Tidings from the M&A front kicks off today's cable news roundup.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the $3 billion sale of Insight Communications Co. Inc. to Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), noting that the merger won't harm competition because they serve different geographic areas. However, the deal does enhance TW Cable's clustering strategy since several of Insight's systems are relatively adjacent. Insight serves north of 679,000 video subs in parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. (See Time Warner Cable Splashes Out $3B for Insight .)

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) has tapped Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) SVP of Strategic Planning Mark Coblitz to keynote the Smart Energy Management (SEMI) Forum on March 15 in Philadelphia. Coblitz is expected to urge the industry to work together on energy management strategies and explain how energy-related decisions will play a role in cable's development of new revenue-generating services. (See SCTE Drives Green 'SEMI' and SCTE Tees Up Green Forum.)

Comcast has signed Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) to a multi-year licensing deal that will let the MSO continue to use the vendor's CES (customer experience systems) portfolio, but didn't assign a value to the deal. Comcast also works with CSG Systems International Inc. (Nasdaq: CSGS) and Convergys Corp. (NYSE: CVG).

NBCUniversal LLC will stream the Super Bowl for the first time this Sunday, but the programmer believes any such viewership will be a bonus. NBC Sports chief Rick Cordella tells AllThingsD that the network is assuming that that most people viewing the game via the Intertubes will be tuning in simultaneously on the big screen.

Comcast has launched its Xfinity Home monitoring and security service in Denver. The Basic package runs $29.95 per month. MSO got the service off the ground in Houston in June 2010, and has since deployed it in several additional markets, including Philadelphia; parts of New Jersey; Indianapolis; Portland, Ore.; Chattanooga and Nashville, Tenn.; Minneapolis/St. Paul; and southern New Hampshire. (See Comcast Picks iControl and Comcast Homes In on Security Services.)

Video cloud specialist Clearleap has hired Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)/Scientific-Atlanta vet Bob Van Orden to VP of product marketing. Among recent duties at Cisco, Van Orden was GM of the company's IPTV middleware business unit.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable