The FCC should make clear C-band satellite operators are entitled to reimbursement of costs needed to preserve satellite restoration services, including costs of additional satellites, as part of the clearing, NCTA and NAB said in a docket 18-122 posting Thursday. They said there are instances of satellite operators using their restoration capacity in response to video service interruptions.

LG launched Alexa voice control for eight 2020 models in its OLED and NanoCell ThinQ smart TV lines. A software update allows customers to speak to Alexa directly through their TV to play music, hear news, check weather, set timers and reminders, control their smart home and play Alexa games, without needing a remote control, said the company.

Samsung applied to trademark “Sound Visualizer” for downloadable software that aids TV-viewing for the hearing-impaired, Patent and Trademark Office records last week show. Samsung TVs let consumers pair Bluetooth headphones with TV sound. The company didn’t comment Monday.

NAB and NCTA told FCC International Bureau staff that issues with its list of incumbent C-band earth stations need addressing, recapped a docket 20-205 posting Friday. There's no reason not to allow broadcasters to update registrations that are now out of date from station moves caused by the broadcast inventive auction repack or that need updating because of changes due to ordinary course of business, NAB said. It and NCTA urged considering corrections for earth stations that were properly registered but might have failed to complete some procedural requirements due to issues like vendor error or a previous station owner's actions.

Both the Telecom Act's plain language and the congressional intent show the FCC was right in deciding Charter Communications faced effective competition in parts of Massachusetts and Hawaii due to AT&T TV Now, NCTA said in an amicus brief Wednesday (in Pacer, docket 19-2282). The decision "avoids the unfairness" of asymmetrical regulations when a LEC and cable operator compete, it said, backing the commission in Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable's appellate court challenge to the FCC's effective competition order (see 1912230063). MDTC didn't comment Thursday.

A host of companies and associations -- including Comcast, AT&T, iHeartMedia and the Internet Association -- praised Washington, D.C.’s removal of a planned tax on the purchase of advertising. “This proposed tax would have created a substantial barrier for economic recovery and job creation in the District,” said a joint statement Wednesday, which was also signed by Verizon, the News Media Alliance and NCTA. NAB also signed the statement and released its own last week (see 2007230064). The tax’s removal “provides a far better environment for the many large and small business and media entities struggling to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the joint release said.

The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable's appellate court challenge to the FCC's effective competition order covering parts of the state and Hawaii (see 1912230063) comes from "a cramped reading" of the commission's LEC test that's both atextual and against Congress' explicit desire that cable rates be set by competition, not regulation. So read an FCC brief Wednesday with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (in Pacer, docket 19-2282). The LEC test's statutory text and legislative history back the idea it doesn't impose a facilities-based restriction on LECs and their affiliates, the FCC said. MDTC didn't comment.

Logitech's gaming unit introduced a wireless pro-grade headset targeted to esports participants, Logitech said. It's equipped with 2.4 GHz Lightspeed wireless, which delivers 42 feet of range and more than 20 hours of battery life. DTS 7.1 surround sound is built in. Availability is August, said the company.

Esports ad and sponsorship spending this year will top $1.5 billion, up 41% from 2017, Comscore reported Monday. Some 65% of U.S. households own a device for gaming; game content touches 80% of the digital population. Some 38 million U.S. households own a gaming console. In 2020, there were 210 million unique visitors in the overall gaming category.

The cost of complying with FCC syndicated exclusivity rules for a handful of Pennsylvania communities, such as a system upgrade in excess of $100,000, outweighs the benefit, the Media Bureau said in a docket 13-287 order Friday. It granted cable ISP Service Electric Cablevision its requested, unopposed waiver of the syndex rules.