Broadcasters say multichannel video programming distributor carriage of ATSC 3.0 will be voluntary but are insisting on clauses requiring such carriage in retransmission consent negotiations, said the American Television Alliance in a letter to the FCC posted in docket 16-142 Monday. “ATVA’s concerns about the ‘voluntary’ nature of ATSC 3.0 carriage reflect the real-world experiences of ATVA members,” the letter said. “As the Commission considers claims made by the broadcast industry in this rulemaking, we urge it to examine the apparent disconnect between such claims and broadcasters’ actual conduct in negotiations.”

Netflix named its recommended TVs for 2017, with LG, Samsung and Sony receiving nods, said a company blog post Monday. LG’s 4K UHD TVs with WebOS 3.5, Samsung’s 7, 8, 9 and Q series TVs and Sony’s Android TVs netted recommendations for “better usability, faster performance and new features” that make getting to streaming media services “as easy as getting to live TV,” said Netflix. The TVs passed an evaluation process based on factors Netflix users said were important, including getting from power on to using internet TV apps such as Netflix in “just a few seconds"; switching between apps or switching from apps to live TV and back “almost instantly"; and displaying the Netflix interface in high-resolution, making text and graphics clear, sharp and bright, Netflix said. Other criteria carried over from previous years: Netflix must be easily accessible from the TV menu, including having a Netflix button on the remote control that can turn on the TV and go directly into the Netflix app “within a few seconds.” Recommended TVs also must incorporate the latest version of Netflix, it said.

Nearly 20 percent of streaming video subscribers are paying for three or more services -- up 4 percentage points over 2015, said a 451 Research report Monday with findings from a December survey of 1,270 North American respondents. Of respondents who pay for a streaming video service, 79 percent subscribe to Netflix and 53 percent are Amazon Video subscribers, with Amazon Video subscriptions growing by 5 points last year vs. 2015, it said. A third of respondents chose the services for their original content, up 8 percentage points over 2015, with 36 percent of Amazon and Netflix subscribers saying original content was key to their decision to subscribe. Thirty-one percent of Amazon Video subscribers said original content is their most-watched type of video, up from 7 percent in 2015, compared with 32 percent of Netflix users, up from 20 percent in 2015, it said. Streaming enthusiasts are creating their own bundles of video services, starting with Netflix (95 percent) and Amazon Video (82 percent) then choosing from subscription and a la carte platforms including Hulu, HBO Now and iTunes, said the report. Half of subscribers said access to movies was their top motivator for subscribing to a video service, followed by 45 percent who wanted to access complete seasons of TV shows, it said. Roku leads the streaming media device market with 31 percent of respondents saying they own a Roku player, and 10 percent owning a Roku Streaming Stick. Thirty-five percent owned an Apple TV, and 26 percent were Google Chromecast users, it said. Amazon devices had a smaller market share than other streaming devices at 13 percent for the Fire TV Stick and 10 percent for Fire TV player, but ownership was up 2 percent for the Stick and 1 percent for the player vs. the previous year, it said.

The contractual language that let Charter Communications operate legacy systems under terms of the Time Warner Cable agreement with Univision is "clear and unambiguous," and the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan should declare so, Charter said in a declaratory judgment counterclaim and answer filed Friday. In its heavily redacted filing, Charter said the surviving entity of 2016's Charter/TWC was a third entity, Spectrum, which owns both legacy systems, and that Spectrum was contractually allowed to carry the legacy Charter systems under the Charter agreement and then, once that expired, under the TWC agreement. Charter said the counterclaim is related only to the March 1 stipulation and order (see 1703010002), with the company possibly bringing more counterclaims following resolution of forthcoming motions for summary judgment. Univision, pointing to a stipulation agreed to by the two companies (see 1703010002), said in a statement Monday it and Charter agreed to forego a preliminary injunction hearing and are pursuing an expedited schedule so the court can rule more quickly.

The global market for augmented- and virtual reality headsets will reach 99.4 million units in 2021, up from 10.1 million shipments in 2016, IDC reported. Analyst Ramon Llamas said AR and VR will provide immersive experiences to consume content, and content providers are developing ways to bring you-are-there concert or sports event experiences to the home, he said. Gaming on AR and VR will transport players “into outer space or the battlefield, several steps beyond what they currently experience on a PC or television screen,” Llamas said. Current VR experiences “lack the context required for real engagement Strategy Analytics said in another Thursday report. But SA said the “nascent technology ... holds huge promise.”

Not all tracks from Pandora’s free radio service will be available to play on the $10-per-month on-demand (see 1703130071) Premium service, said the Pandora.com help section. “Since we’re bound by our existing licenses to stream some of our tracks exclusively in a radio format, on-demand playback may not be available for some tracks.” The majority of songs in the collection will be eligible to be played without restrictions, said the company. Pandora trickled out the service to some starting Wednesday. Pandora Plus users will be offered a six-month trial to the on-demand service, it said in a news release.

The Association of National Advertisers said Amazon, Instagram, Twitter and other tech firms with “walled garden” digital ad platforms should allow the Media Rating Council to conduct independent audits of their ad metrics. Walled garden platforms are those in which the provider “has control over applications, content, and media, and restricts convenient access to non-approved applications or content,” ANA said in a Friday report. ANA surveyed 113 members, with 89 percent of respondents saying they approved of decisions last month by Facebook and Google's YouTube (here and here) to allow the MRC to do independent audits of their ad metrics.

A Unamas Septet recording of A. Piazzolla by Strings and Oboe, to be released Friday on the Ottava label in Japan, will be the first Master Quality Authenticated recording on CD, said MQA in a Thursday announcement. The MQA-enabled CD could mark “a new era of hi-res audio,” said mastering engineer Mick Sawaguchi. MQA CD works the same way as an MQA digital file, said MQA: With a conventional CD player connected to an MQA-enabled device, the MQA CD will “unwrap’ to the original sample rate,” it said.

AT&T's U-Verse service is far more prone to blackouts since the company bought DirecTV in 2015, Raycom Media said Thursday after its stations were dropped from the U-Verse lineup in 23 markets due to an impasse in retransmission consent talks. In a news release, Raycom CEO Pat LaPlatney said retrans agreements "are important free-market negotiations that sustain broadcast localism. It is unfortunate that AT&T U-Verse appears to be involving their customers in their broader business strategy.” In a statement, AT&T said Raycom "is deliberately preventing its stations from reaching their homes until Raycom receives a significant increase in fees even though the same people can still watch its shows for free over-the-air and, typically, online at each network's website or using those network's apps. We have asked Raycom repeatedly to allow our customers to watch [the NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament] while we work this business matter out privately, but Raycom continues to refuse." Station-induced blackouts "are on a record pace in 2017 totaling more than 125 blackouts in 81 cities, and costing nearly 18 million families at least some temporary disruption," the telco said. American TV Alliance said 2017 already has had more than 125 blackouts, exceeding all of 2016. "As this surging blackout crisis rolls on, big network executives are not only raking in cash at new record highs, but local stations have shown little courage to stop gouging a much smaller number of American families who still continue to remain loyal," it said.

Honda received a 20-month waiver of the accessible user interface requirements covering rear entertainment systems for its Odyssey, Pilot and Acura MDX models for 2017 through 2019. An FCC Media Bureau order Thursday in docket 12-108 requires that Honda file status reports on July 20 and Jan. 20 with the Media and Consumer and Governmental Affairs bureaus on its work integrating accessible technology for rear entertainment systems in its vehicles. The National Federation of the Blind opposed the waiver request petition, saying the carmaker had ample time to design systems to meet FCC rules. The bureau said it's only a limited waiver, and not granting it would mean the company would have to suspend production and sales of vehicles to make hardware and software changes, or alternately, it would have to cease offering rear entertainment systems altogether.