FCC


AT&T CEO: Time Warner deal ‘moving as expected’

Time Warner’s proposed merger with AT&T is “moving along as expected”. The chairman and CEO of US telecoms giant AT&T, Randall Stephenson, told analysts on an investor call his firm was “working closely” with the US Department of Justice to ensure the deal went ahead, and that progress had been made. AT&T announced it had […]

FCC approves Altice’s $17.7bn Cablevision deal

The Federal Communications Commission has approved Altice’s US$17.7 billion (€15.7 billion) deal to acquire US cable player Cablevision. In a memo released yesterday, the US regulator said that the deal is “unlikely to result in any significant public interest harms” and that approving the deal “serves the public interest”. “We find that the transaction is […]

FCC votes to ‘unlock the box’

American media regulator the FCC has approved plans that will allow software, devices, and other solutions to compete with the set-top boxes in a bid to “tear down anti-competitive barriers”. The Federal Communications Commission said the proposal offers a framework to “unlock the box”, giving more choices to the “99% US pay TV subscribers” that […]

Cable industry hits out at FCC pay TV plans

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has hit back at FCC plans to “unlock the set-top box” in the US market. On a conference call this week, NCTA president Michael Powell said the FCC proposal would take up to seven years to fully implement, by which time the video market may look very different […]

Net neutrality ruling is SVOD victory

The US FCC has adopted strong net neutrality rules, going beyond goals set by FCC chairman Tom Wheeler last year and reclassifying broadband providers as telecommunication services. Under a new interpretation of Title II of the US Federal Communications Act, this effectively subjects them to stronger regulation than would otherwise be the case. This means […]

Cinedigm preps OTT nets with LA start-up

US indie distributor Cinedigm is to mine its content library to launch a slate of niche OTT channels. The distributor is working with LA-based tech start-up TV4 Entertainment to programme “at least one co-owned, on-demand, online channel” based on the Cinedigm library. This will be a preschool-, kids- and tweens-focused channel that rolls out on […]

Netflix cuts AT&T deal

Netflix has agreed an interconnection deal with AT&T designed to reduce buffering problems for its US customers watching via AT&T’s broadband services. Streaming player Netflix has been involved in a bitter war of words with Verizon over buffering issues with both parties blaming the other. Netflix has, however, struck a connection deal with Verizon as […]

Netflix cuts AT&T deal

Netflix has agreed an interconnection deal with AT&T designed to reduce buffering problems for its US customers watching via AT&T’s broadband services. Streaming player Netflix has been involved in a bitter war of words with Verizon over buffering issues with both parties blaming the other. Netflix has, however, struck a connection deal with Verizon as […]

Verizon slams Netflix in ‘throttling’ row latest

Verizon has fired another salvo in its ongoing buffering row with Netflix. The communications company said that it has conducted technical tests that reveal congestion causing buffering when its broadband customers watch Netflix were the fault of the streaming company. The companies have been locked in a war of words since Netflix issued a notice […]

FCC weighs into Netflix-Verizon streaming row

US communications regulator the FCC is investigating who is at fault for the problems occurring with streaming Netflix content via some broadband operators, notably Verizon. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler issued a statement that read: “As the consumer’s representative we need to know what is going on. I have therefore directed the Commission staff to obtain […]