The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $720,000 fine against Nexstar for violating retransmission consent negotiation rules. In a notice of apparent liability in Thursday's Daily Digest, the bureau sided with Hawaiian Telecom in concluding that Nexstar breached its good-faith negotiation duties when it proposed renewal terms that would have barred HT from filing complaints with the FCC. The bureau said HT didn't meet its burden of proof on its assertion that Nexstar also violated the good-faith rules when it did not extend their retrans consent agreement until the parties reached a new agreement or an impasse. The proposed fine totals the $120,000 levied for each of the six Nexstar-licensed stations involved. Nextar emailed that it “believes the proposed forfeiture is unwarranted, excessive, and in violation of the law and we will challenge the FCC’s action.” HT and Nexstar reached a deal in July after a more than three-week blackout (see 2307210045).

ESPN will offer a standalone streaming option likely starting in August 2025, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday. In an earnings call with analysts, Iger said the 2018 ESPN+ launch was "the first step" in an "inevitable" move to take Disney subsidiary ESPN direct to consumer. In addition, he said ESPN's joint venture sports streaming platform with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, announced this week (see 2402070006), is "an attractive business proposition." The JV targets those who never had a multichannel TV subscription and "gives them a chance to do so at a price point that will be obviously more attractive than the big fat bundle." The JV "is going to be substantially less expensive to consumers" than a cable or direct broadcast satellite channel bundle, he said. The ESPN streaming app will include options that the Fox/WBD JV won't, such as integrated betting, fantasy and merchandise sales, said Iger.

Comments are due March 8, replies April 8, on an FCC proposal requiring refunds for consumers when blackouts occur due to failed retransmission consent negotiations, said a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. The blackout NPRM was adopted 3-2 on circulation in January (see 2401100026).

YouTube's virtual MVPD, YouTube TV, has more than 8 million subscribers, CEO Neal Mohan blogged Tuesday. He said YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subs top 100 million when trial subscriptions are included. Viewers worldwide average more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on their TVs daily, said Mohan. The CEO said the YouTube Partner Program has more than 3 million channels and has paid more than $70 billion over the past three years. YouTube in coming months will roll out labels "that inform viewers when the realistic content they’re seeing is synthetic," Mohan said.

Complying with the FCC's "all-in" video pricing proposal might have to overcome conflicting regulatory regimes among the FCC, FTC and various states, DirecTV said. In a docket 23-203 filing Thursday recapping a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer, DirecTV said possible compliance hiccups include one set of rules requiring what another prohibits and different sets of rules requiring different calculations of all-in prices. The FCC commissioners adopted an all-in video pricing NPRM in June (see 2306200042).

Dish Network and Mission Broadcasting inked a multiyear distribution agreement covering 27 Mission stations in 25 markets, ending a yearlong blackout (see 2309180065), Mission said Wednesday. Specific terms weren't disclosed.

Charter Communications and TelevisaUnivision have reached a carriage agreement that includes streaming components, the two said Monday. The agreement includes TelevisaUnivision creating an ad-supported subscription version of its ViX streaming service that will be available free to Charter subscribers who receive TelevisaUnivision channels as part their packages, they said. In addition, the deal features TelevisaUnivision's U.S. channels included in a low-cost Spanish language over-the-top video package that Charter will launch later this year. The agreement follows a carriage agreement between Charter and Disney in September where streaming was at the forefront (see 2309110034).

ESPN should continue to be exempted from the FCC's audio description rules applicable to the largest national nonbroadcast networks because it provides less than 50 hours per quarter of prime-time programming that is not live or near-live, parent Disney said Thursday in a docket 11-43 exemption request.

Subscribing to the top seven subscription VOD services combined saves from $5.83 to $51.32 a month over the average MVPD subscription, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon blogged Monday. While a traditional pay-TV subscription averages $105.25 a month, the combined cost for the top seven SVOD services with ads would be $53.93 -- or $99.42 without ads, he said. The seven are Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Prime Video, Paramount+ and Peacock.

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $150,000 forfeiture for Mission Broadcasting over violations of the good faith retransmission negotiation rules, said a notice of apparent liability released late Friday. The violations stem from Nexstar's negotiations on Mission’s behalf with Comcast for retransmission consent rights for Mission’s station WPIX New York (see 2301180034), the NAL said. Nexstar allegedly conditioned retrans consent on Comcast’s acceptance of contract proposals that “would foreclose the filing of future complaints with the Commission,” which the FCC said is “inconsistent with competitive marketplace considerations.” Nexstar’s negotiating retrans rights for WPIX on Mission’s behalf is the subject of litigation between DirecTV and Nexstar (see 2310040024), and has also been the focus of legal challenges brought by Comcast and Charter (see 2211220061). The NAL doesn’t directly address allegations from the MVPDs that Nexstar and Mission’s relationship violates antitrust laws, but it says the proposed forfeiture was adjusted upward in light of Nexstar’s ability to pay, citing the companies’ SEC filings. “Mission’s revenues and assets are consolidated with Nexstar’s financial accounting and annual reporting,” said the NAL. “Hence, Mission and Nexstar are effectively treated as a single entity for financial purposes in the Nexstar 10-K.” The agency also dismissed arguments from Mission that it wasn’t responsible for Nexstar's actions. Since Mission identified Nexstar as the “approved delegated negotiator” for WPIX, that argument “contravenes basic principles of agency law” and “ignores Commission precedent that licensees are ultimately responsible for the acts of their licensed stations.” The NAL also contains a footnote that appears to leave room for future enforcement actions involving Mission and Nexstar’s relationship. The Comcast complaint that led to the NAL “alleges additional good faith negotiation violations against both Mission and Nexstar Media Group,” but in this NAL “we address only a subset,” the footnote says. “The remaining allegations are under review by the Commission pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.” Nexstar and Mission didn’t immediately comment,Comcast said it was pleased by the FCC's actions.