CEA and NCTA urged the FCC not to add some rules on user interface accessibility, filings in docket 12-107 show. With a Further NPRM having been issued on the subject, CEA said the agency should stick to the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in that CVAA doesn't allow any restrictions on how closed captioning display settings are accessed. Requiring makers of consumer electronics to post online information about display accessibility "could be reasonable," but the FCC shouldn't start a labeling requirement for equipment makers, CEA said its in-house and outside lawyers told staffers in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Media bureaus. NCTA members have made "significant progress" on CVAA, association attorneys told staffers in those two bureaus. New rules on accessing enhanced captioning display and navigation features beyond turning them on and off could "contravene" Section 205, NCTA said. The agency should "maintain a flexible approach as to what is considered a compliant mechanism for activating closed captioning," NCTA said. "Any requirement to integrate specific data about public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access programming in program guides would impose significant burdens on the industry."

ReelzChannel supports Comcast's planned buy of Time Warner Cable as well as AT&T/DirecTV, it said in an FCC ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 14-57. ReelzChannel said the deals would serve the public interest as well as reduce business uncertainty and support growth of diverse voices offered by independent networks. The independent network said for an indie to be successful, it must get distribution from Comcast, DirecTV, Dish Network and TWC, at a minimum. ReelzChannel said Comcast hasn't changed its path for the network over the years, including that it would make meaningful investments in original programming.

The Media Bureau released a redacted transcript of a Jan. 30 workshop of economists held at the FCC to discuss Comcast's planned buy of Time Warner Cable. The portions redacted from the transcript include any references to highly confidential information and confidential information, said an ex parte filing from Bureau Chief Bill Lake. Those with access to confidential information in the proceeding can obtain access through the Office of General Counsel, the letter said. The workshop participants included FCC transaction review team economist Shane Greenstein and discussion topics included program access, interconnection and online video, the transcript said.

The initial meeting of the Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee was rescheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at FCC headquarters, the agency said in a public notice Wednesday. The meeting had been set for Feb. 17, but was canceled after the federal government partly shut down in Washington for inclement weather.

Comcast added live streaming networks to the Xfinity TV Go app and website, including AMC, BBC America, Fox Deportes, MoviePlex, Showtime, Univision Deportes and The Weather Channel, it said in a news release Tuesday. The app now has more than 70 channels and 21,000 VOD options, it said.

The growing use of IPTV devices will lead pay-TV middleware providers to create a unified, multiscreen experience for viewers, a Frost & Sullivan news release said Wednesday. In 2014, the IPTV market had $1.05 billion in revenue, said a Nov. 27 study on the global pay-TV middleware market from F&S, which develops growth strategies for businesses. IPTV revenue will increase to $2.03 billion by 2020, the study said. Rising subscriber churn and demand for over-the-top (OTT) subscriptions has put pressure on pay-TV operators, it said. Flexible consumption models using OTT and advanced pay-TV middleware are needed, it said. Pay-TV middleware providers will see more opportunities in emerging markets like Africa and India, which are moving toward pay-TV “IPfication,” it said. Markets in North America and Western Europe have hybrid cable and satellite deployments, it said.

Discovery Communications and its U.S. networks will “immediately” begin reporting results based on Live + 3 ratings and delivery data for most programming, Discovery said in a news release Wednesday. “As time-shifted viewership continues to increase, Live + Same-Day data no longer captures an accurate picture and value of our audience, and the lift from Live + 3 for many of our top programs is significant and growing,” said Chief Communications Officer David Leavy. In Q4, premieres on Discovery’s networks received a 23 percent ratings increase from Live + Same-Day to Live + 3, said the programmer. The company said it will continue to distribute Live + Same-Day data for live or special event programming.

Cablevision is "glad" to have finished “contentious negotiations” with the Communications Workers of America (see 1502130058), it said in a statement. Under the agreement with CWA, most Brooklyn, New York, employees will be kept at 96 percent of wage parity over the term of the contract, and Cablevision will be allowed to apply performance-based standards to its Brooklyn employees, the cable operator said.

Customer service in the cable industry is “completely unacceptable” and cable should make “a 10-year commitment” to fixing it, NCTA President Michael Powell said in an interview on C-SPAN’s The Communicators that was scheduled to air Saturday. Powell blamed cable's poor customer service record on the industry’s growth and focus on upgrading its networks, and said customer service has “suffered” as a consequence. The cable industry also needs to work to stay “a middle class industry,” he said. “We can’t survive selling to some elite,” he said. Cable needs to stay affordable, he said. Though new services like Dish’s Slingbox have been touted as being a cheaper alternative to cable, Powell said the price difference in reality is slight once subscription fees to services like Hulu and a broadband connection are factored in. The industry also should invest more in innovations for its product, such as better user interfaces, Powell said.

Oral argument in the court challenge of the FCC’s confidentiality rules for programming and retransmission consent contract information related to the Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal will be limited to 10 minutes for each side, said an order issued Wednesday. The FCC’s decision to put those contracts into the record but protected through confidentiality orders was challenged by a group of content companies that include Viacom, CBS and Univision. Oral argument is set for Feb. 20. The 10-minute time limit is not unusual and is unlikely to be strictly enforced, said Fletcher Heald appellate attorney Harry Cole. He’s seen oral argument in cases where each side had a 10-minute limit last as long as 40 minutes, he said.