Cable distributor interests and independent programmers are on opposite sides on the FCC's proposed amendments to program carriage dispute rules, in docket 20-70 comments posted Tuesday. An NPRM and Further NPRM were adopted in March (see 2003310066). The proposed program carriage and good faith negotiation complaint procedural rules changes would give more certainty to parties and a more consistent framework to adjudications, NCTA said. Clarifying statute of limitations language for program access, open video system and good faith negotiation complaints will encourage timely dispute resolution, it said. Having administrative law judge decisions in MVPD cases follow the same guidelines as other ALJ cases, such as when they take effect and automatic stays, will give due weight to the First Amendment implications of the decisions, it said. Also backing the FCC was Comcast (see here). AMC Networks said it's still important indie programmers get fair and nondiscriminatory carriage opportunities compared with competitors that may be affiliated with MVPDs. The programmer said the statute of limitations language should include a provision allowing complaints to be filed within a year of the content provider learning a distributor exercised a contractual right in a discriminatory manner. It said ALJ decision rules should include a six-month timeline for FCC review of those decisions once it's been appealed. And it urged a prohibition on retaliation against program carriage complainants. Ride TV, Newsmax, HDNet, KSE Outdoor Sportsman Group and WeatherNation TV said the current program carriage framework is woeful protection when dealing with MVPDs with all the leverage, and the FNPRM would curtail that protection further. Instead, promulgate good faith rules for MVPDs and programmers that prevent use of most-favored nation clauses, they asked. The statute of instantiations language in the FNPRM ignores that pay TV providers generally don't decline or refuse carriage proposals but never answer until indies acquiesce to one-sided terms, they said. Program carriage rules "have ... lost almost all of their deterrent effect," with an MVPD's claimed business justification becoming a major obstacle at the prima facie stage, said beIN Sports. It said the FCC needs to codify an anti-retaliation provision, good faith negotiation obligations and the automatic production of certain documents upon making a prima facie case, and clarify that the defendant holds the burden of proof and production after the complainant makes a prima facie case. It opposed adopting the ALJ proposal, saying immediate enforcement of a favorable ALJ decision is needed to avoid economic and reputational harm of not being carried.

Block Communications asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to look again at its dismissed market modification appeal (see 2004030039). In a petition for panel rehearing Monday (in Pacer, docket 18-4137), Block said the court said there was no injury to it in the market mod decision but assigning communities to a Dayton station instead of its own WOHL-CD, Lima, Ohio, gave the Dayton station "permanent competitive advantage ... that it otherwise would not enjoy." The FCC didn't comment.

The FCC's cable local franchise authority order, putting a fee cap atop statutory limits on authorized cable-related requirements, means more restrictions on cable-related franchise requirements Congress authorized than on non-cable-related franchise requirements. That's according to petitioners in their 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opening brief Friday (in Pacer, docket 19-4161) in a consolidated challenge of the 2019 LFA order (see 1909120028). They said the order's preemption of state and local regulation of cable operators' non-cable services, citing authority other than the Cable Act, wasn't in the NPRM nor explained well in the order. They said the FCC's in-kind contribution ruling is contrary to the Cable Act because non-monetary cable franchise requirements allowed by the law aren't subject to the franchise fee cap. The commission didn't comment. Petitioners are localities including Eugene, Oregon, and San Francisco and allies including the Conference of Mayors and Alliance for Community Media.

Pay-TV providers lost 2 million net video subscribers in Q1, the biggest quarterly loss ever and double those of the 2019 quarter, reported Leichtman Research Group Thursday. Satellite TV services lost just over 1 million subs, vs. 810,000 a year ago. The top seven cable companies shed 595,000 vs. a 335,000 decline; phone companies lost 125,000 vs. a 105,000 loss. The top publicly reporting vMVPDs -- AT&T TV NOW, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV -- lost about 320,000 vs. 225,000 net adds. The record net losses were partly due to the impact of COVID-19 but don’t solely reflect consumers' dropping services, said analyst Bruce Leichtman: “Several providers cited a decrease in connects as a key component of net losses in the quarter, rather than an increase in disconnects.”

Cable and phone MVPDs added 1.16 million broadband subscribers in Q1, the most since Q1 2015, reported Leichtman Research Group Wednesday. That compared with 955,000 subscribers in Q1 2019. Leading broadband providers have 102.4 million subscribers: top cable companies have 69.2 million; top wireline phone companies, 33.2 million, LRG said. Top cable companies had the most quarterly net additions for cable broadband services in 13 years, said analyst Bruce Leichtman. Comcast added 477,000 subscribers, to 29.1 million; Charter added 582,000, to 27.2 million. AT&T lost 74,000, to 15.3 million; Verizon added 26,000, to 6.9 million.

Streamer Pluto TV had ample time to comply with IP captioning requirements, and granting its one-year waiver request (see 1906270061) would tell others it's OK to procrastinate on IP requirements until noncompliant platforms are old enough that following the rules would be tough and ultimately never have to comply. That's what Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization, and Gallaudet University Technology Access Program representatives told FCC Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey, per a docket 11-154 posting Tuesday. They said Pluto hasn't made the case for an economic burden waiver. Pluto outside counsel didn't comment.

Expect more ISPs to join small cable operators in considering the switch from traditional cable TV service to streaming service offerings, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson blogged Friday. Operational cost savings are a big motivator because ending traditional cable means far fewer customer service calls and truck rolls and the expenses of set-top boxes, he said. That would also mean cable operators can quit collecting local franchise fees assessed on cable service, and also avoid all the local obligations that come with a cable franchise, he said.

TiVo and Xperi, on course for a June combination, got regulatory OK, their executives told investors on quarterly calls Wednesday. On the International Trade Commission’s latest limited exclusion order (see 2004280028) banning import of Comcast X1 set-top boxes, TiVo CEO David Shull called his firm's two victories against the cable operator, finding the cabler infringed on TiVo-owned Rovi patents, "significant." He said they confirm the ITC will continue to be a venue where the company can protect intellectual property. Comcast had to remove features and functionality from the X-1, Shull said. The administrative law judge's initial determination for a third ITC case is due by June 29; the commission's final determination is due by Oct. 29, he said. Comcast didn't comment Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Wes Gutierrez said TiVo is fortunate COVID-19 hasn’t had a significant impact on revenue. Most sales come from agreements with pay-TV operators and others in the video delivery industry, he said. The company expects Android TV-based IPTV deployments to drive footprint growth this year, said Shull. Eleven North American MVPDs agreed to deploy the self-install process, he noted. TiVo had a 58% boost in entertainment viewing across the TiVo platform beginning March 23, Shull said, regarding COVID-19. TiVo Q1 revenue of $160 million was up 1% over the year-ago quarter, it reported. Xperi Q1 billings were $112.8 million vs. $104.3 million. Materials for its latest quarter are here, including information on the conference call. For TiVo's call, see the event here.

The average household is watching eight more hours of TV per week than in early March, at 66 hours, said Comcast Wednesday. Due to self-isolation during COVID-19, distinctions between weekend and weekday viewing behaviors are blurring, with a rise in weekday viewing to levels resembling weekends, it said. Monday has taken over from Saturday as second most popular day to watch TV, behind Sunday. Comcast cited a 40% uptick in late-night TV viewing, especially 11 p.m.-2 a.m.; less viewing is happening 6-8 a.m. It cited a 64% bump in news viewing, peaking the week of March 30. Dramas led genres at 30%, followed by news (29%), comedy (28%), reality (15%), and action and adventure (15%). DVR usage decreased and VOD rose 50%. Comcast cited double-digit growth in discovery-related voice commands as consumers look for new content.

TiVo added Pluto TV to its platform, it said Tuesday.