The Federal Communications Commission still has some work to do on its set-top box proposal. The commission is expected to vote Sept. 29 on the measure, which would require pay-TV providers to make free apps available that would work on other devices and video game consoles. But some concerns about the proposed rules were aired Thursday at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. A provision that requires the FCC to oversee the creation of a standard license that third-party device makers and app developers could get to deliver new ways for pay-TV customers to watch programming. Even on the commission itself there's questions about whether that is within the FCC's purview.

On Tuesday, Comcast and Netflix announced that the streaming service will be available directly through the X1 service. Comcast X1 customers already can get hundreds of channels, along with about 85,000 TV shows and movies via Xfinity On Demand. Soon they will get one more channel with a very large library of its own: Netflix. The nation's largest pay TV provider is working with Netflix to bring the streaming service to Comcast's X1 TV platform, making it easier for customers to watch Orange is the New Black and other streaming TV series. The deal is surprising because the two companies have been at odds in the past over issues such as data caps, delivery speeds and net neutrality.