The FCC scheduled a virtual forum on improving accessibility in online video programming for Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. EST, said a public notice Friday. It will “explore the state of closed captioning availability for online video programming” and discuss possible accessibility enhancements, prospective voluntary efforts, and FCC authority to adopt new rules. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will speak, along with panels of consumer groups and executives from Amazon, Netflix and Comcast's NBCUniversal.
Crackle Plus will use Gracenote metadata and content identifiers to make Crackle, Popcornflix and Chicken Soup for the Soul streaming service titles more searchable and discoverable by viewers across streaming, MVPD, connected TV and digital search platforms, said the companies Thursday. The collaboration also calls for Crackle Plus to work with Nielsen's Gracenote on distribution of free ad-supported streaming channels starting with the upcoming Crackle and Popcornflix launches, it said.
Apple Music is now available on LG smart TVs with webOS 4.0 and later, it said Wednesday.
SoundHound will go public after its merger agreement with special purpose acquisition company Archimedes is complete in Q1, said the voice AI platform Tuesday. SoundHound shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker SOUN after the transaction closes, it said. Voice AI adoption “is rapidly expanding, with the market opportunity expected to reach $160 billion by 2026,” it said. SoundHound’s technology "powers the voice experience" in millions of products, said the company. Vizio’s first voice remote was based on SoundHound’s AI natural language platform (see 2106020050).
Dish Network and Sinclair signed a multiyear carriage agreement that keeps Sinclair's 144 local stations on Dish's lineup in 86 markets, and its Tennis Channel on Dish and Dish's Sling TV, said Dish Monday.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau sent randomly selected MVPDs the third batch of equal employment opportunity audit letters for 2021 Friday, said a public notice Friday. Each year, about 5% of stations and MVPDs are selected for EEO audits.
ViacomCBS and Gray Television signed a multiyear agreement renewing Gray's 47 CBS network affiliations, the station group said Tuesday. Gray said the agreement has its CBS affiliates continue to be locally available to subscribers on Paramount+ and distributed across virtual MVPD platforms.
Signs are strong that releasing feature films through “an exclusive theatrical window remains the best approach to maximize profitability for content producers,” said National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski on a Q3 investor call Monday. NCM bills itself as the largest cinema advertising network in the U.S. Amid the “significant” revenue lost to streaming piracy, “it has become increasingly clear that studios are leaving money on the table with their day-to-day streaming strategies,” said the former Warner Home Entertainment executive. “These realities may underlie recent announcements by all major studios that they will maintain or reconsider an exclusive cinema release window for most, if not all, their films in 2022.” Lesinski also sees signs that “some of the new non-studio streaming services will start to consider theatric release for some of their productions,” he said. “With audiences returning to the cinema, the strong 2022 film slate and continued TV ratings challenges, we are very well-positioned to make NCM a larger part of the marketing plans of national brands and local and regional businesses.”
Several activist groups urged AT&T to remove One America News Network from its DirecTV lineup. In a letter Monday, Free Press, Common Cause, Media Matters for America, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and 12 others said they were "deeply disturbed to learn that AT&T helped establish and fund OAN, a purveyor of racial bigotry, conspiracy theories and calls for anti-democratic violence that endanger lives." AT&T emailed that it “has never had a financial interest in OAN’s success and does not ‘fund’ OAN. CNN is the only news network we fund because it’s a part of AT&T." It said OAN founder Robert Herring "pressured us for months to carry OAN," when it acquired DirectTV in 2015, "We declined to do so and in response, Herring Networks sued. Only as a result of the settlement of that lawsuit did DIRECTV consent to a commercial carriage agreement with OAN. DIRECTV does not dictate or control programming on the channels it carries, and any suggestion otherwise is wrong. The decision of whether to renew the carriage agreement upon its expiration will be up to DIRECTV, which is now a separate company outside of AT&T.”
AMC Theatres continues seeking ways to diversify its theatrical business after at least a year of COVID-19 theater closures. Days after announcing it was entering the multibillion-dollar popcorn industry, AMC said Monday it will host “surprise screenings” of “fan favorite” movies from Disney+ Friday-Sunday at more than 200 locations in 34 states to celebrate the second anniversary of the streaming service’s November 2019 debut. Each title will play once a day for $5 a ticket, including promotional perks, it said.