More cable news from across the web:
> GCI is now integrating Hulu service on its set-tops. Multichannel News story
> Viamedia President and CEO Mark Lieberman will be honored as a Cable Industry Pioneer at INTX next week in Boston. Press release
Sean Welch will succeed Brett Wingo as VP of cable access for Cisco Systems, handling cable modem termination systems (CMTS) and converged cable access platform (CCAP) products. Multichannel News story
> Windstream CEO Tony Thomas is defending the telco's network and service position in Georgia, telling a U.S. congressman that it has continued to make necessary upgrades to support next-gen broadband services for businesses and consumers in the state. Article
> While the cable industry in general isn't known for being terribly user friendly for the custom residential install business, Comcast has introduced a range of new service and equipment features recently that are winning praise in that sector. Article
> Outfront Media has announced a new deal that will see Sigfox installing its dedicated IoT network equipment on Outfront's outdoor advertising assets as part of Sigfox's plans to expand its network across the top 100 U.S. metro markets. Article
> YouTube Red is in a war of words with another giant, the music industry, over the continuing issue of copyright-violating uploads of music on the OTT service. Article
> Independent filmmakers and individual content creators now have access to a huge distribution outlet for their work: Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has launched Video Direct, which will allow creators to make their content available to customers of the online retail giant, in either transactional or subscription format. But while the service appears to challenge other OTT video outlets like Vimeo, it could provide a revenue-generating shot in the arm for the entire independent publisher segment. Article
> Republic Wireless customers will soon have another cellular option to fall back on when Wi-Fi isn't available. The MVNO, which launched with Sprint five years ago, said this morning it has added an unnamed nationwide GSM service provider "with the fastest nationwide 4G LTE network." T-Mobile is most likely Republic's new carrier partner, which means Republic will be able to start selling its services into the rural and suburban markets into which T-Mobile is expanding. Article
And finally… Disney chief Bob Iger said he currently has no plans to extend his contract. Deadline Hollywood story