The boom in programming from diverse sources available on numerous outlets underscores that most-favored nation (MFN) and alternative distribution method (ADM) clauses haven't blocked the growth of multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) alternatives, according to cable interests. In a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer (docket 24-115), cablers defended ADMs and MFNs and said the agency shouldn't imbalance programmer/MVPD negotiations by stopping MVPDs from seeking the same pricing and terms programmers offer to others. Meeting with the Media Bureau were representatives of NCTA, Charter, Comcast and Cox Communications.

A proposed Charter Communications/Liberty Broadband combination would fix tax issues stemming from the requirement that Liberty -- the single largest shareholder of Charter -- sell into Charter's share repurchase program, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett noted Wednesday. The note recapped a conversation with Liberty Chairman John Malone. On Monday, Liberty Broadband said Charter had made an offer and that it had counter-offered. Liberty said the proposed deal has a closing date of June 30, 2027. According to Malone, Charter proposed a transaction that would exclude GCI, which Liberty owns, but Liberty's counteroffer includes GCI. A GCI transaction would require FCC approval, according to Malone.

Charter Communications is making a series of service commitments and benchmarks for its Spectrum broadband service. It said Monday that those commitments include a full-day credit for any neighborhood outage that lasts more than two hours and no annual contracts for any residential service. Within 15 minutes of identifying a neighborhood outage, the company said, it will notify affected customers and give an estimated restoration time. It said it would provide full refunds for any service within 30 days if a subscriber isn't completely satisfied. Charter rolled out Spectrum internet packages with guaranteed pricing for up to three years.

NCTA supports an FCC proposal exempting some video programmers from captioning registration and certification requirements when another entity, such as a programming network, has filed the relevant certification, the cabler said in comments posted Wednesday in docket 05-231. “Adopting the proposed exemption would relieve numerous program suppliers, including many small businesses, of needless paperwork obligations,” NCTA said. “Removing this regulatory burden will have no impact on the substantive captioning obligations for nonbroadcast programming.” The agency should make filing such certifications on behalf of multiple networks easier, NCTA said.

Noting WideOpenWest's limited cash on hand and declines in its high-margin broadband subscribers, S&P on Friday downgraded the cable operator's long-term credit trading from B to B- and its senior secured debt rating from B+ to B. It said management must take some cost-cutting steps and reduce capital spending; however WOW's longer-term viability depends on expanding into new markets. Lacking liquidity could mean capital spending reductions and a decline in revenue, S&P said.

Cable operators should be able to charge canceling subscribers for the full final month of service if the service, including local programming, is accessible for the full month using the cabler's streaming video application, the cable industry is urging the FCC. In a docket 23-405 filing Thursday recapping a meeting with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's office and Media Bureau Chief Holly Sauer, NCTA and cable operators said charging for the full month also should be permitted if the subscriber cancels within the first month of service after the expiration of the required 24-hour cancellation period. In the meeting, the cablers reiterated arguments that an agency ban on early termination fees should be limited to "unjust or unreasonable" ones (see 2406200031). Joining NCTA at the meeting were representatives of Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Communications.

Cable operators' effort at boosting their networks' upstream capacity is driven in large part by fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, operators and suppliers said Thursday. During an SCTE webinar, cablers said boosting upstream capacity also carries with it a variety of technical and spectrum challenges. The workplace changes the pandemic has driven, with more people working hybrid or fully remote, are pushing demand for additional upstream capacity, said Chris Topazi, Cox Communications principal architect. Also driving upstream demand is that people are increasingly prone to video chatting as opposed to phone calls, he said. Between 2020 and today, Midco saw average users' upstream usage go from 17-20 Mbps to 120-150 Mbps, said Vice President-Network Engineering Pao Lo. Competition also is a driver of upstream capacity supply, said Karthik Sundaresan, CableLabs director-hybrid fiber coaxial solutions. When cable competes in markets with fiber deployments, there often is pressure to offer higher upstream services even when actual upstream usage isn't close to what peak capacity allows, he said. Cable has multiple options for boosting upstream spectrum and capacity. DOCSIS 3.1 broadband delivery specifications can deliver up to 1 Gbps upstream, Sundaresan said. Operators' move to DOCSIS 4.0 in coming years opens the door to be closer to symmetrical service, with upstream capacity close to downstream, he said. But as operators focus on upstream, they must consider upstream "noise" problems. The noise comes from modems and active network components, as well as sources ranging from broadcast signals to wireless devices, he said. Vecima Chief Technology Officer Colin Howlett said freeing spectrum for upstream capacity might necessitate moving to internet protocol video. Lo said Midco is about 60% through an IP TV conversion. A year from now Cox will be heavily focused on field trials of DOCSIS 4.0, Topazi said.

Internet subscriber losses due to the end of the affordable connectivity program more than offset what otherwise would have been small subscriber gains in Q2 for WideOpenWest, CEO Teresa Elder said on an earnings call Thursday as the company announced Q2 results. Elder said WOW's focus on growing its fiber footprinting in expansion markets has been paying off. The company would have added more than 300 broadband customers in the quarter if not for 5,000 ACP subscribers it lost. She said WOW expects additional ACP subscriber losses in Q3. The company ended Q2 with 485,000 high-speed data revenue generating units, down from 507,800 the same quarter a year earlier, and 71,600 video revenue generating units, down from 110,000 a year prior. Elder said WOW is seeing increased numbers of customers buying broadband buddle with YouTube TV as the cabler transitions from traditional linear service to the streaming package (see 2305150027). Elder didn't address questions about the pending takeover offer from DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners (see 2405030047). She said a special board committee is evaluating the offer.

The FCC Media Bureau approved a waiver from Warner Bros. Discovery for TBS and TNT on the agency's audio description rules (see 2406210030). In a docket 11-43 order Thursday, the bureau said WBD has committed to an amount of audio description on the channels and on TruTV that exceeds the current quarterly requirement. It also said the unopposed petition saw support from advocates for blind and visually impaired consumers.

The broadband equity, access and deployment program will see no shortage of providers seeking funds, but "few will have what it takes" to effectively use the money for deployment and maintenance of future-proof networks in a timely and economical fashion, NCTA President Michael Powell wrote Tuesday in an op-ed in Governing. Incumbent private-sector internet service providers, with their decades-old track record of delivering cable and broadband, "are best equipped to meet the challenge," he wrote. Federal policymakers, Powell added, must avoid creating regulatory hoops that would disincentivize experienced providers from participating. State policymakers will face "ample temptation to stray from that focus and waste funds on unrelated objectives," Powell wrote.