Comcast and KTWU Topeka, Kansas, jointly asked for dismissal of the broadcaster's mandatory carriage denial complaint, so the FCC Media Bureau dismissed it in a Tuesday order, released Wednesday.

Commenters opposed to allowing TV broadcasters to use Longley-Rice studies of signal strength as a substitute for Nielsen data to qualify for “significantly viewed” status don’t appreciate how low the FCC’s bar for viewership is, said Gray Television in replies posted to docket 20-73 Tuesday. Commenters such as Nielsen argued signal strength isn’t a stand-in for information demonstrating actual viewership (see 2005150062). Gray said the agency’s viewership threshold for significantly viewed status is lower than the threshold to be considered financially viable. The FCC “can reasonably presume that, if Longley-Rice shows a station’s signal is available to at least 25% of the land area or population of a county, that station would satisfy the minimal viewership requirements,” Gray said. “A predictive model cannot tell anyone whether a station is viewed at all, let alone how much or how often it is viewed,” said Nielsen. “The premise underlying this Notice -- that Nielsen has made changes that make getting data on over-the-air viewing more difficult -- is mistaken.” NCTA and AT&T and Dish Network said there's no reason to change the status quo. Gray said broadcasters seeking significantly viewed status should be credited for translators, and low-power TV stations and Class A's should be able to qualify for inclusion on the significantly viewed list and receive network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity protections.

“Loot boxes” Apple offers as an in-game purchase through games downloaded from the App Store “have all the hallmarks of a Las Vegas-style slot machine, including the psychological aspects to encourage and create addiction,” alleged a complaint (in Pacer) Friday in U.S. District Court in San Jose. “Apple engages in predatory practices enticing consumers, including children, to engage in gambling and similar addictive conduct” in violation of California consumer protection and anti-gambling laws, said Huntington Beach resident Rebecca Taylor, seeking class-action status. Dozens of App Store games rely on such a "gambling mechanism to generate billions of dollars, much of it from kids,” it said. Loot boxes, bought with “real money,” are “randomized chances within the game to obtain important or better weapons, costumes” or other enhancements, it said. Taylor’s son plays App Store games that contain loot boxes, it said. Though downloadable for free, “to the extent he plays these games in the future, he will be subjected to Apple’s predatory Loot Box scheme,” it said. Apple didn't comment Monday.

Snap announced new features for augmented reality creators, letting developers bring their own machine learning models so they can create lenses with neural networks they have trained, it said Thursday. It's previewing Local Lenses to enable a persistent, shared AR world built on top of neighborhoods. Snap is introducing voice commands through a partnership with SoundHound.

President Donald Trump should urge local leaders to fully investigate attacks on the press (see 2006080051), asked 72 international journalism organizations, industry and peace groups Thursday. The groups included the Committee to Protect Journalists, Global Forum for Media Development and International Press Institute. “Instead of condemning journalists and the media, we urge you to commend and celebrate them as the embodiment of the First Amendment, which is the envy of so many countries around the world,” the letter said. CPJ sent a similar letter to governors Monday: “When the U.S. backslides it sends a green light to authoritarian-leaning leaders around the world to restrict the press and the free flow of information.”

Fewer vMVPD subscribers also are MVPD customers as virtual operators expand their offerings, The Diffusion Group said Wednesday. It said since the mid 2018 peak of 37% of vMVPD subscribers also paying for a traditional pay-TV service, the overlap has now declined to 23.1%. It said Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV, which dominate the vMVPD market, both have the big four networks in their lineups, cutting the need for a second service.

Videogame players spending more time on such activities may leave less time for people to watch TV and streaming services, said a Technology Policy Institute paper Monday. "Time spent on gaming increased for all age groups from 2018-2019," said TPI Director-Communications Lindsay Poss. Players increased their weekly time about an hour to seven in that period, she reported. "More people are also watching others play games." Last year, they watched 12.3 billion hours across the four major platforms, Poss wrote: Amazon's "Twitch, the most popular streaming platform, accounted for 9.3 billion, a 20% increase." No. 2 YouTube gaming had a 16% increase to 2.3 billion, Facebook Gaming rose 210% to 356 million and Microsoft's Mixer more than doubled to a similar total. Such changes could cut "revenues for advertising-driven services" on TV and other streaming video, Poss said. NCTA declined to comment.

The Senate confirmed U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO nominee Michael Pack Thursday on a party-line 53-38 vote. USAGM, formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors, oversees Voice of America and other government-funded news and information broadcasts. No Democrats voted to confirm Pack, who also was opposed by party members on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (see 2006020013). Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and eight Democrats didn’t vote, including Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz of Hawaii. President Donald Trump nominated Pack, president of Manifold Productions, in 2018 and re-upped it in February after the Senate failed to consider him last Congress (see 2002250053).

DOJ released letters detailing its rationale for requiring U.S. branches of five foreign media entities and Virginia-based Reston Translator register as foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Reston Translator, which broadcasts Russia-funded radio station Sputnik, registered in 2017 (see 1712040054). Also doing so in 2017 was RTTV America, affiliated with RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and TV-Novosti. Three media entities registered in 2018: RIA Global, affiliated with Russian government-controlled news agency Rossiya Segodnya; RM Broadcasting, also affiliated with Rossiya Segodnya; and CGTN America, the U.S. bureau of the Chinese government-controlled China Global Television Network. DOJ touted its case to compel RM Broadcasting to register under FARA as an example of “renewed” enforcement (see 1905130035). Turkish government-controlled Turkish Radio & Television registered in 2019. DOJ’s release of the letters “is another in a series of steps designed to promote transparency by providing information on how we have interpreted FARA in particular cases,” a spokesperson emailed.

Advocating for inclusive broadband access and diverse media ownership are ways communications policymakers can fight for equality, said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Tuesday on nationwide protests against racial injustice. “Policymakers must do more to include Black people and other communities of color and create a better world for future generations,” he said. “Access to robust and affordable broadband allows our communities to call attention to civil rights violations, mobilize and organize for social change, and advocate for policy changes,” he said. “Similarly, diverse ownership within the media landscape allows us to promote and take control of our own stories.” Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners commented Monday (see 2006010056).