Redefining the term multichannel video programming distributor "would constitute a substantive change in law" that alters the rights and obligations of many regulated businesses, Discovery Communications said in an FCC filing in docket 14-261. Including some types of online video distributors as MVPDs is changing the law, since OVDs haven't always been considered MVPDs, and thus can't retroactively cover previous actions before the change is made, Discovery said. If the FCC makes such a definition change, new OVDs need to have the choice to be MVPDs or to be able to waive -- at least temporarily -- the obligations that come with that status, YipTV said in a filing also posted Tuesday. "Unless classification is optional, or the Commission waives MVPD obligations for emerging or smaller OVDs such as YipTV, the burdens of such a classification would far outweigh any potential benefits," said the company, which went live May 7. The burdens include requirements on program carriage, retransmission consent, program captioning, video description, access to emergency information, accessibility of user interfaces and guides, and signal leakage, all of which add up to "substantial costs," it said. If the FCC doesn't let OVDs elect to be MVPDs, it could waive MVPD obligations "for certain categories of companies," YipTV said.

Draft FCC changes to rules on protection of confidential information would give third parties a competitive gain "that is not only unfair but also unnecessary," and needs to be done after the public has a chance to weigh in, said Digital Content Next, MPAA and NAB in a filing in docket 15-149 posted Wednesday. Digital Content Next, started as the Online Publishers Association, represents digital content companies that its website says include A+E Networks, ABC, Bloomberg, Disney Interactive, E.W. Scripps, NBCUniversal, Viacom and Vox Media. Given the breadth of changes the agency is considering in its review of Charter Communications buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable and as a general policy change, the three associations said the FCC should change video programming confidential information policies "only after careful deliberation, including sufficient time for public comment." Having reviewed such major deals as Comcast/NBCUniversal and AT&T/DirecTV through existing policies, rather than making such materials available to third parties that sign the protective order acknowledgement, there "appears no reason for the Commission to alter its previous procedures and third-party disclosure policies to review the proposed Charter/TWC merger," they said.

A recent corporate reorganization of French telecom group Altice won't affect plans to buy Suddenlink, Altice said in a filing posted Tuesday in FCC docket 15-135. The reorganization involved a stock split and Altice NV substituting for Altice SA as the parent of Altice's businesses, though Patrick Drahi remains controlling shareholder and the officers and directors of Altice NV are the same as of Altice SA, the company said. The Suddenlink deal still is expected to close by end of the year, Altice said. Cequel does business as Suddenlink. In a separate filing posted Tuesday, Altice and Suddenlink responded to the two parties -- the California Emerging Technology Fund and the Humboldt County, California, Board of Supervisors -- that had filed comments in the takeover proceeding (see 1507240027). The fund had pushed for a requirement that Altice offer a stand-alone wireline broadband plan for $9.95 a month specifically aimed at underserved communities, and monitoring of Altice until 80 percent of eligible people in those targeted underserved communities are connected to broadband. By saying the FCC should use any transaction to advance those connectivity goals, the fund "is implicitly acknowledging ... the transaction poses no transaction-specific harms that would justify any such conditions," Altice and Suddenlink said. The Humboldt County objection revolving around a public, educational and governmental (PEG) access channel fee dispute with Suddenlink is being worked on, while the county's push regarding net neutrality and broadband are industrywide issues that should be addressed in industrywide proceedings, the two said. One new objection was posted Tuesday, from public-access operator Access Humboldt, in which it said that if the FCC does approve the sale, Altice and Suddenlink should be required to promote universal access through investing "in new infrastructure for our least served people and places"; to provide "meaningful support" for PEG access community media to ensure local jurisdictions have roles; to maintain net neutrality practices through common carriage and nondiscriminatory interconnection; and to promote broadband adoption with free connections and at-cost support for low-income communities and such institutions as libraries and schools.

A federal judge will hear arguments Sept. 18 on a motion by AT&T and DirecTV to have a $10 billion civil lawsuit claiming racial discrimination in program carriage and contracting decisions dismissed. African-American owned Entertainment Studios Networks and the National Association of African-American Owned Media sued the companies in 2014 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging racial animus behind the decision to carry only ESN's Justice Central channel (see 1412040060) -- for example, paying no license fees for the content but instead charging ESN to carry it. ESN and NAAAOM similarly sued Comcast and Time Warner Cable earlier this year, making similar charges, though that suit was dismissed earlier this month (see 1508100017) and those companies ended their deal unlike AT&T and DirecTV, which have combined in the suit. "This is a commercial disagreement, not a discrimination case, which explains why [ESN's and NAAAOM's] complaint is so bereft of any facts that could state such a claim," AT&T and DirecTV said as part of their motion to dismiss filed in July. AT&T's argument to have the suit dismissed "prematurely raises the question of whether [it] has a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for its refusal to contract with ESN," the programmer and NAAAOM said Friday in a filing in opposition to the motion to dismiss, adding that at trial they "will prove that AT&T's purported reasons for refusing to contract are pretextual excuses for discrimination." The hearing will be before U.S. District Judge Patrick Walsh.

The FCC should clarify operators' obligation to provide CableCARDs to customers using retail set-top boxes, TiVo General Counsel Matt Zinn and Chief Technology Officer Joseph Weber told FCC CTO Scott Jordan and Media Bureau staff Wednesday, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 97-80 Friday. Consumers and set-top manufacturers need “certainty” that retail navigation devices will still be able to receive cable signals “after the integration ban sunsets,” the company said. The TiVo officials also spoke “favorably” about Comcast's support for CableCARD-using customers, which includes “a dedicated CableCARD support help-line, and an easy-to-access website with information on CableCARDs.” TiVo said its discussions with Charter about using Charter's downloadable security system in TiVo's products also came up in the meeting.

Advanced Digital Broadcast and HDMI Licensing agreed to a month’s extension to Sept. 4 in the deadline for HDMI’s response to ADB’s complaint (see 1507010017) that HDMI is “wrongfully” demanding more than $905,000 in back royalties and interest from ADB, a Swiss supplier to pay-TV operators of HD set-top boxes, residential gateway devices and other products. “Good cause exists” for the deadline extension because it will “give the parties time to engage in settlement discussions,” the companies said in a joint stipulation filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose.

Universal Electronics is banking on the home security category to pave its way into the smart home market with an acquisition of Ecolink Intelligent Technology. UEI said Thursday it agreed to buy Ecolink, its 25 issued and pending patents “and other related intellectual property and assets used in its smart home, wireless security and home automation business” for $12.4 million. On an earnings call last week, UEI CEO Paul Arling cited the prominent role security systems are playing in the transition to the smart home, saying most sensors and security panels can be easily accessed and controlled with a mobile device. He cited Parks Associates research estimating 14 percent of professionally monitored security systems in U.S. last year were installed by cable and telephone companies. He also cited ABI Research pegging the global home safety, security and connected device market at $4 billion in 2019, up from $1.4 billion this year. Arling said the acquisition would enable UEI to deliver to its subscription broadcast customers -- cable, satellite and IPTV providers -- smart home features. UEI already was working with customers on adding security features and developed a relationship with Ecolink. The new services are being implemented with major players, and they’ll roll out beginning in January with varying delivery schedules over 2016, Arling said. The expansion to the smart home from set-top boxes and remote controls is facilitated by the IP infrastructures UEI customers have in place in connected set-tops, cable modems and routers, Arling said. Smart home and security features are being implemented through the entire architecture, said Arling. The set-top boxes have a “flavor of ZigBee,” he said, referring to RF4CD that’s embedded in UEI remotes. Major broadcast service providers and CE companies are moving beyond infrared-only technologies to also include two-way RF protocols including Bluetooth Low Energy, RF4CE and Wi-Fi, “which enable a broader array of advanced features,” said Arling. An example is Comcast’s Xfinity Voice remote that uses UEI’s control technology to allow viewers to change channels, find shows and get recommendations by voice commands, he said.

Charter Communications enlisted former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt to push the agency to start the comment cycle on its proposed purchases of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable. In an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 15-149, Charter said Hundt talked Wednesday with agency General Counsel Jonathan Sallet about a "prompt resolution of the protective order" and to urge starting the comment cycle. Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday said the shot clock won't start until commissioners vote on a protective order on handling video programming confidential information (see 1508060055).

Turner Broadcasting is accelerating its VOD offerings, for the first time offering multiple upcoming episodes of a series online. The programmer said Thursday it would make multiple episodes of the drama Public Morals available through set-top video on demand, the Watch TNT mobile app and online at www.tntdrama.com/watchtnt one day after the Aug. 25 series premiere. Episodes of some truTV and TNT series also will be available on demand starting this week, Turner said.

NCTA, seeking an administrator for a newer power efficiency pact for Internet gear (see 1506250038), said an audit found savings from a previous accord to cut the amount of electricity set-top boxes use. The so-called voluntary agreement (VA) among pay-TV providers, makers of consumer electronics and energy efficiency advocates saved $500 million-plus in energy, preventing 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, said the association Thursday, citing a report released that day by an independent auditor. The VA saved consumers $336 million in 2014, a year when 90 percent of set-tops bought by pay-TV providers met the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star v3.0 efficiency levels, said NCTA in a Wednesday blog post. But progress toward the next tier of performance could be "challenging," because set-tops bought in January 2017 likely will have more functionality than products reported for last year, said the report dated July 31, the second annual one under the VA. It said Tier 2 requirements must be met by 90 percent of set-tops bought by participants starting Dec. 31, 2016. The pay-TV industry, "undergoing massive changes" including shifting to IP-based video that may cut set-top energy use, opens "up a realm of possibilities," wrote Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a participant in the set-top VA, on the NRDC's blog. "We are hoping that the industry includes power-scaling technology in their next-generation devices so these devices only work as hard as the task at hand." Meanwhile, the steering committee for June's VA on Web gear issued a request for proposals for an independent administrator for that accord, which doesn't include energy efficiency advocates but does include pay-TV and CE companies. RFPs for that small network equipment initiative are due Sept. 16, said NCTA. The administrator "will annually assess each company’s compliance, produce an annual report, and handle many other transparency and verification functions," said the association.