NCTA, citing results of an Arris consumer research study (see 1507220035), wants an increase in unlicensed spectrum. The research, an NCTA blog post said Friday, showed consumers "love watching TV on whichever device they have handy via whatever broadband access point is near," and more spectrum is needed to keep up with consumer demand for easier content access and more ubiquitous Wi-Fi. The cable industry has the technical ability capable of handling its data streaming needs well into the future, it said in the blog post, but lacks the allotted spectrum to do so.

Comcast's X1 cloud-based video platform and set-top box may be heading to more cable companies. The company has licensed X1 to Cox Communications and Shaw on a trial basis, and other companies are "expressing interest," Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said Thursday during a quarterly earnings call. X1 has been a bright spot in Comcast's cable operations, with the company deploying nearly 30,000 boxes a day, "and we are pushing to go even faster," while also putting out 6 million of its voice-controlled TV remotes this year, Roberts said. Q2 marked a tipping point in Comcast's customer base, as it said the number of broadband customers, at 22.5 million, surpassed the cable operator's 22.3 million video customers.

Cox Communications' gigabit broadband, G1gablast, is expanding to some residential markets in Louisiana, the company said Thursday. Cox already offers G1gablast in parts of Orange County, California, and Phoenix, and in Las Vegas and Omaha, and plans to have residential 1 Gbps speeds across its entire footprint by the end of 2016.

TV coverage of sports increasingly includes footage via aerial drones, but it will be a while before such shots become widespread and mainstream, in large part due to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, said NCTA senior writer Francesca Duffy in a blog post Thursday. "Could Fox Sports have brought them in for one of the Gold Cup soccer games in Atlanta? Not until more flexible regulations are put in place," since rules require a 500-foot buffer from nonparticipants, Duffy said. Equipment issues such as noise and battery life also are limiting factors. Michael Davies, Fox Sports senior vice president-field operations, was quoted in the blog as saying the network is "actively pursuing drones on every level" and it eventually hopes to shoot a full event via drones.

Technicolor’s agreement to buy Cisco’s connected devices business for $450 million cash and $150 million in newly issued Technicolor’s shares includes a “strategic partnership” deal under which the two companies will “develop and deliver” next-generation video and broadband technologies, with an emphasis on IoT “solutions and services,” Technicolor said in a Thursday statement. “By combining their strengths and leading video expertise, from content creation to in-home delivery, the two companies will accelerate innovation and forge a leading entity that network service providers can rely on for their next generation connected home experiences.” Technicolor and Cisco agreed to cross-license patents owned by both companies, it said. Technicolor said its acquisition of Cisco's connected device business is expected to close in late 2015 or early 2016.

Discovery Communications is buying the rest of European sports network Eurosport from minority owner TG1 Group, Discovery said in a Wednesday news release. Discovery bought a stake in Eurosport in 2012 and expanded that to 51 percent ownership in 2014 (see 1401220045). Discovery will spend roughly $536 million to buy out the rest of Eurosport. At the same time, TG1 will buy back Discovery's 20 percent of TV Breizh, Histoire and Ushuaia TV. Both deals are expected to close early in Q4

The FCC -- through the pending AT&T/DirecTV deal or its ongoing programming access proceeding -- has a chance to "do the right thing" by tackling the rising costs of programming, American Cable Association President Matt Polka said Wednesday in a statement in response to comments before the House Communications Subcommittee by analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson. The subcommittee hearing involved broadband, and Moffett said both broadband and the cable-TV industry face huge and growing video programming price pressures. ACA has talked about rising video costs for years "but the FCC has been MIA," Polka said, pointing to the lack of any proposed conditions in AT&T/DirecTV that would prevent video costs from rising as a result. "By failing to act, [the FCC] has tipped the scales in favor of program owners and ignored the harms to video and broadband consumers and providers," Polka said. The FCC declined to comment.

Regulation of technology and the Internet -- even regulation invited by some tech companies -- is chipping away at the nation's "historic commitment to innovation without permission," NCTA CEO Michael Powell said in a column posted Monday on CNET. Regulators "do not relish the sidelines" and jump into emerging markets based more often on hypotheticals than actual problems with the market, Powell wrote in his piece, "On the importance of 'regulatory humility.'" The problem is that policies built on predictions and hypothetical scenarios result in "a host of unintended consequences that disrupt markets," Powell said. "Ill-founded regulation is not harmless. Laws are easier to enact than to remove and usually remain long after the past due date. Regulatory agencies simply are not able to adapt quickly to continuing change." The past 20 years has brought "a fast-paced technological age largely free of government control and direction," Powell said. "The next 20 years holds even more promise but only if regulatory humility remains the highest virtue."

SES launched the first of its kind “live and linear” Ultra HD trial with U.S. cable operator Armstrong aimed at speeding Ultra HD delivery to cable homes, the companies said Monday in a joint announcement. Armstrong is testing SES' camera-to-screen Ultra HD ecosystem at its headquarters in Butler, Pennsylvania, they said. SES' Ultra HD offering, unveiled at this year’s NAB Show, “combines broadcast and IP technologies in a fully managed, scalable service,” they said. “The solution leverages satellite's inherent broadcast advantages and the multicasting capabilities of DOCSIS 3.0, the advanced transmission standard in use by Armstrong and other leading cable systems today.” The outcome of the trials with Armstrong “will support progress toward our objective of accelerating the roll-out of linear-live Ultra HD,” SES said.

Sling TV launched its first nationwide advertising campaign across TV, digital and social platforms, the company said in a Monday news release. Its #TakeBackTV campaign is aimed at cord cutters, the company said.