Disney plans to use Google Ad Manager as its core advertising tech platform for its digital video and display business, Google blogged Tuesday. It said the deal opens the door to Disney more easily delivering video ads on the web, via apps, at live events and streaming through smart TVs.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is "disappointed" Dish Network and Univision haven't resolved a retransmission consent fight that has gone on for close to five months (see 1807020030), he wrote Nov. 13 to Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., posted last week. Pai said the FCC is monitoring the clash and it "encourages the parties to reach agreement quickly." Pai responded to Menendez's June 29 letter that encouraged CEOs of Dish and Univision to engage in good-faith negotiations and asked the agency to monitor those negotiations. In a letter dated Nov. 12 to Pai and FTC Chairman Joe Simons, Dish General Counsel Timothy Messner said Univision is demanding "a substantial rate increase" despite the programmer no longer having rights to World Cup matches and "a material decline" in ratings. In Univision's Q3 earnings call earlier this month, CEO Vincent Sadusky said the programmer is planning a marketing campaign that should see Dish continue to shed subscribers, which could benefit other MVPDs with which the programmer has a relationship.

AT&T and DOJ are at odds over whether a group of antitrust scholars should take part in Dec. 6 oral argument on AT&T's buy of Time Warner at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In a docket 18-5214 opposition (in Pacer) posted Monday, AT&T said the amici didn't review and analyze trial evidence and ignore or mischaracterize the lower court's decision. It said their positions align with DOJ's and will be reflected in what the government argues. Calling the 27 "a renowned and diverse group," Justice said (in Pacer) it had no opposition to them being allocated five minutes of new time or receiving five minutes of the agency's 20. The academics, in a motion (in Pacer) to participate as amici curiae Friday, asked for 10 minutes of new time. They said part could be used to answer questions the court might have about issues presented, including how Nash bargaining models should apply to vertical mergers in oligopoly markets and what weight to give to testimony about parties having considered economic benefits to other corporate affiliates in evaluating bargaining outcomes. They include American University research law professor Jonathan Baker, Rutgers Law School professor Michael Carrier, University of Pennsylvania professor Joseph Harrington, and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz, who won the 2001 Nobel in economics.

Warner Brothers and Universal interest in premium VOD release of movies for earlier home streaming won't be the tipping point for such success, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon blogged. Disney, with 21st Century Fox to be part of its stable, will own 40 percent of the U.S. box office, making Disney necessary for premium VOD, he said Monday. The analyst said box office revenue continues to grow even as attendance numbers drop, meaning premium VOD is a tough argument to make to theater owners.

Opponents to Charter Communications' petition to be declared effectively competitive due to DirecTV Now (see 1810260026) rely on a restrictive LEC effective competition test inconsistent with FCC precedent and underlying policy goals, the cable operator replied, in docket 18-283 posted Tuesday. It said the argument DirecTV Now doesn't offer physical channels as defined by Section 602 of the Cable Act is contrary to statutory language of the LEC test, which doesn't mention channels but says competing services can be provided by any means other than DBS. The operator said nothing in statute, rules or precedent indicates Congress wanted to limit the meaning of offering service to only a physical network of DirecTV owner AT&T. The American Cable Association agreed that DirecTV Now satisfies the effective competition test since that test doesn't require the LEC offer local exchange service in the franchise area or that DirecTV Now meet the MVPD definition.

New York State’s $1.5 billion incentives package luring Amazon to build a new headquarters campus in Long Island City, Queens (see 1811130013), “is a lightning rod for the political rhetoric on both extremes,” wrote Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) Monday. The New York Post, “representative of extreme conservatives,” was “factually baseless” for editorializing the deal as a billion-dollar giveaway, said Cuomo. New York “gave Amazon nothing,” except for tax incentives that have been “operational for decades” with bipartisan support, he said. Rupert Murdoch's Post “is being totally hypocritical,” because companies that Murdoch controls “have aggressively sought and received hundreds of millions in government tax incentives from New York State,” he said. Murdoch's News Corp. didn't comment. Of “socialists” who blasted the deal as a billion-dollar giveaway to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos when the money should have gone instead to the poor and needy, it's "a politically appealing argument,” but also wrong, said Cuomo: “We give Amazon nothing and their revenues give us approximately $900 million annually.” Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist whose district borders the site where Amazon will build the campus, tweeted that the deal was “extremely concerning to residents here” because New York communities "need MORE investment, not less." Cuomo countered that Amazon’s presence will bolster the region’s tech sector. ”There will be a new school in the community, new residential apartments, investments in public transit, a tech incubator, a partnership with the local housing authority to create employment opportunities and myriad other local benefits,” he said.

The 175 million people who pay for streaming music today will rise to 300 million, amid more listening on the go, said Sonos CEO Patrick Spence Thursday, reporting quarterly results. Sonos has a three-year road map including “several products that take us outside the home,” he said. The company's core products haven’t been affected by tariffs, though a few accessories felt minimal impact, the chief said. “We definitely do not believe that tariffs are a sound long-term economic policy.” The company is considering doing “something on the price front, if we had to,” he said. Revenue grew 27 percent to $273 million in the period ended Sept. 29 from the year-ago quarter. Net loss narrowed to $1.8 million from $15 million. The stock closed up 9 percent Friday at $15.44.

Substantive issues in Protect Democracy Project's lawsuit over Freedom of Information Act requests for White House/agency communications on Disney's proposed buy of Fox "have been resolved" except for attorneys' fees, DOJ said in a docket 18-cv-00506-APM joint status report (in Pacer) posted Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. PDP is pursuing similar litigation for FOIA requests it sent to Justice seeking all White House/DOJ communications about AT&T/Time Warner.

Roughly 30 titles with Imax Enhanced digitally remastered 4K HDR content will begin rolling out from studio launch partners Sony Pictures and Paramount in January, said John McDaniel, vice president-business development-ecosystems at DTS parent Xperi, at a New York demonstration Wednesday. Content will be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and via 4K streaming services, said Bruce Markoe, head-post production. The companies announced plans for the certification and licensing program in September. Studios will determine that and whether to charge a premium for 4K, said Markoe. Asked about a road map for 8K theaters, he cited lack of content and said most movies released today are finished in 2K.

SiriusXM remains on track to close its acquisition of Pandora in Q1, wrote Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter to investors, after the company’s Q3 earnings report last week. Pachter had seen possible rejection by Pandora shareholders of Sirius’ offer to buy the remaining shares of Pandora it doesn’t own for $3.5 billion (see 1811060015), but called the value “fair” Tuesday. The analyst still sees Pandora “struggling to grow Active Listeners and lay out a path to sustainable profitability.” The Q3 results were “better than expected” but listener hours fell below analysts’ expectations, he said.