Comments are due March 8, replies April 8, on an FCC proposal requiring refunds for consumers when blackouts occur due to failed retransmission consent negotiations, said a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. The blackout NPRM was adopted 3-2 on circulation in January (see 2401100026).

YouTube's virtual MVPD, YouTube TV, has more than 8 million subscribers, CEO Neal Mohan blogged Tuesday. He said YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subs top 100 million when trial subscriptions are included. Viewers worldwide average more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content on their TVs daily, said Mohan. The CEO said the YouTube Partner Program has more than 3 million channels and has paid more than $70 billion over the past three years. YouTube in coming months will roll out labels "that inform viewers when the realistic content they’re seeing is synthetic," Mohan said.

Complying with the FCC's "all-in" video pricing proposal might have to overcome conflicting regulatory regimes among the FCC, FTC and various states, DirecTV said. In a docket 23-203 filing Thursday recapping a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer, DirecTV said possible compliance hiccups include one set of rules requiring what another prohibits and different sets of rules requiring different calculations of all-in prices. The FCC commissioners adopted an all-in video pricing NPRM in June (see 2306200042).

Dish Network and Mission Broadcasting inked a multiyear distribution agreement covering 27 Mission stations in 25 markets, ending a yearlong blackout (see 2309180065), Mission said Wednesday. Specific terms weren't disclosed.

Charter Communications and TelevisaUnivision have reached a carriage agreement that includes streaming components, the two said Monday. The agreement includes TelevisaUnivision creating an ad-supported subscription version of its ViX streaming service that will be available free to Charter subscribers who receive TelevisaUnivision channels as part their packages, they said. In addition, the deal features TelevisaUnivision's U.S. channels included in a low-cost Spanish language over-the-top video package that Charter will launch later this year. The agreement follows a carriage agreement between Charter and Disney in September where streaming was at the forefront (see 2309110034).

ESPN should continue to be exempted from the FCC's audio description rules applicable to the largest national nonbroadcast networks because it provides less than 50 hours per quarter of prime-time programming that is not live or near-live, parent Disney said Thursday in a docket 11-43 exemption request.

Subscribing to the top seven subscription VOD services combined saves from $5.83 to $51.32 a month over the average MVPD subscription, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon blogged Monday. While a traditional pay-TV subscription averages $105.25 a month, the combined cost for the top seven SVOD services with ads would be $53.93 -- or $99.42 without ads, he said. The seven are Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Prime Video, Paramount+ and Peacock.

The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $150,000 forfeiture for Mission Broadcasting over violations of the good faith retransmission negotiation rules, said a notice of apparent liability released late Friday. The violations stem from Nexstar's negotiations on Mission’s behalf with Comcast for retransmission consent rights for Mission’s station WPIX New York (see 2301180034), the NAL said. Nexstar allegedly conditioned retrans consent on Comcast’s acceptance of contract proposals that “would foreclose the filing of future complaints with the Commission,” which the FCC said is “inconsistent with competitive marketplace considerations.” Nexstar’s negotiating retrans rights for WPIX on Mission’s behalf is the subject of litigation between DirecTV and Nexstar (see 2310040024), and has also been the focus of legal challenges brought by Comcast and Charter (see 2211220061). The NAL doesn’t directly address allegations from the MVPDs that Nexstar and Mission’s relationship violates antitrust laws, but it says the proposed forfeiture was adjusted upward in light of Nexstar’s ability to pay, citing the companies’ SEC filings. “Mission’s revenues and assets are consolidated with Nexstar’s financial accounting and annual reporting,” said the NAL. “Hence, Mission and Nexstar are effectively treated as a single entity for financial purposes in the Nexstar 10-K.” The agency also dismissed arguments from Mission that it wasn’t responsible for Nexstar's actions. Since Mission identified Nexstar as the “approved delegated negotiator” for WPIX, that argument “contravenes basic principles of agency law” and “ignores Commission precedent that licensees are ultimately responsible for the acts of their licensed stations.” The NAL also contains a footnote that appears to leave room for future enforcement actions involving Mission and Nexstar’s relationship. The Comcast complaint that led to the NAL “alleges additional good faith negotiation violations against both Mission and Nexstar Media Group,” but in this NAL “we address only a subset,” the footnote says. “The remaining allegations are under review by the Commission pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.” Nexstar and Mission didn’t immediately comment,Comcast said it was pleased by the FCC's actions.

Urging clarity in FCC rules governing cable operators' compensation for franchise obligations, counsel for state and local interests met with aides to Commissioner Anna Gomez seeking a proceeding that clarifies compensation must be at marginal cost, not fair market value. In docket 05-311 filed Monday, the localities said the agency also should clarify that franchise authorities must pay the marginal cost of using institutional networks, not the construction cost of an institutional network that serves others, such as small businesses and other nonresidential consumers. In addition, they urged repeal of the mixed-use rule as part of proceedings clarifying franchise obligations. Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles County, Hawaii and the National League of Cities were among the interests represented.

The Communications Act is clear, and Dish Network responses to CNZ Communications' must-carry complaint are effectively asking the FCC Media Bureau "to stand on one foot, put on a pair of oversized sunglasses, and spin around five times, to try to find a different meaning," CNZ said Monday in docket 12-1. In its December complaint, CNZ, the licensee of WGBP-TV Opelika, Alabama, urged the agency to compel carriage in the Columbus-Opelika and the Atlanta designated market areas. In its answer last week, Dish said the rules give WGBP the power to elect mandatory carriage in the entire Columbus DMA -- the DMA containing its community of license -- or in the Atlanta DMA plus the county in the Columbus DMA incorporating WGBP's community of license, but that Dish isn't obligated to carry the station through two entire DMAs. Nielsen assigns the station to the Atlanta DMA. Mandatory carriage requirements have never extended to full DMAs, Dish said. In its response Monday, CNZ said the bureau in a must-carry complaint brought against DirecTV made clear that the station could assert mandatory carriage rights in the Atlanta and Columbus markets. It termed meritless Dish's concerns that a requirement for the station to be carried through the Columbus DMA would result in a deluge of similar requests from other stations. The Media Bureau denied the DirecTV must-carry complaint (see 2201050031).