Roku opposed Charter's request the FCC end some conditions on the cable operator's past purchases of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, requirements the cabler says are no longer in the public interest. Replies were posted through Friday in docket 16-197. "The bases for the safeguards" were "Charter’s incentives to act anti-competitively post-merger and the absence of viable competition" for broadband, Roku said. "Charter’s petition for relief mentions neither." Roku said those contending the operator's "charitable donations and community involvement might temper Charter’s incentive and ability to act in its own economic self-interest by discriminating against Online Video Distributors" ignore "Charter’s role as a gatekeeper for OVDs and as a monopoly in many broadband access markets." Charter "provided copious data that the marketplace for streaming video" has "exploded" since the 2016 conditions, it replied. "This is exactly what the Commission predicted might happen" when it included "a mechanism to sunset them after five years (instead of automatically after seven)," it noted. A footnote in an attachment by NERA Economic Consulting Managing Director Jeffrey Eisenach said Roku is the most streamed U.S. OVD by hours (see report, Aug. 7 issue). Charter wants to end data caps and interconnection conditions in May (see 2007090009).

An early sunset of FCC data cap and interconnection conditions from Charter Communications' purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks would hurt consumers and make broadband access more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the New York State Public Service Commission in a docket 16-197 posting Thursday. Charter's ask for early relief (see 2006180050) "is ill-timed" given the health crisis and the strong need for broadband for such applications as telecommuting and telehealth, it said. Charter didn't comment.

Stymied by closures that delayed the theatrical debut of Mulan, Disney will fast-track the feature film on Disney+ as a “premier access” stream at $29.99 in most markets beginning Sept. 4, said CEO Bob Chapek on a quarterly call Tuesday. “We see this as an opportunity to bring this incredible film to a broad audience currently unable to go to movie theaters.” Instead of “simply rolling it” into a free offering, “we thought we would give it a try to establish” a new premier access window to “recapture some of that investment,” he said. “We're going to have a chance to learn from this and to see whether that makes sense.” It’s “more important than ever” for Disney to fortify its “direct relationship” with consumers, so it’s launching a “general entertainment” streaming service globally under the Star brand in 2021, said Chapek. Disney’s “full portfolio” of direct-to-consumer services now exceeds 100 million paid subs, said Chapek. As the company battled theater closures and production shutdowns, plus the absence of live sports on ESPN, Q3 earnings per share were 8 cents compared with $1.34 in the year-earlier quarter, said Chapek. “We estimate the adverse impact of COVID-19-related disruption on our third-quarter segment operating income was approximately $3 billion net of cost mitigations,” said Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy. The stock closed up 8.8% Wednesday at $127.61.

AMC Networks estimates about 80% of its subscription VOD subscribers also buy at least one other “general entertainment” SVOD service, said CEO Josh Sapan on a Q2 call Tuesday. “This underscores that we are not competitive with the large services, we are compatible.” AMC thinks a higher return will come from investments in content that will “reposition our company for a more streaming-focused landscape,” said Chief Financial Officer Sean Sullivan. Its “targeted” SVOD services have been “performing quite well,” he said. “We're looking to lean into this area of our business.” It’s “early days” of the programmer's involvement with ad-supported VOD services on Pluto and Sling, said Sullivan. “We are very much viewing that as an opportunity to monetize our rich library.” AMC doesn’t feel the need to own its own platform, he said. “We have a strategic advantage to have our strong content on growing platforms throughout the industry, and we're in meaningful talks with everyone that you would anticipate.”

A cable industry legal challenge to the requirement it pay franchise fees wouldn't be surprising, given the imbalance between heavily regulated cable and not-at-all regulated over-the-top services, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson blogged Friday. The cable industry has a strong argument OTT enjoys a competitive leg up by not having to pay franchise fees, he said. NCTA didn't comment. FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly was critical of the cable franchise rules regime and fees in a Media Institute talk last week (see 2007290039).

Comcast is picking up broadband subscribers faster than expected even as cord cutting accelerates, analysts said Thursday after the company released results. Its cable business is doing well financially, while NBCUniversal will continue to suffer until there's a COVID-19 vaccine, Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson wrote investors. Comcast said it was its best Q2 for broadband adds in 13 years, with 323,000. That doesn't count more than 600,000 "high risk" or free Internet Essential customers, it said. It ended the quarter with 19.47 million residential video customers, down 1.17 million year over year; 27.22 million residential broadband customers, up 1.59 million; 9.7 million residential voice customers, down 310,000; and 2.39 million wireless lines, up 807,000. Comcast said its Peacock streaming service, launched in April and taken nationwide in July, has netted 10 million sign-ups. Revenue was $23.72 billion, down 12%.

Oral argument in Maine's appeal of a preliminary injunction request by Comcast and content companies challenging the state's a la carte cable TV law (see 2004300011) will be held remotely Sept. 16 due to the pandemic, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday (in Pacer, docket 20-1104).

The sale of 49.99% of Altice's Lightpath fiber business to a Morgan Stanley investment fund is expected to conclude in Q4, the cable ISP said Tuesday evening. Altice said it will receive $2.3 billion in cash and will remain in control of the company. It said the investment will help pay for Lightpath growth and improved performance.

Comcast and Sinclair inked a multiyear content carriage agreement that includes continued retransmission consent of 78 Sinclair stations in 51 markets across Comcast’s cable TV footprint and continued distribution of the Tennis Channel, 18 Fox-branded regional sports networks and the Yes Network for Xfinity TV customers, they said Friday. The deal also gives Xfinity TV customers in the Chicago area access to the Marquee Sports Network regional sports network jointly owned by Sinclair and the Chicago Cubs, they said.

A LEC can be competition to cable's video service by offering a streaming video service, and the FCC's decision that the AT&T TV Now streaming service is effective competition in parts of Massachusetts and Hawaii clearly lines up with congressional intent in its effective competition test and it avoids the unfairness of asymmetrical regulations in LEC/cable operator competition. That's according to an NCTA amicus brief Wednesday (in Pacer, docket 19-2282) with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of respondent FCC and intervenor Charter Communications. The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable is challenging the FCC's finding AT&T TV Now is effective competition to Charter cable service in Massachusetts and part of Hawaii (see 1912230063). Charter, in an intervenor brief (in Pacer), disputed MDTC arguments that AT&T TV Now fails the LEC test by not being offered directly to consumers since it comes over an intermediary broadband system, and called the FCC interpretation of the LEC test reasonable. MDTC didn't comment Thursday.