ViacomCBS and Sinclair signed a multiyear affiliation agreement covering 13 Sinclair stations, including WKRC-TV Cincinnati; WPEC West Palm Beach, Florida; WWMT Kalamazoo, Michigan; and WHP-TV Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, ViacomCBS said Wednesday. It said Sinclair’s CBS affiliates will stay locally available to subscribers of the CBS All Access streaming service.
Google temporarily suspended all political advertisements, including those referencing impeachment, inauguration or the Capitol protests, the company said Wednesday, citing the deadly riot at the Capitol (see 2101130074). “We regularly pause ads over unpredictable, ‘sensitive’ events when ads can be used to exploit the event or amplify misleading information,” a spokesperson emailed. “Beyond this, we have long-standing policies blocking content that incites violence or promotes hate and we will be extremely vigilant about enforcing on any ads that cross this line.” This includes ads for Google Ads, DV360, YouTube and AdX Authorized Buyer, the platform wrote advertisers.
Gray Television's good-faith retransmission consent negotiations complaint about supposed sham talks by Frontier Communications (see 2012230005) ignores the three offers Frontier submitted and that the MVPD opted not to agree to the financial terms Gray wanted, said the telco-MVPD in an FCC docket 20-441 answer Tuesday. It said Gray is wrong in its conclusion that its stations were removed from the Frontier online channel guides weeks before the agreement was due to expire. The broadcaster didn't comment.
Anti-counterfeiting is a key part of HDMI Licensing Administrator's efforts to ensure licensed and compliant products, CEO Rob Tobias said in an interview Friday. Consumers can scan a QR code and holographic image on packaging to determine if a product at retail is legitimate, he said. The organization works with international law enforcement and customs officials to do factory raids, product seizures and takedowns of counterfeit product listings on e-commerce and social media sites, Tobias said. The HDMI Forum released HDMI 2.1 last year, and products are widely available that support the latest HDMI spec features, including 4K, 8K and dynamic HDR.
Deluxe acquired Sundog Media Toolkit, said the digital content production company Thursday. U.K.-based Sundog markets an automated, cloud-based platform that creates specialized multi-format, multi-language files for theatrical distribution and streaming platforms.
Gracenote introduced live sports widgets to help smart TV and car manufacturers enable dynamic sports experiences, it said Wednesday. A smart TV maker can present previews of upcoming games featuring a viewer’s favorite teams followed by updates during game play, it said. Notifications can be created to direct viewers to a game broadcast or stream on a preferred service, said the Nielsen company. A connected car can display scores optimized for viewing easily on vehicle infotainment screens, it said. At launch, sports widgets will cover major North American sports leagues and international football leagues.
LG Electronics is buying a majority interest in TV data and measurement specialist Alphonso, said LG Wednesday. It plans to use Alphonso software and services within its “broad range” of home entertainment products, especially smart TVs. LG is making the investment through its U.S.-based Zenith technology, and Alphonso will continue to operate as an independent business under its current brand and leadership.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued an advisory Thursday reminding emergency alert system participants of compliance obligations. The 2019 national EAS test identified several issues “that impair dissemination of EAS messages,” the advisory said. They include following up on messages that don’t meet EAS accessibility requirements, ensuring equipment is monitoring and transmitting, and complying with reporting procedures, the advisory said. “Failure to comply with the EAS rules may subject a violator to sanctions including, but not limited to, substantial monetary forfeitures.”
Comments are due March 8 on 2019's changes to Copyright Act Section 119 statutory licenses concerning DBS retransmission of TV stations, said a Copyright Office notice of inquiry in Wednesday's Federal Register. The agency wants feedback on such issues as whether Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act changes mean households that previously didn't receive local network stations from their satellite provider now receive them and if DBS operators still are relying on amended Section 119 licenses to provide distant-into-local network retransmissions.
The Copyright Royalty Board Tuesday announced proceedings for determining “reasonable rates and terms.” Copyright royalty judges will determine “reasonable rates and terms for making and distributing phonorecords” Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2027. Judges will also determine “reasonable rates and terms for the use of certain copyrighted works by public broadcasting entities” for the same period. Deadlines to participate in the proceedings are Feb. 4.