Streaming-related revenue will surpass pay-TV subscription revenue in the U.S. this year, Ampere Analysis blogged Monday. That tipping point comes as streaming continues growing and traditional pay TV declines. In addition, the value of pay TV in 2028 is expected to be half of the value of its 2017 peak, Ampere said. Streaming subs overtook pay-TV subs in 2016 in the U.S., but streaming has far lower average revenue per user, meaning streaming revenue is only now catching up, it said. Ampere said streaming revenue benefited recently from password-sharing crackdowns and hybrid advertising tiers.
Don't adopt a "model carrier" approach for determining rates for incarcerated people's communications services, Securus parent Aventiv told the FCC. The company met separately with Commissioner Anna Gomez and staff, aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and aides to Commissioner Brendan Carr. The FCC "must take into account the increased costs of labor and services resulting from inflationary pressures in recent years" when setting permanent rate and ancillary service charge caps, Aventiv said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-62 (see 2205240056). It also urged the commission to allow "alternative pricing structures" and "experimentation with bundling arrangements."
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Friday approved the applications of seven 6 GHz automated frequency coordination (AFC) providers to launch operations by standard-powered unlicensed devices, closing out a multi-year process. The development is one of the most significant for 6 GHz since the 2020 FCC order opening the spectrum for unlicensed use, industry officials said.
Broadcasters and the FCC’s Republican commissioners say the agency’s order -- approved 3-2 Thursday -- requiring that broadcasters publicly share annual workforce demographic data is unconstitutional and the courts will knock it down, as it has similar regulations. Still, the agency and public interest advocates argue this version is different.
The FCC should create an Office of Civil Rights, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Media and Telecommunications Task Force told FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a meeting last week, according to an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-459. The existing Disability Rights Office and Office of Native Affairs and Policy perform important functions but are focused on different tasks than an Office of Civil Rights would be, the filing said. “Resolving individual disputes or encouraging participation” are different matters from “legal and quantitative analysis that could proactively identify systematic problems” and addressing those problems with rulemakings and enforcement actions, the filing said. “Intergovernmental consultation may belong in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, but civil rights enforcement does not,” the filing said. The Leadership Conference also called on the FCC not to leave the 2022 quadrennial review open past 2024, keep ISPs active in encouraging digital equity, and endorse the FCC’s collection of workforce diversity data. Representatives from groups including the Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Communications Workers of America, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Hispanic Media Coalition and Common Cause also attended.
The FCC's supplemental coverage from space framework draft order would see the service operate in select spectrum bands and on a secondary rather than a co-primary basis. The agency on Thursday released agenda items for commissioners' March 14 open meeting. A vote on the framework is expected that day. Also on the agenda are orders for "all-in" pricing disclosures by multichannel video distributors and launch of a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program, initially focused on wireless consumer IoT “products." In addition, Commissioners will vote on a report raising the FCC's broadband speed benchmark to 100/20 Mbps and an NPRM proposing creation of an emergency alert system code for missing and endangered adults.
Proposed FCC supplemental coverage from space (SCS) rules include a requirement that terrestrial providers must route SCS 911 calls to a public safety answering point using location-based routing or an emergency call center, the agency said Wednesday. Commissioners are expected to vote on the rules during their open meeting on March 14. Announcing the agenda for next month's meeting, the FCC also said there would be draft rules for "all-in" video pricing and a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program for wireless IoT devices. In addition, the meeting will see commissioners voting on an NPRM about creating an emergency alert system code for missing and endangered people (see 2402210066).
The FCC will consider an NPRM seeking comment on adding a new alert code to the emergency alert system focused on missing and endangered people during a commissioners' March 14 open meeting, said a news release Wednesday. The Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) code would alert the public about missing people who don’t meet the criteria for Amber Alerts, which are primarily for missing children. The March agenda also includes draft supplemental coverage from space rules and a cybersecurity labeling program for wireless IoT devices (see 2402210057).
Opening the 12 GHz band to a high-power, two-way fixed service would "eviscerate [the] carefully crafted spectrum sharing regime" between direct broadcast satellite and multichannel video distribution and data service, DirecTV said. In a docket 20-443 filing posted Tuesday, it recapped a meeting with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's office where it asserted advocates for the new terrestrial service haven't met the burden of showing it wouldn't harm incumbent DBS satellite subscribers and services. DirecTV reiterated its criticisms of a Dish Network-commissioned analysis by RKF Engineering (see 2312270045).
Making cable operators provide an "all-in" price in ads and promotional materials "would be intrusive and uninformative," according to cable interests. In a docket 23-203 filing last week recapping a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer, NCTA, Comcast, Charter and Cox said fees vary from region to region. In addition, they said all-in pricing would necessitate geo-targeting advertised prices, "which is highly impractical [and] technically challenging," or that the ads and promos would have to reflect a wide range of fees that might not apply and would be of little use to consumers. They said any all-in price requirement should let cable operators exclude fees that vary based on location, as long as operators include a statement in the ad that refers to those fees and indicates the amount depends on the customer's location. The FCC's all-in price proposal also should exclude fees that are variable for each subscriber and government-imposed taxes and fees, the cabers said.