple didn’t comment. Sony agreed last month to make a $250 million “strategic investment” for a minority interest in Epic (see 2007090044). U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who was reassigned the case Wednesday, set a Zoom hearing on Epic’s TRO motion that was to be held at 3 p.m. PDT Monday.

The FCC Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau shouldn't terminate docket 14-261 on the inclusion of some types of online video distribution (OVD) as MVPDs (see 2006020058), among the hundreds of dockets considered, said the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates associations Friday. The proceeding "is far from dormant" and the issues it raises remain germane, they said. Local broadcasters' ability to negotiate with OVD services for retransmission would be directly affected by whether to treat them as MVPDs subject to retransmission consent rules, they said. Since 2017, the affiliates groups contributed the majority of filings to the docket.

Arguments about the video marketplace being more competitive than ever due to streaming services ignore the fundamental question of whether the AT&T TV Now virtual MVPD has been shown to be effective competition as laid out in the Communications Act, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable told the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday (in Pacer, docket 19-2282). It's challenging the FCC's effective competition order covering parts of the state and Hawaii (see 1912230063). The FCC's interpretation of the terms of the LEC test are contrary to the law, FCC rules and the plain text, MDTC said in the reply brief. The cost of broadband fits squarely into list of impediments that indicate a service doesn't satisfy the LEC test, it said. The FCC didn't comment.

Epic Games asked U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco Monday for a temporary restraining order (in Pacer) preventing Apple from “delisting” Fortnite games from the App Store or rendering gameplay useless on any iOS device. Epic sued Thursday to break Apple’s alleged “monopolies” in app distribution and in-app payment processing (see 2008130048). It added a direct-payment option to Fortnite, alleging Apple retaliated by removing the franchise from the App Store. The iPhone maker subsequently threatened to terminate Epic’s membership in the Apple developer program in two weeks and deprive it of developer tools if it didn’t remove the direct-payment option, said Epic. Apple didn’t comment Tuesday.

Apple spiced up Apple Music, adding two live global radio offerings and redubbing its Beats 1 radio station Apple Music 1, it said Tuesday. New stations are Apple Music Country and Apple Music Hits, which features songs from the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s. Apple Music 1, streaming from studios in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and London, offers pop culture conversation and artist-led programming.

Thursday’s Epic Games complaint alleging Apple unlawfully monopolizes app distribution and payment processing through the App Store (see 2008130048) “makes out multiple actionable antitrust claims” against the iPhone maker, reported Cowen Research Friday. If Apple moves to dismiss the complaint, “we would not expect the judge to grant it,” it said. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco. A trial could take up to two years to resolve, though “we’re likely to get clues where the judge is headed before then,” said Cowen. Cravath Swaine, representing Epic in the complaint, is “possibly the best antitrust law firm in the country,” it said. The firm "just guided Qualcomm to its win over the FTC" (see 2008110065), it said. Its reputation "likely ensures the judge won't subtly downgrade Epic's allegations,” said Cowen. If Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidency, “it's possible Apple might consider settling rather than risk a Biden DOJ joining Epic's lawsuit and giving it additional credibility and momentum.” Apple didn’t comment Monday.

Confidential materials and documents submitted to the FCC as part of AMC's carriage complaint against AT&T (see 2008100048) will be subject to a protective order, the FCC Media Bureau said Monday in docket 20-254.

ViacomCBS will file applications with the FCC requesting consent for involuntary transfer of control of TV stations and Communications Act Title III licenses due to the death last week of company Chairman Emeritus Sumner Redstone (see 2008120039), said a company letter Thursday. Redstone held an indirect controlling interest in ViacomCBS, which in turn controlled the licenses involved, the media company said. The stations involved include Los Angeles' KCAL-TV and KCBS-TV, WBZ-TV Boston and numerous others.

Apple engages in “unfair and anti-competitive actions” to “unlawfully maintain” its monopolies in the multibillion dollar markets of iOS app distribution and in-app payment processing, alleged Epic Games Thursday in a 173-page complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Epic isn’t seeking “monetary compensation” for the “injuries it has suffered,” nor is it seeking “favorable treatment for itself,” it said. It’s instead seeking “injunctive relief to allow fair competition in these two key markets that directly affect hundreds of millions of consumers and tens of thousands, if not more, of third-party app developers,” it said. Through its control over iOS, and using a “variety of unlawful contractual restrictions that it forces app developers to accept, Apple prevents iOS users from downloading any apps from any source other than Apple’s own storefront, the App Store,” said Epic. Epic added a direct payment system to its Fortnite franchise Thursday morning, giving players the option to continue making purchases using Apple’s payment processor or use Epic’s, said the complaint. Fortnite users on iOS, for the first time, “had a competitive alternative to Apple’s payment solution,” it said. “Rather than tolerate this healthy competition and compete on the merits of its offering, Apple responded by removing Fortnite from sale on the App Store.” Apple didn’t comment. Sony agreed last month to make a $250 million "strategic investment" for a minority interest in Epic (see 2007090044).