MSG Networks signed a multiyear renewal of its distribution agreement with Verizon, ensuring Fios subscribers have access to MSG and its live games through their Fios TV packages and the MSG Go streaming platform, MSG said Wednesday.

Redbox is teaming with Comcast’s FreeWheel TV advertising platform to integrate “programmatic” technology across Redbox's free streaming services, they said Monday: This lets advertisers access and buy Redbox national and local “inventory” and “micro-target” audiences.

A pending blackout of Comcast's NBCUniversal channels on YouTube TV (see 2109270053) was averted with a carriage deal with no price increase for subscribers, YouTube said Saturday.

Regional sports networks went dark on Comcast and Dish Network over carriage license terms. MSG Networks said Friday the Comcast blackout was primarily in New Jersey and Connecticut and the cable company was "try[ing] to force us to accept terms they’d never agree to for their own regional sports networks." Comcast didn't comment. Dish emailed late that it's not carrying AT&T SportsNet and Root Sports and is pushing for RSNs to be available a la carte to subscribers in negotiations with parent AT&T. The telco didn't comment.

ViacomCBS and its streaming service Pluto TV agreed to a $3.5 million settlement with the FCC Enforcement Bureau over violations of FCC IP closed-captioning rules, said a consent decree Wednesday. Pluto didn’t provide timely accurate information, and it wasted "valuable Commission resources" and delayed "the resolution of the accessibility issues,” the decree said. This stems from consumer complaints about nonfunctional captions on Pluto TV in 2018, the decree said. An agency investigation found that despite being in contact with the FCC about captioning issues, petitioning for a waiver and receiving a letter of inquiry about possible violations, “Pluto continued to offer Pluto TV on existing Platforms and initiated Pluto TV on several new Platforms without being in compliance.” The business “failed to provide timely and accurate information,” the decree said. It includes an elaborate compliance plan, with consultations with disability groups, creation of a consumer information website, testing procedures to ensure functional captions on all platforms, training, and a three-year reporting requirement. A Media Bureau order lets Pluto withdraw its waiver petition. It's “the first consent decree and first enforcement action related to” IP captioning rules “since their adoption in 2012,” said the FCC. “We recognize the importance of closed captioning and have been working in close collaboration with the FCC on the consent decree,” emailed a Pluto TV spokesperson Thursday. “We are committed to ensuring that our audiences can freely enjoy the programming streaming on our platform with ease of use and accessibility.”

TCL will bring Roku TV models to Brazil later in 2021 and will introduce 32- and 43-inch Roku sets there this week under its Semp brand, it said Thursday. A 50-inch Semp model will debut in Brazil in a few weeks, it said. The 32-inch set is 720p and is priced at 1,949 Brazilian real ($358). The 43-inch model with 1080p is $533. The 50-inch will be a 4K set, priced at $691.

NBCUniversal "is seeking fair rates from Google for YouTube TV’s continued carriage" but Google "is refusing to make a deal at these fair rates and is willing to withhold entertainment, news and sports programming from their paying customers," the programmer emailed us Monday. YouTube TV is warning of a possible blackout of NBCU content when the current contract expires Thursday (see 2109270053).

With its NBCUniversal carriage agreement expiring Thursday, YouTube TV told subscribers that absent a renewal NBCU content will no longer be part of its streaming lineup and monthly YouTube TV pricing will drop from $64.99 to $54.99. It blogged Sunday that it's seeking rates for NBCU that similar-sized networks charge. NBCU didn't comment Monday.

Ninety-six percent of Apple TV+ users have an Apple device, said Kagan Friday. A March survey showed iPhones were the most commonly used Apple device among the streaming service’s users, at 84%. Amazon Prime Video and Netflix were the most commonly used subscription VOD services among Apple TV+ users surveyed; Disney+ (66%) and Hulu (60%) were also popular. Most (81%) Apple TV+ customers subscribe to five or more SVOD services vs. 33% of all SVOD users. Some 71% of SVOD users stream at least once per week, 85% for Apple TV+ subscribers. Smart TVs were the most widely used device for viewing SVOD among Apple TV+ users at 76%; 71% of that group also streamed on a tablet vs. 47% of all SVOD users.

The FCC “missed” by not defining streaming services as MVPDs and should correct that, said Hearst TV President Jordan Wertlieb at TV2025 on a virtual panel Thursday with Fox TV Stations CEO Jack Abernethy and Gray Television President Pat LaPlatney. “If we want to be intellectually honest, anyone distributing our signal is an MVPD,” Wertlieb said. The executives discussed their own streaming offerings but said broadcasting still delivers a larger audience than the alternatives. The “biggest indication” of broadcasting’s primacy is the NFL’s commitment to be on Fox into the 2030s, said Abernethy. Skyrocketing political advertising dollars demonstrate the same thing, he said. ATSC 3.0 will eventually allow stations to take full advantage of digital ads, Wertlieb said. Targetable ads will allow broadcasters to charge more, LaPlatney said. Abernethy and Wertlieb believe the most successful streaming operations will be those that focus on a niche, such as Fox’s upcoming weather channel. Hearst’s offering focuses on hyperlocal content for each station’s specific city, Wertlieb said. E.W. Scripps announced a foray into exports Thursday (see 2109230077). Asked about the future of retrans and declining cable subscribership, Wertlieb said the definition of retrans needs to be broadened, and LaPlatney said current rates don’t accurately reflect the audience broadcasters deliver. There might be ways stations could work with MVPDs to address or slow their subscribership declines, said Abernethy. “I do see those two ecosystems working together down the road,” said Wertlieb, saying broadcasters are working closely with MVPDs on ATSC 3.0. The execs expect auto ads to rebound sometime in 2022. Gambling ads are on rising but depend on jurisdiction, said Wertlieb. Betting is “a great category” for stations because it can’t be nationally advertised, Abernethy said.