Netflix is again using the FCC’s net neutrality rulemaking to argue that interconnection fees charged by large internet service providers — for connecting Netflix and other unaffiliated streamers to their end users — are potentially anti-competitive and must be either eliminated or closely monitored.

The Federal Communications Commission’s proposed net neutrality rules focus on nondiscriminatory access by subs over the network’s last mile to the home or business rather than the connections among the internet backbone and interconnecting networks, but also view interconnection fees as potentially anti-competitive.

In imposing the 2015 net neutrality rules, the Democratic-led FCC did say ISPs could potentially exploit the points at which their terminating access networks link with other networks and the last-mile connection to subscriber homes, Netflix pointed out.

Also Read: No Numbers From Comcast for Peacock’s NFL Playoff Game Impact

The current FCC, in proposing to reimpose the rules, also said ISPs should be prohibited “from charging edge providers a fee to avoid having the edge providers’ content, service or application ‘blocked’ or ‘throttled.’”

Netflix definitely agrees.

As part of ensuring an open internet, Netflix told the FCC in comments on the proposed return of network neutrality rules that the regulator may want to prohibit such “access” fees to make sure that its content, and that of other edge providers, does not get “blocked or throttled.”

That’s because Netflix claims it has to pay those fees to larger ISPs to prevent them from creating congestion for Netflix traffic to favor an ISP’s own affiliated services.

As an example of the kind of streaming content an affiliated ISP could potentially favor, Netflix used the Comcast-owned Peacock streaming service and its groundbreaking, streaming-exclusive carriage of the January 13 Kansas City Chiefs-Miami Dolphins NFL wild-card playoff game, which research firm Antenna said drew the most subscription signups in streaming history. 

Access to big-ticket sports has long been a flashpoint for access to content.

To make sure content from unaffiliated edge providers like Netflix isn’t blocked, the company said, the FCC must monitor complaints about anti-competitive interconnection conduct on a case-by-case basis under the bright-line rules banning blocking or throttling.

The fact that ISPs have control over allowing other providers or content platforms to interconnect with their network via “peering” and “transit” agreements gives them the ability and opportunity to “exploit the size of their networks to impose ‘selective’ interconnection policies,” Netflix said. 

While Netflix said most ISPs interconnect “cooperatively and efficiently,” large ISPs, particularly vertically integrated ones, have the power to anticompetitively exploit their control over connections by “either (1) degrading the quality of their competitors’ content or (2) increasing their competitors’ costs.” 

NFL football continued to dominate TV viewing during the league’s divisional playoffs on Saturday and Sunday.

According to Inscape, the data unit of smart TV maker Vizio, the playoff games captured a 33.62% share of viewership during the weekend.

That’s an increase from last season, when the divisional playoff games generated a 27.48% share of viewing.

The NFL said that its divisional playoff games averaged 40 million viewers on traditional TV and digital — the highest number on record going back to 1988.

The Sunday Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills primetime game on CBS (with Taylor Swift in the building) averaged 50.4 million viewers, the most watched divisional or wild card game on record.

Saturday’s Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers game averaged 37.5 million viewers, making it the most watched Saturday NFL playoff game.

The average over the four games on Saturday and Sunday was up 7% compared to a year ago and up 5% from the 2021-22 season, when the previous high was registered, according to Nielsen and first party.digital data.

Inscape said college basketball games grabbed the second-biggest share of viewing with 2.06%.

Postseason NFL Countdown on ESPN was the No.3 show over the weekend with a 1.62% share.

The big NFL weekend also gave ESPN’s SportsCenter a boost. SportsCenter over Saturday and Sunday had a 1.35% share, and jumped up to be the No. 4 show. The previous weekend, SportsCenter ranked No. 12 with a 0.67% share, according to Inscape.

Paramount Plus is rolling out two new commercials as it prepares to stream the CBS Sports broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII.

The spots continue Paramount Plus’s pitch about having a “mountain of entertainment.”

The first spot will appear during CBS’s coverage of the Buffalo Bills-Pittsburgh Steelers wild card playoff game on Sunday.

The spot shows Decepticon Scourge from Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (voiced by Peter Dinklage) trying to show Bills quarterback Josh Allen who has a cannon for an arm. Other Paramount Plus characters in the lineup include Dora the Explorer, Peppa PIg and CBS Sports announcers Tracy Wolfson, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo.

Paramount Plus is keeping the wraps on its Super Bowl LVIII commercial — for now — which will air during the big game.

Paramount Plus and CBS are part of Paramount Global.

The list of live TV sports events this weekend begins on the gridiron as two Sunday games will determine the NFL teams playing in Super Bowl LVII.

Fox on Sunday will air the NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles, while the AFC Championship game on CBS features a rematch of last year’s contest between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The winners of both games will meet in Super Bowl LVII February 12 on Fox. 

NBC on Sunday will air the Rolex 24 auto racing event from Daytona, as well as the U.S. figure Skating Championships. 

Among the top 10-ranked men’s college basketball teams in action on Saturday, second-ranked Alabama battles Oklahoma on ESPN, third-ranked Houston meets Cincinnati on CBS, fourth-ranked Tennessee hosts No. 10 Texas on ESPN, and fifth-ranked Kansas State meets Florida on ESPN2. Other games include No. 6 Arizona-Washington (Fox), No. 7 Virginia-Boston College (ACC Network) and No. 9 Kansas-Kentucky (ESPN). 

ABC and ESPN on Saturday will conclude its inaugural NBA Rivals Week lineup of games with an ABC tripleheader telecast beginning with the Denver Nuggets-Philadelphia 76ers game, followed by the New York Knicks-Brooklyn Nets contest and the Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics matchup. 

In the boxing ring, ESPN Plus on Saturday will stream live the light heavyweight championship bout between champion Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde. On the ice, Hulu will stream the NHL hockey match between the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche. ■ 

Here’s a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of January 16-22, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data smart TV data compiled by Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks 

Via Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Once again, the NFL takes first place for the most-watched program on TV, with Wild Card and Divisional Round games capturing 12.42% of all minutes watched (up from 8.31% the previous week). 

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• Basketball is on the upswing, with men’s college games accounting for 1.51% of watch-time, while NBA basketball had 1.11%. Both represented increases in both minutes watched and ranking position from the previous week.
• Universo’s Spanish-language broadcast of NFL games jumps into the ranking at No. 12, with 0.52% of watch time. 
• The 2023 Australian Open, which kicked off on January 16, lands at No. 20 with the first few rounds accounting for 0.42% of minutes watched.
• Thanks in part to rerun marathons, Chicago P.D. and The First 48 were two programs with the most notable week-over-week ranking increases, from No. 25 to No. 11 and No. 20 to No. 15, respectively. 

Fueled by NFL games, plus pre- and post-game coverage, Fox takes first place in our network ranking with 8.84% of minutes watched, up from 7.82% the previous week. 

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from January 16-22:

• Maintaining its fourth-place position, thanks in part to NFL simulcasts with ESPN, ABC captured 6.58% of watch-time, an increase from the previous week’s 5.63%. 
• CBS held steady in second place but saw a slight decrease in minutes watched, down to 8.69% from the previous week’s 9.09%. 
• Networks with both week-over-week ranking and watch-time increases include Hallmark Channel (No. 8, 1.67% of minutes watched), HGTV (No. 9, 1.65%) USA Network (No. 13, 1.33%) and TV Land (No. 18, 1.14%). 
• Week-over-week ranking newcomers include INSP (No. 22 with 0.98% of watch-time) and TLC (No. 24, 0.87%). 

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

An overwhelming share of total TV ad impressions came from NFL games: 20.09%, an increase from the previous week’s 17.39%. Over 40% of those came from games airing on Fox, while CBS had a 28.02% share of NFL impressions and NBC had 17.31%. 

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

• Basketball takes second and third place, with men’s college games owning a 2.61% share (up from 2.09% the previous week) while NBA had 2.36% (up from 1.82%).
• ESPN’s SportsCenter jumps from No. 9 to No. 6, increasing its share of TV ad impressions to 1.47% from the previous week’s 1.08%.
• General Hospital on ABC and Let’s Make a Deal on CBS were the only non-sports or news programming to see week-over-week increases in TV ad impressions share. 
• Week-over-week chart newcomers include NFL on Fox Pregame (0.86% share of impressions), Univision’s ¡Despierta América! (0.59%) and Fox News Channel’s Jesse Watters Primetime (0.58%). 

Once again, CBS captured the largest share of TV ad impressions by network, but its 16.88% was a slight decrease from the previous week’s 17.55%. NFL games accounted for one-third of the network’s impressions share.

Additional notes on the top networks by share of TV ad impressions from Jan. 16-22:

• Although it remains in third place, Fox had a slight increase in impressions share week-over-week, up to 11.66% from 9.45%, thanks in part to NFL games. ABC, holding steady at No. 4, also saw an uptick (from 8.95% to 11.57%). 
• Other networks that increased their share of TV ad impressions from the previous week include ESPN (from 5.99% to 6.37%), Univision (3.74% to 3.87%), CNN (3.08% to 3.68%), TNT (1.02% to 1.48%), TLC (0.93% to 1.06%), HGTV (0.77% to 0.99%) and UniMas (0.83% to 0.87%).
• Spanish-language network Universo is a notable week-over-week ranking newcomer, landing at No. 25 (0.46% share of TV ad impressions), with NFL coverage owning over 93.5% impressions share. Previously it was ranked No. 73 by TV ad impressions share.
• Other week-over-week newcomers include NFL Network (No. 13), Food Network (No. 20), Bravo (No. 21), Golf (No. 22) and BET (No. 24). 

ESPN rode a Monday night NFL playoffs performance to the top of the primetime ratings charts, while Fox News Channel kept up its winning streak in the total-day ratings.

ESPN averaged 2.4 million viewers for the week of January 16 to January 22, notching its third primetime straight win, according to Nielsen. The network was bolstered by its coverage of the January 16 Dallas Cowboys-Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL NFC Wild Card Playoff game, which averaged more than 30 million viewers combined on ESPN and ABC, Nielsen said.

Fox News finished second with 1.9 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 943,000 viewers, Hallmark Channel with 885,000 viewers, and HGTV with 872,000 watchers.

Also finishing among the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were History (742,000 viewers), TNT (730,000), INSP (698,000), TBS (656,000) and TLC (654,000). 

Fox News secured its third straight win on the total day charts with 1.3 million viewers, topping ESPN (825,000 viewers), MSNBC (629,000), HGTV (495,000), and Hallmark Channel (455,000), Nielsen reported. ■ 

The National Football League Divisional Playoffs lead a busy weekend of live TV sports action.

NFL playoffs action kicks off Saturday with the AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs on NBC, followed by a NFC Divisional Playoffs primetime matchup between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox.

Sunday’s action begins with CBS’s coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals-Buffalo Bills AFC playoffs game followed by Fox's coverage of the Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49’ers NFC playoffs contest.

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will offer via pay-per-view the UFC 283 fight card featuring a main event bout between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill for the UFC light heavyweight championship. 

In men's college hoops, second-ranked Kansas plays 14th-ranked TCU on CBS, while fourth-ranked Alabama travels to play Missouri on the SEC Network and fifth-ranked UCLA battles 11th-ranked Arizona on ABC. Other games include No. 7 Texas-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 8 Xavier-Georgetown (FS1), No. 9 Tennessee-LSU (ESPN) and No. 10 Virginia-Wake Forest (ESPNU).

On Sunday, college basketball games include top-ranked Houston taking on Temple on ESPN and third-ranked Purdue facing Maryland on FS1.

On the soccer field, NBC, USA Network and Peacock will combine to offer nine live Premier League game telecasts throughout the weekend. ■ 

The Walt Disney Co. and the National Football League reached a five-year deal that will put a new Monday night wild card playoff game on ESPN and ABC, starting at the end of this year’s regular season.

The Disney networks plan to use the game as part of a megacast that will include a simulcast on ESPN and ABC, with Peyton and Eli Manning hosting their popular alternative telecast on ESPN2 and ESPN Plus.

ESPN Deportes will have a Spanish-language telecast and other productions are in the works, Disney said. One possibility is a kids-oriented telecast.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Also Read: Apple Declared the (Latest) Favorite in the ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ Sweepstakes

The deal follows the NFL reaching new long-term agreements worth $100 billion for Disney, Fox, Comcast NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS and Amazon Prime Video to telecast professional football over the next decade.

Still to be decided is the future home of the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market game package now with DirecTV.

Also Read: Super Bowl Headed to ABC in New NFL Deal, Reports Say

The new Monday Night Wild Card playoff game will be the capper on what the league is calling Super Wild Card Weekend.

Super Wild Card Weekend will have two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday night.

For this season, CBS and NBC will each broadcast two wild card games, while Fox and ESPN/ABC will have one.

ESPN‘s Monday Night Football viewership is averaging 14 million viewers through the first five weeks of the NFL season, up 20% from both the 2020 and 2019 seasons through five weeks.

The National Football League on Friday said that this season’s wild card playoff weekend will conclude with a Monday night game on Jan. 17.

The broadcaster for that Monday night game has yet to be determined, the NFL said.

The league has been making efforts to create better matchups and better games for its TV partners, which this year signed new long-term deals worth more than $100 million. During the regular season, Monday Night Football on ESPN is one of the highest-rated shows on TV.

Also Read: Apple Declared the (Latest) Favorite in the ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ Sweepstakes

Last season, the NFL altered its playoff format letting a third wild card team in each conference compete for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. The addition created what the league is calling “Super Wild Card Weekend.“

Super Wild Card Weekend will have two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday night.

For this season, CBS and NBC will each broadcast two wild card games, while Fox and ESPN/ABC will have one.

The National Football League’s six post-season games kick off this weekend’s lineup of live sports programming. 

The expanded first round of the NFL Playoffs will feature three games each on Saturday and Sunday. CBS will air the Jan. 9 Indianapolis Colts-Buffalo Bills game, followed by the Fox’s Los Angeles Rams-Seattle Seahawks telecast and NBC's Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Washington Team broadcast. 

On Jan. 10, CBS will team with kids-targeted network Nickelodeon and streaming service Prime Video to deliver the Chicago Bears-New Orleans Saints game; ESPN and ABC will air the Baltimore Ravens-Tennessee Titans matchup, and NBC will telecast the primetime Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers game. 

Read Also: Amazon to Stream NFL Playoff Game

Several games featuring top 10-ranked college basketball teams will hit the airwaves on Saturday including second-ranked Baylor against TCU (ESPN), fourth-ranked Texas taking on 14th-ranked West Virginia (ESPN) and seventh-ranked Creighton hosting St. John’s (FS1). On Sunday The Big Ten Network will telecast live coverage of fifth-ranked Iowa hosting 16th-ranked Minnesota.

Also, the Golf Channel will offer full coverage of the PGA 2021 Tournament of Champions, from first and second round coverage Jan. 8 through final round coverage on Jan. 10. 

ESPN will kick off the NFL playoffs on Saturday with coverage of the NFC Wild Card game between the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals.

The 4:20 telecast on Jan. 3 from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte marks the worldwide leader’s first-ever NFL postseason telecast. ESPN gained the rights as part of a new playoff television lineup that also sees NBC trade a Wild Card game for a matchup in the Divisional round.

Published reports peg the price of the Wild Card game at $100 million.

ESPN’s MNF team of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters will call the Wild Card game, as well as the 2015 NFL Pro Bowl  on Jan. 25, 2015 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, which returns to ESPN this season as part of the company’s new rights agreement.

Similar to regular-season MNF games, ESPN’s Wild Card telecast will be simulcast on over the air stations in the primary markets of the participating teams; it will also be available via WatchESPN for fans who subscribe to an affiliated provider.  ESPN Deportes has Spanish-language rights to the game.

The Wild Card round continues with Pittsburgh-Baltimore from the Steel City on NBC on Saturday night at 8:15 p.m.

The Sunday, Jan. 4 matchups feature the Indianapolis Colts hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on CBS at 1:05 p.m., with Fox televising the Detroit Lions-Dallas Cowboys from AT&T Stadium at 4:40 p.m. that day.

When ESPN reached a new eight-year, $15.2 billion extension in 2011 for Monday Night Football, the agreement gave the league an option to move a playoff game to ESPN, which the circuit opted to exercise this season.