Also: Best Buy and TiVo have a connected TV disconnect; Netflix CEO Facebook post gets scrutinized; Yahoo eyes Hulu CEO for top slot
Welcome to the broadband news roundup, T.G.I.F. edition.
Rogers Communications Inc. (Toronto: RCI), Canada's largest cable operator, plans to double the maximum overage fee it will charge to high-speed Internet users starting next month, says DSL Reports. Rogers charges by the gigabyte once users exceed their monthly bandwidth ceilings, with the overage charges capped at C$50. According to Rogers customers, the operator sent out notifications that it will raise that to $100 starting Aug. 12. Rogers, which hasn't responded to questions about the new policy, initially installed a $25-per-month limit on additional usage when its metered broadband rules went wide in 2008. (See Rogers Takes Internet Meter to the Masses.)
Best Buy has stopped selling Insignia-branded connected TVs with the TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) Design interface as of June 2012. (Hat tip: @TechWzrd on Twitter.) Insignia cTV owners still have access to the integrated TiVo interface, which supports an interactive guide and access to over-the-top apps from companies such as Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Pandora Media Inc. A TiVo spokesman confirmed that the partnership between TiVo and Best Buy remains intact but would not comment on the decision to stop selling the sets or what plans they have in mind for future product combinations. In 2011, Best Buy originally set a $499 price on the 32-inch version, and $499 for a model with a 42-inch screen. Best Buy still sells TiVo DVRs. (See Best Buy Boots Up TiVo-Powered TVs.)
Some lawyers wonder if Netflix violated fair disclosure rules when CEO Reed Hastings used Facebook to reveal that the company set a record in June. Hastings's post, saying users streamed more than 1 billion hours of TV shows and movies that month, caused Netflix's stock to spike. The posting "certainly violates the spirit of the law," securities analyst Andrew Stoltman told CNBC. "In the minimum, it's a gray area." (See Netflix Sets Monthly Video Streaming Record.)
Hulu LLC CEO Jason Kilar is among the candidates under consideration for the CEO slot at Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), reports The Wall Street Journal.
Synacor Inc. will handle authentication duties for the streaming of NBCUniversal LLC 's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics for almost 40 distributors, including Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH) and Charter Communications Inc. , reports Multichannel News. NBCU plans to offer 3,500 hours of live streaming during the Games.
— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable
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