The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that "but-for" causation doesn't apply to Section 1981 of federal anti-discrimination law (see 1811190023) goes completely against repeated Supreme Court rulings, Comcast said in a docket 18-1171 reply brief last week. It said plaintiffs Entertainment Studios Networks and National Association of African American Owned Media "are playing a shell game" with irrelevant case law. And when but-for causation to the original complaint that Comcast didn't carry ESN content, there's nothing suggesting Comcast was motivated by race. ESN counsel didn't comment Friday.
Among online holiday shoppers, 65 percent plan to use a mobile device and 33 percent plan to shop using a voice assistant, CTA forecast Thursday. Streaming service subscriptions and videogames will be popular tech gifts, it said, with 71 percent of U.S. adults planning to buy a content-related gift this year, including videogame discs (43 percent) and streaming services (39 percent). New video streaming services, more 4K Ultra HD content, and larger screens on TVs and smartphones are driving interest in entertainment as gifts, with laptops, smartphones, TVs, tablets and wearables expected to be leading category sellers, said Lesley Rohrbaugh, market research director.
WVUX-LD Fairmont, West Virginia, misunderstands the law with its petition for a declaratory ruling regarding mandatory satellite carriage of a qualified low-power TV station and its demand for carriage against Dish Network and AT&T's DirecTV, the FCC Media Bureau said Thursday, denying both. An LPTV station isn't entitled to mandatory carriage on direct broadcast satellite under the Communications Act, and Congress explicitly excluded LPTV stations from a satellite carrier’s mandatory carriage obligation, it said. Since there's no genuine controversy or uncertainty about that, the FCC can't declare that exclusion doesn't apply to qualified LPTV stations, as WVUX asked, the bureau said. WVUX outside counsel didn't comment.
The FCC shouldn’t weaken the dual network rule, said Writer’s Guild of America West in a meeting Tuesday with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel at WGAW's Los Angeles office, per a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-108. “The FCC has an obligation to uphold the public interest in an open and pluralistic broadcast system, and should support this obligation by retaining the Dual Network Rule." The agency sought comment on the dual network rule as part of the currently stalled 2018 quadrennial review. WGAW also opposes T-Mobile buying Sprint deal. “Reduction from four to three major wireless carriers in an already highly concentrated market poses significant harm to consumers and content creators,” said the union. Include “retrospective reviews” for media deals that have “significant anticompetitive effects,” WGAW asked. Rosenworcel attended Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles a day after the meeting (see 1910230060).
Roku will buy the “demand-side” advertising platform dataxu for $150 million in cash and stock and it’s expected to close this quarter, said Roku Tuesday. It will “complement” Roku's over-the-top ads and enable it to offer marketers “a single, data-driven software solution to plan, buy, and optimize their ad spend across TV and OTT providers,” it said. Roku considers its “data-driven ecosystem ... essential to the success of OTT advertising,” said Scott Rosenberg, general manager-platform business, on a Q2 call in August. Roku in Q2 more than doubled its year-over-year “video ad impressions.”
Fox and Charter Communications renewed their distribution agreement that includes cooperation on tackling piracy and password sharing, the cable operator said Monday. The agreement covers Fox TV stations, Fox News, Fox Business Network, FS1, FS2, BTN and Fox Deportes, including VOD and TV Everywhere rights for those networks.
Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Netflix lead over-the-top video amid an OTT shift, with a rising “middle class,” some offering live TV, said Parks Associates researcher Brandon Riney. CBS All-Access, WWE Network and Acorn.TV have gained “millions of subscribers,” benefiting from “service-stacking,” he said. That's where customers pile additional video streaming services on top of a primary sub to one of the big three. OTT on-demand video is well-established, so live services are extending the reach further into the mainstream, he told a Thursday webcast. On virtual MVPDs, Riney cited YouTube TV and Sling TV and their appeal of no annual contracts and lower pricing than pay TV.
Parties to St. Joseph TV License selling full-power KQTV St. Joseph, Missouri, to News-Press TV (see 1910170070) voluntarily withdrew the transaction, in a brief letter posted Friday. That's why an FCC Media Bureau page about the station shows the transaction as dismissed. This information comes from parties to the deal and the agency. Previously, NCTA and the American TV Alliance informally opposed the deal, bureau records show (see here and here) and their representatives now confirm. America’s Communications Association -- a member of ATVA -- emailed reporters Thursday that the commission dismissed the deal. ACA and ATVA didn't comment further Friday.
Dish Network's "questionable track record" on diversity should be accounted for as the FCC considers T-Mobile/Sprint and Dish's buy of Sprint's prepaid wireless business, Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins told FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, per a docket 18-197 filing posted Thursday. Many Boost Mobile customers are minorities and the agency should ensure their interests aren't harmed, Liggins said. Dish didn't comment Friday.
Sinclair and AT&T signed a multiyear carriage agreement that includes the broadcaster's forthcoming Marquee Sports Network regional sports network (RSN) featuring Chicago Cubs games, launching in 2020, Sinclair said Thursday. The deal, covering AT&T's DirecTV, AT&T TV Now and U-verse, also includes the 21 RSNs Sinclair recently acquired, the YES Network in which it is a joint venture and Sinclair's owned local broadcast stations and Tennis Channel, it said.