Viacom networks including MTV, Nickelodeon and BET will be part of the fuboTV virtual MVPD lineup under a carriage agreement the two announced Wednesday. Those networks and six others will be part of the fuboTV base package, while other Viacom channels will be part of its premier and Spanish-language base packages, they said.
Amazon and adult streaming service Wreal are battling over summary judgment before the U.S. District Court in Miami with rival proposed reports and recommendations on Amazon’s pending motion for summary judgment posted Tuesday. Wreal said (in Pacer, docket 14-cv-21385) in its trademark violation complaint it's not alleging possible consumer confusion between Amazon's Fire TV and its own FyreTV being the same thing but that consumers might believe Amazon is the source of FyreTV much like it's "the source of organic groceries purchased at Whole Foods." Backing its motion, Amazon said (in Pacer) it's impossible for significant number of prudent consumers to tie FyreTV to Amazon because of the different marks the companies use, the products themselves, customer base and advertising methods.
FCC Commissioners Mike O’Rielly, Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks and NBC News White House Correspondent Kristen Welker will speak at the FCC’s March 7 Symposium on Digital Diversity, said a public notice and agenda released Wednesday. Chairman Ajit Pai will provide welcome remarks in a video, the notice said. The event will include eight panels, presentations by women and minorities in media, as well as broadcast and financial experts, the PN said. “Representatives from organizations that provide training for media employment and ownership will also be in attendance,” the notice said.
YouTube is promising more consistent penalties under a new community guidelines strikes system it announced Tuesday. Starting Feb. 25, YouTube channels will receive a one-time warning for content "that crosses the line," with the warning carrying no penalties except for the removal of that content, it blogged. It said it's expanding its help center to elaborate on behavior that will result in a strike, including detailed examples of guidelines-violating content. It said all strikes will carry consistent penalties, regardless of whether the problematic content was a video, thumbnails or links to other websites: first strike being a one-week freeze on uploading any new content, with the strike expiring after 90 days, second strike within that 90 days resulting in a two-week freeze and third strike channel termination. YouTube said it was making available more details on what policies were violated when content creators get email and desktop notifications.
While offerings aimed at helping subscription VOD providers fight password sharing proliferate, big SVOD providers seem disinterested in that fight, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Monday. It said various survey data doesn't show password sharing outside of family members to be very prevalent.
Paris-based Qobuz, initially hoping to launch its hi-res music streaming service in the U.S. last fall (see 1810090025), officially launched Thursday after an extended beta test, the company announced. Its differentiator in an increasingly crowded space dominated by Spotify, Apple, Amazon and Google is “millions” of hi-res 24-bit/192 kHz tracks available in the premium-tier subscription. Qobuz, which launched in 2007 in Europe, is entering the U.S. now to take advantage of a growing audience looking for a “higher-level listening experience” made possible by improved bandwidth and internet infrastructure, and availability of more affordable speakers and audio gear, it said. Pricing is $250 yearly/$25 monthly for Sublime Plus, which includes full hi-res FLAC 24-bit/192 kHz files and discounts on purchases from the hi-res download store; $200/$20 for unlimited FLAC 16-bit CD-quality streaming; and $100/$10 for 320 kbps MP3 quality.
Roku denies visually impaired Americans “equal access” to the internet by maintaining “barriers” on its e-commerce store, said a complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn Wednesday seeking class-action status. The complaint alleges Roku violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Roku shuns use of “assistive computer technology,” said Victor Andrews, a Brooklyn resident who's blind. He tried to shop Roku.com in January but was thwarted because it lacks “readily available accessible technology” in place at “other heavily trafficked websites,” said the complaint. The company declined comment. Roku relies "on a predominantly visual interface,” so sighted customers “can independently browse and purchase products without the assistance of others,” said the complaint. There are "well-established guidelines" for making sites more accessible, including those of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative, it said. Andrews is represented by C.K. Lee, who filed companion federal complaints in December alleging Apple and Samsung smartphones shortchange the public on screen resolution (see 1812180007).
Sinclair and the Chicago Cubs are creating a regional sports network, Marquee Sports Network, to be the exclusive Chicago-area network carrying live Cubs games starting with the 2020 season, they said Wednesday. They said it also will carry other Cubs-related content and local sports programming.
FTC members 5-0 reconfirmed without changes the agency’s Can-Spam Rule, which sets commercial email message requirements and allows recipients to opt out, the agency announced Tuesday. Email requirements include accurate headers and subject lines and advertising identification.
Samsung 2019 8K smart TVs have an artificial intelligence-based universal guide to customize recommendations based on an owner’s subscription services, favorite content and TV viewing habits, the company announced. It's adding its Bixby voice assistant, and will soon add Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant to let users control TV functions and search for content via remote, it said Monday. Its OneRemote has far-field voice capability, enabling users to operate the TV remote from across the room. Gaming experiences will be improved via Radeon’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology and Game Motion Plus. An automatic game mode minimizes input lag on compatible devices.