Correction: NTCA, not NCTA, was concerned about a possible disparity between online- and facilities-based multichannel video program distributors, it told the FCC (see 1504020051). “The fees and compliance costs incurred by existing MVPDs can translate to tens of thousands of dollars to millions annually, and these costs must be passed on to customers,” NTCA said. “New entrants would not have these fees and would have the opportunity to offer service at a substantially reduced rate and compete unfairly.”

Multichannel video programming distributors' video subscribership showed the first-ever full-year decline between the end of 2012 and the end of 2013, the FCC said in its 16th Video Competition Report, released Thursday. Between year-end 2012 and year-end 2013, the number of MVPD video subscribers dropped from 101 million to 100.9 million households, the report said. Cable sub numbers fell from 56.4 million to 54.4 million, while direct broadcast satellite subscribership increased from 34.1 million to 34.2 million. Telephone MVPD video numbers increased from 9.9 million to 11.3 million subscribers, the report said. MVPDs have been increasing video revenue partly by raising the price of video service, but data in the report suggests “that programming expenses are rising faster than revenue,” the report said. MVPD programming expenses were 44.6 percent of MVPD video revenue in 2013, the report says. Fifty-seven percent of the total footprints of the top eight cable MVPDs had transitioned to digital by the close of 2013, the report said. In broadcast TV, the number of stations broadcasting in HD was down slightly at the start of 2014, from the previous year, from 1,536 stations to 1,517, the report said. The number of houses relying exclusively on over-the-air broadcast increased from 11.2 million households in 2013 to 11.4 million households in 2014, the report said: “The percentage of all households they represent has remained steady at 9.8 percent.” Broadcast industry revenue “rose to $24.6 billion in 2012 from the $21.6 billion in 2011, but were reported to fall to $24.2 billion in 2013,” the report said. The data also shows viewing of online video distributors' content on multiple devices becoming more prevalent, the report said, with more than 53 million U.S. households watching online programming with at least one Internet-connected device. During Q4 2013, 12.8 percent of video streams were viewed on smartphones, up from 7.2 percent during Q4 2012, the report said. The report is “filled with good news," said Commissioner Ajit Pai in a statement attached to the report. “When it comes to video programming, Americans have more choices than ever before.”

Israel-based Valens, a recognized testing facility for the HDBaseT Alliance, announced availability of testing and certification services for new products incorporating Spec 2.0 of the HDBaseT standard. Valens’ testing and certification services conform to the recently issued Compliance Test Specification for Spec 2.0 of the HDBaseT standard (CTS 2.0), it said Tuesday. The first Spec 2.0-compliant chipset was released to the market in June, and the first Spec 2.0 products are being introduced to the market now. Spec 2.0, released in August 2013, brings new functionalities to the original standard, including multistreaming, daisy-chaining, USB 2.0 support and fiber as a new transmission medium.

A new group, the High Tech Forum, plans to examine the technology behind high-tech policies, its organizers said in a news release last week. “The Internet is one of the most successful experiments in world history -- but most people have no idea how it works,” the group said. "The new High Tech Forum will change that.” The forum is led by Richard Bennett, longtime network engineer and visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The group is offering a classroom, which will provide “basic explanations” of Wi-Fi, wireless networks and “more complex issues like the limitations of unlicensed spectrum and functionality of high versus low frequencies,” the group said. It's offering an "Ask the Engineer" feature and forums for discussing issues.

NBCUniversal said it added TV Everywhere capabilities to its CNBC Android app. The new version of the app allows easier access to live and on-demand CNBC programming and live market data and news, NBCUniversal said. It includes free full-length episodes of CNBC shows like Mad Money with Jim Cramer and Restaurant Startup, NBCUniversal said. “Over the past year alone, we have seen video consumption on our Android app grow by” more than 20 percent, said CNBC Digital General Manager Kevin Krim in a news release.

CableLabs joined NYU Wireless, New York University’s research center, to advance development of 5G, a NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering news release said. CableLabs joins Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung and nine others in the industry in the partnership with NYU Wireless, in pursuit of faster connections and greater access. The FCC recently began exploring the potential of mobile services in the millimeter-wave radio spectrum, which NYU Wireless is working on to develop fundamental science and mathematical channel models needed to develop 5G equipment, said NYU.

EchoStar wants to “underscore its request” that the FCC Media Bureau “grant expeditiously” the waiver it seeks of the analog tuner requirement (see 1502270044) so it can market a new model of SlingLoaded HD Internet-enabled DVR in the U.S. without an over-the-air analog tuner, said the company in reply comments posted Friday in docket 15-47. No opposition to the petition was filed in the docket, and “the lone commenter,” CEA, “unambiguously supported grant of the waiver in order to provide consumers with access to a new, competitive, cost-effective choice in an increasingly popular category of consumer entertainment devices” (see 1503130017), EchoStar said. The waiver EchoStar seeks will give consumers "access to a new device that combines over-the-air television content with over-the-top streaming content functionality from almost any broadband-enabled multimedia platform, all in a sleek, ultra-thin, energy-efficient form factor,” the company said. Although EchoStar believes consumers won’t be “adversely impacted” by a waiver, EchoStar “has committed to the labeling, marketing, and consumer education conditions” the bureau imposed in granting past waivers, it said. “Any such obligations should be lifted if the Commission declines, as it should, to impose labeling and education requirements in the pending analog tuner rulemaking proceeding” for low-power TV, it said.

Telecommunications Industry Association officials explained TIA's take to FCC staff on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) rules, in light of a recent public notice seeking comment on possible changes to the rules (see 1502230045). “TIA emphasized the need for greater clarity on the specific problems with HAC [that] warrant changes to the existing regulatory framework, and urged the Commission to adopt a notice of proposed rulemaking should it intend to make significant changes to the HAC regulations as this would ensure that there is a full record to understand and support any changes,” said the filing in docket 10-254.

CTIA President Meredith Baker made two more leadership changes. Baker Wednesday named Tom Sawanobori senior vice president and chief technology officer. Sawanobori spent 20 years at Verizon and was “lead planner” of the carrier’s 4G LTE network, CTIA said. “With Tom leading the newly created CTO department, our ability to aid our members and serve as a technical resource to policymakers is greatly enhanced,” Baker said. Stephanie Mathews O’Keefe was named senior vice president-chief communications officer. She was formerly at the American Bankers Association. Baker also announced a series of promotions. She said Brad Gillen, formerly chief of staff, will be executive vice president “responsible for CTIA’s day-to-day management and strategic initiatives.” Gillen was an aide to Baker when she was an FCC member. Rocco Carlitti, formerly vice president-operations, is now senior vice president-chief financial officer. Amy Storey, formerly assistant vice president-public affairs, is now a vice president. Baker became CTIA president in June.

The FTC will host a Nov. 16 workshop on privacy issues for “cross-device tracking” for advertising and marketing purposes, the agency said Tuesday in a news release. Questions the commission hopes to answer include: What are the different types of cross-device tracking, how do they work, and what are they used for; What types of information and benefits do companies gain from using these technologies; What benefits do consumers derive from the use of these technologies; What are the privacy and security risks associated with the use of these technologies; How can companies make their tracking more transparent and give consumers greater control over it; and Do current industry self-regulatory programs apply to different cross-device tracking techniques, the agency said. “More consumers are connecting with the internet in different ways, and industry has responded by coming up with additional tools to track their behavior,” said Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich. "It’s important to ensure that consumers’ privacy remains protected as businesses seek to target them across multiple devices.”