The TV One network Jan. 19 launches its Cleo TV lifestyle and entertainment cable channel aimed at millennial and Generation X women of color, it said Tuesday: It will be on Comcast's Xfinity, with more announcements coming.
African-American-majority-owned indie networks Afro and Cleo TV will be on Comcast starting in January, Comcast said Thursday. It's a fulfillment of commitments it made in its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal (see 1612150051).
Replies are due Nov. 19 on Charter Communication's petition for determination of effective competition in Hawaii and Massachusetts based on competition from DirecTV Now, the FCC Media Bureau said in a public notice Tuesday in docket 18-283. It said instead of being treated as a restricted proceeding without ex parte presentations, the agency will treat the proceeding as "permit-but-disclose" due to it potentially having effects beyond the specific Charter matter.
Some investors are cautious on CommScope's $7.4 billion plan to buy Arris, an analyst found. Worries include debt that CommScope will take on, which executives have said shouldn't be a problem (see 1811080051), wrote Simon Leopold of Raymond James Wednesday. "The deal seemed to lack strategic rationale and was more about buying cash flow." In the minds of investors and the companies, Leopold told us, "the common strategic theme is broadband and traffic growth." Owners of CommScope securities "perceive the deal negatively because they think of ARRIS as just" a set-top box maker, Leopold wrote "It is not. About 40% of sales come from STBs, the products contribute a single-digit percent of profits. We see opportunities from the evolution of cable TV networks." The combining companies declined to comment.
Cable One's takeover of Clearwave will result in expanded offerings to a broader customer base, and Clearwave customers won't see any immediate changes to services, rates, or terms and conditions, the companies said Tuesday seeking FCC approval. They announced the deal's plans Monday (see here). They expect it to close in Q1. Fiber network operator Clearwave has more than 2,400 route miles in southern Illinois.
Viamedia's complaint Comcast used market dominance in Detroit and Chicago to force the competing third-party advertising rep out of business there fits into the class of cases requiring a monopolist show its refusal to deal with a competitor-customer was motivated by legitimate competitive reasons, Viamedia said in its redacted appellant brief (in Pacer, docket 18-2852) filed Thursday with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It said it's a Sherman Act violation to deny a rival something voluntarily provided others and sacrifice short-term profit to achieve long-term monopoly. Viamedia said the lower court that rejected its complaint against Comcast (see 1808210001) erred when it agreed ad rep services and collective ad selling "interconnect" services are separate, but then said jurors likely wouldn't find Comcast tied those services together even though evidence showed otherwise. Comcast didn't comment Friday.
Cord-cutting “continues to alter the TV landscape,” said Roku CEO Anthony Wood on a Wednesday-evening earnings call after reporting Q3 results that led to a stock plunge. “We believe the trend will accelerate as more consumers understand the choice and value that streaming offers.” With 24 million “active accounts,” the “scale” of Roku’s customer base “now rivals large traditional U.S. cable and satellite companies,” he said. The chief predicted "more content will move to streaming" as pay-TV bundles shrink. Though executives said the streamer again raised its 2018 outlook, it now expects Q4 net to range between a $4 million loss and profit of $3 million. That's reportedly less profit than expected. The company "tightened our Q4 outlook slightly," Chief Financial Officer Steve Louden told analysts.
More localities are expressing opposition to the Further NPRM approved in September that would treat cable operators' in-kind contributions required by local franchise authorities -- such as public, educational and government channel transmission -- as franchise fees (see 1811050002). In an FCC docket 05-311 posting Wednesday, the California State Association of Counties said it could lead to limits on or even elimination of local PEG access channels. It worries the proposal could bar local governments from regulating facilities and equipment used in providing non-cable services. The Illinois Municipal League said franchise obligations like PEG channels are better considered community benefits, not contributions to local franchising agreements.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judges Judith Rogers, David Sentelle and Robert Wilkins comprise the panel overseeing DOJ's appeal of the District Court approval of AT&T's buy of Time Warner, said a docket 18-5214 Pacer update. Oral argument is Dec. 6 (see 1810170062).
Media Bureau waivers of FCC rules requiring accessibility of user interfaces on navigation devices for some small and mid-sized MVPDs is "very welcome" since those systems would have racked up $100,000-plus to comply, the American Cable Association said Monday. Those expenses could have forced operators out of business, driving up customers' monthly bills in others, ACA said. The bureau's Friday waiver order said the limited circumstances waivers will provide relief to small cable systems that can't do the network upgrades, and the limited nature of the waivers -- covering only cable systems subject to the Dec. 20 deferred compliance deadline -- also justifies the waivers. In a public notice Monday, the bureau reminded entities not covered by the waver that the two-year deferred compliance deadline is Dec. 20.