Nexstar and Mission Broadcasting requested an extension on the due date for their response to Comcast’s complaint alleging a violation of the good-faith retransmission consent negotiation rules (see 2212130029), said filings posted Wednesday in docket 22-443. The broadcasters want the extension to account for this month's holidays, said the filings from Mission and Nexstar. “The majority of this time period occurs during the holiday season, where both principals and counsel will be taking time off from work and engaging in long-planned holiday travel,” Nexstar said. The responses are currently due Jan. 3, but the broadcasters are seeking an extension to Jan 17. Comcast doesn’t object to the extension, Nexstar said. Nexstar and Comcast recently settled a breach of contract lawsuit related to the complaint (see 2212200057).
Verizon opened access to the beta version of its forthcoming +play content hub in a promotion with Netflix, it said Wednesday. Free for Verizon mobile and home broadband subscribers, +play is for tracking online content subscriptions and managing their billing and pricing, it said.
Mission Broadcast's insistence that Comcast carry its WPIX New York station under an agreement with Nexstar and its refusal to negotiate with Comcast directly resulted in a blackout of the station that started Dec. 3, Comcast said in a filing posted Tuesday in a good-faith negotiation complaint (docket 12-1). The WPIX blackout is "an archetypical example of bad faith negotiations" and collusion by the two, as Mission refused to negotiate for WPIX retransmission consent and Nexstar shot down proposals for a standstill and true up agreement for WPIX, Comcast said in the redacted complaint. A Nexstar spokesperson emailed that the broadcaster has been negotiating with Comcast since October but the cabler "seems unwilling to reach a fair agreement, similar to those we have with our other satellite, cable, and telco partners. Nexstar is simply seeking fair market rates for the live sports, local news, and high-quality entertainment programming we provide to millions of viewers across the country. We have a long track record of negotiating fairly and avoiding service interruptions in our markets and we hope to reach agreement with Comcast." Control of WPIX is also the subject of pending ligation between Comcast and the broadcasters, and of a complaint filed by Comcast with the FCC (see 2107140059).
Audience measurement metrics for streaming video need to figure out how to gauge "stickiness," such as measuring viewers returning to a platform frequently, the Media Institute said in a report Wednesday. It predicted increased bundling of streaming service offerings, with bundles' attractiveness to depend on strong marketing and resources. The report said the NFL possibly moving its Sunday Ticket package to a streaming service could lead to other sports leagues migrating from traditional MVPDs to streaming platforms. It said ad-supported VOD services are rapidly growing viewers, but they also face a sizable percentage of potential subscribers uninterested in any service featuring ads.
DirecTV and Fox Corp. inked a multiyear carriage renewal and retransmission consent agreement that headed off a possible blackout (see 2211280058), Fox said Saturday.
Disney's returned CEO Bob Iger (see 2211210038) could decide the fate of the linear video programming bundle, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote Friday. In a note, he said programmers in moving to direct-to-consumer models have lost the advantages of the video bundle -- high lock-in, low marketing expense and strong pricing power -- yet it's not clear any are willing to forfeit customer ownership to return to focusing on the linear bundle. Moffett said Iger was a strong advocate for entertainment being direct to consumer but keeping sports linear. If the linear model is to survive, Disney will have to do it via the Hulu Live virtual MVPD service by dropping Paramount and NBCUniversal channels from the lineup and making Hulu a low-cost bundle offering, he said.
The FTC wants comments by Jan. 3 in docket 202-3092 on a proposed consent order on Google's advertising for its Pixel 4 phone, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register (see 2211280062).
Fox is blaming DirecTV for a possible blackout of local stations on the MVPD starting Friday, while American TV Alliance is blaming the broadcaster. Fox said it's "committed to reaching a fair agreement" with DirecTV, but the MVPD "continues to demand unprecedented special treatment that represents a wholesale change to our long-standing relationship and is out of step with marketplace terms." ATVA said Monday the blackout warning is "a bargaining ploy" by the programmer to hike retransmission consent rates and other licensing fees.
If the FCC proceeds on a redefinition of MVPD to apply to some over-the-top services, it will need to address some critical implications of the proposal, including ensuring broadcast signals carried by virtual MVPDs are protected from piracy and distribution beyond a station's local market, NAB said Wednesday in docket 16-142. In two filings (here and here), it recapped meetings with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks and Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer. In the Simington and Media Bureau meetings, NAB also said there's "apparent fraud" in the ZoneCasting proceeding record and the vast majority of broadcasters oppose the petition because there's no evidence ZoneCasting doesn't cause interference. NAB also pushed for a decision on the ATSC 3.0 proceeding.
Given the projected revenue growth of free ad-support streaming TV (FAST) services, expect the launches of more of them in 2023, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Sunday. Such services "will be the driving force behind the expansion of the streaming TV market over the next five years," he said. He predicted subscription VOD services will launch FAST channels and license content to competitors, plus better monetizing content, such as pay-per-view models, for new movies and exclusive live events.