Streaming Regulation, Codec Licensing & Media Policy News

Nexstar Media Group has filed an appeal against a preliminary injunction blocking its $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA. The injunction, which converts a temporary restraining order, was granted in response to a consolidated antitrust lawsuit filed by DIRECTV and several state attorneys general. Nexstar argues the consolidation is necessary to compete with large streaming technology companies, while opponents claim it would substantially reduce competition in local TV broadcasting.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice met with broadcast television station operators to gather feedback for its antitrust investigation into the sports media market. The probe, which is also being conducted by the Federal Communications Commission, is examining the migration of sports rights from broadcast television to streaming services and the potential harm to consumers and the broadcast industry. The economic power of the National Football League was a specific topic of discussion.

Attorneys general from eight U.S. states have filed a lawsuit to block Nexstar Media Group's proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna. The suit alleges the deal would grant Nexstar excessive control over local TV stations, reduce news diversity, and lead to higher consumer cable bills due to increased leverage in retransmission fee negotiations. Pay-TV provider DirecTV has filed a separate, similar lawsuit seeking to block the merger on grounds of potential consumer harm.

In response to an FCC inquiry into sports rights moving to streaming, the NFL has formally argued that its current antitrust exemption benefits consumers and broadcasters. The league told the FCC that removing the exemption would lead to "higher costs and confusion" by forcing 32 individual teams to negotiate their own media deals. This position counters calls from the NAB and other broadcasters for regulatory action to preserve free access to games.

A Spanish court has handed down a record judgment against a global illegal IPTV network, issuing criminal convictions and over €43 million in fines and compensation. The case, driven by LaLiga and Nagravision, targeted a network with over 2 million users that illegally distributed content, including live sports, from servers across 13 countries. The judgment represents one of Spain's largest-ever compensation awards for an intellectual property offense and includes the permanent shutdown of the piracy domains.

Dolby Laboratories has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Snap Inc. in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. The suit alleges that Snap's use of the HEVC and AV1 video codecs in its Snapchat application infringes on four of Dolby's patents. Dolby's filing claims that despite the Alliance for Open Media's development of AV1, the specification incorporates technologies also found in HEVC that are subject to existing third-party patent rights and for which Snap has not paid royalties.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released a statement on the introduction of the SECURE Data Act (H.R. 8413) in the U.S. Congress. The IAB expressed encouragement for a federal privacy standard that could harmonize differing state laws on issues like data minimization and sensitive data definitions. The organization stated it will focus on ensuring the legislation includes clear due diligence standards and robust contracting requirements to extend privacy obligations throughout the digital advertising ecosystem.

Wiggin LLP analyzes an EU consumer law case pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (Case C-234/25 Sky Österreich Fernsehen) on whether subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) contracts should be treated as “digital content” or a “digital service” under the EU Consumer Rights Directive, which determines whether a 14-day withdrawal (cancellation) right applies. The article discusses the Advocate General’s February 2026 Opinion, highlighting operational and pricing challenges if streaming services must allow withdrawals while charging for content consumed, and argues SVOD should remain classified as digital content so providers can rely on the digital-content withdrawal exception when required consents/disclosures are met.

A U.S. federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2B merger with Tegna after eight states and DirecTV sued on antitrust grounds, finding the deal likely violates the Clayton Act. The court said the combined station owner could gain leverage to raise retransmission fees (increasing pay-TV bills and blackout risk) and potentially reduce local news quality through newsroom consolidation, despite prior FCC and DOJ clearance and an FCC ownership-rule waiver that would have lifted reach to about 60% of U.S. TV households. Nexstar said it will appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and Tegna must continue operating separately while the injunction is in effect.

Spain’s National Court issued a judgment against a large illegal IPTV network for market/consumer offences, intellectual property violations, and money laundering, with defendants accepting the joint accusation supported by LALIGA, Nagravision, Movistar Plus+, Mediapro, and EGEDA. The ruling includes €12 million in compensation to affected companies and more than €30 million in money-laundering fines, plus confiscation of assets and permanent shutdown of domains used to distribute pirated live football, films, and series to over two million users across 13 countries. LALIGA also cited a reported 60% reduction in piracy consumption in Spain in the 2024/25 season as part of its broader anti-piracy strategy.

The article details how HEVC/H.265 patent licensing structures, rising royalty-rate uncertainty, and ongoing litigation are driving some vendors (including Dell, HP, and Synology) to disable or remove HEVC capabilities, impacting 4K/HDR streaming playback and transcoding on consumer devices. It outlines the roles of patent pools and licensors (notably Access Advance and Nokia) and notes device-market impacts such as sales injunctions in Germany and US lawsuits involving major streaming and hardware companies. The piece also frames AV1 as an alternative with broader streaming availability but highlights continued compatibility hurdles and emerging AV1 patent disputes that could affect adoption.

The Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA) announced the release of four new documents addressing media quality assessment data transmission, Open Caching API security, hosted edge caches, and content protection information exchange. Additionally, the SVTA made four new open-source repositories public, including an Open Caching system reference software and a CMCD custom keys registry.

REaP (ISO/IEC 23009-9) has been established as an ISO standard. Netflix has been identified as a company already utilizing this standard to enhance resilient and globally distributed live streaming.

Digital asset management provider Razuna has integrated support for the C2PA standard to detect AI-generated content. The system now identifies content created with AI and displays C2PA metadata detailing its origin, aiming to enhance transparency and accountability in content authenticity.

TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer told POLITICO that YouTube, not Netflix, is now the primary competitor to broadcasters in France and urged the EU to tighten rules on the platform as Brussels prepares a review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. He argued that YouTube’s hosting model creates a regulatory and advertising-market imbalance versus broadcasters and streamers that finance European content and face stricter ad rules. Belmer also said TF1 will make its on-demand programs available on Netflix starting this summer as part of a distribution partnership.

The article examines growing European regulatory and institutional pressure on US streaming platforms, highlighted by Netflix’s challenge to local investment obligations under the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) in Wallonia-Brussels, where a Belgian court largely ruled in favor of the EU while referring questions (including whether acquisitions can count toward obligations) to the EU’s Court of Justice. It also covers the Council of Europe’s new Convention on the Co-production of Audiovisual Works for Series, aimed at standardizing co-production rules and improving access to national support, alongside data suggesting US content represented nearly half of catalog availability on EU streamers/VoD services in 2025 versus 32% European-originated programming.

The article examines how Canada’s Online Streaming Act and Online News Act have become focal points in the ongoing CUSMA (USMCA) six-year review, with the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. industry groups arguing the measures may be discriminatory toward U.S. digital services. It outlines CRTC implementation measures for streaming services, including registration, transparency requirements, regulatory fees, and a 5% contribution on Canadian broadcasting revenues for large streamers (estimated to generate about $200 million annually) to support Canadian and Indigenous content. The piece also notes escalating U.S. political pressure, including proposed U.S. legislation seeking a Section 301 investigation that could lead to tariffs regardless of a formal CUSMA violation finding.

Adaptive Query (qu3ry.net) presents content anchoring as a complementary technology to C2PA, addressing the architectural fragilities of C2PA's attached-manifest approach to content provenance. Content anchoring derives identity from intrinsic structural properties of media, allowing provenance to survive metadata stripping and content transformations that break C2PA's hard binding, particularly for generative AI content. The article proposes a composition pathway where a C2PA manifest references a registered anchor, ensuring provenance recovery even when the manifest is lost.

The FCC added foreign-made consumer routers to its Covered List, blocking authorization for new home router models on national security and supply-chain grounds, while allowing already-authorized models to remain on the market and receive updates through at least March 1, 2027. Analysts warn the policy could cause supply shortages, higher CPE costs, and slower innovation cycles (including Wi-Fi 7 rollouts), with potential spillover to gateway devices used in 5G fixed wireless access offerings from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

A report by the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe, released during Series Mania, argues that far-right movements across Europe are increasingly threatening artistic freedom in television through pressure on media institutions, regulators, and cultural bodies. It says the most immediate risk for writers is financial and structural, citing attacks on public service broadcasting as a key pillar of European commissioning and production funding, alongside growing self-censorship and portfolio “risk management” by broadcasters and producers. The report also warns that potential weakening of EU audiovisual regulatory frameworks could have lasting consequences for Europe’s audiovisual ecosystem.

NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said on The Varsity podcast that broadcast station groups likely need “some level of consolidation” to achieve the scale required to compete for increasingly expensive premium sports rights, citing talk that the NFL’s next deals could add roughly $1 billion annually in rights fees for networks. The article also notes the FCC has opened an inquiry into the shift of live sports from broadcast TV to streaming platforms, which LeGeyt supported as a chance to reassess legacy policies in a streaming-dominant market.

The UK government has officially dropped its previously preferred proposal to allow AI developers to train on copyrighted works by default with an opt-out for rightsholders, after strong opposition from creative industry stakeholders. The government will instead pursue further work on digital replicas and deepfakes, labelling of AI-generated content, creator transparency and control mechanisms, and support for licensing approaches—alongside potential changes to UK protections for computer-generated works.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Film Commission announced 16 TV projects receiving awards under the state’s expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program, including the first eligibility for animated series and competition shows. The commission estimates the selected slate will drive $871 million in qualified in-state spending (including $489 million in wages) and support roughly 4,500 cast and crew jobs, with additional projects supported under the Soundstage Tax Credit Program. The release cites examples tied to major distribution platforms, including A Hundred Percent (Netflix) and series associated with HBO Max and Prime Video.

The article reports that UK politician Lisa Nandy has indicated a willingness to end the BBC’s 10-year charter renewal process in favor of a permanent charter. In exchange, the proposal would involve granting more devolved commissioning power.

The article discusses how incumbent users of the upper C-band are evaluating replacement distribution options as the FCC advances plans to auction 100–180MHz of upper C-band spectrum for 5G/6G (and potentially direct-to-device use), with the auction required to complete by July 2027. Major programmers including A+E, Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount Skydance, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery argue there is no single replacement for the upper C-band’s reliability and anticipate a multi-technology transition involving fiber, Ku-band, LEO satellite broadband and possibly further C-band repacking using additional compression such as HEVC or VC-1. A small operator, WinDBreak Cable, illustrates constraints in relying on fiber capacity and availability, favoring hybrid Ku-band plus fiber backup approaches.

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government is considering giving the BBC a permanent charter, rather than requiring renewal every 10 years, while continuing to negotiate funding and governance periodically. She also indicated the 2026 Charter Review will focus on strengthening BBC leadership accountability to audiences and improving transparency for licence fee payers, ahead of the current charter expiring on 31 December 2027.

Via Licensing Alliance (Via) introduced a new AVC (H.264) Streaming License fee schedule for new licenses starting in 2026, replacing the prior $100,000 annual cap model with tiered fees that can reach a $4.5 million annual list price for the largest OTT, FAST, social, and cloud gaming platforms. Via states that existing AVC streaming licensees as of end-2025 are grandfathered under their prior terms, meaning the higher tiers primarily affect previously unlicensed implementers seeking a license in 2026 or later. The article also discusses practical compliance details (single assessment across service types, per-legal-entity licensing, separate device vs streaming caps) and legal considerations around expiring patents and FRAND challenges, based on input from patent licensing attorney Jim Harlan.

The article argues that standard essential patent (SEP) disputes around video compression standards such as H.264, HEVC, and VVC are increasingly becoming a global litigation focus, similar to earlier smartphone patent wars. It highlights a more fragmented licensing environment (multiple patent pools and independent licensors) and notes evolving US policy signals from the DOJ and USPTO that support stronger SEP enforcement alongside antitrust considerations. The piece emphasizes the need for economically grounded FRAND valuation methods, including comparable licenses and top-down royalty analyses, to resolve disputes as streaming and cloud usage grow.

Gracenote has filed a lawsuit in a New York court against OpenAI, alleging OpenAI used Gracenote’s entertainment metadata and framework to train and improve ChatGPT without permission or compensation. The complaint claims ChatGPT can output Gracenote programme descriptions verbatim for titles including Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Saturday Night Live, and argues OpenAI could have licensed the data or relied on public-domain sources instead.

DTVKit outlines the opportunities and challenges of DVB Native IP (DVB-NIP) adoption, highlighting its potential for diverse markets and simplified content distribution, while acknowledging hurdles like integrating legacy infrastructure and managing increased hardware complexity. DTVKit positions its royalty-free, source code DVB-NIP stack as a solution to reduce development cost and effort for manufacturers building next-generation receivers.

In its Charter Review response, the BBC proposes reforms to governance, funding, and regulatory flexibility, arguing the current funding model cannot sustain its public service mission. The BBC also suggests extending iPlayer’s reach, potentially by making the iPlayer platform available to other UK public service media as audiences increasingly consume BBC content via third-party services. The UK government has opened a public consultation on the BBC’s future over the next decade, closing March 10.

The UK government said streaming services with more than 500,000 UK users will be required to follow new standards similar to those applied to broadcasters, including rules on accurate and impartial news reporting and protections against harmful or offensive material. Ofcom will be granted powers to investigate and take action when it determines that a service has breached the code.

The FCC approved Charter Communications' acquisition of Cox Communications, dismissing objections related to interconnection practices, wholesale arrangements, and broadband data caps, citing minimal footprint overlap and limited evidence of transaction-specific harms. The order notes Charter commitments including accelerated DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades in Cox territory and plan-migration options for existing Cox customers despite Cox’s current use of data caps. The deal still requires state approvals and may face delays, including potential challenges in California.

The FCC opened a public inquiry into broadcast sports rights, citing consumer frustration as more games move behind streaming paywalls and require multiple subscriptions, and is seeking public comment. Separately, Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to the U.S. attorney general criticizing Warner Bros. Discovery’s deal with Netflix as potentially anti-competitive, as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is reported to be meeting at the White House about the transaction and related political issues. The article also notes industry updates including Samsung using Gracenote metadata to enable LLM-powered content discovery and Nielsen expanding advanced audience segments in Nielsen ONE.

The FCC Media Bureau opened MB Docket No. 26-45 seeking public comment on how the shift of live sports from broadcast/cable to multiple streaming services is affecting consumer access, costs, and navigation complexity, with comments due March 27, 2026 and replies due April 13, 2026. The inquiry also asks how sports-rights fragmentation impacts local broadcasters’ ability to meet public-interest obligations and compete for premium rights, without outlining specific proposed rules. The Public Notice cites the NFL’s multi-platform rights deals (across companies including Disney, Paramount, Fox, NBCUniversal, Amazon, Google, and Netflix) and notes estimates that watching all NFL games in 2025 could cost consumers over $1,500 across services.

The UK government is bringing major video-on-demand services, including Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, under Ofcom “enhanced regulation” via a new VoD accessibility code. The forthcoming rules would require minimum accessibility coverage across catalogues, including targets of at least 80% subtitled content, 10% audio description, and 5% signed content, aligning VoD services with requirements applied to traditional broadcasters. The policy is framed as benefiting over 18 million UK residents with sight or hearing-related disabilities and also applies to UK broadcaster VoD services such as ITVX and Channel 4.

The UK government is implementing provisions of the Media Act 2024 that bring the largest video-on-demand services under Ofcom regulation for accessibility, aligning them with traditional broadcasters. Major platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ITVX and Channel 4’s VoD service will be required to meet minimum quotas for accessibility features, such as 80% of catalogues subtitled, 10% audio-described and 5% signed within four years. Ofcom will develop and consult on a new VoD accessibility code to enforce these rules, which aim to improve access for millions of UK viewers with hearing or sight impairments.

UK subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Prime Video are set to be brought under enhanced Ofcom regulation. These platforms will be required to comply with the same content standards and accessibility obligations that currently apply to traditional broadcasters.

The UK government is introducing enhanced Ofcom oversight for major video-on-demand platforms with more than 500,000 UK users, designating them as 'Tier 1' services subject to new standards on accuracy, impartiality, and protection from harmful content. A new accessibility code aligned with broadcast rules will require mainstream streaming services, including public service platforms like ITVX and Channel 4, to subtitle at least 80% of their catalogues, provide audio description for 10%, and signing for 5%. These measures implement the Media Act 2024 and aim to create a more level regulatory playing field between traditional broadcasters and on-demand services.

The European Commission has proposed the Digital Networks Act (DNA), a directly applicable EU regulation that consolidates multiple existing telecoms and connectivity rules, including elements of the EECC, Open Internet Regulation, and ePrivacy Directive, into a single harmonized framework. The draft introduces a single-passport authorization regime, EU-level spectrum and satellite authorizations, mandatory copper switch-off in favor of fiber by 2035, strengthened resilience and security obligations, and maintains open internet rules with new reporting duties. It also creates a voluntary conciliation mechanism for disputes between telecom operators and large content/cloud providers over interconnection and traffic-related issues.

The European Commission has issued Guidelines on Article 18 of the European Media Freedom Act, detailing how very large online platforms covered by the Digital Services Act should implement a declaration functionality for media service providers. The guidelines specify technical and procedural requirements for this feature, including verification, transparency, and handling of AI-generated content, to ensure media outlets receive defined content-moderation safeguards. These rules will require affected platforms operating in the EU to adapt their account, moderation, and compliance workflows for professional media publishers.

Kirk Nesbitt of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) provided an annual technical coordinating committee update at CCBE 2025, detailing recent regulatory changes and ongoing consultations in Canada. Discussion included updates to broadcasting procedures (BPR10, BPR2, BPR3), emergency alerting guidelines, and the potential adoption of ATSC 3.0 in North America. Nesbitt also highlighted initiatives for improving metadata in car dashboards and the impact of these changes on Canadian broadcasters.

The article outlines how updated US federal and state regulations, along with UK and EU scrutiny, are making complex streaming subscription cancellation flows and dark patterns illegal by 2026. It highlights the FTC’s updated Negative Option Rule, strengthened state Automatic Renewal Laws, and growing cross-border regulatory cooperation, all requiring that online cancellation be as simple as sign-up and that renewal terms be clearly disclosed. The piece also offers compliance-oriented design guidance for streaming services to reduce legal risk while managing churn.

The post discusses a pending case before the CJEU, referred by the Austrian Supreme Court, on whether SVOD subscriptions should be classified as 'digital content' or 'digital services' under EU consumer law. It explains that the classification affects consumers' right of withdrawal and legal certainty for streaming services, and notes that the authors advocate for SVOD to be treated as digital content. The piece references a detailed analysis published in Entertainment Law Review and mentions that the Advocate General’s Opinion is expected on 26 February.

India and the United States have agreed in digital trade talks to prohibit future Customs duties on 'electronic transmissions,' a category that includes cross-border streaming of video and music, software downloads, and other digital content. This bilateral commitment means that even if the WTO moratorium on such duties expires, subscription and pay-per-view streams between the two countries will not face border tariffs and will instead continue to be taxed under domestic regimes such as GST. The measure directly affects OTT and other streaming services operating between the US and India by providing clearer tax treatment for cross-border streams.

The article reports that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick affirmed states will retain access to their full BEAD broadband allocations, including remaining 'non-deployment' funds, in line with the 2021 infrastructure law, despite earlier suggestions unused funds might return to the U.S. Treasury. It also details ongoing uncertainty around how these funds can be used, the potential impact of President Trump's AI-related executive order on BEAD eligibility, and NTIA guidance rejecting SpaceX/Starlink contract riders that seek exemptions from BEAD performance requirements, with the possibility of re-bidding projects if SpaceX does not comply.

Germany plans to require TV broadcasters and streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ to invest at least 8% of their German revenues into German-language and European productions, with exemptions from some rules for those investing over 12%. The reforms also mandate changes to rights ownership, moving away from work-for-hire models, and increase annual state film funding to €250 million. Industry group Vaunet criticized the move despite the government positioning it as a stimulus for jobs and creative output, and Germany joins other European markets that already impose local investment obligations on streamers.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Salazar v. Paramount Global to resolve a circuit split over who qualifies as a 'consumer' under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in the context of digital services that host or embed video. The ruling will clarify whether VPPA protections and related class action exposure extend only to subscriptions centered on video services or to any subscription where users view video content, affecting websites, media companies, and streaming platforms that use pixels, cookies, and third-party analytics tied to video engagement.