Pandora said it began offering a digital mixtape of Rolling Stones songs in the lead-up to the band’s upcoming “ZIP Code” tour, which begins May 24. The digital mixtape’s release coincided with a joint Pandora-AEG Live’s Concerts West presale Thursday of the Rolling Stones tour, four days before the Monday start of the tour’s general sale. Pandora said Thursday it will also release on Monday an interview of the Rolling Stones conducted by journalist Anthony DeCurtis. A preview of the interview is available on Pandora’s blog.

A third of sports fans report interest in watching live sports on their mobile devices, up from 20 percent in 2010, said a sports and technology report from CEA. TV remains the top consumption screen for sports, at 90 percent interest, while 40 percent of sports fans have viewed or listened to sports online using a computer, tablet or smartphone within the past 12 months, said the report. Nearly 20 percent of sports fans have consumed sports content on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, it said. Sports fans are also using CE devices for second-screen viewing, with 23 reporting using a mobile device for sports-related activities while watching TV. Some 21 percent said they’ve used a DVR to pause or rewind portions of a game, and 21 percent have used a recording method to record another game being played simultaneously, said the report. Among fans who watch sports on TV, 62 percent own TVs with a screen size of 40 inches or larger, compared with 38 percent of nonsports fans, it said.

The FCC Media Bureau rejected a joint request from NAB and Public Knowledge and won’t delay Thursday’s deadline for comments on a proposal to make it a rebuttable presumption that cable companies face effective competition, the bureau said in an order Tuesday. Extending the comment deadlines for the proceeding would “render it impossible” for the FCC to meet a June 2 deadline imposed on the commission by the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization, it said. STELAR requires the FCC to provide relief from effective competition rules for smaller cable companies, but the proposed solution is much broader, NAB and Public Knowledge said (see 1503300062). “The Commission has determined that the most administratively efficient approach in this proceeding is to consider all issues raised in the NPRM,” the order said. NCTA and the American Cable Association submitted filings urging the bureau to reject the request from NAB and Public Knowledge. Comments are due Thursday, replies April 20.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.