NCTA criticisms of the FCC set-top plan are “based on a false rendition of copyright law,” said the Consumer Video Choice Coalition in a letter posted in docket 16-42 Thursday. “Time and again, NCTA mistakenly claims that the NRPM’s [sic] proposed approach grants rights to 'unlicensed parties,' when in fact the NPRM simply gives consumers meaningful choices in how they access and view the MVPD programming packages they have paid ever-growing amounts to subscribe to.” NCTA’s copyright “attack” on the NPRM is based on “claims to rights that are held by others -- the subscribers who buy access to programming for personal viewing and recording, and the public at large,” CVCC said. “Empowering subscribers to view the content they pay for is not copyright infringement,” CVCC said. “There is no exclusive right in the Copyright Act that gives an MVPD the power to require subscribers to forfeit their First Amendment rights to find the same or other programming from competitive sources.” Multichannel video programming distributor representatives, including from NCTA, recently lobbied the FCC for MVPDs' alternative proposal to the NPRM (see 1607060043).

Comcast added voice control to its home automation platform and bowed a Wi-Fi-enabled, indoor/outdoor HD camera for its Xfinity Home service, it said Wednesday. Users can create rules for the xCam that trigger other smart home devices, and there is voice control. Later this year, planned Comcast Xfinity Home launches will include a touch screen, sensor and keypad, said the company. Comcast said it's redesigning its core smart home devices, while continuing to integrate third-party products including Alphabet's Nest thermostat.

A CNN app user who subsequently sued CNN has no standing under Article III for an appeal of that unsuccessful lawsuit since the plaintiff didn't allege he or any hypothetical class suffered any qualifying injury from CNN's disclosures, CNN said in a motion to dismiss (in Pacer) filed Tuesday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. CNN said Ryan Perry's complaint rests solely on the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), and pointing to the Supreme Court's Spokeo v. Robins decision -- which requires concrete injury even in a statutory violation in order to have standing -- said, "This is not enough." Perry sued CNN in 2014, alleging violations when the network shared data of its mobile app user with its analytics provider, Bango, and a U.S. District judge in Atlanta subsequently granted CNN's motion to dismiss. In a civil appeal statement (in Pacer) filed in June with the 11th Circuit, Perry said under VPPA subscribers are authorized to sue for unlawful disclosure of some data, but the 11th and 1st circuits have been divided over the meaning of the word "subscriber" in the VPPA. Counsel for Perry didn't comment Wednesday.

NCTA and AT&T discussed the availability of HTML5 as the basis for a set-top plan, in multiple meetings last week with aides to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Chief Technologist Scott Jordan, Media Bureau staff, an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, and staff from the Office of General Counsel, the association said an ex parte filing in docket 16-42. It said they discussed possible requirements for protecting privacy and copyright in HTML5 and support for closed captions in HTML5. Also discussed was HTML5 EME "as an open, royalty-free standard; support available for implementing HTML5 EME; and support for closed captioning in HTML5 EME," said NCTA. Programmers are warming to pay-TV providers' counter -- based on HTML5 -- to Wheeler's unlock the box plan (see 1607010066).

Rovi and Verizon signed a multiyear patent license renewal for Verizon's pay-TV offerings, Rovi said in a news release Tuesday. It said the renewal means eight of the 10 largest pay-TV providers have signed license deals with it.

Arris and Comcast signed a warrant agreement that lets the cable operator buy ordinary shares of Arris based on specific sales targets in 2016 and 2017, Arris said in a news release Tuesday. It said it sells Comcast technologies for its video, broadband and voice services, plus wireless gateways and other networking equipment.

Comcast subscribers will be able to access Netflix via Xfinity's X1 navigation platform later this year, the companies said in a joint statement Tuesday. In a statement, Incompas -- whose members include Netflix, according to its website -- said it "advocated for a foundation that enables over-the-top content and traditional video to grow together, rather than apart. These smart policies, led and adopted by the FCC, have been hard fought victories that have knocked down many walls and are good for competition, consumers and free markets. Netflix is a trailblazer that has opened doors to other streamers, and we encourage and support policies that help make search, discovery and access to all over-the-top content easier.” And the Consumer Video Choice Coalition in a statement asked, "Now what’s wrong with unlocking the box and letting consumers watch the rest of the Internet as well? Comcast once again proves consumer advocates’ point; consumers are hungry for new Internet streaming content and don’t want a gatekeeper box or gatekeeper app telling them what they can and can’t watch. Blocking Internet streaming content is bad for consumers, content creators and innovation. It’s time for the FCC to unleash competition, and give consumers the power to watch, organize and discover the content they love on the device they choose.”

NCTA is asking the FCC to delay until Sept. 3, 2019, the deadline for complying with the carrier ID requirement of its automatic transmitter identification system (ATIS) rule. "Relief is appropriate" when complying with a rule that involves an equipment market that hasn't caught up, NCTA said in a filing posted Friday in docket 12-267. "The market cannot yet support a transition to uplink equipment capable of complying with the new rule." The FCC earlier this year extended ATIS rule implementation by a year to September 2017 (see 1603040054). Programmers are evaluating a next-generation transmission platform for satellite trucks, but "artificially forcing" retirement of existing equipment "would result in waste and stranded investment, when programmers will likely purchase new equipment that will support the new carrier identification requirement in just a few years," NCTA said, saying an extension wouldn't materially affect other spectrum users. Satellite news gathering truck operators also warned about carrier ID rules hurting them (see 1605090028).

Cable, telco and other companies ramping up smart-home security face challenges, analysts said this week. Some cited a limited market and more competition. Alarm.com last week agreed to buy the ADT Pulse business and Piper DIY system from Icontrol for $140 million, and Comcast said it's buying other Icontrol assets (see 1606230073). "There are still a lot of uncertainties” in the business, said Imperial Capital analyst Saliq Khan, citing nascent systems and apps. "There already is competition.” Some predicted telcos and cable companies would “disintermediate the entire security industry within several years,” said Khan, who doesn’t believe that. It's unknown what impact “strong, proprietary providers” such as AT&T, Verisure and Vivint, various cable companies and Google's and Apple's plans for premises control will have, he said. Reports showing security systems are driving the smart-home market may point to a short-term trend, ROC-Connect Senior Vice President-Business Development Kevin Meagher told us. A recurring revenue model appeals to companies like AT&T and Comcast, said Meagher. The reason U.S. monitored home security penetration hasn’t grown above 21 percent “is not for lack of trying,” said Meagher, but because there’s a limited number of people willing to spend $30-$50 per monthly for it.

Proponents of the FCC set-top proposal failed “to allay concerns” with their plan, said NCTA in an ex parte filing in docket 16-42 it characterized as a “rebuttal.” Supporters of the FCC plan “still seek an FCC-issued zero-cost compulsory copyright license -- entirely unauthorized by law -- to allow unlicensed tech companies to commercially exploit copyrighted works without permission from or compensation to the copyright owners,” NCTA said. The fixes offered for privacy and security in the agency plan are insufficient, NCTA said. “Sloganeering with false claims does nothing to make their proposal workable or lawful, or possible to implement as quickly as they predict.” The HTML5 compromise proposal would avoid those concerns, and the FCC should move forward with it, NCTA said.