The FCC shouldn’t change its program access rules to create the 3 million subscriber “safe harbor” cap for buying group membership proposed in the commission’s ownership proceeding, said Cox in an ex parte filing in docket 12-68 (http://bit.ly/15ETqhr). Instead, the commission should ensure that small- and mid-sized multichannel video program distributors can “gain the protections of reformed buying group rules,” the cable provider said. The American Cable Association has asked the commission to create the safe harbor (CD July 9 p14) for MVPDs of up to 3 million subscribers; Cox has between 4 and 5 million subscribers, according to Craig Moffett of Moffett Research (CD Aug 5 p19).

The FCC Media Bureau announced the filing of applications and comment deadlines for the proposed merger of Sinclair and Allbritton (http://bit.ly/13ksJ7v). To make the transaction comply with the commission’s local TV ownership rules in some markets, several TV station licenses in Alabama, South Carolina and Pennsylvania would be assigned to Deerfield Media or Howard Stirk Holdings but still receive services from Sinclair under shared service agreements, said the Media Bureau. Petitions to deny the transactions are due Sept. 13, the bureau said.

Roku is the most-used streaming video media device in the U.S., said a Parks Associates study released Wednesday (http://yhoo.it/13krSnh). In an independent survey of 10,000 households with broadband, the study found 37 percent used Roku compared to 24 percent who used Apple TV during Q1. The study predicted the number of connected TV devices will double in five years to 330 million worldwide. Annual sales are expected to increase by almost 100 percent by 2017 with more households buying smart TVs, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players and streaming video media devices, and average product prices will decline, the study found. “Innovations such as next-gen game consoles and 4K or ultra-HD TVs will boost unit sales for these devices, but overall, consumers are reluctant to replace these big-ticket items solely for smart upgrades,” said Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates director-research. “Streaming video media devices will have a thriving market because they can offer innovations such as streaming video at low prices."

A Sprint/T-Mobile combination would face tough regulatory scrutiny and the overall picture continues to get more muddled, Guggenheim analyst Paul Gallant said in a Tuesday research note. “Sprint and T-Mobile have recently taken aggressive and innovative steps: (1) July 10: T-Mobile announces new upgrade plan (which was quickly adopted by AT&T and Verizon); (2) July 11: Sprint reduces the price of unlimited data,” he wrote. “And last week, T-Mobile -- thought to be the weakest of the four national wireless operators -- reported that it grew its customer base strongly for the first time in four years. In our view, these developments (particularly with respect to T-Mobile) are exactly what regulators were hoping would happen following rejection of AT&T/T-Mobile."

The Leverett Broadband Committee in Massachusetts awarded Millennium Communications Group (MCG) a contract to build its fiber-to-the-home project, said Calix in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1a2AQaT). MCG is part of the proposal made with Calix to the town, with Calix to offer the E7-20 Ethernet service access platform and 700GE family of optical network terminals to deliver gigabit service. “As middle mile networks created by the Broadband Stimulus program near completion, underserved communities throughout the country will be looking to leverage this new fiber to expand the reach of broadband in their regions,” said Calix Senior Vice President John Colvin. “Towns like Leverett are on the forefront of this broadband effort, and are serving as an example of what is possible when communities come together for the benefit of all."

The order setting out changes to FCC Form 477 was published in the Federal Register Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/1eHFGrD). Most of the changes will take effect Sept. 12, except for the “information collection” components. “Such information collections have to be run through the Office of Management and Budget for its thumbs up pursuant to the hilariously named Paperwork Reduction Act,” said a Tuesday post on Fletcher Heald’s blog (http://bit.ly/1eHFTey). “That process usually takes several months."

The FCC granted a waiver of the financial relationship prohibition in Section 4(b) of the Communications Act, according to a notice Tuesday in the Federal Register. Theodore Marcus, an attorney-advisor in the Enforcement Bureau, was granted a waiver “to retain time-limited financial interests in AT&T through a last distribution in March 2014 and a reasonable time thereafter for divestiture,” the notice said. Mr. Marcus will “recuse himself from participation in any matter involving or affecting AT&T” during that time, the notice said.

Low-income Americans are unfairly blamed for abuses of the Lifeline program, when “in fact, a small number of cell phone companies are responsible for aggressive distribution tactics,” said the Community Action Partnership, Consumer Action, and National Consumers League on Tuesday. They urged the FCC to block carrier abuses by banning same-day distribution of cellphones provided under the Lifeline program. “Problem marketing practices have to end,” said Linda Sherry, Consumer Action director-national priorities.

The fourth meeting of the FCC’s World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee will be Sept. 19 at 11:00 a.m. at commission headquarters. The committee plans to consider status reports and recommendations from its informal working groups concerning preparation for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference, said the agency in a public notice (http://bit.ly/122YS0y).

Viacom and Twitter partnered to create sponsorship opportunities for more than 30 programming events through 2014, including the MTV Video Music Awards and Comedy Central’s Roast of James Franco, said the companies in a news release Tuesday. “Through Twitter Amplify, MTV will deliver a variety of sponsored-supported video content leading up to and during the 2013 MTV VMAs, including real-time highlights from the show, backstage moments, red carpet interviews, MTV News reports and more,” the release said. “MTV will also distribute via Twitter custom-content developed for sponsors related to VMA award categories and MTV News coverage of the event."