Signaling a major challenge to a multibillion business established by Apple and Google, the Arizona House of Representatives voted Wednesday to advance an amendment that would allow app providers based in the state to avoid fees charged by the tech giants’ respective app stores. 

The 31-29 vote to advance a major amendment to Arizona’s existing HB2005 comes two weeks to the day after the North Dakota State Senate voted down similar legislation. 

The amendment prohibits app stores exceeding 1 million downloads—basically, Google Play and Apple’s App Store—from requiring “a developer that is domiciled in this state to use a particular in-application payments system as the exclusive mode of accretive payments from a user.” Videogame consoles are exempt. 

Epic Games, maker of the popular online game Fortnite, is currently battling Apple and Google in court over a policy that requires the firm to share 30% of its sales generated by its apps sold in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. 

The Fortnite app was banished from Google Play and the App Store last after it directed Fortnite players to use an alternative payment system to purchase in-app trinkets. If Epic were based in Arizona, and the amendment were to pass the Arizona State Senate and get signed off on by the Governor Doug Ducey, Apple and Google would have to restore the Fortnite app.

Collectively, Google and Apple made $33 billion in app commissions in 2020, according to Sensor Tower data. 

“Today, Arizona put a marker down and became the first state in the nation to advance a digital market that is free and fair,” said the Coalition for App Fairness, the industry group that drafted the bill, and includes Epic games, Match Group and Spotify. 

“The Coalition for App Fairness is pleased to see the House passage of HB 2005, which will encourage business innovation in Arizona and protect consumer choice. While this is cause for celebration, it is only a first step toward achieving a truly level playing field for all …We look forward to working with the Arizona State Senate to move a solution forward that builds on this momentum to provide consumer freedom, lower costs, and increase developers’ ability to thrive and innovate.”

This legislation has implications far beyond video games and includes areas like video streaming. For instance, Google told Netflix in September that it was going to close loopholes that allowed the top SVOD service to avoid its in-app fees. 

Georgia and Massachusetts are considering similar legislation, and lobbyists are pushing for nearly identical bills in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Arizona PBS series Plate & Pour is getting a digital spinoff to support local restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic. Plate & Pour: Takeout is a digital mini-series that starts on Dec. 10 on Arizona PBS's Instagram page in the form of 10 to 20 short videos every Thursday.

Chef Mark Tarbell is the host of Plate & Pour and will be revisiting restaurants featured on the show to "discover the artistry behind to-go offerings from some of the most dynamic dining destinations in the Southwest," PBS said in a release.

Launching the series on Instagram will allow viewers and followers to interact and suggest their own favorite spots for Tarbell to try. 

“What we’re hoping to bring to our Instagram followers is the restaurant experience — getting your food and going through the motions of creating a dine-in experience at your table,” said Arizona PBS digital director Ebonye Delaney. “Plate & Pour: Takeout is lighthearted and shines a new spotlight on some of the best places to eat in the Valley.”

The Pac-12 Conference Tuesday announced it will postpone all sports competitions, including college football, through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision comes hours after the Big 10 announced its decision to cancel all Fall sports events until at least Spring 2021. The Pac-12 and Big 10 Conferences are part of the Power Five conferences that hold major influence over college sports. It is unclear what the remaining conferences -- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Big-12, and Southeastern Conference-- will follow the Big 10 and Pac-12 conferences in cancelling all Fall sports. 

The Pac-12 conference includes such schools as Arizona, UCLA, USC, and Oregon State. 

“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott in a statement. “Our student-athletes, fans, staff and all those who love college sports would like to have seen the season played this calendar year as originally planned, and we know how disappointing this is.”

Related: Big Ten Conference Postpones College Football Season

TBS’s Kentucky-Notre Dame NCAA college basketball tournament game telecast Saturday night drew a network record 14.7 million total viewers, the network announced Sunday.

The game, which saw Kentucky keep its undefeated season alive with a narrow win over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame to reach the tournament’s Final Four round, peaked at 19.7 million viewers between 10:45 p.m. and 11 p.m. (ET), according to Nielsen.  

The game also stands as the most watched college basketball ever on cable television, according to the network.

Coverage of last night’s games – TBS' Kentucky/Notre Dame and Wisconsin/Arizona telecasts – delivered the highest average viewership and rating for the Saturday Regional Finals in 10 years (since 2005), averaging 11.7 million viewers, up 34% from 2014, and a 6.8/13 rating/share, up 33% from last year, according to network officials.    

Overall, the CBS/Turner Sports coverage of the 2015 ‘March Madness’ tournament is delivering its highest average viewership in 22 years, averaging 9 million total viewers through last night’s telecasts, based on Nielsen Fast national audience data.