Comments are due Feb. 14, replies March 1, on an FCC Media Bureau proposal to delete vacant FM broadcast station allotments in Snowflake, Arizona; Millerton, Oklahoma; Powers, Oregon; Mount Enterprise and Paint Rock, Texas; Hardwick, Vermont; and Meeteetse, Wyoming, said a docket 21-502 NPRM Thursday. The agency said there were no bids for the seven in two FM auctions, and their deletion opens the door to new FM allotments in nearby communities or upgrades of existing stations.
Comments are due Jan. 24, replies Feb. 8, on Peloton's petition for an 18-month waiver of FCC rules requiring accessibility of user interfaces on some digital devices, giving it more time to implement extra accessibility features for its connected fitness equipment, said a Media Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 12-108.
SES is 30% done with C-band accelerated clearing Phase II satellite transitions, including broadcast TV, cable network and other services being received at 3820-4000 MHz, the satellite operator said in an FCC docket 18-122 quarterly report Wednesday. About 10% of antennas part of the Phase II transition are installed and all SES-associated incumbent earth stations have any needed compression equipment, it said. It said all compressed services were transitioned by Oct. 31, and filter installation will happen after all incumbent earth station services at 3700-3980 MHz have fully transitioned on the satellite. It said it remains on schedule to meet Phase II clearing obligations.
Tech use by people over 50 “skyrocketed” during the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to continue, AARP reported Tuesday. This year, they spent an average $821 on tech, vs. $394 in 2019. Smartphones and accessories, plus Bluetooth headsets, topped purchases. A third of older adults ordered food online from a restaurant and one in four listened to a podcast in the past two years. Seniors subscribe on average to three streaming video platforms; four in 10 feel technology isn't designed with them in mind.
Fitness equipment company Peloton wants the FCC to grant it an 18-month waiver from some video accessibility requirements for new software it plans to launch on its bikes, treadmills and consoles, said a petition posted in docket 12-108 Tuesday. Though Peloton remains "fully committed to extending the functionality" of its products to blind or vision-impaired users, it needs additional time "to analyze, develop, and implement accessibility plans,” it said. “Designing and successfully integrating assistive technology into Peloton’s platform is more complex than a simple software update.”
Streaming services Cinedigm and Shout Factory signed a deal to provide film and TV series content to one another, Cinedigm said Monday.
Disney channels returned to YouTube TV's lineup, the streamer said Sunday, after Friday's expiration of their licensing agreement. YouTube TV said monthly pricing remains $64.99. During the blackout, YouTube TV cut prices $15.
“Strict enforcement” of accessibility deadlines for user interfaces on some digital devices wouldn’t be “the most constructive approach” due to supply chain woes, said CTA and the Information Technology Industry Council in a call with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday, per a filing in docket 21-140. Disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including to semiconductor availability, could make it hard for some entities to meet a Dec. 20 accessibility deadline for “limited capability digital apparatus,” said the filing: “CTA members facing these constraints are working diligently to come into compliance as soon as possible given circumstances largely outside their control.” Earlier this month, the American Council of the Blind said the requirements have been pending for eight years and should take effect “without delay.”
AMC Theatres rode the “opening weekend strength” of Spider-Man: No Way Home to sell more than 7 million tickets globally Thursday-Sunday, including 5 million in the U.S., said the theater chain Monday. More than 2 million people watched a movie at an AMC location around the world on Saturday, the most tickets it sold in a single day since Christmas Day 2019, it said. Imax reported separately Monday that it took in $36.2 million in Spider-Man revenue on 834 screens across 77 markets globally, including $22 million in North America. It was its sixth biggest global opening weekend ever, it said. Spider-Man overall took in $334.2 million in its debut weekend, smashing expectations of $160 million-$170 million, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday. Despite the "raging coronavirus," the U.K. was the film's strongest market with a $41.4 million box office, making it the fourth highest opening of all time, Frankel said.
KRDK-TV Valley City, North Dakota, qualifies for carriage as a local TV station on the Otter Com and Arvig cable systems in the Fargo area, the FCC Media Bureau ordered Friday in response to Parker Broadcasting must-carry complaints against the systems. MB said Parker met its obligation by pledging to buy and install any equipment needed to deliver an adequate signal to the cable headend. The two have 60 days from when KRDK provides a good quality signal to their headend to initiate carriage. Otter is happy to carry KRDK, but the broadcaster hasn't provided its signal or any information about how it intends to do so, said Business Operations Manager Eric Engler. Arvig didn't comment.