The Disney Plus streaming service likely will see strong early demand, the Diffusion Group said Wednesday, pointing to its survey of adult broadband users. Forty-three percent are likely to sign up. TDG said the amount of content expected to be in the streaming service likely will make it "very sticky." It said Disney Plus is "a major test" for direct-to-consumer offerings, differing substantially from Netflix or HBO Now by being a major studio pooling a big library of content into a single branded subscription service. Legacy pay-TV subscribers appear more interested in Disney Plus than cord cutters and cord nevers, while people under the age of 35 and those with children living at home are more likely than older counterparts. It said survey results came from three separate online panels and close to 2,000 adult broadband users were polled.

Project OAR is “actively in talks” with other TV makers and has issued invitations to join the consortium, a Vizio spokesperson emailed us Wednesday, after Tuesday's announcement (see 1903120071) its Inscape technology is at the heart of the Open Addressable Ready standard for targeted advertising via connected TVs. OAR was formed last year with founding members CBS, Disney's Media Networks, Comcast's FreeWheel and NBCUniversal, Xandr, Turner (now part of AT&T), Discovery, Hearst Television, AMC Networks, Vizio and Inscape. The charter is to “deliver better advertising experiences to viewers” through dynamic commercials on internet-connected TVs and devices. There’s no exclusivity period for Vizio or any other network or platform member, the spokesperson said: The working group was “formed under the concept that a rising tide lifts all boats." On whether any modifications will be required to TV designs to accommodate the standard, he said the group is working on specifications that allow for easiest adoption, and "it's too early to tell if any changes will be required." Viewers will be given the option to participate in addressable, "and they may subsequently opt out if they choose," he said. On whether consumers would lose access to certain features or functionality if they opt out, he said the goals are more relevant ads and better viewing experience.

That DOJ's case against AT&T/Time Warner was shown to be right points to the importance of the agency bringing vertical deals in the future, Public Knowledge Senior Counsel John Bergmayer blogged Wednesday. Noting reports AT&T is hiking DirecTV Now pricing while dropping some affiliated channels and adding more AT&T-owned content to its channel bundle, PK said "something may need to be fixed in antitrust" when arguments "breezily dismissed" by defendants and ignored by the courts "nevertheless come true so quickly after the trial is over." It said there needs to be vertical deal guidelines that show courts how markets actually work and how vertical integration can play out, and there could be a legislative fix to the hurdle the government has to clear for proving a vertical challenge. AT&T emailed us that DirecTV "gave us the scale needed to acquire the mobile rights for content," which in turn let it launch the DirecTV Now streaming service in 2016 at lower prices than the direct broadcast satellite service. "Even with our new DirecTV Now packages, the prices are still significantly lower and there are more choices than ever for live TV service from DirecTV," it said. BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield wrote investors Wednesday that prices for new plans -- $50 a month for DirecTV Now Plus and $70 for DirecTV Max -- and the elimination of its $35 plan were expected, as were the channels to be included and excluded. Both plans include HBO, which AT&T picked up with the TW deal.

Disney expects to make its acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets final March 20, they said Tuesday. Asked about the state of regulatory OK, Disney didn't comment. CEO Bob Iger last week said that's expected "soon" (see 1903070029).

A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama's Defining Decisions, a book by former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt reviewing domestic policy decisions Barack Obama and his transition team made between September 2008 and his January 2009 inauguration, is to be released April 2, according to the publisher. Hundt was a member of the transition team. One action was asking Congress in early January 2009 to postpone the hard analog TV cutoff date from Feb. 17 for fear that funding problems with NTIA's DTV converter box coupon program would disenfranchise consumers (see 0901090135). Congress passed the DTV Delay Act in early February 2009, putting off the DTV transition to June 12 (see 0902050110).

Smart TVs continued to rise in popularity last year, IHS Markit reported Thursday. Smart TVs that support Ultra HD through streaming services rose in volume shipped. More than three-quarters of 221 million TV sets shipped globally in Q4 had internet connectivity. That includes more than 85 percent in North America, 10 points above Q4 2017, the researcher said.

Complaining of "unilateral, take-it-or-leave-it" retransmission consent terms offered by Nexstar, east Tennessee cable ISP co-op HolstonConnect is asking the FCC to intervene. In a retransmission complaint Monday against the broadcaster, Holston said Nexstar is seeking "grossly excessive retransmission consent rates" for WATE-TV Knoxville and WJHL-TV Johnson City and to tie to carriage of those broadcast signals other channels it doesn't want. It asked the FCC to order that the broadcast signals be provided by March 31 at rates reasonable for those markets and that unspecified sanctions be brought. Nexstar didn't comment Thursday.

The FCC’s newly reconstituted Disability Advisory Committee meets in the Commission Meeting Room April 10 at 9 a.m., said a public notice Thursday. “At this meeting, DAC members will discuss (i) the roles and responsibilities of the Committee and its members; (ii) issues that the Committee will address; (iii) meeting schedules; and (iv) any other topics relevant to the DAC’s work." The meeting will be led DAC’s co-chairs -- Brian Scarpelli, senior policy counsel of ACT|The App Association, and Isidore Niyongabo, director-advocacy and public engagement at National Black Deaf Advocates.

It's “feasible” for both Dish and DirecTV to carry Texas stations KFXK-TV Longview and KLTV Tyler in Panola County, the FCC Media Bureau said in an order modifying the markets for both stations. The county was previously part of the Shreveport, Louisiana market and has historically received stations from Louisiana, Wednesday's order said. Dish filed a partial opposition to the market modification petitions, but its argument that the change wasn’t feasible was rejected by the bureau.

Comments are due April 8, replies April 22, on allowing MVPDs to deliver Subpart T and privacy notices electronically to subscribers in means other than verified email, such as texting or via apps, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The order adopted in November allowing cable operators to send notices to customers via email instead of through the post (see Notebook at end of 1811150028) included a Further NPRM about electronic alternatives for Subpart T and privacy notices.