Dish Network signed two retransmission consent agreements for two sets of TV stations and is now complaining it's being held to the terms of those deals, Terrier Media Buyer told the U.S. District Court in Chicago Thursday in a motion to dismiss (docket 20-cv-00570, in Pacer) Dish's contractual dispute. It said Dish acknowledged Terrier bought the two station groups with the idea that one of the retrans agreements would supersede the other, but the MVPD preferred that now-gone agreement's terms. It said Dish's complaint makes sense only if the station groups were bought in a different order than what happened and what the FCC approved. Dish didn't comment. The court dropped Cox, one of the previous station group owners, from the litigation this week (see 2009080002).
LG teamed with Evil Geniuses on a four-part web series on the world of professional gamers, said the vendor Wednesday. Evil Geniuses pros separately will face off against opponents on a weekly, interactive, two-hour broadcast livestreamed on Twitch.
The global streaming devices market will expand at a 13.2% compound annual growth rate, reaching $18.97 billion by 2027, reported Allied Market Research Tuesday. Surging demand for livestreamed content will drive the growth, with bandwidth limitations impeding market expansion “to some extent,” it said. The TV segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period, rising at a 14.2% CAGR through 2027, it said. North America was 40% of the global streaming devices market in 2019 and is expected to maintain its dominant share for the next seven years.
Cox Media Group was dropped as a defendant in litigation brought by Dish Network in a retransmission consent fight, per an order Friday (docket 20-cv-00570, in Pacer) granting a Cox motion to dismiss. U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin of Chicago said Dish's complaint doesn't show any evidence Cox breached its retrans agreement with the MVPD, and said Dish's contentions all involve another defendant, Terrier Media Buyer, which bought the stations in question from Cox. Dish didn't comment Tuesday.
Though Cogeco's board rejected Altice and Rogers' bid (see here and 2009020055), the two said Thursday they "strongly believe that we presented a very attractive offer -- one that would reward all Cogeco shareholders with a significant premium -- and we stand by that offer." They "remain committed to pursuing this transaction and are open to engaging with shareholders and the boards in a constructive dialogue.”
Spotify is trying to upsell customers to its Premium service with a free Google Net Mini. Its Premium Family, Duo and Student plans have “limited eligibility.” The offer runs through Sept. 30 or while supplies last; codes expire Oct. 31.
Indiana cities suing streaming services that are seeking to force them to pay franchise fees, "are treading into dangerous legal waters" because a court ruling in favor of the streamers could also be legal ammunition for cable companies to claim they also shouldn't pay, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson blogged Wednesday. Also problematic would be a ruling against the streamers because it would mean the cities ultimately are taxing some -- but not all -- bits moving back and forth between ISPs and customers, he said. Outside counsel for the cities didn't comment.
Samsung is the leading brand of streaming platform services in use across 27 countries, in a market that exceeded 1.1 billion devices, said Strategy Analytics Wednesday. Trailing Samsung’s 14% share are Sony (12%), LG (8%), Hisense (5%), TCL (5%) and Amazon (5%), said SA. Tizen is the leading platform in TV streaming with 11% deployed devices, followed by WebOS (7%), PlayStation (7%), Roku OS (5%), Fire OS (5%), Android TV (4%) and Xbox (4%). Over-the-top TV is a “complex and evolving landscape” vs. mobile devices where two platforms dominate, said analyst David Watkins. “Frequently updated, tactical tracking of platform deployments is a valuable tool in ensuring that services are reaching their highest potential audience.” SA expects internet streaming to dominate TV and video consumption across much of the world over the next decade, said analyst David Mercer. “As traditional television and video platforms continue to decline, TV streaming represents the future of television and video.”
Comments are due Oct. 1 and replies Oct. 16 on a petition for declaratory ruling by the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association, DirecTV and Dish Network challenging Chicago's 2012 satellite dish antenna restrictions, per a docket 20-284 FCC Media Bureau public notice Tuesday. It said the Chicago rule has been in abeyance while the FCC dealt with a similar Philadelphia ordinance, which it declared invalid in 2018 (see 1804190034).
The FCC’s methodology for calculating regulatory fees is “deeply flawed” and “would not survive judicial review,” NAB said Tuesday responding to the 2020 reg payments order (see 2008310056). “However, we very much appreciate Chairman [Ajit] Pai and his staff correcting certain errors in the proposal’s original calculations to result in reduced fees for many radio broadcasters. NAB urges the Commission to convene stakeholders to take a closer look at its approach to regulatory fees to ensure they are fairly and equitably applied for all entities that utilize Commission resources.” ACA Connects praised the order for continuing to phase in higher fees for direct broadcast satellite providers. “Next year the FCC must eliminate this long-inexplicable disparity between cable/IPTV and DBS regulatory fees once and for all,” said ACA President Matt Polka. “The DBS industry is mature and its two providers, AT&T/DirecTV and DISH, are not exactly fledglings. It is time to stop treating them with kid gloves.”