The FCC, in its report on video programming, faces arguments against and for further steps, including a push to ensure online video distributors aren't subject to cable rules. Replies on the 19th annual report were due Thursday. Verizon -- echoing its calls for retransmission rules changes and elimination of the network nonduplication and syndicated programming exclusivity rules (see 1710110016) -- said in docket 17-214 comments posted Monday that legacy cable regulations on OVDs "would be highly inappropriate." Regulation would be contrary to the agency's goal of promoting video competition, it said. Cable "remains uniquely burdened" with antiquated regulations, despite choice and competition, Charter Communications said. It pressed the agency to declare the market highly competitive and eliminate regulations based on a lack of competition, looking for routes to regulatory parity. NCTA said similar in initial comments last month. NCTA now pitched for seeing the set-top box marketplace as filled with rivalry. It said apps, the emergence of devices like Roku and MVPD investment in alternatives to set-tops -- plus the growth of streaming services -- eclipsed set-top use. It said app use came despite Section 629 of the Communications Act, which requires promotion of competition in the set-top market. Predictable pay-TV claims about a broken retrans regime "should be taken with a proverbial grain of salt," since pay-TV providers were complaining about negotiating with TV stations even before retrans fees became substantial, NAB said. It said proposals for negotiation reforms are without merit and contrary to statute, saying the FCC lacks authority over carriage of TV stations' signals without broadcaster consent. The multichannel TV sector is "broken," with major programmers using leverage and must-have networks to impose tying and bundling requirements, indie cable network INSP said. It said the report should conclude independent cable networks are in jeopardy, program carriage rules and enforcement need strengthening, and conglomerate programmers should be barred from bundling and tying. Citing "overwhelming evidence" of sizable video competition, Comcast rejected American Cable Association criticisms of its NBCUniversal's minimum penetration terms for its regional sports networks. It said the agency should declare the area competitive "at all levels."

Roku added 48 percent more “active” user accounts in Q3 than a year earlier, said CEO Anthony Wood Wednesday on the company’s first earnings call since it went public Sept. 28. “If Roku were a traditional cable company or a service operator, we would be the fourth largest in the country,” he said. “Streaming is mainstream, and a huge market. We believe every TV will one day run a streaming OS.” Momentum in licensing to TV makers made Roku the top U.S. streamer, “based on streaming hours,” said Wood. Streaming hours for Q3 were up 58 percent from a year earlier to 3.8 billion, said Chief Financial Officer Steve Louden. Q3 revenue jumped 40 percent to $124.8 million, as the operating loss narrowed to $7.9 million. Roku shares ended Thursday up 55 percent at $29.19.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority shouldn't assume Sky News will continue to be provided if Fox's planned buy of Sky doesn't go through, Sky said Tuesday in a CMA filing. It said it would "likely be prompted to review the position" if the provision of Sky News unduly impedes the Fox deal or other such deals. In a separate CMA filing Tuesday, Fox said there isn't one editorial position shared by News Corp. newspapers with which Sky News content "could even theoretically be aligned." It said overlap of exclusively Sky News and News Corp. news consumers is small, so the deal doesn't hurt diversity. And it said Ofcom considers Fox's compliance with UK broadcasting standards good, and thus "there is no plausible, let alone likely, risk" Fox wouldn't maintain Sky's commitment to broadcasting standards. U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley in September referred Fox/Sky to CMA for a full, six-month investigation (see 1709140020). CMA said provisional findings are due in December.

Owners of Sony 2017 and select 2016 Sony TVs with Android TV can use Google Assistant to discover and access content and control other smart home devices, said Sony Tuesday. Sony Android TVs are also compatible with Amazon Alexa (see 1707170041).

Live NBA games will be available in virtual reality under a multiyear partnership with Turner Sports, Intel said Tuesday. The chipmaker will be exclusive VR provider for the NBA on TNT starting with the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18. It said it's partnering with the NBA to provide VR and 360-degree volumetric video for the league's broadcast partners globally. It said the VR content will be available via the forthcoming NBA on TNT VR app on Samsung GearVR and Google Daydream headsets.

Virtual service providers are signing up live local stations to their lineups at an increasing clip, largely due to the Big Four networks' blanket arrangements letting affiliates opt into such streaming deals, Kagan reported Tuesday. It said CBS over-the-top service All Access has the highest household reach of live local stations among such virtual service providers, with stations reaching 96 percent of total U.S. households. The industry researcher said among virtual MVPDs, Hulu TV reaches 84 percent, followed by Sony Vue at 79 percent and DirecTV Now at 74 percent. Vue has been particularly aggressive in adding live location stations since July, when it raised its monthly subscription price on the strength of its local channel coverage, the firm said

Disney's rumored interest in buying part of Fox (see 1711060062) raises questions, BTIG's Rich Greenfield emailed investors Tuesday. He said news of Disney interest could lead to Fox finding out if other players, such as Verizon or Comcast, might also be interested. The analyst said word that Fox might sell its share of Sky could point to it being convinced regulators won't let the remainder of Fox's buyout of the rest of Sky go through. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is reviewing that deal (see 1710100029). Greenfield said Disney's wanting to increase its exposure to sports-centric overseas cable networks makes little sense. Greenfield said Fox TV Studios could help create content for Disney's over-the-top offering, but most Fox TV content heads would stay with the Fox TV network that would stay with Fox, and HBO's deal for Fox film studio content doesn't expire until the end of 2022. He said Disney/Fox could hit regulatory problems from dominance of film studios and opposition from theater owners and film industry guilds. Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker emailed investors that Fox could go for $41 per share, or $47 if all of Sky were included. She said Fox's cable networks could be worth up to $75 billion, the film business could be valued at $13 billion and the TV business $7 billion. Ryvicker said Fox has attractive assets and Disney "an exceptionally strong" balance sheet.

Fox and Disney didn't comment Monday on reports they had been in talks that would see Disney buying most of Fox, though not its broadcasting or sports assets. Fox stock closed at $27.45, up 9.9 percent, and Disney closed at $100.64, up 2 percent.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing on a decision on set-top box rental litigation, it said in a docket 15-6218 order (in Pacer) Thursday. Appellant Richard Healy sought rehearing of the appellate court's affirmation of a lower court's decision to overturn a jury's verdict that Cox Communications illegally tied cable services to set-top box rentals (see 1710050065).

The FCC's consideration of axing Form 325 reporting requirements for cable operators (see 1710260049) is being met with welcome relief, cable interests tell us, with some seeing as likely a 5-0 vote on the NPRM. With the form "outdated and duplicative" given the multiple forms and schedules video providers have to share with the FCC, its elimination is "low-hanging regulatory reform fruit, so to speak," TDS Vice President-External Affairs Drew Petersen told us. The NPRM on November's agenda asks for comments on whether to eliminate or alternately streamline the annual reporting requirement. The form -- filed by all operators with more than 20,000 subscribers and a random sampling of smaller operators -- has been an annual requirement since 1971, it said. It asks about such issues as numbers of subscribers, network structure, systemwide capacity and programming. The FCC said if it opts to keep the form, it would like input on modernizing it. Form 325 isn't a popular item with MVPDs. NCTA in the media modernization proceeding earlier this year (see 1707060060) said cable operators “devote many hours to completion” each year, even though much of the information is available from other sources, even as online video distributors and non-cable MVPDs don’t have similar filing requirements. One cable company executive said the form is significantly burdensome, but couldn't say how it compares to other reporting requirements. Petersen said as far as regulatory compliance burdens go, public inspection files "are more impactful" due to what needs to be kept and consistently updated, particularly given the utilization rate of those files being "pretty low." A cable official said with the industry also pushing to be allowed more use of electronic notification to customers instead of paper, there's hope that idea might come back around as Chairman Ajit Pai's FCC works through its regulatory modernization and streamlining efforts. The agency in June issued a declaratory ruling allowing cable operators to email annual notices to customers (see 1706190074).