The founding members of the UHD Alliance, the formation of which was announced at CES, issued a call Tuesday for contributing members to join the group and help “advance a new and differentiated entertainment experience for Ultra HD including high dynamic range, wide color gamut, high frame rate and advanced audio.” Founding members are DirecTV, Disney, Dolby Labs, Fox, Netflix, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Technicolor and Warner. Though LG and Sharp were listed among the founding members when the alliance was announced at CES (see 1501050023), neither was listed in Tuesday’s announcement, nor appears on the member roster at the alliance’s website. LG and Sharp representatives didn’t comment. The alliance’s goal “is to ensure these technologies, coupled with performance metrics, will deliver a premium entertainment experience throughout the Ultra HD ecosystem from content creation to consumer enjoyment,” the group said in a statement: “In addition to working discussions around technical specifications and certification details, the UHD Alliance will help develop industry-standard branding so that consumers can clearly identify certified premium UHD content and devices offered in the marketplace." Hanno Basse, chief technology officer at Fox Films, has been named the alliance’s first president, and Victor Matsuda, the Sony executive who has chaired the Blu-ray Disc Association’s global promotions committee, is its spokesman. The alliance also has formed working groups for promotions, certifications and technical specifications, its website says. “The belief at Technicolor is that no one company can build the infrastructure for future storytelling experiences alone, so an open, collaborative framework is essential to mobilizing innovation and promoting integration by the entire value chain," said Vince Pizzica, Technicolor senior executive vice president-corporate development and technology, in a statement. "Welcoming new members into the UHD Alliance is an important first step as we work across the ecosystem on open standards for the next generation of entertainment experiences that ensure the industry can move forward together.”

Akamai bought Octoshape in a cash transaction, Akamai said Monday in a news release. Octoshape's services help optimize the quality of video streams for over-the-top content and enable Internet Protocol TV, the release said. The acquisition of Octoshape is expected to give Akamai valuable technology and experience in the area of streaming video optimization, it said.

The FCC should consider in its review process a New York Times article Sunday on groups that support the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, the Stop Mega Comcast Coalition said in an ex parte filing Monday. "The article reports that many of the nonprofit organizations, elected officials, and academic institutions that have spoken out in favor of the merger have previously received monetary contributions from Comcast itself or its trade association,” the filing said. The FCC should consider the article “when evaluating public comments that may appear to favor the merger,” the filing said.

The Weather Channel will sponsor the America's Best Communities competition, already sponsored by CoBank, Dish Network and Frontier Communications (see 1409110044), Frontier said in a news release Thursday. The $10 million competition, launched Sept. 10, supports development and investment in small towns and rural communities across Frontier's 27-state footprint, it said. A $50,000 prize will be awarded to each community to help them develop Community Revitalization Plans, it said. The three-year competition will provide $4 million and other support to help communities while they develop revitalization plans, it said. The first-place community with the best plan will be awarded $3 million, second place $2 million and third place $1 million, it said. America's Best Communities will announce the 50 quarterfinalists on April 29, and three winners will be announced in April 2017, Frontier said.

Correction: NTCA, not NCTA, was concerned about a possible disparity between online- and facilities-based multichannel video program distributors, it told the FCC (see 1504020051). “The fees and compliance costs incurred by existing MVPDs can translate to tens of thousands of dollars to millions annually, and these costs must be passed on to customers,” NTCA said. “New entrants would not have these fees and would have the opportunity to offer service at a substantially reduced rate and compete unfairly.”

CBS objected to aspects of an FCC information request connected to the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger review, in a heavily redacted response posted online Friday in docket 14-57. An FCC question asking CBS to list agreements with “announced OVD (online video distributor) services since Jan. 2011" is “vague and ambiguous,” CBS said. Other FCC questions are “vague and overly burdensome,” CBS said, such as an FCC request that CBS “describe all provisions relating to restrictions or limitations on distribution of the Company’s Video Programming.” CBS also objected to “any requirement that it produce information after the FCC reaches a decision on the applications relevant to MB Docket No. 14-57,” the filing said. The FCC didn’t comment.

Spotify and Sony unveiled a new option that lets gamers using a PS4 concurrently listen to music, said Spotify in a news release. The partnership lets the player use a mobile device or tablet to skip tracks or change volume of the music instead of requiring the gamer to pause the game, Spotify said. Spotify on PlayStation Music rolled out on PS4 Monday and also will be available on Sony Xperia for smartphones and tablets, the release said.

NBCUniversal hasn’t withheld programming from Apple’s over-the-top venture, and Apple hasn’t even approached NBCUniversal to discuss such a deal, Comcast said in an ex parte filing Friday responding to allegations from anti-merger group Stop MegaComcast. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal licensed substantial amounts of content to Apple in connection with the platforms for which Apple has approached NBCUniversal, Comcast said. The real facts reinforce “that Comcast has taken its compliance obligations very seriously,” Comcast said. Stop MegaComcast didn’t comment.

The third meeting of the Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee is set for April 21 at FCC headquarters in the Commission Meeting Room, the Media Bureau said in a public notice Friday. The meeting of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization-mandated group (see 1503240063) will include subcommittee presentations by the Current Commercial Requirements Working Group and the Technology and Preferred Architectures Working Group. The meeting is in the Commission Meeting Room.

Some video programmers may still be using cut-rate captioning services, said a filing from the Clinical Legal Education Program at the University of Colorado-Boulder posted Friday in FCC docket 05-231. Captioning vendors Feb. 18 sought an FCC waiver and petition for rulemaking. The letter Friday was signed by members from the Hearing Loss Association of America, Technology Access Program at Gallaudet University, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and others. It asked the FCC to provide programmers with incentives to seek out high-quality captioning services. "We agreed with Commission staffers’ observation that programmers must retain responsibility for ensuring the quality of closed captions and cannot simply pass quality certifications from captioning vendors on to video programming distributors to satisfy" certification rules, said the filing on the groups' meeting with staff in the Consumer & Governmental Affairs and Media bureaus and General Counsel's Office. "Programmers must take a similar level of responsibility for the captions in their programming as they do for the audio and video and should provide their own independent certifications that captions are intact and of high quality."