Pointing to the FCC's retransmission blackout reporting order released earlier this month (see 2501060032), Altice USA discussed the current Nexstar blackout (see 2501130068). In a docket 23-427 filing posted Tuesday, Altice said Nexstar continues insisting on including WPIX New York in the negotiations despite the FCC's proposed $1.8 million forfeiture against Nexstar and Mission Broadcasting over allegations that the companies misrepresented Nexstar’s control of WPIX (see 2403220067). Altice said Nexstar, in the retrans talks between the two, "is demanding exorbitant rate increases."

Holly Saurer has left her post as chief of the FCC Media Bureau, an agency spokesperson confirmed Monday. However, Saurer remains at the FCC in a different role, the spokesperson said, without identifying it. A Monday order to pay or show cause aimed at Cobra Broadcasting over failure to pay delinquent regulatory fees was signed by Rosemary Harold, with the title “Acting Chief, Media Bureau.” Harold, who served as Enforcement Bureau chief under former Chairman Ajit Pai, is listed on the FCC’s website as a deputy chief of the Media Bureau. A longtime Media Bureau staffer under numerous FCC chairs, Saurer was chief since January 2022. She also spent time as media adviser to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

TV programmers cutting their newsroom staffs in light of shrinking TV news audiences -- particularly among cable news outlets --- could be an opportunity for Netflix to enter the field, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon wrote Sunday. In addition, he said Amazon reportedly is considering adding news to its Prime Video service. Netflix management has repeatedly said the company is not interested in news, but it said the same about sports previously, Dixon said. Netflix has an advantage in that many members of its huge subscriber base use it daily, Dixon added.

The American Antitrust Institute is urging DOJ to examine Disney acquiring a stake in FuboTV and other terms of Fubo's settlement of its litigation against the Venu streaming service. Settling Fubo's suit against Venu joint venture partners Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery "appears to leave the consumer harms that were the basis of the suit unaddressed and unremedied," AAI said in a letter to Doha Mekki, acting assistant attorney general in DOJ's Antitrust Division. Released Friday, the letter urged that DOJ "take any actions necessary to ensure effective remedies to any harms to competition in live U.S. sports broadcasting that its investigation reveals." Disney and the other partners said Friday they were axing Venu plans (see 2501100042).

Altice USA and Nexstar are blaming one another for a blackout that saw Nexstar stations go dark on Altice's channel lineup Friday. Altice said Nexstar is "using an anti-consumer negotiation tactic" of tying local channels to carriage of NewsNation, despite the Nexstar cable network having "essentially no viewership." Nexstar said Altice removed 63 stations in 42 markets and dropped NewsNation, "demanding special terms that are wildly out of step with both our longstanding relationship and the cable television marketplace." Nexstar said MSG Network going dark on Altice earlier this month signals "a regular pattern of behavior for Altice." In a statement Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) urged MSG and Altice "to work together to reach a fair, final agreement so New Yorkers can get back to rooting for the home teams.” James said she "will be monitoring this situation closely to ensure New York customers receive the services they are paying for."

DirecTV joined EchoStar in asking a federal court not to lift the preliminary injunction put on the Venu sports streaming joint venture of Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Plaintiff FuboTV settling with Disney "does nothing to resolve the underlying antitrust violations at issue" with Venu, DirectTV wrote U.S. District Court for Southern New York Judge Margaret Garnett on Thursday (docket 24-cv-1363). EchoStar made a similar argument with the court this week (see 250108002).

Considering the antitrust concerns raised by the proposed Venu sports streaming joint venture, Dish Network parent EchoStar is urging a federal court not to drop the temporary injunction against it. In a Jan. 7 letter to Judge Margaret Garnett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, EchoStar said that defendant Disney's agreement with plaintiff Fubo is the equivalent of purchasing its "way out of their antitrust violation." EchoStar added, "But the Court’s decisions have correctly found harm that sweeps past the Plaintiff to the consuming public, independent programmers, and distributors" such as Dish. The preliminary injunction Garnett granted in August (see 2408160040) stopped the plan by defendants Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery "to monopolize the pay-TV market and ... charge inflated prices to millions of Americans," EchoStar said. Fubo and the defendants asked the court this week to lift the preliminary injunction in light of the Disney-Fubo settlement (see 2501070040). The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, in docket 24-2210, dismissed an appeal challenging the preliminary injunction (see 2412020006).

Paramount Global and Comcast renewed their distribution agreements, which will keep Paramount networks on Comcast's Xfinity platforms, the two said Tuesday. The multi-year deal also has Comcast subscribers keeping access to Paramount streaming services.

FuboTV's merger with Disney's Hulu+ Live TV will mean two major players in the virtual multichannel video programming distribution landscape -- New YouTube TV and the New Fubo entity -- with an array of much smaller services following in their wake, Ampere Analysis' Andrew Dougert wrote Tuesday. Announced Monday (see 2501060003), the merger could take up to 18 months to close, he said. By then, YouTube TV will likely have around 10.5 million subscribers, while Fubo and Hulu+ Live TV are expected to collectively have nearly 6.4 million, he said. Behind them, EchoStar's Sling TV currently has a little more than 2 million subscribers. The Fubo/Hulu deal has Fubo dropping its litigation seeking to block the Disney/Fox/Warner Bros. Discovery sports streaming joint venture Venu. The parties on Monday filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal (docket 1:24-cv-01363) with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asking that the preliminary injunction against Venu (see 2408160040) be lifted.

The planned Department of Government Efficiency should apply “bulldozer treatment” to MVPD regulations, which will ease burdens on providers that are bleeding subscribers, said former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly in a post for the Free State Foundation Monday. “The video marketplace is still stuck with many mandates and obligations created 30 years ago or more,” O’Rielly wrote. “DOGE could provide a great service by giving this sector a good shakeout and squaring any remaining obligations with how American families actually consume video content.” Comparing the modern video market to its past iterations “is like comparing space travel to a donkey ride,” O’Rielly added. “There can be no justification for keeping current burdens when providers can and should escape to new business models in response.” It would be “ridiculous” to try to apply the same rules cable providers operate under to new video businesses, he wrote. “Can anyone imagine policymakers arguing that the space-wasteful and unwatched public access programming must be included on YouTube or Meta’s Reels?” O’Rielly didn’t specify which video regulations DOGE should target, but said it should avoid retransmission consent because it would draw too much pushback. “Thumping old agency requirements that are no longer needed in the modern world is a worthy and sensible task.”