Growth of vMVPDs is slowing amid above-inflation price hikes, and new entrant Vidgo needs to add important functionality and channels without increasing prices to compete, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday: Sports-centric Vidgo lacks regional sports networks and CBS and NBCUniversal, and lack of pause and DVR functions is a problem. Vidgo CEO Shane Cannon told us its social TV component -- letting people interact virtually while watching -- and its targeting of underserved markets are competitive differentiators, and its channel lineup allows it to have a lower cost structure. He said DVR functionality is coming.

Growth of vMVPDs is slowing amid above-inflation price hikes, and new entrant Vidgo needs to add important functionality and channels without increasing prices to compete, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday: Sports-centric Vidgo lacks regional sports networks and CBS and NBCUniversal, and lack of pause and DVR functions is a problem. Vidgo CEO Shane Cannon told us its social TV component -- letting people interact virtually while watching -- and its targeting of underserved markets are competitive differentiators, and its channel lineup allows it to have a lower cost structure. He said DVR functionality is coming.

Growth of vMVPDs is slowing amid above-inflation price hikes, and new entrant Vidgo needs to add important functionality and channels without increasing prices to compete, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday: Sports-centric Vidgo lacks regional sports networks and CBS and NBCUniversal, and lack of pause and DVR functions is a problem. Vidgo CEO Shane Cannon told us its social TV component -- letting people interact virtually while watching -- and its targeting of underserved markets are competitive differentiators, and its channel lineup allows it to have a lower cost structure. He said DVR functionality is coming.

The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable asked the FCC to pause consideration of Cox's and Comcast's effective competition petitions for various Massachusetts markets (see 1912190070). In a nearly identical docket 20-10 posting and docket 19-385 posting Monday, MDTC said the abeyance wouldn't hurt Cox or Comcast. Without one, the state agency would be litigating both petitions before the Media Bureau while pursuing the same issues before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That's where the FCC effective competition finding for Charter Communications in 32 Massachusetts franchise areas is being challenged (see 1912230063). Comcast outside counsel and Cox didn't comment Tuesday.

DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim filed a notice of appearance at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in the Tunney Act review of T-Mobile's buying Sprint, he said Friday (in Pacer). DOJ didn’t comment. Judge Timothy Kelly said Wednesday he won't pause while states separately challenge the deal at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (see 2001080051). The D.C. federal court held a telephone status conference with parties Friday. Amici may file briefs of up to 20 pages by Jan. 24; parties must respond by Feb. 7, Kelly said in a Friday minute order in case 1:19-cv-02232. State plaintiffs in the SDNY case may file one joint brief, he said: "All potential amici shall address in their briefs only the precise and limited issues before the Court in this proceeding." The D.C. federal court held a telephone status conference with parties Friday. Amici may file briefs of up to 20 pages by Jan. 24; parties must respond by Feb. 7, Kelly said in a Friday minute order in case 1:19-cv-02232. State plaintiffs in the SDNY case may file one joint brief, he said: "All potential amici shall address in their briefs only the precise and limited issues before the Court in this proceeding."

DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim filed a notice of appearance at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in the Tunney Act review of T-Mobile's buying Sprint, he said Friday (in Pacer). DOJ didn’t comment. Judge Timothy Kelly said Wednesday he won't pause while states separately challenge the deal at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (see 2001080051). The D.C. federal court held a telephone status conference with parties Friday. Amici may file briefs of up to 20 pages by Jan. 24; parties must respond by Feb. 7, Kelly said in a Friday minute order in case 1:19-cv-02232. State plaintiffs in the SDNY case may file one joint brief, he said: "All potential amici shall address in their briefs only the precise and limited issues before the Court in this proceeding." The D.C. federal court held a telephone status conference with parties Friday. Amici may file briefs of up to 20 pages by Jan. 24; parties must respond by Feb. 7, Kelly said in a Friday minute order in case 1:19-cv-02232. State plaintiffs in the SDNY case may file one joint brief, he said: "All potential amici shall address in their briefs only the precise and limited issues before the Court in this proceeding."

The Tunney Act review of T-Mobile's buying Sprint won't pause while states separately challenge the deal at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Timothy Kelly said in a minute order Wednesday at U.S. District Court in Washington (case 1:19-cv-02232). Kelly allowed an October amici brief (in Pacer) by New York, the District of Columbia and other states challenging the deal at the SDNY, but said the states may not seek a stay of the case in Washington. States asked the D.C. court not to schedule any hearings or determination under the Tunney Act until the SDNY litigation finished. “To the extent [states’] brief can be characterized as a motion for a stay or to otherwise delay these proceedings, the Court will deny it,” Kelly said. Parties in the Tunney Act case should be on a phone status conference Friday at 2 p.m., he said. At the lower Manhattan court, post-trial findings of fact and conclusions of law were due Wednesday.

The Tunney Act review of T-Mobile's buying Sprint won't pause while states separately challenge the deal at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Timothy Kelly said in a minute order Wednesday at U.S. District Court in Washington (case 1:19-cv-02232). Kelly allowed an October amici brief (in Pacer) by New York, the District of Columbia and other states challenging the deal at the SDNY, but said the states may not seek a stay of the case in Washington. States asked the D.C. court not to schedule any hearings or determination under the Tunney Act until the SDNY litigation finished. “To the extent [states’] brief can be characterized as a motion for a stay or to otherwise delay these proceedings, the Court will deny it,” Kelly said. Parties in the Tunney Act case should be on a phone status conference Friday at 2 p.m., he said. At the lower Manhattan court, post-trial findings of fact and conclusions of law were due Wednesday.

Lenbrook is integrating Neil Young Archives, a streamed high-res music collection of the musician’s works, into its BluOS multiroom streaming platform, it announced Monday. This quarter, North American users of NAD, Bluesound and Dali loudspeakers will be prompted to update their players to be able to sample Young’s archived song of the day and album of the week in full resolution, Lenbrook said. Users interested in subscribing can do so through the app. The agreement demonstrates how a content creator and a home audio equipment provider “can collaborate and model an effective and simple solution for music lovers to access and enjoy a unique and fully high-resolution streaming experience,” Lenbrook said. The collaboration is a way for musicians to take more control over their work and by bypass traditional music distribution channels to reach fans more directly, it said. Parent company Lenbrook said in December it's collaborating with OraStream (see 1912200010), giving the company’s music content customers access to the BluOS platform on Lenbrook brands. OraStream’s adaptive streaming platform, based on the MPEG 4 SLS codec, encodes music files in their native resolution; a decoder at the listening point delivers the audio file, adjusting and buffering data to fit bandwidth limits, while eliminating skipping and pauses. At CES, Lenbrook will demonstrate Neil Young Archives on BluOS at its Venetian suite, #29-140.

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