Approving vertically-integrated Comcast-NBCUniversal’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable, without modifying program access rules for buying groups, could harm “consumers and the competitive pay-TV market,” said the CEOs of 53 multichannel video programming distributors in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Tuesday. The companies want the FCC to change its definition of a buying group to include the National Cable Television Cooperative, the group through which most small and mid-size MVPDs purchase their content. NCTC doesn’t meet the commission’s definition because the commission requires buying groups to be liable for the contracts of all of members, something NCTC doesn’t do, and the American Cable Association has sought such a change (CD Jan 14 p7). Because NCTC doesn’t fit the definition of a buying group, program access rules preventing MVPDs that are also programmers from discriminating against buying groups don’t apply, said the letter. “Because NCTC has no means of utilizing the program access rules for redress against discrimination, our companies, and all other NCTC members, have essentially no protection from cable-affiliated programmers, in stark disregard of Congress’ intent.” Companies that signed the letter include Atlantic Broadband, Buckeye Cable Systems, Cincinnati Bell, Frontier Communications -- for which current executive vice president and former Republican FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy signed -- RCN, TDS and Wide Open West.

The Supreme Court voted not to grant cert on a petition from Tennis Channel asking the court to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision on the channel’s carriage complaint against Comcast (http://1.usa.gov/1hiPhsN). Tennis Channel is “disappointed” but the result was “not entirely surprising given the Court’s crowded docket,” it said in a statement. “There remain a number of available options for Tennis Channel in the case, and we are considering our next steps in light of these options,” Tennis Channel said. Comcast said it’s “pleased” that the lower court ruling in its favor “will stand,” a Comcast spokesperson said in an email. Tennis Channel is still availible on Comcast systems, Comcast pointed out. The rejection of the cert petition is likely to restart the action in an ongoing program carriage case at the FCC, between the Game Show Network and Cablevision. Both parties in that case had asked FCC Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel to delay the matter pending the results of Tennis Channel’s Supreme Court filing. A joint status report is due in the GSN v. Cablevision matter in March.

Chipmakers joined multichannel video programming distributors (CD Feb 21 p10) in asking the Environmental Protection Agency to make more allowances in the coming Energy Star version 4.1 for set-top boxes, so consumer video devices that are smaller than STBs can work with Ultra HD and high efficiency video coding (HEVC) and processing (HEVP). Broadcom and Entropic’s comments on EPA’s proposed revisions to v4.1 were posted Friday on the agency’s website (http://1.usa.gov/1gNEg3a). “Many manufacturers are designing client boxes with HEVC and UltraHD functionality,” wrote Broadcom (http://1.usa.gov/1fG3H2v). Thin clients connect to the bigger, higher-energy consuming gateway devices that send encrypted MVPD video to the smaller devices. “These client boxes require additional processing power for decoding UltraHD resolution HEVC streams and displaying it to an UltraHD output,” said Broadcom. EPA’s current base allowance for the clients doesn’t “take this additional processing power into consideration,” said the chipmaker. “Unfortunately, EPA’s Final Draft attempts to restrict these new Use Cases” of UltraHD display and enabling HEVP, wrote Entropic (http://1.usa.gov/1hfcTNQ). “The overwhelming demand/requirement for such next-gen Thin Client” system on chips is to support such “functionality,” said the company. “EPA’s restrictions on UltraHD and HEVP Allowances dis-incentivize efficient next-gen 4K-capable Thin Clients, and mistakenly incentivize higher-power full-featured STBs."

The Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal “can either contribute to the steady decline of African American wealth or be part of the nation’s course for economic recovery,” said the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in a statement Thursday. The coalition commended Comcast for “positive investments” in broadband and minority new media ventures that resulted from the Comcast/NBCUniversal deal. “A deal of this size could generate tremendous value for the economy and citizens seeking a pathway towards economic recovery,” said Rainbow PUSH. If divestiture is a condition of regulatory approval of the Comcast/TWC buy, it should include “a component focused on the creation of new, minority cable operators,” Rainbow PUSH said. “These opportunities for minority ownership can help narrow the disparities that contribute to the wealth gap in African American communities."

NCTA’s protests against video device interoperability rules highlight the work needed to achieve interoperability, said a coalition of technology companies, makers of consumer electronics and Internet firms that backs a so-called AllVid FCC rulemaking. A “proprietary ‘app’ approach described in NCTA’s letter” that association CEO Michael Powell wrote FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler (CD Feb 7 p3) doesn’t fly with the AllVid Tech Company Alliance, said the alliance’s lawyers in a filing Tuesday in docket 97-80. The tack “by which only selected devices are connected on a system-specific basis” would “further entrench cable operators’ methods and devices as the only means by which consumers can access and experience the programming and services to which they subscribe,” wrote lawyers Robert Schwartz of Constantine Cannon and Patton Boggs’ Monica Desai and Jeffrey Turner. “NCTA’s compilation of non-standard, isolated approaches to connection illustrates how far the Commission remains in the IP era from fulfilling Congress’s instruction to assure” availability of retail equipment used to access pay-TV programming, they wrote. “The FCC should take steps now to assure that consumers have the choice of accessing their cable programming through innovative user interfaces not dictated by cable operators.” A 2010 AllVid notice of inquiry “compiled a sufficient record” for an NPRM now, said the alliance that has included Best Buy, Google, Intel, Sony and TiVo.

Netgear announced new Wi-Fi cable modems Wednesday, using Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable as a peg. “Consumers are looking to decrease cable fees in any way possible and purchasing a cable modem router at retail versus renting one through the provider is an easy way to cut costs,” the company said. The Netgear hybrids include a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem said to deliver a maximum download speed of 340 Mbps for smoother streaming of HD videos, music and movies; more responsive gaming; and faster file downloads, Netgear said. The 8x4 CableLabs-certified cable modems support eight download and four upload channels simultaneously, Netgear said. The C3700 ($129.99) comes with two gigabit ethernet ports and operates across the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The single-band 2.4 GHz N450 ($119.99) has four gigabit ethernet ports, and the 2.4 GHz C3000 ($99.99) offers two gigabit ethernet ports. The modems are shipping now.

Guam-based telecom and digital TV provider GTA selected Synacor to provide authentication for TV Everywhere services for pay-TV subscribers. The agreement will allow GTA subscribers access to TV Everywhere content for the first time, Synacor said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1hgR9W3). Synacor’s service has video aggregation, mediation and single sign-on authentication, among other features, it said. GTA subscribers can view premium HBO and NBCUniversal content through one seamless login experience on the GTA homepage, Synacor said.

Germany’s top cable network operator joined an initiative for unified next-generation in-home devices and video services. Kabel Deutschland licensed the reference design kit from RDK Management, a joint venture of Comcast and Time Warner Cable that includes a software bundle to help run set-top boxes and gateway devices, said the venture in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1bSBw2E). U.S. operators have been enhancing user interfaces, allowing more online and non-linear video to be searched along with regular programming and making other technical enhancements (CD Feb 10 p5).

The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on a petition for declaratory ruling regarding the FCC over-the-air reception devices (OTARD) rule. The petition filed by Rhonda Rivenburg of Littleton, Colo., asks for a declaratory ruling on whether the antenna installation rules of the Dutch Ridge Homeowners Association are preempted by the OTARD rule, the bureau said in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1budVBT). “The association opposes petitioner’s placement of her satellite dish on the roof of her storage unit.” Rivenburg claimed that some of the HOA rules violate the OTARD rule, she said in her petition (http://bit.ly/1ev4dFs). Comments are due March 7, replies March 24, the bureau said.

Comcast lobbied the FCC to change rules in order “to promote more unlicensed use in portions of the 5 GHz band.” Two executives told Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and an aide that “prompt” action on that “is critical to sustain the significant consumer and economic benefits that Wi-Fi already provides and to enable the even greater benefits that will result from the deployment of more robust Wi-Fi networks and so-called ‘gigabit Wi-Fi,'” according to a filing posted Tuesday in docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/LyKRCd). “Although certain aspects of this proceeding may require additional time for further consideration, the record is already complete and ripe for a Commission decision with respect to the U-NII-1 band.” The Wi-Fi Alliance recently backed arguments of NCTA, of which Comcast is the biggest member, to allow the use of the 5.1 GHz U-NII-1 band for Wi-Fi (CD Feb 5 p11).