News of Note—Liberty, GCI, Church of Scientology and more

> Nearly a year after Liberty Interactive announced plans to combine Alaskan operator GCI's business with certain Liberty Ventures Group assets, the deal closed Friday. Cablefax article

> U.S. pay TV operators will see revenue decline by nearly $27 billion by 2023, according to Digital TV Research. Rapid TV News article

> The Church of Scientology is launching its own television network on DirecTV as well as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast and Roku devices. FierceVideo article

> New ESPN boss James Pitaro will have a lot on his plate when he takes over Disney’s massive sports network, but reports suggest smoothing things over with the NFL will be job number one. FierceVideo article

> Executives across the wireless industry continue to cast about for business sectors that would make use of—and pay for—faster wireless technologies, including 5G. That search has focused on a variety of areas including connected cars, healthcare and other market segments. FierceWireless article