Verizon and Viacom renewed their FiOS carriage agreement, the companies said in a news release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1E5tCA0). Under the deal, FiOS will carry 25 of Viacom’s networks, including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1, and Viacom’s joint venture services Aapka Colors and Epix, the release said. The deal also grants Verizon national rights to distribute Viacom content to Verizon Wireless customers, the release said. The deal will also allow FiOS customers to access all of Viacom’s networks on-demand and live, both at home and on mobile devices, using the Fios Mobile app, it said. Verizon FiOS will also enable “dynamic ad insertion in all Viacom TV Everywhere and VOD content,” they said.
Pandora’s proposed buy of KXMZ(FM) Box Elder, South Dakota, doesn’t raise any concerns of foreign control over U.S. broadcasters, said the company in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 14-109 (http://bit.ly/1mVRelg). The proceeding concerns Pandora’s petition for a declaratory ruling that would allow it to buy the station without proving that it isn’t foreign-owned (WID July 2 p6). The only objections to the deal have been raised by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and ASCAP “did not suggest in any way that the small amount of foreign ownership in Pandora may influence or control Pandora’s programming or operation of KXMZ,” Pandora said. ASCAP’s objections are “speculative” and concern music licensing rights that are “outside of the Commission’s primary jurisdiction,” Pandora said. Pandora seeks to buy KXMZ to qualify for the same publishing royalty rates as broadcasters to better compete with services like iHeartRadio’s similar service. Pandora’s buy of the station will serve the public interest by providing “broadcast programming that is highly customized to KXMZ’s local listeners,” by allowing listener tastes to select the station’s content, Pandora said. Allowing the foreign ownership rules to block Pandora’s purchase “would be inconsistent with the Commission’s objective of facilitating new entrants, and promoting the investment of new capital, into the U.S. broadcast market,” Pandora said. “Pandora’s petition for declaratory ruling is ripe for Commission action and is soundly supported by public interest benefits.”
The FCC should remember the “problems of undue regulation” when it takes on net neutrality, NCTA CEO Michael Powell wrote in an op-ed in The Hill Thursday (http://bit.ly/10msw3k). Based on “history and experience,” Powell wrote, “competition goals will be thwarted if the commission buckles to those who are baying to blanket the Internet industry with the dirty quilt of common carrier regulation.” Powell referred to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s Sept. 7 speech on the need for more broadband competition (WID Sept 5 p3). “Can anyone honestly argue that new heavy regulation will attract new broadband competitors and bring more choices to consumers?” Powell wrote. “Or rather, will it only entrench the power of incumbents and frustrate innovators and entrepreneurs? Will it help broadband build out into rural areas or rather impede it?"
Windstream said Lincoln, Nebraska, will be the first place it will deploy its new Kinetic next-generation TV service. The company said it will make the Kinetic service available to more than 50,000 homes in Lincoln beginning in the first half of 2015 and will deploy to “select Windstream communities” beginning in the second half of the year. The Kinetic service includes whole-home DVR and wireless set-top boxes, along with multiscreen viewing and on-demand programming, Windstream said Thursday. The company has a “strong” 15-year relationship with Lincoln that, “coupled with the local residents’ appreciation and desire for innovative technology, makes Lincoln the obvious choice for Kinetic’s inauguration,” said David Redmond, Windstream president-consumer services, in a news release (http://bit.ly/1r3Bd7S).
The NFC Forum launched the “Tap Into NFC” developer program Thursday, designed to leverage the capability of near field communication for new applications and services. The program will support application developers through events, networking opportunities and a dedicated website (http://bit.ly/1ufRexz) with developer kits, technical specs, news and product information, it said. To commemorate the launch, the NFC Forum will host a Twitter contest Oct. 16-23 using #Tapin2NFC, in which developers can share what they like most about the program and site, including favorite products from the product showcase, the forum said. A winning tweet will be selected at random and the winner will receive an NFC-enabled wearable device. Details will be available at the NFC Blog (http://bit.ly/1r1b2yC) the second week of October, the forum said.
Metronet said it’s launching gigabit Internet service in 19 communities in central Indiana. The service is now available to Metronet’s residential customers within the city limits of all 19 communities: Connersville, Crawfordsville, Franklin, Greencastle, Huntington, Lafontaine, Lebanon, Madison, New Castle, North Manchester, North Vernon, Seymour, Vincennes, Wabash, Whiteland/New Whiteland, West Lafayette/Lafayette and Ulen. Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann (R) praised Metronet in a news release for launching gigabit service, saying “broadband connectivity is a critical issue facing many small towns and rural communities in our state.” Metronet said Thursday it also quadrupled Internet speeds for residential customers who subscribe to triple-play bundles (http://mwne.ws/1rATCz6).
The FCC created a new inbox for comments on Comcast’s planned buy of Time Warner Cable and the associated transfers of systems to Charter Communications, the commission said in a public notice Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1vBdly2). The inbox address is ComcastTWCMerger@fcc.gov, the PN said. Documents submitted to the inbox become part of the official record of the proceeding -- docketed as 14-57 -- and will be posted in the commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System, the PN said. The commission will also host a “Comma Separated Values (CSV) file for bulk upload of comments,” the PN said. There was a delay recently in posting comments to the docket on a document confidentiality issue related to the deals.
Facebook’s new research framework will heighten its research screening process and delineate stricter guidelines on what information is appropriate for use, said Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer in a Thursday blog post (http://bit.ly/1xH7OsV). Facebook was criticized after its publication of research that manipulated individuals’ news feeds to determine how certain posts affected users’ moods (WID July 1 p9). Privacy groups alleged Facebook’s use of user data violated a prior FTC consent order, arguing the company had not obtained proper consent (WID July 9 p5). “It is clear now that there are things we should have done differently,” Schroepfer said. “For example, we should have considered other non-experimental ways to do this research. The research would also have benefited from more extensive review by a wider and more senior group of people.” Facebook also poorly explained its methodology and intent after release of the research, he said. Changes revealed Thursday intend to address these issues, Schroepfer said. Moving forward, Facebook’s research will also be posted in a single location (http://bit.ly/1pJeVIc).
Google revealed a project called The Physical Web, intended to allow smart devices to provide information without user prompts (http://bit.ly/1CHwzoO). For instance, a user walking past a bus stop would automatically be sent bus schedules, Google said Thursday. “The number of smart devices is going to explode, and the assumption that each new device will require [its] own application just isn’t realistic,” the company said. “We need a system that lets anyone interact with any device at any time.” Google said it will release an open, common Web standard “that any device can use to offer interaction.”
Generic top-level domain (gTLD) .city entered the early access general availability period Wednesday, said domain registry Donuts’ website (http://bit.ly/1o1Z0od). Early access is a seven-day period when prices for the names decline until the wholesale price is established. The gTLD .healthcare will open for early access general availability Oct. 15, the site said. GTLDs .gifts, .restaurant and .sarl will enter early access general availability Nov. 5, it said.