Shorter attention spans, competition for entertainment time share and continually rising rights fees are ongoing challenges as the TV sports world straddles traditional pay-TV and over-the-top video models, said panelists on a Thursday FierceVideo webcast on TV monetization in the sports industry.
The three major national wireless carriers reported problems during the recent nationwide wireless emergency alert test, but they said the system mostly worked as expected. The FCC posted reports from Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T Thursday, in docket 15-94. Some glitches were observed during the test earlier this month (see 2108110067). In the first national test in 2018, many alerts didn’t go through (see 1812210056).
There’s an "imbalance” in the FCC’s handling of annual regulatory fees, said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr during an in-person Q&A at Thursday’s 2021 NextGen Broadcast Conference. Also at the conference, FCC and broadcast industry officials discussed use cases for 3.0 and emergency alerting. “We need to take a much stronger position when it comes to accountability” for “big tech” on benefiting from FCC activities, Carr said.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will investigate how Frontier Communications investment plans could affect service quality, decided commissioners at a partially virtual Thursday meeting. The PUC voted 5-0 to proceed with a broad inquiry into the meaning of the company’s “virtual separation.” Commissioners resisted Frontier officials' efforts to narrow the probe’s scope.
The C-band relocation payment clearinghouse anticipates reimbursement payments starting to flow by mid-October to satellite and earth station operators clearing the band for terrestrial 5G use. It started accepting claims submissions last week through its online Coupa portal (see 2108170060), and received about 400 claims of more than $700 million that week, said Frank Banda, CohnReznick public sector managing partner. CohnReznick and subcontractors are the clearinghouse.
State broadcast associations are split on whether to proceed with conventions and member gatherings in the face of the surging COVID-19 delta variant, association leaders said in interviews.
State and congressional lawmakers are trying to build momentum for passing right-to-repair legislation, after renewed focus from the FTC and the White House (see 2107210061) and 2107090010). Microsoft and TechNet told us industry-authorized repair services are the best, safest option, but advocates accused industry of profit-seeking self-interest.
Bidders may not have all the data they want, but likely what they need, to assess bids in the upcoming 3.45 GHz auction, experts told us. The FCC and NTIA have been working behind the scenes to provide more data on DOD radars that must be protected after the auction, which starts Oct. 5. CTIA has continuing concerns. Analysts said uncertainty could mean lower bids.
The FTC’s amended case against Facebook should survive a new motion to dismiss and go to trial due to solid evidence in the amended complaint demonstrating market power and the rising price of advertising, former FTC officials said in interviews.
Schools and libraries sought millions of dollars in FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund support during the initial application filing window, experts said in recent interviews (see 2106290050). Most applicants prioritized hot spots and connected devices, and some are hopeful for a second round of funding for prospective purchases.