Hulu and Epix signed a multiyear subscriber VOD agreement that will bring new-release motion pictures from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount to Hulu starting Oct. 1, the over-the-top service said Sunday in a post on a company blog. Epix is a joint venture of Lionsgate, MGM and Viacom and its Paramount Pictures unit. The Hulu deal was a blow to rival Netflix. In a blog post Sunday, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said the company "decided not to renew our agreement in the U.S. with Epix ... which means that some high profile movies including Hunger Games: Catching Fire, World War Z and Transformers: Age of Extinction, will expire at the end of September in the US. If you want to see them on Netflix US, now is the time."
The FCC Media Bureau approved allowing Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative to operate an open video system. The Minnesota operation filed an application for certification Aug. 20 and it attracted no comments, the Media Bureau said in an order released Friday.
Cablevision and Verizon agreed to an extension until Oct. 1 of a temporary restraining order in the companies' legal fight over an advertising campaign. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Brown in Central Islip, New York, granted an order requested by Verizon earlier this month, blocking any ads asserting Verizon is telling lies in its ads (see 1508120027). Cablevision sued Verizon in federal court in January over Verizon ads saying it offered "the fastest WiFi available." Both companies are to appear back before Brown Oct. 1 for a hearing, said a notice filed Monday in the case.
The only major difference between online video distributors and multichannel video programming distributors is in the quality or quantity of programming they offer, with OVDs still lagging behind MVPDs, New England Sports Network (NESN) said in an FCC filing posted Tuesday in docket 14-261 on the agency's proceeding on how to define OVDs under the MVPD umbrella. Largely repeating comments it filed last week for the 17th video competition report (see 1508210033), NESN repeated its argument that OVDs are "a full-fledged substitute of broadcast, cable and satellite technology, and consumer access online video both via TV sets and via devices like tables and phones that substitute for TV sets." NESN had no specific policy positions, but said it submitted its arguments about substitutability because that mindset "must be the foundation of any sensible policy in this area."
Comcast is accepting proposals for the two largely Hispanic-American-owned, English-language networks it plans to launch in some markets in January 2017, the company said in a Wednesday news release. The two will be among 10 independently owned and operated networks Comcast is launching as part of its public service commitments in its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal, it said. The cable company said it would look at such criteria in the proposals as whether the network is fully financed, already launched and has existing multichannel video programming distribution; whether the management group is well established and has relevant experience; and its price. The network proposals are open for any major genre, such as children's programming, movies, news and sports, Comcast said. The deadline for proposals is Oct. 9. The 10 networks to launch by 2019 will include four that will have majority African-American ownership, two with substantial Hispanic-American ownership, two operated by Hispanic-American programmers, and two other independents, Comcast said. The company already has launched five independent networks, it said: Aspire, BabyFirst Americas, BBC World News, El Rey and Revolt.
July's ruling by a federal judge bolsters the argument that stretching the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor to certain types of over-the-top providers is consistent with the Communications Act and Copyright Act, FilmOn X said in a filing posted Monday in FCC docket 14-261. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge George Wu in Los Angeles was that FilmOn X potentially was entitled to a compulsory license under Section 111 of the Copyright Act because it operates somewhat like a cable system (see 1507170024). The court also said the Copyright Office's opposition to extending a Section 111 license to Internet-based distributors "is not grounded in the statutory text or congressional intent, but instead is based on policy views," FilmOn X said. Given that, FilmOn X said it reiterated its support for the FCC-proposed reinterpretation of MVPD guidelines to include some online distributors of multiple channels of video programming.
Cablevision's Optimum Online customers will have entree to CBS All Access and Showtime Internet services, making it the first multichannel video programming distributor to provide the online CBS offerings, the companies said Tuesday, saying they signed a new, multiyear carriage agreement. The deal covers retransmission consent for CBS-owned stations and continuing carriage of CBS Sports Network, Showtime and Smithsonian Channel. Cablevision and CBS gave no details on pricing or timing for the Optimum Online offerings.
Netflix plans to partner with SoftBank for its launch into Japan Sept. 2, it said in a Monday news release. Under the agreement, SoftBank customers will be able to sign up for Netflix at SoftBank stores and at major electronics retailers, and through the SoftBank website or its call centers, and the monthly Netflix subscription fee will be added to their SoftBank bills. The mobile company also said it will begin pre-installing the Netflix app on its smartphones, starting later this fall.
CableLabs expects product certification submissions soon for its new super-fast broadband specification, DOCSIS 3.1, wrote Belal Hamzeh, CableLabs director-broadband evolution. The next equipment interoperability event for the spec is set for Sept. 14-25, he wrote on the group's blog Monday. There have been five "very successful" such interops, "with strong vendor participation," including for cable modem and cable modem termination system vendors, he wrote: "We saw visible signs of how DOCSIS 3.1 technology will change the industry including the delivery of multi-Gbps performance."
Cross MediaWorks bought pay-TV advertising and data services company BlackArrow, Cross MediaWorks said in a Monday news release. Financial details weren't disclosed. Cross MediaWorks said the deal will allow it to expand the products and services it offers to pay-TV companies and advertisers. BlackArrow CEO Nick Troiano will become CEO of Cross MediaWorks and a board member, while Cross MediaWorks Chief Technology Officer Stephanie Mitchko-Beale will take over CTO/Chief Operating Officer responsibilities.