The proposed $150,000 fine for Mission Broadcasting's alleged retransmission consent negotiation violations (see 2401120069) is unreasonably large, and the violation finding is wrong, Mission said Tuesday. In a docket 22-443 response to the FCC Media Bureau's notice of apparent liability, Mission said the NAL focuses on Nexstar-proposed language for inclusion in an agreement to settle litigation with Comcast, not for a retrans consent agreement. It said the proposed forfeiture is in excess of the bureau's delegated authority and should be $7,500 at most. In addition, Nexstar said the NAL "is procedurally improper, prejudicial, and unsupported by the facts or the law." It added that the NAL claims it doesn't address allegations against Nexstar, but Comcast's allegations concerned Nexstar's conduct as Mission's negotiating representative for WPIX New York. Nexstar said the bureau "impermissibly prejudges" allegations against it that supposedly remain under investigation. Treating the settlement proposal that was quickly rejected as a continuing violation over a period of days is unreasonable and not factually supported, Nexstar said.

The FCC on Friday posted a Disability Advisory Committee report, approved last month and written by the Audio Description File Transmittal to IP Video Programming Working Group (see 2401300051). Members of the WG discussed the report in detail at last month's DAC meeting. The report said it’s “not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of issues related to the distribution of already-described programming, but instead provides a high-level overview of the current ecosystem and highlights technical, human, and organizational process challenges and opportunities to address them.” The report was posted in docket 12-107.

Thirty-three percent of U.S. viewers share passwords or the cost of at least one streaming service, Horowitz Research said in its annual state of media report. In addition, 49% of that one-third worry about a password-sharing crackdown, it said. The data comes from 1,531 online samples of adults who have a role in decisions about TV and internet services in the home, plus a sample of 400 antenna owners.

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $720,000 fine against Nexstar for violating retransmission consent negotiation rules. In a notice of apparent liability in Thursday's Daily Digest, the bureau sided with Hawaiian Telecom in concluding that Nexstar breached its good-faith negotiation duties when it proposed renewal terms that would have barred HT from filing complaints with the FCC. The bureau said HT didn't meet its burden of proof on its assertion that Nexstar also violated the good-faith rules when it did not extend their retrans consent agreement until the parties reached a new agreement or an impasse. The proposed fine totals the $120,000 levied for each of the six Nexstar-licensed stations involved. Nextar emailed that it “believes the proposed forfeiture is unwarranted, excessive, and in violation of the law and we will challenge the FCC’s action.” HT and Nexstar reached a deal in July after a more than three-week blackout (see 2307210045).

ESPN will offer a standalone streaming option likely starting in August 2025, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday. In an earnings call with analysts, Iger said the 2018 ESPN+ launch was "the first step" in an "inevitable" move to take Disney subsidiary ESPN direct to consumer. In addition, he said ESPN's joint venture sports streaming platform with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, announced this week (see 2402070006), is "an attractive business proposition." The JV targets those who never had a multichannel TV subscription and "gives them a chance to do so at a price point that will be obviously more attractive than the big fat bundle." The JV "is going to be substantially less expensive to consumers" than a cable or direct broadcast satellite channel bundle, he said. The ESPN streaming app will include options that the Fox/WBD JV won't, such as integrated betting, fantasy and merchandise sales, said Iger.

Comments are due March 8, replies April 8, on an FCC proposal requiring refunds for consumers when blackouts occur due to failed retransmission consent negotiations, said a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. The blackout NPRM was adopted 3-2 on circulation in January (see 2401100026).

YouTube's virtual MVPD, YouTube TV, has more than 8 million subscribers, CEO Neal Mohan blogged Tuesday. He said YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subs top 100 million when trial subscriptions are included. Viewers worldwide average more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on their TVs daily, said Mohan. The CEO said the YouTube Partner Program has more than 3 million channels and has paid more than $70 billion over the past three years. YouTube in coming months will roll out labels "that inform viewers when the realistic content they’re seeing is synthetic," Mohan said.

Complying with the FCC's "all-in" video pricing proposal might have to overcome conflicting regulatory regimes among the FCC, FTC and various states, DirecTV said. In a docket 23-203 filing Thursday recapping a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer, DirecTV said possible compliance hiccups include one set of rules requiring what another prohibits and different sets of rules requiring different calculations of all-in prices. The FCC commissioners adopted an all-in video pricing NPRM in June (see 2306200042).

Dish Network and Mission Broadcasting inked a multiyear distribution agreement covering 27 Mission stations in 25 markets, ending a yearlong blackout (see 2309180065), Mission said Wednesday. Specific terms weren't disclosed.

Charter Communications and TelevisaUnivision have reached a carriage agreement that includes streaming components, the two said Monday. The agreement includes TelevisaUnivision creating an ad-supported subscription version of its ViX streaming service that will be available free to Charter subscribers who receive TelevisaUnivision channels as part their packages, they said. In addition, the deal features TelevisaUnivision's U.S. channels included in a low-cost Spanish language over-the-top video package that Charter will launch later this year. The agreement follows a carriage agreement between Charter and Disney in September where streaming was at the forefront (see 2309110034).