LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—Altice USA announced it will change its corporate name to Optimum Communications Inc., effective Nov. 7. The company will cease trading under New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol “ATUS” and begin trading under the new symbol “OPTU” on Nov. 19.

The name change means that the company’s operating brand Optimum, which it has used for its video, broadband and other products, will now become the company’s official corporate name. Other cable operators, such as Comcast, which operates under the Xfinity brand, and Charter Communications, which uses Spectrum branding, have kept those separate.

“This is more than a name change—it’s a reflection of who we are and where we are going,” Optimum Chairman and CEO Dennis Mathew said. “As we accelerate our transformation and deepen our commitment to our customers, employees, and communities, aligning our corporate identity with the strong Optimum brand underscores our focus on simplicity, performance and purpose. It’s an incredibly exciting time for the organization as it enters its next chapter as one unified Optimum.”

There will be no change to the company’s CUSIP, a 9-character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies registered securities, in connection with the name and ticker symbol changes, the company said. In addition, the name and ticker symbol changes won’t affect the company’s ownership structure, leadership, services or day-to-day operations.

WASHINGTON—The FCC is eliminating the requirement that cable operators maintain records in their online public inspection files related to their interests in video programming services and information regarding their carriage of these services on cable systems they own.

The FCC adopted these rules 25 years ago in an effort to police compliance with channel occupancy limits on programming where cable operators had a financial interest, the commission says. In 2001, the D.C. Circuit ended those limits and remanded them back to the FCC, which has determined no need to establish new limits.

“Given that these requirements no longer serve their intended purpose and the information covered by the rule can be obtained from sources other than public inspection files, the commission voted to remove this unnecessary and outdated regulatory burden on cable operators,” the FCC said in its announcement.

The decision came ahead of the FCC’s Sept. 30 open meeting, where the rule was on the docket. It has been removed from the agenda as a result.

According to TVT’s sister publication Multichannel News, cable operators have been split on the need for these requirements. ACA Connects has argued for the requirements to stay in place as enforcement for program access rules, while NCTA—The Internet & Television Association claimed that ACAC’s stance was self-serving, as the information is easily available.

This is the latest example of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s for media regulation modernization efforts—the 24th, according to the FCC.

Recently, departing FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly shared a blog post where he stresses the importance of modernizing media regulations for broadcast and cable operators.

WASHINGTON—Cable operators are calling on the FCC to level the regulatory fee playing field and require satellite operators (DBS) to match their cable fees.

This comes from the latest batch of comments from ACA Connects and NCTA—The Internet & Television Association in response to comments filed by AT&T and Dish opposing the FCC’s proposal to increase their Fiscal Year 2020 DBS regulatory fee by 12 cents per subscriber.

With this particular proposal, ACA and NCTA make the case that DBS providers’ arguments against any raise for this fiscal year are “predictable and remain meritless,” saying the FCC “must again repudiate them.”

In the past, satellite operators’ reg fees were based on per license rather than per sub. However, the FCC decided a half-decade ago that it would begin charging DBS on a per sub basis and raise their fees annually so as to put them on a path toward parity with cable. Cable operators, however, would rather see fees raised to equal levels immediately.

“[T]he commission should assess all MVPDs, including DBS providers, the same regulatory fee to fund the Media Bureau’s activities in FY 2020 and onward,” the comments read. The cable ops argue that there is no reason for the delay other than that the FCC initially adopted the phase-in approach.

To read the full comments from ACA and NCTA, visit the FCC’s ECFS. 

WASHINGTON—The FCC had good news for satellite operators and bad news for cable operators on Friday, June 12, granting an extension for satellite operators to file their C-band transition plans while subsequently denying a request for an extension on submitting comments on the estimated lump sum payments by cable operators.

All eligible satellite space stations operating in the C-band were given an extra seven days to file their transition plans. The original deadline was for June 12, but will now be June 19. Eutelsat and Claro S.A. had originally requested the extension; the other satellite operators opposed it, but said if an extension was granted to those companies it should apply to all.

The FCC said that an extension for the satellite operators “serves the public interest and will not delay the transition process.”

Earlier this week, ACA Connects and NCTA—The Internet & Television Association filed a joint request to the commission asking for their own six-day extension for filing comments on the lump sum payments for current C-band operators, pushing the deadline from June 16 to June 22. They specifically cited the desire to be able to review the satellite C-band transition plans that were to be due on June 12. They also asked that the transition plans be made available immediately on the FCC website and the methodology for which the FCC reached its initial lump sum payment estimates.

However, the FCC has denied the joint request, saying that the cited reasons for an extension do not meet the standards for them to consider an extension. The commission says cable operators have the ability to make their lump sum elections after satellite operators’ transition plans have been made available. As to the other two arguments, the FCC says that all filed transition plans will be available through the ECFS as is their traditional practice and that the methodology for the lump sum estimates were laid out in the Lump Sum Public Notice and Preliminary Cost Catalog.

As a result, the lump sum payment comments will be due on June 16.

WASHINGTON—Cable and satellite operators won’t be required to lick any more stamps when it comes to sending out certain required notices to TV stations, as the FCC has unanimously voted to allow MVPDs to send notices as emails rather than as traditional paper notifications.

Under previous rules, cable and satellite TV providers had to submit paper notifications to local TV stations before taking certain actions, like launching in a new market, deleting or repositioning a station in the channel lineup or retransmitting certain stations. With the new rules, these notifications can be sent out via email.

Stations that have an online public inspection file will receive the electronic notifications in the inbox used for communications related to the election of must carry/retransmission consent status. Stations without a public file will receive notifications via their general inbox.

This result is said to be part of the FCC’s Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative led by Chairman Ajit Pai, which seeks to eliminate or modify media regulations that are “outdated, unnecessary or unduly burdensome,” per the commission. It was first proposed in July 2019.

Chairman Pai and all of the FCC commissioners (Michael O’Rielly, Jessica Rosenworcel, Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks) all voted for the update. 

WASHINGTON—FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and all of his commissioners were in agreement that it is time to consider eliminating the 30-day window cable operators are currently required to provide customers of a potential change to their cable service.

Voted on during the FCC’s December Open Meeting, this decision results in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will seek comment on whether to change the rules that require cable operators providers to notify subscribers 30 days in advance in regards to service changes related to programming or retransmission issues (i.e. blackouts) to instead doing so “as soon as possible.”

In addition, the NPRM will also seek comments on removing what the FCC described as redundant rules regarding notifications cable operators must provide local franchise authorities.

Many retransmission deals are completed in the final hour before the previous agreement is set to expire. Pai believes that changing the notification time to as soon as possible would help eliminate confusion among customers.

However, though all commissioners supported the NPRM, Commissioner Geoffrey Stark did have some reservations.

“This NPRM proposes to amend our statutorily mandated consumer protection rules in a way that, I fear, could result in less information being shared with consumers and more unwelcome surprises in the form of blacked out channels and lost service,” said Starks.

Starks, according to his statement, decided to vote for the NPRM after Chairman Pai added questions about potential consumer harm that could result from a customer learning about a blackout after it had already begun.

The other commissioners supported the initiative and were able to add questions to the NPRM that they believe would provide more critical information.

No deadline for comments has been set as of yet.

For more information on the NPRM, visit the FCC website.

WASHINGTON—FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to stop any premature panic among cable subscribers that they may be losing channels as a result of retransmission disputes, and to do so has proposed eliminating the required 30-day notification period cable operators must give in favor of doing so “as soon as possible.”

This new measure would be up for discussion and vote during the final FCC meeting of 2019 on Dec. 12.

With the current 30-day notice requirement, cable operators are often forced to let their subscribers know that they could be losing access to a channel or group of channels, only to then strike a deal at the last minute to keep the channels on air for those subscribers. Pai believes that by removing the 30-day requirement consumers can be more “accurately informed and not confused” about what is happening to their service.

“[W]e don’t want consumers to be inundated by premature and inaccurate notices about channel changes that never come to pass,” Pai wrote in a blog post. “And our rule begs the question whether the failure to reach an agreement in the 30 days before a contract expires is within a cable operator’s control. After all, as the saying goes, it takes two to tango.”

There have been multiple instances this year of cable operators and TV stations warning subscribers of the potential loss of channel, only to strike a deal before their contract expires.

By removing the 30-day in advance notification and instead allowing such warnings to go out “as soon as possible” will provide more accurate and clearer messages, according to Pai.

WASHINGTON—Cable operators are looking to merge into the 5.9 GHz spectrum, a space that has typically been set aside for connected cars.

The request came in a meeting between NCTA—The Internet & Television Association, Comcast and Charter and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s legal advisor Aaron Goldberger where they said it was time to take a “fresh look” for the 5.9 GHz band.

As the FCC looks to free up more spectrum for 5G, one such area has been the 5.9 GHz band. The commission is proposing that potential users share it with the incumbent vehicle-to-vehicle license users, which typically use it for communications between cars, a point of contention for car companies that are against sharing the spectrum.

The FCC wants to know if opening up the spectrum is feasible. Chairman Pai said in a speech to the Wi-Fi World Congress that the commission should look into new ways of utilizing the spectrum, and tests have been conducted that concluded that Wi-Fi devices could coexist with dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), which is a technology that vehicle-to-vehicle communications could use, though they are also looking at app-based communications.

Members of Congress from both parties said in June that they were open to the FCC reviewing the 5.9 GHz spectrum.

WASHINGTON—Interested parties have about a month to make their comments known about the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding notification rules for cable and satellite TV providers, specifically transitioning the requirement of some paper notifications to email delivery. The FCC has set a comment deadline of Sept. 4; reply comments are then due by Sept. 19.

The FCC originally voted on the above NPRM on July 10, but it was published in the Federal Register as of Monday, Aug. 5., which adhering to the commission’s traditional deadlines of 30 and 45 days for comments and reply comments, sets the deadlines to the dates mentioned above.

Currently, upon starting service in a new market, or when deleting or repositioning a broadcast station, cable operators must notify broadcasters by mail, certified mail or hand delivery. This NPRM would allow for such notifications to be delivered over email to the station’s designated inbox according to its FCC filing. It also asks whether email delivery should be allowed for satellite MVPD notices to stations as well.

In addition, the NPRM seeks comment on how to extend email notifications to low-power stations without Class A status and certain noncommercial translator stations.

All comments must be filed according to the instructions provided in the NPRM, which is available in full on the FCC website.

WASHINGTON—Small cable operators want to know how they would fit into the proposed voluntary ATSC 3.0 adoption scheme. The American Cable Association filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s recent proposal to allow broadcasters to voluntarily deploy ATSC 3.0, also referred to as the “next-generation” form of signal transition.

“Capacity-constrained MVPDs will face unique burdens associated with the transition, particularly if forced to carry higher resolution ATSC 3.0 signal,” the ACA said.

The FCC published its related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Feb. 2, acting on a petition by broadcast and consumer equipment lobbies to authorize voluntary adoption of ATSC 3.0, a multifaceted suite of technology standards that will propel broadcast TV into the Internet Age. The NPRM seeks feedback on how to incorporate ATSC 3.0into the post-auction channel repack on track to commence this spring. The NPRM also seeks comment on which elements of the standard to authorize, as well as how to handle simulcasting, interference, public interest obligations, must-carry and retransmission consent.

The ACA suggested adding a few questions about the impact on its members—smaller and rural multichannel video programming distributors, or MVPDs, e.g.:

“ We seek comment on whether small, rural, and capacity-constrained MVPDs would face unique circumstances with regard to the voluntary provision of ATSC 3.0 that we should consider in this proceeding.... Hundreds of small MVPDs will be renegotiating thousands of separate retransmission consent agreements by the end of this year. Should the commission address circumstances where a broadcaster conditions carriage of a 1.0 signal on carriage of a 3.0 signal while the NPRM is pending?

The ACA further suggests the commission should seek comment on how its members are supposed to receive ATSC 3.0 since the technology for them to do so is not yet available, and who will pay for the necessary upgrade. “Will these MVPDs also face particular difficulty in assuming the costs to deliver ATSC 3.0 signals to their customers, such as costs associated with new receivers and other headend equipment,” the filing said.

The NPRM is on the commission’s Feb. 23 agenda for vote but has not yet been published in the Federal Registers, which in turn will trigger a 60-day comment cycle and a subsequent 30-day reply cycle.

Also see…
Feb. 2, 2017
“FCC@3.0: OET-69, Public Interest, Yes; Tuner Edict, No”
A February vote would roughly coincide with the end of the TV spectrum incentive auction, which starts the 39-month deadline clock for stations moving to new channel assignments. The NPRM seeks feedback on how to incorporate ATSC 3.0 into this post-auction channel repack.

Feb. 2, 2017
“FCC Proposes ATSC 3.0 Deployment”
A plan for voluntary adoption the “next-generation” television broadcasting transmission standard known as ATSC 3.0 has been proposed at the FCC, which represents a seminal event in the development of the standard. 

For more TV Technology coverage, check our ATSC 3.0 silo.