SpaceX has launched its second Falcon 9 rocket in two weeks as part of its plan to provide satellite-based broadband service to isolated areas of the globe. "SpaceX is addressing many of the challenges that have stymied past attempts to achieve affordable, high-speed broadband from space," the company's Patricia Cooper told Congress this month.

ViaSat has joined the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, becoming the first broadband satellite company to join its ranks. "ViaSat's focus on increasing worldwide connectivity, which can help to alleviate the spectrum crunch and connect the unconnected, aligns with several of the DSA's core goals," said DSA President Kalpak Gude.

DIRECTV Now took off more quickly than expected -- adding 200,000 subscribers in the first month alone -- and the platform is stabilizing and error rates are down, said AT&T President of Technology and Operations Bill Hogg. And AT&T's Tony Goncalves recently noted, "We saw more activity in one day than most (cross-platform streaming video services) see in a lifetime. This is the first live TV experience at scale."

DISH Network can meet federal regulatory demands that it build out its wireless network by spending as little as $2.6 billion, per MoffettNathanson Research; such a move would give the satellite provider time to auction off its valuable spectrum trove.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's effort to do away with the net neutrality rules the commission adopted during the Obama administration is to come up for its first vote at an open meeting Thursday. If the commissioners back Pai, the issue will be opened up to input from the public.

Most Americans -- about 56% -- now own a TV that can stream digital video, and those who do are streaming content 24% of the time while watching live TV 39% of the time, an online study from the IAB and MARU Matchbox has found. It also notes that half of Internet-enabled TV owners prefer ads to subscription-based content and 44% say digital video ads are not as intrusive as traditional TV ads.

Broadcasters such as CBS, ABC and NBCUniversal are aggregating their networks, merging local and national networks via licensing deals with over-the-top providers. This move makes content more valuable to OTT providers, opens new distribution policies and gives national networks more leverage in striking deals, writes Mari Silbey.

ComScore has unveiled an over-the-top viewing metric for US content streamed to TV, based on its Total Home Panel. The feature will measure content from providers such as Amazon, YouTube, Hulu and Netflix, giving advertisers demographic data.