Broadcasters continue to push back at various cable industry proposals for changing the rules governing retransmission consent negotiations. NAB said in an FCC filing Thursday in docket 15-216 that multichannel video programming distributors want the agency to "ignore the plain meaning of [Section 325 of the Communications Act] and adopt proposals requiring the retransmission of broadcasters' signals without consent." Much of the NAB opprobrium focused on American TV Alliance arguments raised earlier this week about justifications the FCC has for good-faith negotiation rules revisions (see 1603160036). The parts of the act cited by MVPDs don't override Section 325 -- which spells out retrans rules for MVPDs' carriage of over-the-air TV -- and broadcasters' control of their signals, NAB said. While the FCC has the right to enforce remedies in cases of bad-faith negotiation, NAB said, it can't "trample on a stations' unqualified right to control its signal by ordering forced carriage as the remedy for a broadcasters' violation of the good faith rules." MVPD proposals also fall short of the Supreme Court's 1984 Chevron v. NRDC decision because Congress' intention to give broadcasters full control of their signals was unequivocal, it said. In a statement, ATVA said, "NAB's new legal analysis is as faulty as its earlier claim that broadcaster price increases don't harm consumers. The statute says that broadcasters must grant 'consent' for carriage. But it also says that broadcasters must negotiate in good faith. NAB seems to argue that only the first provision really means anything. That's not what the law says, and that's not what Congress intended. ATVA's filing demonstrated that the FCC has unquestionable legal authority to adopt each of ATVA's proposals. We urge the Commission to act decisively to protect consumers from harmful and abusive behavior." In a separate ex parte filing Wednesday in the same docket, meanwhile, AT&T said it met with FCC staff including Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake to argue that prohibition of online blocking isn't a First Amendment issue since it doesn't regulate broadcasters' speech at all, but even if it did such a rule would be content neutral. AT&T also said the FCC has legal authority to stop joint negotiation of retrans agreements under the same rules that let it regulate transferring control of broadcast licenses, and that broadcasters' demanding retrans fees for subscribers who receive a broadcaster's signal over the air is contrary to the broadcaster's duty to transmit programming for free over the air.

The FCC NPRM on proposed changes to rules for set-top boxes and its rule change ending the integration ban was published in Wednesday's Federal Register. Replies are due April 15. The American Cable Association asked for a 30-day extension of that due date. “This brief filing window is not sufficient for MVPDs that operate diverse networks under a variety of financial circumstances to adequately evaluate the proposal’s impact, particularly in the case of smaller MVPDs with few employees,” ACA said of multichannel video programming distributors.

Looking to broaden its provision of broadcast and online video services, Verizon Digital Media Services is buying Volicon, it said in a news release Wednesday. With Volicon, Verizon said it will be able to offer more routes for taking broadcast feeds and channels to over-the-top cloud-based delivery models. "With the shift to all things digital, mobile and video, we are committed to enabling all creators, publishers and broadcasters to bring their content to the internet with the highest quality and a trusted partner globally," said Verizon Digital Media Services President Bob Toohey. "Volicon's role as a trusted provider to more than 1,200 broadcast and video operators around the world, combined with deep expertise in video monitoring and analysis, will improve visibility, transparency, and quality of our clients content and ads over our global delivery footprint."

Requests for carriage of prospective programming and clauses dealing with stations acquired later are actually signs of good-faith negotiating, not bad faith, since they can be considered part of the mix of terms broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors consider in retransmission consent negotiations, Sinclair said in a filing posted Wednesday in FCC docket 15-216. Those terms can include anything from channel placement to advertising availability in broadcast streams and are "part of the normal exercise of piecing together an appropriate value proposition with the tools at the MVPDs' disposal," Sinclair said. Similarly, it said, having various options in the mix at retrans consent talks "can't be deemed 'bad faith' because it actually demonstrates a willingness to reach an agreement by allowing for multiple combinations of value factors," thus increasing the likelihood of an agreement. Referring to a previous American Cable Association filing (see 1603090041), Sinclair denied it forced Cass Cable to negotiate for an unidentified cable channel since Cass could have offered something in place of that channel such as additional money, which Sinclair said it "would have considered." It also questioned how that particular term could be bad faith "when it was part of the bargaining mix that Cass Cable ultimately accepted." Sinclair also said after-acquired language -- which would extend the terms of an agreement between a broadcast group and MVPD to any station the broadcaster subsequently buys -- carries an inherent risk that it could result in lower retransmission revenue and cable companies similarly "should be able to accept and plan [for risks of paying higher retrans fees] as part of running their business without asking the FCC to shelter them from the ebbs and flows of the free market." After-acquired language has been standard for years in broadcast and MVPD retransmission consent agreements, and the FCC has no basis for now deciding broadcasters who suggest them are acting in bad faith, Sinclair said. The broadcaster also argued the proposed totality of circumstances test changes the FCC is considering would ultimately turn retrans talks into primarily about cash, leading to higher retrans consent rates and more frequent impasses. In a statement, ACA said, "Sinclair can’t hide from its past. Smaller cable operators have told the FCC that Sinclair demands they include provisions in their contracts requiring carriage of prospective programming and after-acquired stations at set terms and conditions. The operators that spoke with the FCC are just the tip of the iceberg because there are dozens more, if not hundreds, that can tell the exact same story. These are non-negotiable demands, they are inconsistent with good-faith negotiations, and the FCC should make clear that Sinclair and other broadcasters’ continued practices in this regard are unacceptable."

Thiel Audio invested “millions” of dollars in an entertainment space in Nashville and its Aurora 4K streaming video production studio, and will use the venue to launch a streaming music box coinciding with the Country Music Association Music Festival in June, newly installed CEO Thomas Malatesta told us. Thiel is spending “a lot of money” on new websites, social media, e-commerce and third-party websites, said Malatesta. The company is building the 4K platform that's to go live as a subscription-based service in May. Aurora hopes to aggregate its original concerts in Ultra HD and become a content provider, and it's working on secondary distribution deals, said Chief Branding Officer Rebecca Abrahams. The streaming service will offer a dashboard that allows subscribers to interact with artists, she said.

Consumer complaints are proof the retransmission consent negotiation regime works fine and rebut the litany of complaints by multichannel video programming distributors seeking retrans overhaul, NAB said in an FCC filing Tuesday in docket 15-216. Most retrans negotiations are completed successfully and the aggregate effect on the public for those that aren't is trivial, NAB said, saying the FCC sees few retrans-related consumer complaints vs. complaints on how they're treated by MVPDs and on pay-TV charges. NAB said the Media Bureau should focus on possible effects of some of the MVPD-proposed retrans consent changes (see 1512010052 and 1512020029); for example, a limit on broadcasters' ability to negotiate for carriage of additional channels would also limit its ability to meet an MVPD request for a lower price point in favor of additional capacity. "Restraining the parties by arbitrarily removing terms from the negotiating table will only restrict the options they have to reach mutually acceptable agreements," NAB said.

Mediacom said it would like to let its ongoing battle with NAB on "additional stations" carriage provisions rest. Except that NAB "seeks to perpetuate the myth" that Mediacom and other retransmission consent reform backers don't think broadcasters have a right to negotiate for compensation of their signals, when really broadcasters "are hardly the defenders of competition and consumers that they make themselves out to be," the cable company said in a filing Tuesday in FCC docket 15-216. Mediacom and NAB have been disputing contractual provisions on when a broadcaster's retrans deal with a pay-TV company lets the broadcaster expand the deal to include any stations it acquires during the period of the contract, which Mediacom says should be considered a violation of good-faith negotiations (see 1603090049). Mediacom, in its latest missive, said broadcasters' rights to seek compensation for retransmission of their signals are "held to a higher standard than ordinary commercial transactions" by Congress, meaning broadcasters "do not have an unfettered right to make unreasonable negotiating demands and engage in unreasonable negotiating tactics." Mediacom said it has filled the record with "substantive legal, factual and policy arguments" on the need for retrans consent changes, and NAB arguments broadcasters are motivated to sign retrans consent agreements ignore that broadcasters obviously hold the reins in such talks -- the proof being retrans consent fees "going up at hyper-inflationary rates year after year." Mediacom also repeated its call for the FCC to adopt one or more of its retrans rule change proposals (see 1512020029 and 1603040050). NAB didn't comment.

Yahoo will begin free live streaming up to four NHL games a week, in an agreement with the NHL, Yahoo said in a news release. The "Game of the Day" streaming began Friday and comes atop the Wednesday and Sunday NHL games Yahoo promotes in a partnership with NBC Sports Group. Under the NHL deal, Yahoo said, it also will stream condensed games, "Best of the Day" and "Best of the Week" highlights. Yahoo Vice President-Media Partnerships Phil Lynch said Thursday the NHL deal "brings us one step closer to providing fans a live professional sporting event every day, on Yahoo, completely frictionless and for free -- no cable subscription or authentication required."

AT&T and Univision were to continue the cease-fire in their retransmission consent dispute, with access to the Univision network and some other stations -- which was brought back onto U-verse for Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate (see 1603080045) -- extended through 1 a.m. Saturday, Univision said in a news release Thursday. Univision's other remaining networks will remain unavailable, it said.

Comcast is violating federal and Massachusetts antitrust laws and the Massachusetts Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act as it tries to replace WHDH Boston as its NBC Boston affiliate with its own station, WHDH said in a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston. WHDH alleged that after Comcast bought NBCUniversal, the broadcaster approached the company repeatedly about renewal of its affiliation but was continually put off by Comcast until January, when Comcast said it would build its own Boston affiliate using its New England Cable News network as the base. "This was an unprecedented step, as no major national broadcaster has ever terminated its relationship with a successful independent affiliate in a major market to build its own local affiliate from scratch," WHDH said, saying a Comcast executive later acknowledged the affiliate move was aimed at solidifying its dominant position in the Boston cable market. The broadcaster also said Comcast unsuccessfully sought to buy its broadcast assets "at a fire-sale price in order meet its obligations to continue providing free, over-the-air access," and Comcast began broadcasting using WNEU Merrimack, New Hampshire, which it owns. Comcast also violated the terms of an agreement signed with NBC affiliates to get their support of its buy of NBCU, with that affiliate agreement committing Comcast to negotiating affiliate agreements solely on the broadcast interests of NBC, not its cable interests, WHDH said. It asked for an injunction preserving the status quo and that Comcast pay unspecified damages. In a statement, Comcast said, "NBC has had a long, mutually successful relationship with (WHDH owner) Sunbeam, which is expiring under the agreed-upon terms of WHDH’s affiliation contract at the end of the year. We are disappointed that Sunbeam has chosen to file this meritless lawsuit, and that it has chosen to do so by constructing baseless claims against our parent company. Rest assured that we will continue to deliver Boston-area viewers the best local news, weather and information along with the NBC news, sports and entertainment programming they already enjoy."