FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated two NPRMs on the 10th floor that would seek comment on requiring MVPDs to refund subscribers affected by programming blackouts due to retransmission consent negotiations and report such blackouts to the FCC within 24 hours, said a news release Wednesday. MVPDs are likely to object to the proposals, which would likely increase pressure on them during retrans negotiations. “Enough with the blackouts,” said Rosenworcel in the release. “When consumers with traditional cable and satellite service turn on the screen, they should get what they pay for,” she said. “If the screen stays dark, they deserve a refund.”

The FCC can’t take the same approach on robotexts as it does on robocalls, said Wilkinson Barker’s Matt Gerst, representing CTIA, during an FCBA webinar Wednesday. Other industry speakers said the FCC’s attack on robocalls since 2017 appears to be paying dividends, though work remains.

Nexstar and DirecTV signed a deal on retransmission rights for 176 Nexstar stations, ending a 76-day blackout for those stations but leaving behind an open FCC complaint, an ongoing antirust court battle and a continuing blackout for 27 other stations owned by Mission Broadcasting and White Knight Broadcasting but operated by Nexstar through shared service agreements. DirecTV and Nexstar announced “a comprehensive new multi-year distribution agreement” in a joint release Monday, a day after announcing the return of Nexstar’s programming to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse. Terms of the agreements weren't disclosed.

Different states could see varying levels of interest from ISPs in bidding on broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program projects due to how they craft project requirements, cable industry experts say. Among these are prevailing wages for subcontractors and middle-class affordability offerings. Unclear is how many BEAD eligible areas end up with just one bidder, or none, we're told.

House Communications Subcommittee members in both parties used a Wednesday hearing to hammer the current retransmission consent negotiations process, particularly the blackouts when those talks break down, but all sides made clear a legislative solution is likely to take longer than the current Congress to pass. There was strong GOP opposition, meanwhile, to the FCC potentially refreshing its long-dormant docket (14-261) on reclassifying streaming services as virtual MVPDs to fix a perceived disparity in retransmission consent rules, as expected (see 2309120059).

USF revamp matters are expected to come up in both a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the state of the U.S. video marketplace (see 2309070060) and a likely Sept. 21 subpanel discussion on rural broadband funding, communications sector lobbyists told us. NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt and other officials set to testify at the Wednesday hearing focused their written statements largely on more video-centric issues, including staking a range of positions on a recent push for the FCC to refresh its long-dormant docket (14-261) on reclassifying streaming services as MVPDs to fix a perceived disparity in retransmission consent rules. The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn.

Industry and consumer advocacy groups continued to disagree on whether the FCC should extend certain robocall rules to all voice service providers in reply comments posted Monday in docket 17-97 (see 2305180036). Many debated the use of rich call data and the standard that should be set regarding the use of a do-not-originate (DNO) list.

Industry groups clashed on whether the FCC should extend its current waiver of broadband data collection rules allowing filers to submit information by a non-licensed professional engineer (PE). Competitive Carriers Association and USTelecom sought an extension for an additional three filing cycles, citing workforce issues (see 2308070042). The current waiver is to expire after the next submission deadline Sept. 15. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 19-195.

Ted Hearn leaves ACA Connects as communications vice president, with his LinkedIn saying he’s publishing Policy Band … Globalstar names Xcom Labs founder Paul Jacobs, also ex-Qualcomm, CEO, effective immediately, in conjunction with Globalstar’s agreement to license key Xcom technologies (see 2308290003); Jacobs replaces former CEO David Kagan, retiring; Xcom Chief Technology Officer Matt Grob and Chief Scientist Peter Black also join Globalstar, also effective immediately, as will Vice President-Wireless Tamer Kadous and Vice President-Engineering Daaman Hejmadi, effective after they complete a transition period with Xcom ... Brightspeed promotes Chief Operating Officer Tom Maguire to CEO; current CEO Bob Mudge becomes executive chair; Manny Sampedro hired from Verizon to succeed Maguire as COO; all effective Nov. 1.

Saying it's "preserv[ing] consumer access to clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information" about broadband costs, the FCC partially rejected and partially granted petitions on aspects of its 2022 broadband labeling order (see 2211180077). In its reconsideration order Tuesday, the FCC said it's affirming its decision that providers itemize monthly discretionary fees on the label and say how much data is provided in the plan being offered. An industry coalition asked that providers be allowed to say on labels that additional fees may apply and the fees may vary depending on location (see 2303230068). The commission said it's clarifying that E-rate and Rural Health Care service providers don't need to include a broadband label for enterprise and special access services provided through those programs. It granted a CTIA request to clarify that wireless providers can state “taxes included” or use similar language when the provider has chosen to include taxes as part of its base price. And the agency, granting a request by a coalition led by ACA Connects, said it's revising its requirement to document all instances when a provider directs a consumer to a label at an alternative sales channel and to retain such documentation for two years. It said any burdens on ISPs to itemize fees above the monthly price on the label "are far outweighed" by the consumer benefit and ISPs could roll those discretionary fees into the base monthly price, ending any need for itemization on the label. It said CTIA's request that wireless providers be able to use multiple lines of data allowance descriptions on the label would lead to visual clutter undermining the label's intended simplicity.