The joint NewTek/Wowza Media Systems media encoding and live-streaming video delivery platform MDS will be available starting in Q4, the companies said in a news release Friday. MDS integrates Wowza streaming software and NewTek live production technology, and allows processing of up to four channels of video, they said.

Sizable numbers of TV watchers are "show dumping," giving up on series because of the difficulty or cost of accessing them, TiVo said. Pointing to a sponsored survey of pay-TV and over-the-top subscribers in the U.S., Asia and Europe, a news release Friday said 37 percent show dumped -- most often premium pay-TV programming, shows available only through paid OTT and/or unavailable on OTT services that aggregate content. Those surveyed average four hours daily streaming or watching video content and 19 minutes searching, with the U.S average being more than 5.5 hours a day, TiVo said. It said 11 percent of those surveyed indicated they were extremely likely to downgrade their pay-TV service, with another 8 percent indicating high likelihood of canceling their pay-TV service in the next six months. TiVo said cord shaving is more predominant in the U.S, where 21 percent of those surveyed said they're extremely likely to downgrade their pay-TV service and 13 percent said they're strongly considering cutting the cord. Fifty-eight percent have more than one subscription streaming video service and 45 percent have more than one streaming media device at home. Of those who subscribe to streaming services, TiVo said, 81 percent in the U.S. report having Netflix, and 50 percent of U.S. respondents subscribe to Amazon Prime. More than 47 percent of all respondents want better programming search functionality, with 40 percent saying they turn off the TV or device when they can't find something to watch. Among millennials, 53 percent say they often expect recommendations on what else to watch, versus 14 percent of boomers and 36 percent of Gen Xers. The results were from an online survey of 5,500 pay-TV and OTT subscribers across seven countries, with 2,500 of them done in the U.S.

A former Charter Communications customer who found out the company still had his personally identifiable information on file in violation of the Cable Act lacks standing to sue the cable company, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in an opinion Thursday, affirming a U.S. District Court ruling granting a Charter motion to dismiss. The case had been held pending the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Spokeo v. Robins, and the three judge-panel in its opinion said it was under that Spokeo guidance that it decided plaintiff Alex Braitberg hadn't alleged any concrete injury, just a procedural violation by Charter. While there's a common law tradition of invasion of privacy lawsuits, the court said, retaining legally obtained information, without further disclosure, traditionally hasn't been a basis for a suit in U.S. courts. It also rejected the plaintiff's argument that consumers put a value on protection of their personal data against improper access and that Charter's keeping the data deprived him of the full monetary value of his transaction with the company. Ruling on the appeal were William Riley, Steven Colloton and Jane Kelly, with Colloton writing the opinion. Counsel for the plaintiff didn't comment.

Streaming media technology firm Wowza Media Systems signed a deal with Alibaba to enable Wowza Streaming Engine software on the Alibaba Cloud platform, Wowza said in a news release Thursday: It will let customers scale their video streaming applications across Chinese markets via Alibaba Cloud's platform. “One of the more complex challenges for streaming applications is expanding operations and availability into Chinese markets,” Wowza Chief Revenue Officer Carlos Perez said.

Siemens Convergence Creators and Imagine Communications signed a deal to integrate Siemens' Smart Video Engine online video platform with Imagine's CloudXtream media and advertising delivery offering into what the two in a news release Thursday called "a complete, end-to-end solution" for over-the-top providers.

Rovi renamed itself TiVo, following the completion of its acquisition of the DVR innovator for $1.1 billion in cash and stock (see 1604290044), the company said in a Thursday announcement. “Consumers face a fragmented media landscape when it comes to devices and platforms, and content owners and service providers want to understand their audiences better and help their customers navigate an ever-increasing set of content choices,” said CEO Tom Carson. The newly combined TiVo is “uniquely positioned” to address that landscape, Carson said.

Discovery Communications programming will be carried on DirecTV Now, AT&T's over-the-top service launching later this year, under a renewal of the two companies' distribution deal announced in a news release Thursday. The programmer said its content also is to be available to DirecTV and U-verse customers via their set-top boxes, streaming and via their TV Everywhere platforms.

Formula One has worldwide recognition and a loyal, high-income fan base, yet is an under-monetized sports franchise -- which could change with its purchase by Liberty Media, Macquarie analyst Amy Yong wrote investors Thursday. A former top 21st Century Fox executive will have a major role. Liberty said it eventually will own 100 percent of the shares of Delta Topco, Formula One's parent, and the first step is its purchase announced Wednesday of 18.7 percent for $746 million cash. After completing the takeover, Liberty said in a news release, Formula One will be part of its Liberty Media Group, which will be renamed the Formula One Group. Bernie Ecclestone will remain Formula One CEO, Liberty said, and ex-Fox executive Chase Carey -- appointed by Delta Topco -- will be the new chairman, succeeding Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who will remain on the board as non-executive director. Yong said Formula One sales seemingly declined by a mid-single digit percentage since 2013, but growth is expected with the new management, revenue opportunities and more stable talent cost structure. She also said it may have opportunities for more market penetration in the U.S., Asia and Latin America.

Ericsson's cloud-based MediaFirst TV Platform will be integrated into Google's Android TV set-top operating system, opening the door to bringing MediaFirst services such as 4K Ultra HD live TV channels, VOD and cloud DVR to more users, Ericsson said in a news release Thursday. Ericsson said the deal will allow pay-TV operators to work with Android TV set-tops for new functionality and to offer additional applications.

Boxing fans may be disappointed by the May 2015 bout between Floyd Mayweather and Emmanuel Pacquiao watched widely on pay-per-view, but various state laws don't provide a remedy for disappointed PPV viewers, and the various class-action suits against Mayweather, Pacquiao and HBO don't allege any cognizable injury to a legally protected right or interest, Mayweather said a motion (in Pacer) to dismiss Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The plaintiffs' PPV and ticket purchases "at most gave them a right to see (or show) a fight at a specific time and place, which all admittedly received," defendants Pacquiao and HBO, said in a similar but separate motion (in Pacer) for a dismissal order Tuesday. All claims of fraud under various state statutes regarding nondisclosure of an existing Pacquiao injury lack an actionable omission or misrepresentation, Pacquiao/HBO said. They said the plaintiffs never showed a causal link between their purported harm and the alleged misrepresentations. Fifteen separate class-action complaints were brought against the boxers and HBO by PPV customers in 12 states and by Puerto Rico, PPV commercial entities nationally and live attendees of the event. Defendants also include boxing promotion company Top Rank, two of its corporate officers and a Pacquiao business manager. The Mayweather motion said the claims are made up of "conclusory allegation and unsupported inferences" and haven't pleaded facts with specificity to meet the pleading requirements of fraud-based claims. It said arguments of false advertising violations fail since the plaintiffs aren't in the "zone of interests" of the Lanham Act (which governs unfair competition) and Mayweather's statements are non-actionable and protected by the First Amendment. "Both the Pacquiao and Mayweather defendants’ motions to dismiss miss the central point that consumers were induced to purchase the PPV based on facts that were known to the Defendants well before the fight but were purposely withheld from the public in order to drive PPV sales to record levels," lead plaintiffs' counsel Hart Robinovitch of Zimmerman Reed emailed us Wednesday. "Mr. Pacquiao was obligated to disclose his shoulder injury on the pre-fight medical questionnaire but answered it untruthfully under penalty of perjury. Reasonable consumers would have wanted to know this important fact before making the decision to part with $100 to see the fight. Numerous commentators voiced outrage following the fight, supporting plaintiffs’ position that consumers buying the fight were duped. Plaintiffs in the Pacquiao litigation are quite confident that they will be able to demonstrate that the arguments Defendants present in their motions to dismiss are misplaced and that the motions will be denied."