FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hopes the draft protective order (see 1508040060)) on the release of video programming confidential information (VPCI) in Charter's proposed purchases of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable is “voted real fast,” he said in a news conference after Thursday's commission meeting. The shot clock for the deals can't start until the FCC has established the rules for VPCI, he said. Asked about when that clock would start, Wheeler said the media should ask “those who are voting on the protective order.” Commissioner Ajit Pai said in his own news conference after Wheeler's that the question of sharing VPCI should be separated from the transaction review and put out for public comment. His proposals along those lines to the chairman's office have received no response, Pai said. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly also said he disagrees with Wheeler's stance, and he hasn't voted on the protective order. FCC staffers weren't "sucking eggs" while waiting for the shot clock to start -- they're reviewing Charter information already submitted, Wheeler said.

Public figures with a verified Facebook account can share live video with fans through a new feature in the Facebook Mentions app, the company said in a news release Wednesday. The feature allows fans to comment on, like and share the live video and reveals when other public figures are watching, Facebook said. It said the video will be posted directly to the page of the public figure after the live broadcast has concluded.

PMCM TV's WJLP Middletown, New Jersey, isn't “poaching” other stations' brands in its quest to be assigned to virtual channel 3.10, PMCM said in a reply to oppositions to its application for review posted in FCC docket 14-150 Tuesday. "There was not a single complaint of confusion or inability to receive CBS or Meredith from any of the 20 million+ viewers in the New York" market after WJLP began using that channel, PMCM said. Instead, it is the Media Bureau’s assignment of WJLP to Channel 33 that has created problems, PMCM said. Reassigning WJLP to 33 also violated the Spectrum Act, PMCM said. The statute “expressly and absolutely bars the Commission from involuntarily reassigning a television licensee to another channel prior to the Incentive Auction,” PMCM said. Viacom also filed a reply in the docket, asking the FCC to clarify Cablevision's carriage requirements for WJLP under the station's unusual virtual channel assignment. Though an earlier PMCM filing characterized Viacom's filing as an appeal against PMCM (see 1507150024), Viacom said that's not the case.

Driven primarily by increased utility in law enforcement and agricultural applications, the global commercial drone market is expected to reach about $2 billion by 2022, said a report released Tuesday by Grand View Research. The firm said it expects drones to "revolutionize the retail sector" and "positively shape" market growth once regulatory clearance is authorized in the U.S. and other countries. High penetration of commercial drones is predicted for Europe, due to its regulatory scenario, which the report said is "more conducive to market growth as opposed to the U.S." The Federal Aviation Administration is considering rules that would further address the issue of commercial drone usage, and said Tuesday it has given out more than 1,000 Section 333 exemptions to its 2012 Modernization and Reform Act rules, allowing exemption holders to conduct commercial drone flights in non-restricted areas at or below 200 feet. Monday, commercial drone advocates, including Amazon, backed congressional involvement in the process of commercial drone approval (see 1508030069), while privacy advocates pushed for industry to accept drone privacy rules (see 1508030053). Grand View said North America generated more than 55 percent of 2014 global commercial drone revenue and that government drone applications, including law enforcement, infrastructure and research, contributed more than 40 percent of market revenue.

Digital spending for sell-through, VOD and streaming made up more than half of U.S. home entertainment sales for the first time in Q2, said a report from the Digital Entertainment Group. VOD spending slipped 3.7 percent to $551 million, while electronic sell-through ($510 million) rose 22 percent and subscription streaming ($1.1 billion) rose 23 percent, said DEG Friday. Total digital spending rose 15 percent to $2.2 billion, it said. And home entertainment subscription spending rose 16 percent to $1.3 billion, said DEG.

Netflix didn't violate the Video Privacy Protection Act or California Civil Code Section 1799.3 when it disclosed a subscriber’s viewing history to third parties -- specifically a subscriber’s family, friends and guests, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. To assist subscribers in adding videos to their queues or selecting videos to watch instantly, Netflix gives customers lists of recommended videos, the 9th Circuit said. “These recommendations are generated through the use of predictive software that analyzes, among other things, a subscriber’s rental history,” the court said. “Netflix displays a subscriber’s queue and recommendations lists automatically on a subscriber’s account home page.” Subscribers can edit and delete titles from the queue, but can’t hide or remove the queue or other lists displayed by Netflix, meaning they're available for others to see when subscribers accesses their account, said the ruling. Because the personally identifiable information is only available only to those who have been given access to a subscriber’s account, the 9th Circuit said the company didn’t violate the law. Judge Raymond Dearie wrote the opinion on behalf of himself and Judges Johnnie Rawlinson and Richard Tallman. It upheld a lower court's ruling. Plaintiffs Meghan Mollett and Tracy Hellwig couldn't be immediately reached for comment Monday.

Ciena completed its acquisition of software provider Cyan for nearly $488 million in cash and stock considerations, said Ciena in a news release Monday. The company will unify its own software activities with those of Cyan to create its new Blue Planet division, it said.

The Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee (DSTAC) plans its sixth meeting Tuesday, a public notice issued Thursday said. The DSTAC’s congressionally mandated report is due Sept. 4, and Tuesday's is the second to last remaining meeting on the schedule. The group's final meeting is slated for Aug. 28. According to the agenda, Tuesday's meeting will include discussion of how to resolve the separate efforts of the committee’s two working groups and the final process for drafting the report.

Comments and submissions for the 17th FCC video competition report are due Aug. 21, replies Sept. 21, the agency said in a notice in Friday's Federal Register. The report will focus on the 2014 video market and how the industry performance is aligned with such FCC goals as increased competition and diversity in multichannel video programming distribution, increased availability of satellite-delivered programming and more development of communications technologies.

Univision Communications signed a deal with Snapchat for the social media company to create “unique Live Stories” around Univision sports and entertainment events, the broadcaster said in a Thursday news release. Snapchat’s Live Stories let users at the same event contribute photos and video “Snaps” to form one collective story. “Snapchat curates each Live Story, aiming to capture how participants are experiencing the event from all angles,” Univision said. The partnership will begin with the Gold Cup Final on Sunday, and Snapchat and Univision are plan a Live Story tied to the soccer event Copa America Centenario next summer, it said.