Comcast and Liberman Broadcasting agreed to not argue in their carriage fight that any complaints should be dismissed due to the expiration of a statute of limitations. In a tolling agreement effective Sept. 21 and posted Monday in FCC docket 16-121, the two agree the statute of limitations is on pause from that date to 30 days after the Media Bureau rules on Liberman's petition for reconsideration of the bureau's Aug. 26 dismissal of the broadcaster's carriage complaint (see 1609260049). The tolling agreement also says Liberman or its affiliates may file additional, related complaints against the cable company, but it won't do so during the tolling period.

Netflix is giving up for now trying to expand its service into China because “the regulatory environment for foreign digital content services in China has become challenging,” the company said Monday in its quarterly letter to shareholders. “We now plan to license content to existing online service providers in China rather than operate our own service in China in the near term. We expect revenue from this licensing will be modest. We still have a long term desire to serve the Chinese people directly, and hope to launch our service in China eventually." In Q3, quarterly global streaming revenue at Netflix exceeded $2 billion for the first time, the company said. Netflix estimated 40 percent of its Q3 streaming revenue was “generated abroad.” The company is now in the fourth year of its “original content strategy” and is “pleased with our progress,” it said. Netflix plans to release more than 1,000 hours of “premium original programming” in 2017, up from over 600 hours this year, it said. The internet “allows us to reach audiences all over the world and, with a growing base of over 86 million members, there’s a large appetite for entertainment and a diversity of tastes to satisfy,” it said. Netflix faces “immense competition for consumer screen time,” the letter said. “Our challenge is to continue to improve our service and content so that we better meet consumer desires. Total screen time is quite large and growing as technology and content improve globally.” In after-hours trading Monday, Netflix shares jumped 20 percent to $119.39, presumably because Q3 subscriber additions exceeded forecasts in the U.S. and internationally.

CTA hails the Nevada Senate’s approval of a proposal to fund the “expansion and modernization” of the Las Vegas Convention Center (see 1605010002), said Karen Chupka, senior vice president-CES and corporate business strategy, in a statement. “This critical investment will help us grow CES,” with expected completion of the project in 2023, Chupka said. The measure now moves to the Nevada Assembly, where members are urged “to act quickly to approve this important project,” she said.

Any confusion about Campus Televideo (CTV) and its business model comes from its own statements about its role in providing video programming, said Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania License Subsidiary and SJL of Pennsylvania License Subsidiary -- the licensees, respectively, of WSEE-TV Erie and WICU-TV Erie -- in a filing Tuesday in docket 16-246. They filed a complaint with the FCC alleging CTV is reselling DirecTV signals, including WSEE-TV and WICU-TV broadcasts, without consent (see 1610040027). CTV "cannot plausibly deny" it has represented itself as a reseller and yet now claims it's only a sales representative, Lilly/SJL said, urging the FCC Media Bureau to complete its investigation and ensure Lilly/SJL get retransmission compensation. Counsel for CTV didn't comment Wednesday.

Liberman Broadcasting's petition asking the FCC Media Bureau to revisit its August rejection of a carriage complaint against Comcast (see 1609260049) "is nothing more than a rehash" of the same arguments it already made to the bureau, the cable operator said in an opposition posted Friday in docket 16-121. Liberman's petition doesn't include new facts that have come to light since it filed its reply, any intervening change in law or any other error or omission that would warrant reconsideration, Comcast said, saying the bureau "routinely dismisses petitions for reconsideration that are based on nothing more than an attempt at a second bite at the apple." Beyond that, Comcast said, the petition fails on its merits, with the bureau recognizing that separate regulatory systems oversee cable-TV network carriage and retransmission consent and must-carry rights for stations. The operator disputed the broadcaster's argument that the bureau ignored allegations about Comcast refusing to provide Liberman's Estrella TV broadcast network with "white area" carriage, since Liberman could bring such a complaint though such assertions "are both untimely and wrong." Liberman in a statement Tuesday said, “Nothing in Comcast’s reply changes the plain language of the statute or FCC precedent, which clearly show that broadcasters, including [Liberman], are video-programming providers and, therefore, the Media Bureau’s dismissal of [Liberman's] complaint against Comcast on grounds of standing was incorrect as a matter of law.”

Content owners can launch streaming channels on Roku without entering a line of code, said a Wednesday announcement, so content owners can publish and automatically participate in search and discovery on Roku devices. Channels built with Roku Direct Publisher include Mashable, Rolling Stone and Us Weekly, and it's supported by third parties, including Brightcove, JW Player, Kaltura and Ooyala.

The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on a request from NAB, the American Foundation for the Blind and American Council of the Blind for more time to develop technology to provide an audio representation of visual, non-text emergency information such as maps and graphics, said a public notice Wednesday. Though rules require that such information is aurally represented for individuals who are blind and visually impaired, the bureau granted NAB an 18-month waiver in May 2015 to allow more time to develop technology to translate maps and graphics into audio on a second stream (see 1505120027). The PN said AFB, ACB and NAB want a further 18-month extension of that waiver. Comments are due Oct. 17, replies Oct 27.

AT&T's DirecTV Now streaming service programming lineup will include Viacom networks Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr. and Logo, Viacom said in a news release Tuesday. DirecTV Now is expected to launch in Q4 (see 1603020031).

Campus Televideo and licensees of two Pennsylvania TV stations are battling over whether CTV owes retransmission fees for broadcast signals being transmitted to a nearby college campus. CTV is only a sales representative of DirecTV, not a reseller or subdistributor, and thus isn't on the hook for retrans fees, the company said in a filing Monday in FCC docket 16-246. The WSEE-TV Erie, Pennsylvania, and WICU-TV Erie signals being retransmitted to Edinboro University are being done by DirecTV, and DirecTV is solely responsible for getting retrans consent from WSEE licensee Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania License Subsidiary and WICU licensee SJL of Pennsylvania License Subsidiary, CTV said. It also said SJL/Lilly -- which filed a complaint with the FCC in August -- didn't cite any legal basis why CTV owes retrans fees atop what DirecTV already is paying. SJL/Lilly's "real complaint appears to be that it is not satisfied by the amount of the retransmission consent fee it receives from DirecTV," CTV said. The SJL/Lilly complaint claimed CTV was receiving WSEE and WICU signals from DirecTV and redistributing them to Edinboro, which was in turn redistributing them, even though CTV wasn't authorized to retransmit and Edinboro wasn't given subdistribution rights. In a filing in September, SJL/Lilly said CTV inconsistently described its role and that its signals were being retransmitted without consent or compensation, something the FCC needs to investigate.

Charter Communications' motion to dismiss Univision's lawsuit (see 1609060069) doesn't rebut or even tackle the core arguments in Univision's complaint, and its arguments against the broadcaster's breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing are "legally meaningless," Univision said in memorandum of law Friday in opposition to Charter's motion to dismiss. In the filing in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Univision said the breach claims are based on conduct that pre-dates the June 2016 expiration of the programmer's contract with Charter, negating Charter's argument the breach claims are based on an expired contract. Univision also said its breach of contract cause of action isn't premature under the doctrine of anticipatory breach and doesn't seek "speculative" damages. Univision also said Charter mischaracterized its buys of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, breaching its obligation to act in good faith. Univision is suing Charter, claiming license fees in its TWC agreement apply only to the legacy systems and through this year (see 1607080022). Fox News Network brought a similar complaint (see 1607200065). Charter didn't comment Monday.