ACA Connects "will take a serious look" at challenging the FCC's "all-in" video pricing rules, which are set for a vote during the commissioners' March 14 open meeting (see 2402210057), ACA President Grant Spellmeyer said. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in an address Wednesday at the ACA Connects policy summit (see 2403060005) mentioned the all-in pricing draft order, saying it would curb the “indecipherable asterisks and fine print” that make comparison shopping difficult. Starks said the order is consistent with the TV Viewer Protection Act, which requires that MVPDs disclose the all-in price at the point of sale and within 24 hours of sign-up and let customers cancel without penalty. The item is part of a larger agenda with broad support against junk fees and favors greater transparency for consumers, said Best Best's Cheryl Leanza. She noted the Ticket Act (HR-3950), requiring greater transparency in prices for event tickets, and the No Hidden Fees Act, (HR-6543), which prompts greater transparency in hotel and motel costs. Leanza represented local government clients in the proceeding. Cable and satellite TV promotional materials and bills would prominently display an all-in price that covers programming-related costs, including broadcast retransmission consent fees and regional sports programming charges, under the draft order. The requirement would be only for ads where price is mentioned, according to the draft. Operators would have nine months to comply after the approved order is released. In advertising for bundled services, providers should have the option to either provide the full price of the bundle, including video fees, or separately list the bundle's all-in video portion, NCTA told aides to the five FCC commissioners and FCC Media Bureau staffers, according to a docket 23-203 filing Thursday. NCTA urged that franchise fees and public, educational and government programming fees be excluded from the all-in pricing. It also urged that the commission to give providers a year to implement the all-in rules. Joining NCTA in the meetings were representatives of Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox. In meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks, Verizon reiterated its argument for exempting legacy plans no longer marketed or offered to consumers from the all-in pricing rule (see 2308010028). Pointing to existing federal transparency requirements as well as market forces, state cable associations said in a docket filing this week that the proposed all-in rules "rest on unsound legal footing, are unnecessary, and would produce results contrary to the Commission’s goals." Behind the filing were the Florida Internet & Television Association, Missouri Internet & Television Association, Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association and Texas Cable Association.

Former Rep. Brad Carson, D-Okla., and Eric Gastfriend, DynamiCare Health co-founder, formally launch Americans for Responsible Innovation advocacy group focused on emerging technologies including AI, with Carson as president; Gastfriend as executive director; Douglass Calidas, ex-office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as senior vice president-government affairs; Canoe Collective’s Kristina Banks as chief operating officer consultant; and Sanice Arrington, also Canoe Collective, as human resources manager … C-SPAN announces departures of co-CEOs Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain this year, with Kennedy, also chief financial officer, retiring in May and Swain’s departure date not determined; network names Vice President Matt Deprey to replace Kennedy as CFO …

Many small and mid-sized internet service providers (ISP) have doubts that they will participate widely if at all in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. At ACA Connects' annual summit Wednesday in Washington, President Grant Spellmeyer said members are concerned "about where BEAD is headed" on project requirements and conditions. "Places like Pennsylvania have got some troubling provisions that are slowing members down," he said. "I think you're going to see wildly disparate results across the 50 states." One ISP that operates in multiple states told us it's leaning away from participating in the states with particularly onerous conditions.

Industry widely opposes the FCC's proposal to adopt additional reporting requirements for providers as part of the commission's efforts to combat digital discrimination. Commissioners sought comment on an NPRM proposing to adopt annual reporting and internal compliance program requirements following a November order adopting rules to curb discrimination (see 2401310052). Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 22-69. Consumer advocates and state officials urged the FCC to adopt the proposed requirements and establish an Office of Civil Rights within the commission.

ACA Connects is applauding a DOJ antitrust investigation into the ESPN/Fox/Warner Bros. Discovery sports streaming joint venture (see 2402070006). "This is exactly what should happen," ACA said Thursday. "It’s anticompetitive for the biggest media players to join forces while locking out traditional linear video providers, including our Members from offering the same packages at the same prices. Fans deserve a level playing field in the sports media landscape without the threat of these giants controlling the marketplace and jacking up prices.” Bloomberg reported the investigation.

Utility companies, ISPs and advocacy groups sparred over the FCC's proposed revisions to its pole attachment and replacement rules, in comments posted Wednesday in docket 17-84. The FCC should abandon its Further NPRM, adopted in December with a related order and declaratory ruling and instead encourage greater communication between pole owners and attackers, some said (see 2312130044). Others sought greater oversight of the process and urged quick action.

An ESPN/Warner Bros. Discovery/Fox partnership creating a sports streaming platform is a further nail in the coffin of the traditional video programming bundle, video industry experts say. GlobalData analyst Tammy Parker said Tuesday it is "a blockbuster deal that will further decimate the traditional US pay-TV sector."

MVPDs and their allies opposed the FCC's proposed crackdown on video service fees, though backers, ranging from states and localities to broadcasters, cheered. Comments were filed this week in docket 23-405. During its December meeting, a 3-2 commission vote approved the video service fees NPRM, which proposes banning early-termination fees (ETF) and requires prorated refunds when service is canceled (see 2312130019).

NTCA, the Fiber Broadband Association and ACA Connects urged NTIA to continue prioritizing fiber deployment projects in the broadband, equity, access and deployment program. "Some are now calling upon NTIA to back away from this conclusion by rejecting or weakening initial proposals submitted by some states and territories that are consistent with this vision," the groups said in a letter Friday: "We urge NTIA to stand its ground." The groups argued that Congress envisioned a priority on fiber when it included "priority broadband projects" in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. "Abandoning these goals would not only flout the law but would disserve the public interest, relegating generations to less-capable broadband access," they said. In a tweet disagreeing with what Congress intended, the Wireless ISP Association said BEAD "will not reach 'Internet for All' with such a limiting framework." WISPA said "all choices must be on the table."

A draft order on making the FCC's disaster information reporting system mandatory for cable, wireline, wireless and VoIP providers hasn’t seen many changes since circulation and is expected to be approved at a commissioners' open meeting Thursday, agency and industry officials told us (see 2401040064). The item, in docket 21-346, also includes a Further NPRM that would seek comment on extending mandatory DIRS reports to broadcasters, satellite providers and broadband internet access service providers.