The Cybersecurity State Coordinator Act of 2020 would require that each state have a cybersecurity leader to speed up response times and improve communication with the federal government. The state coordinators would be appointed and overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.

Freeform has succeeded by focusing on four basic elements, leader Tom Ascheim said at last week's Television Critics Association event: Showing a coherent philosophy, pushing boundaries, using stunt programming and putting all original content on streaming services. The network also announced it has ordered the original dramatic series "Last Summer" and will program an eight-night block around Valentine's Day.

Microsoft will partner with T-Mobile on a pilot project aimed at providing broadband access to schools in underserved US areas, the software giant said. T-Mobile will contribute free LTE service and SIM cards to power the Microsoft PCs in the program, which is expected to start in February.

Montana led the way in making broadband available to its residents last decade, moving from an 11% connection rate in 2010 to 86%, states BroadbandNow, which has compiled a report using data from private and public sources. Vermont, Arkansas and West Virginia also showed substantial gains.

CBS and Fox saw a significant decrease in the number of viewers tuning into coverage of the National Football League's Championship Sunday games this year, although ratings have generally risen this season. The second game on January 19 took place between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, and 20% fewer people watched it when it aired on Fox than watched CBS's game in the same time slot in 2019.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had harsh words for Facebook last week, referring to the company as "shameful" and charging it with taking money from unknown sources to mislead the American public. Joe Biden, formerly the vice president and currently a presidential candidate, also spoke out against the social media giant and called for changes to legislation that protects Facebook from being held responsible for posts on its platform.

New entrants to the streaming wars -- even successful ones like Disney+ -- have yet to put a dent in Netflix and other over-the-top leaders, while only a small fraction of streaming homes have tried Apple TV+ following its Nov. 1 launch, a HarrisX survey for the MoffettNathanson research firm found. Disney+ has already attracted a 23% share of streaming homes but at virtually no cost to its leading rivals, the survey said.

NCTA -- The Internet & Television Association and other trade groups objected to the Federal Communications Commission's rules for establishing its $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, saying part of the structure would prove self-defeating and wasteful. The groups, in a joint letter to the FCC, criticized a provision that requires bidders to hold long-standing letters of credit as "unreasonable, unsustainable, and ultimately unworkable."

Syfy is taking its animation push to the next level by ordering six episodes of an original 15-minute series, "Magical Girl Friendship Squad," which will run this summer in the network's new TZGZ Saturday night animation block. The network also ordered a pair of pilots for TZGZ, which Syfy launched in November.

Compensation for satellite companies is essential for publicly auctioning off midband spectrum, the C-Band Alliance argued in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission last week. The CBA asserted that companies that take part in public auction bidding should pay spectrum holders a fee, saying that it would speed up the process, avoid litigation and compensate current owners for the cost of their equipment as well as that of transferring the frequencies.