The FCC Media Bureau OK'd TV market modification for KVMD Twentynine Palms, California, to include Los Angeles designated market area communities served by Charter Communications' Spectrum cable systems where KVMD currently isn't being carried on a mandatory basis. The order came Tuesday.

Microsoft gave a hat tip to Apple TV+ in a Monday announcement listing streaming apps that will be available on the Xbox Series S and Series X when the consoles go on sale Nov. 10. Other apps include Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, NBC Peacock, Vudu, FandangoNow, Twitch, Sky Go, Now TV and Sky Ticket, it said. Apple TV+ goes live on the Xbox One the same day, Microsoft said.

Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, ESPN and TLC are the top five national nonbroadcast networks effective July 1 for purposes of FCC audio description rules that MVPD systems above a certain size provide 87.5 hours of audio description quarterly on channels carrying each of those networks, said a Media Bureau public notice Monday. It said the top five list is updated at three-year intervals to account for changes in Nielsen ratings.

The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' reversal of a dismissal of a class-action antitrust complaint against DirecTV and the NFL over the MVPD's Sunday Ticket package (see 1908140015), but don't take that as backing the 9th Circuit decision, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in a docket 19-1098 statement Monday. He said the 9th Circuit decision is "of such legal and economic significance" that it might warrant SCOTUS review, but the case being at the motion-to-dismiss stage "is a factor counseling against this Court’s review at this time." He said the 9th Circuit seemed to agree antitrust law might require teams to negotiate individual contracts for their own games with DirecTV, but "that conclusion appears to be in substantial tension with antitrust principles and precedents." Kavanaugh said the plaintiff sports bars and restaurants may not have antitrust standing to sue the NFL and the individual teams. He said the league, teams and DirecTV defendants "have substantial arguments on the law," and if they don't prevail at summary judgment or during trial, they can come back to SCOTUS with a new cert petition. Outside counsel for the defendants didn't comment. The court said Justice Amy Coney Barrett took no part in the consideration or decision on the petition for writ of certiorari.

Red Ventures completed its $500 million acquisition of CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS, said the buyer Friday. Red Ventures announced the deal in mid-September, saying it was “eager to invest” in CNET’s growth “with more personalized consumer experiences” so it could “reinvigorate” CNET's various brands.

Representatives of NCTA, NAB and media companies told FCC Wireless and International bureau staff that reimbursing the costs incumbent satellite operators face for burying integrated receiver decoder equipment is important to the C-band transition. “This equipment is essential to compressing programmer services and thereby enabling the freeing up of the lower 300 MHz in the C-band,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-122.

Though Imax will likely resume “impressive top and bottom-line growth,” 2021 may still be challenging, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Friday. With several high-profile Imax films delayed a year, the “blockbuster slate” looks “satisfactory,” said Frankel, but he expects significantly slower screen growth next year as theater partners look to shore up their financial positions. Crowds will return to theaters in North America and Europe once a COVID-19 vaccine is introduced, said Frankel, who expects Imax to resume market share expansion. Noting the company’s strong cash position, Frankel said results during pandemic-related theater closures and periods of low utilization “have little impact on our 2022 estimates.” Imax reported a 56% Q3 revenue drop Thursday (see 2010290060) to $37.3 million.

Comcast's ad-supported Peacock streaming service has close to 22 million sign-ups since its July launch, is starting to help with churn, and is playing a role in increased broadband subscriptions, CEO Brian Roberts said Thursday as Comcast announced Q3 financial results. It ended the quarter with 27.84 million broadband subscribers, up 1.8 million year over year, Comcast said. It said revenue for the quarter was $25.5 billion, down from $26.8 billion last year. Roberts said Comcast is focusing on a three-pronged strategy of broadband, streaming and aggregation or bundling of services. He said its Flex streaming service and platform for broadband-only subscribers now has more than 1 million monthly active users, which more than offsets the decline in the number of traditional pay-TV video subscribers for the past two quarters. Comcast said it ended the quarter with 19.2 million video subscribers, down 1.2 million year over year. Roberts said Comcast's theme park business is still hurting from the global pandemic but is expected at least break even in 2021. Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh said Comcast has spent $239 million in COVID-19 pandemic-related restructuring and severance costs so far this year and expects to spend about $480 million more in Q4. Comcast said it ended the quarter with 2.6 million mobile subscriptions. It said the wireless business is being hurt somewhat by some retail stores remaining closed due to COVID-19, but the vast majority are now open. Comcast said it ended the quarter with 9.68 million residential voice customers, down 270,000 year over year.

The FCC International Bureau approved an assignment and transfer of control of OneWeb licenses and market access grants as part of the satellite operator's planned emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see 2009010005), in a public notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest.

Congress shouldn’t let local news “die” because Big Tech companies unfairly leverage the ad market, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Tuesday, releasing a report showing newspaper revenue declining about 70% by the end of 2020 vs. two decades ago. The report said broadcasters lost more than 40% of ad revenue 2000-2018, and since 2005, papers lost about 60% of their overall workforce. “The biggest online platforms unfairly use content, take local news consumer data and divert customers away from local news websites, while providing little in return,” she said. NAB, Public Knowledge and the News Media Alliance welcomed the report. NAB supports “findings that the competitive power of a handful of digital platforms has dominated the marketplace for advertising and audiences,” said CEO Gordon Smith. “Targeted federal funding and new regulatory tools can help transition local journalism to succeed in the digital marketplace,” said PK Senior Policy Fellow Lisa Macpherson. Google and Facebook “effectively regulate news publishers by determining how (and whether) journalism is distributed and monetized,” said News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern. The "accusation" that Facebook scrapes news articles is "simply not true," a company spokesperson emailed: "We give news organizations the ability to post news on Facebook free of charge, and they have full control over how that content is accessed and monetized." The platform cited $400 million in contributions to "programs and partnerships with a focus on local news." News publishers are facing “enormous” challenges, but the report is a misrepresentation, a Google spokesperson emailed: “We provide value to the news industry by sending people to news sites 24 billion times a month, help publishers make money with our advertising products and provide support via the Google News Initiative.” The company cited a $1 billion investment in partnerships with news publishers for Google News Showcase.