Rentrak received a patent for a system that measures when a set-top box is on while the TV it's attached to is off, said Rentrak in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1t532CE). “This is an important component of Rentrak's massive and passive ratings service, which will soon measure 60 million” such boxes for live and DVR viewing, said the release. Knowing when the box is on and the TV is off is “crucial” to using STBs to measure viewing, because it often occurs, Rentrak said.

Officials from Cablevision met with FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake and staff from the Media Bureau and Office of General Counsel last week to discuss the “upcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” on the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor, according to an ex parte filing posted online Monday (http://bit.ly/1onctgP). FCC personnel have said such an item is only in the conceptual stages (see 1410010053), though a speech by General Counsel Jonathan Sallet last week also referred to a possible rule change (see 1410170039).

“Legacy” rules like franchising and must carry requirements shouldn’t be applied to over-the-top video providers as they are to cable operators, Verizon officials said in a meeting with Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake last week, according to an ex parte notice posted online Monday (http://bit.ly/1CMjecU). If the definition of multichannel video programming distributor is changed to include online linear video providers, such rules “could be fatal” to OTT services, Verizon said. Native device rules also shouldn’t apply to OTT providers, Verizon said. “The Commission must allow OTT video providers the flexibility to adopt different technologies for providing their services rather than imposing legacy technology mandates,” Verizon said.

Fletcher Heald will present a free webinar on must carry rights and retransmission consent on Oct. 23, at 1 p.m. ET, the law firm said on its blog (http://bit.ly/1CrBF6G). The webinar will be conducted by Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Dan Kirkpatrick and cable attorney Paul Feldman. "It will address a long list of post-election issues that both TV folks and cable folks should be focused on."

CBS launched CBS All Access, a digital subscription VOD product that will offer thousands of episodes from the current and previous seasons, and the ability to stream local CBS stations live in 14 of the largest U.S. markets, CBS said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/ZGmfif). The platform is available at CBS.com and on Apple and Android devices for $5.99 per month, it said. It will be available on other connected devices in the coming months, CBS said. CBS has said that it might move to a pay-TV platform if Aereo wins in litigation at the Supreme Court concerning its online streaming service (see 1305030041).

AT&T and DirecTV said responses filed in the FCC proceeding on AT&T’s purchase of DirecTV confirm that the transaction is in the public interest. Opponents’ efforts to show countervailing harm to consumers are “unpersuasive” and “transparent attempts to advance parochial agendas,” the companies said in a joint opposition to petitions to deny the deal in docket 14-90. There can be no legitimate concern with the programming matters raised by some opponents, they said. There's no question “that the combined firm will not have sufficient size to exercise monopsony power in content acquisition,” they said. Because the applicants own very little content, “there is no reason to apply program-access requirements beyond those already contained in the Communications Act.” No party seriously disputes that the deal will enable the combined company to reduce the cost of acquiring content, which is the largest and most critical variable cost for multichannel video programming distributors, they said.

SESAC reached a $58.5 million settlement with the Television Music License Committee (TMLC) over a class-action antitrust suit on music performing rights, TMLC said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1zb884N). In the suit, TMLC accused SESAC of “overcharging local television stations since 2008,” the release said. The settlement was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and the case had been set for trial in March, the release said. SESAC will pay the $58.5 million into a fund that will reimburse stations for excess SESAC fees gong back to 2008, and will negotiate industry wide agreements with the TMLC for 20 years starting in 2016, it said. The settlement also restores a per program license option that allows stations to negotiate directly with SESAC-affiliated composers, and SESAC agreed not to “interfere with negotiations between its affiliated composer/publishers and stations,” it said.

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators urged the FCC to approve the proposed AT&T buy of DirecTV. The deal is expected to increase competition, and AT&T has committed to enhance and expand high-speed broadband service availability to millions of customer locations, allowing customers to "gain new service options and choices as well as an additional strong competitor in their local markets,” the caucus said in a letter to the FCC posted Tuesday in docket 14-90 (http://bit.ly/1zb4J64). AT&T has a proud record on diversity, the caucus said.

Ultra HD pay-TV viewership will reach 46 million homes globally by 2018, Parks Associates said in a forecast Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1u155nH). Pay-TV providers will deploy 4K content delivery "as a differentiator, especially among younger consumers who are more likely to use new pay-TV features, such as TV Everywhere and cloud DVR, but also have slightly lower subscription rates for pay-TV services," Parks said. In the U.S., 82 percent of consumers in the 18-22 age group have a pay-TV subscription, compared with 87 percent among older adults, it said. "To enjoy the true benefits of 4K, three things need to be present: the television, the content, and a way to get the content to the TV," Parks said. Parks thinks 4K "can deliver an enhanced experience to viewers, but these three factors are not yet aligned," it said. "Getting 4K content to the TV remains a key challenge as is the pace of production of 4K content."

Oral arguments on whether a nationwide preliminary injunction against Aereo should be issued while the broadcasters’ case against the streaming service is tried on the merits will be in U.S. District Court in Manhattan Wednesday, said court filings in the case. Aereo has “paused operations nationally” on its own, but has argued that the court should not issue such an injunction, and argued that it should receive the same compulsory copyright license issued to cable companies. "Aereo is entitled to a compulsory license under the Copyright Act, and no preliminary injunction should issue on remand," Aereo has said. Aereo’s argument is based on the majority opinion in the ABC v. Aereo U.S. Supreme Court decision in broadcasters' favor in June (ref:1409040014), which said Aereo’s service bore a close resemblance to a cable system and should therefore be bound by the same copyright and retransmission consent rules. The U.S. Copyright Office has said it doesn't believe Aereo is eligible for a compulsory copyright license. Aereo has also taken to the FCC its argument that it's a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD), meeting with Chairman Tom Wheeler, Commissioner Ajit Pai, and numerous commission staffers, including Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake, General Counsel Jonathan Sallet, and aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly. The meetings concerned reports that the commission is re-opening a proceeding on whether over-the-top video providers should be considered MVPDs, said an ex parte filing Friday (http://bit.ly/1z89QEa). “We believe that clarifying the MVPD definition to narrowly include linear online video services like Aereo’s would have clear benefits to consumers, creators and distributors alike,” said Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia in a post on the Aereo website. Meaningful competition for regular MVPDs from over-the-top providers “can only materialize and develop into a sustainable business in a stable and certain regulatory environment,” said the ex parte. “Timely” FCC issuance of an NPRM on redefining online services as MVPDs action “is crucial” to Aereo’s ability to bring a competing OTT service to market, the ex parte said.