Pointing to the FCC's pending pay-TV early termination fee (ETF) proceeding, EchoStar representatives urged that the agency instead adopt the billing practices in Dish Network's 2009 agreement with 46 state attorneys general. That approach would ensure consumers are fully educated about the terms of any pay-TV plan, Dish parent EchoStar representatives told FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Sauer, according to a docket 23-405 filing Tuesday. EchoStar said the 2009 measure covers such turf as requiring that ads promoting an ETF plan must conspicuously disclose minimum terms of agreement. A split FCC 3-2 adopted the ETF NPRM in December (see 2312050007). EchoStar said the FCC's proposed mandatory rebates in the event of retransmission consent-related programming blackouts would worsen the retrans negotiating power imbalance with broadcasters that spurs blackouts. Instead, the agency should revise the retrans consent regime, EchoStar said. The blackout rebate NPRM also received a 3-2 approval (see 2401100026).
The popularity of Fox's WTXF Philadelphia TV station is immaterial to whether the license applicants, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch and Fox, have shown the character required of broadcast licensees, Fox critics said in docket 23-293 this week. The filers backed the Media and Democracy Project's request for nonpublic evidence submitted in court cases against Fox by voting machine companies (see 2403040080). Signatories to the filing include former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes, former Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and William Reyner, former regulatory counsel for News Corp. and Fox. The filing was in response to filings by the Philadelphia Phillies professional baseball team, 76ers professional basketball team and Flyers professional hockey team in support of the Fox affiliate station.
Liberty Global will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's stake in the Formula E electric car racing series. Liberty said Thursday the transaction would give it a 65% ownership share and controlling interest in Formula E. Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said Formula E "has a massive potential for further growth." Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Cable news network Newsmax plans a public stock offering and listing on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq later this year or early in 2025, it said this week.
Free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) viewing is starting to rival gaming and cable TV in prime time, Xumo and FASTMaster Consulting said. They said a third of U.S. adults report regularly watching FAST channels during prime time. In addition, the average FAST viewer spends 100 minutes watching FAST channels in the evening, they said, while gamers typically spend 102 minutes on gaming and cable TV subscribers view cable programming for 118 minutes during the same time frame. Moreover, 47% of pay-TV subscribers say they also regularly watch FAST, compared with 46% of cord cutters and 35% of cord nevers. The findings come from a survey Xumo commissioned. FASTMaster conducted the survey that gathered responses from 4,000 U.S. adults between Q3 2023 and Q1 2024.
The Chicago Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox, in partnership with Standard Media, will launch the Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) in October, the teams said Monday. They said the network would carry the teams' games and other sports programming. The network has agreements with cable providers, and will be available via streaming and free, over-the-air broadcast.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr condemned a draft NPRM that requires disclosures for political ads containing AI-generated content (see 2405220061). The NPRM is an attempt to “tilt the playing field” against some forms of political speech just ahead of the 2024 election, he said. Carr tied the proposal to reports that Democratic campaigns aren’t using AI as much as Republicans. "This effort echoes a [Democratic National Committee]-backed initiative at the Federal Election Commission to impose new regulations on AI-generated political speech before voters hit the ballot boxes this fall,” Carr said in a statement Thursday. “The FCC’s attempt to fundamentally alter the rules of the road for political speech just a short time before a national election is as misguided as it is unlawful.” He acknowledged bipartisan concern about AI-generated political content but said the FCC’s proposal is outside its authority and that broadcast-only disclosure rules will drive such content online. “Applying new regulations on the broadcasters ... but not on their largely unregulated online competitors only exacerbates regulatory asymmetries,” he said. Carr also expressed concern that the NPRM is an effort to control speech. “Is the government really worried that voters will find these ads misleading in the absence of a regulator’s guiding hand?” Carr asked. “Or is the government worried that voters might find these ads effective?” The FCC and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s office didn’t comment.
Lionsgate has officially spun off its motion picture group and TV studio segments and film and TV library, creating Lionsgate Studios, it said Monday. The spinoff was enabled by Lionsgate Studios' business combination earlier this month with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. Lionsgate said the transaction is part of its larger plan to separate its studio and Starz businesses.
Broadcasters are blind to the threat that YouTube poses as they maintain traditional TV models for their streaming ventures, reserving quality content for paid platforms and using libraries for free, ad-supported TV, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon wrote Monday. They see streaming "as an extension of how they have always produced TV entertainment," he wrote. YouTube's "democratic approach to entertainment is eating their lunch," claiming more TV viewing time than the combined viewing of broadcaster apps Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Max and Paramount+, he said. Broadcasters are struggling against YouTube’s wide pool of creative talent and ability to reach diverse audiences. Their future "appears uncertain in the face of YouTube’s continued dominance."
The FCC received no submissions from U.S.-based foreign media outlets for its latest semi-annual report to Congress, it said Thursday. The latest report covers Oct. 13 to April 11. The last several editions -- since May 2021 -- have listed no submissions (see 2211100055). The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act requires the reports.