ESPN wants college athlete compensation suits tossed; CBS re-ups Les Moonves to 2019

Cable industry news from across the Web:

> The Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA) reports that average salary budgets grew 3 percent across the industry in 2014. Story

> The Motion Picture Association of America is making a renewed push to make ISPs filter out sites that infringe on entertainment companies. Story

> CBS Corp. extended the contract of CEO Les Moonves until June 30, 2019. Story

> Horse-racing themed network HRTV has reached a long-term carriage agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative. Story

> ESPN is joining CBS, NBC and a number of other companies involved in sports media in trying to get a federal court to toss out a claim made by college athletes seeking compensation for their performances. Story

> Windstream Holdings announced that Tony Thomas will replace the resigning Jeff Gardner as CEO. Story

And finally …  CenturyLink continued a recent buying spree by acquiring Cognilytics, a provider of advanced predictive analytics and big data solutions for mid-sized and large enterprises.