Comscore is partnering with Consumer Orbit, an aggregator of consumer data, to develop “consumer intelligence” technology to tie local shopper behavior to TV viewership in “category-specific segments in near-real-time,” said CEO Bill Livek on a Q2 earnings call Monday. “This will allow media outlets, brands and agencies to plan, transact and evaluate local media performance in new and exciting ways.” The offering will be available in all local markets by year-end, he said. As more Comscore studio customers explore direct-to-consumer streaming service launches, “we, like them, are pivoting by developing a measurement solution that combines box office and direct-to-consumer viewing metrics in one combined product,” said Livek. “The movie industry has been on pause, but it’s not going away.”

Channel 3 TV's use of its KSBS-CD Denver as a translator for its full-power KCDO-TV Sterling, Colorado, is an acceptable way of delivering a good-quality signal to Dish Network's local-receive facility (LRF), so Dish is obligated to carry KCDO's translated signal as long as it's a good quality signal, said an FCC Media Bureau order Monday in docket 20-99. It granted Channel 3's must-carry complaint against Dish. The bureau said Dish must expeditiously do signal quality measurements of KSBS' signal at its LRF. Dish didn't comment Tuesday.

AT&T won’t negotiate a carriage deal with African American-owned Indiana broadcaster Circle City because of racial discrimination, said Circle City in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis Monday. AT&T “only deals fairly with historically more established broadcasters (namely, white-owned) when negotiating carriage agreements,” said Circle City’s complaint. AT&T carried Circle City’s Indianapolis stations WNDY-TV and WISH-TV for years when they were owned by Nexstar, but ceased carriage when the stations were sold in 2019, the complaint said. AT&T Chief Content Officer Rob Thun told Circle City CEO DuJuan McCoy the carrier doesn’t pay license fees for stand-alone, non-Big 4 TV stations, according to an email that was filed with the complaint. Circle City argues in the complaint that AT&T’s refusal to negotiate stems from an internal “playbook” designed “to suppress minority-based content.” AT&T’s policies “have created and sustained a systemic, decades-long racial barrier for minorities and their companies trying to find their rightful place in American television broadcasting.” Circle City is seeking “retransmission fees at a fair market rate, other lost revenue, actual and punitive damages, interest, and reasonable attorneys’ fees.” Circle City also sued Dish Network for racial discrimination over carriage. “These allegations are baseless and we will fight them in court" said an AT&T spokesperson. "Circle City sued as a negotiating tactic only after we declined its demands for compensation above and beyond what similar independent stations receive.”

Video programming distributors such as broadcasters, cable operators and satellite TV services were reminded of FCC rules to make televised emergency information accessible to persons with disabilities. In a docket 12-107 public notice Monday, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau laid out the routes for consumers to complain.

ViacomCBS executives told FCC staff that SES Americom could cut its C-band transition costs by $100 million through “greater use of compression and advanced modulation.” They said “a more balanced mix of compression and new satellite launches could address concerns recently raised by several C-band stakeholders over the high satellite costs in SES’ transition plan.” The executives spoke with staff from the Wireless and International bureaus and the Office of Economics and Analytics, said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-122. SES didn't comment.

ViacomCBS plans to launch a streaming service internationally in early 2021, with a focus first on Australia, Latin America and the Nordic countries, it said Thursday. It said programming on the subscription VOD service will include some Showtime series, CBS All Access originals, Paramount movies, content from such networks as MTV and Comedy Central, and originals from ViacomCBS International Studios. It said that rollout parallels the ongoing expansion outside the U.S. of distribution of its Pluto TV free streaming service.

The FCC should make clear C-band satellite operators are entitled to reimbursement of costs needed to preserve satellite restoration services, including costs of additional satellites, as part of the clearing, NCTA and NAB said in a docket 18-122 posting Thursday. They said there are instances of satellite operators using their restoration capacity in response to video service interruptions.

LG launched Alexa voice control for eight 2020 models in its OLED and NanoCell ThinQ smart TV lines. A software update allows customers to speak to Alexa directly through their TV to play music, hear news, check weather, set timers and reminders, control their smart home and play Alexa games, without needing a remote control, said the company.

Samsung applied to trademark “Sound Visualizer” for downloadable software that aids TV-viewing for the hearing-impaired, Patent and Trademark Office records last week show. Samsung TVs let consumers pair Bluetooth headphones with TV sound. The company didn’t comment Monday.

NAB and NCTA told FCC International Bureau staff that issues with its list of incumbent C-band earth stations need addressing, recapped a docket 20-205 posting Friday. There's no reason not to allow broadcasters to update registrations that are now out of date from station moves caused by the broadcast inventive auction repack or that need updating because of changes due to ordinary course of business, NAB said. It and NCTA urged considering corrections for earth stations that were properly registered but might have failed to complete some procedural requirements due to issues like vendor error or a previous station owner's actions.