The APTS 2021 Public Media Summit will be “in a virtual rather than physical setting,” emailed America’s Public Television Stations Tuesday. “This decision was based on research suggesting that many station general managers have substantially reduced or completely eliminated their travel and conference budgets for the next fiscal year in reaction to the severe economic downturn” caused by COVID-19, the email said. “Congress itself is under visitor restrictions which may well last beyond February, and our traditional Capitol Hill Day at the conclusion of the Summit would have been similarly constrained.”

The FCC used Microsoft Teams for its first video meeting of commissioners, Chairman Ajit Pai told reporters after the gathering, answering our query. "The meeting was a success." The Office of Media Relations coordinated before Tuesday's meeting with all the offices of commissioners, bureaus and other offices participating in the event, Pai said. "Our goal is to make sure that we can be as transparent as possible even though we are in this new environment." We asked what it would take technically to bring back FCC staff news conferences after monthly meetings. Pai deferred to OMR for details. "I had the idea and I pushed it," Commissioner Mike O'Rielly told reporters in his own virtual news briefing, about the FCC video gathering. "It felt like a real meeting" he said of the virtual commissioners' meeting. Democratic commissioners and agency staff haven't held virtual news briefings after meetings while the agency's headquarters have been mostly closed during COVID-19. For a recent report on that, see here. (The article is in front of our pay wall, as is some other coronavirus coverage.) There's been one request, from Communications Daily, for staffers such as those at bureaus to participate in news conferences during this period of remote work, an FCC spokesperson emailed. "We have not yet determined the best approach, or if there will be buffering and bandwidth issues, to having such a large number of people conduct a press conference remotely." During teleworking amid the pandemic, the representative said OMR has had no media requests "specific to bureaus and meeting items" approved at the monthly commissioners' meetings. He said OMR remains "happy to take emailed questions from reporters for the bureaus after the meeting and relay back answers." FCC IT staff "sped up implementation of our video conference vendor, which was initially planned to coincide with the move to the new building, to accommodate the agency teleworking," completing that work in the past month, the rep said. "In the last couple of weeks, the video platform added functionality to show more than four participants at one time, enabling the full Commission to be viewed together." COVID-19 delayed the headquarters move.

Q1's churn rate for over-the-top video services was 41%, reported Parks Associates Monday. A March survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households showed 76% subscribed to an OTT video service, and 62% to a traditional pay-TV service. OTT services filled in the gap created by theater closures during the COVID-19 pandemic by adding new releases and extending free trials, noted analyst Steve Nason: It's unclear whether growth will be sustainable as lockdowns ease, “or if the OTT industry needs to adjust again to new viewing patterns." Of the 41% of households that trialed an OTT service, 69% adopted at least one, Nason said. "New trial offers can be successful in attracting new users, but as competition increases and household budgets shrink, providers will need to explore new service models, such as making a portion of content free or offering discounts to longer-commitment subscriptions.”

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks wants nominations by July 8 for his Digital Opportunity Equity Recognition program commending "organizations, institutions, companies and individuals who, through their actions and responses to the COVID-19 crisis, have helped to make quality affordable broadband service available to unserved or underserved communities," the agency said Monday. See today's personals section for program advisers.

As fears about COVID-19 moderate as regional reopening began last month, U.S. consumers may spend more on telecom products, Cowen Washington Research emailed investors Monday. It said about 78% of respondents canvassed May 26-30 expect to spend the same or more in coming months vs. 66% in mid-April. It was the third straight survey period in which the number of U.S. consumers expecting to spend less the next month declined. Fifteen percent expect to spend more on cable/internet/phone services, 9% on home entertainment/media and 6% on electronics. The U.S. retail sector could take “years to recover from the impact of the coronavirus,” longer than that after the Great Recession, reported eMarketer Monday, saying total retail sales will drop by 10.5% this year vs. an 8.2% drop in 2009. E-commerce is the only “bright spot,” forecast to jump 18% this year, as Americans rely on Amazon and other e-commerce retailers for necessities. Brick-and-mortar sales will fall 14% to $4.18 trillion in 2020, said eMarketer, predicting it will take up to five years for offline sales to return to pre-pandemic levels. Amazon is expected to grow its e-commerce share to 38% and “extend its reign of dominance,” this year, said eMarketer's Andrew Lipsman. Curbside pickup will push Walmart (5.8%) into the No. 2 e-commerce position for the first time, said the analyst. Along with Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and Costco, Walmart is expected to grow e-commerce sales more than 35% this year.

The International Trade Commission set Sept. 27, 2021, as the “target date” for completing its Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sharp’s patent infringement complaint against Vizio and its suppliers, said an order (login required) signed Friday by Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord. The order set a Markman fact-finding hearing for Oct. 1 and an evidentiary hearing for the week of March 1. “It may not be practical to hold the scheduled hearings in-person” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Lord. “The parties should be prepared for the likelihood that hearings will be conducted remotely.” An ITC May 20 notice extended the postponement of all in-person Section 337 hearings at least through July 10. Sharp’s April 21 complaint alleged TVs and components from Vizio, its panel maker Xianyang CaiHong Optoelectronics and set maker TPV infringe five Sharp LCD display patents (see 2004270045).

Remote work “will be a much bigger part of the working world,” said Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield on a fiscal Q1 investor call Thursday evening. Business leaders are “beginning to realize” the benefits of “offering a more fluid work environment, blending offices and remote work,” he said. COVID-19's “all-at-once shift” to work-from-home mandates “concentrated multiple quarters of Slack adoption into a few weeks,” he said. Revenue grew 50% from the year-earlier quarter, said Chief Financial Officer Allen Shim. “The transition to work-from-home was obviously a major tailwind this quarter and we expect net new customer additions to moderate through the remainder of the year.” There are “potential headwinds for our business,” the CFO said. Slack draws about 25% of its business from companies with fewer than 100 employees, he said. Within that base, “we saw churn trend a bit higher than historical norms in March and April,” he said. The stock closed 14% lower Friday at $32.56.

House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, want committee Democratic leaders to hold a hearing on ways to improve broadband access, saying the pandemic “amplified the need for connectivity, as millions of Americans transition to working remotely.” The House passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act last month (see 2005180056). HR-6800’s broadband funding includes an $8.8 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund and $5 billion for E-rate (see 2005130059). House Communications examined broadband access during a January hearing (see 2001290052), but an additional hearing is needed “as soon as possible” because the pandemic “brought to light the consequences for the millions of Americans who did not have access to broadband in their communities before the current crisis,” Walden and Latta said Thursday in a letter to House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “It is critical to examine potential solutions to close the homework gap and simultaneously take steps to reduce regulatory barriers to close the digital divide. These actions will promote competition and broadband infrastructure deployment that will long outlast the current crisis.” House Commerce didn’t comment Friday.

The FTC sent warning letters to six multilevel marketing companies to remove and address online and social media posts claiming their products can treat or prevent COVID-19. The warnings also addressed claims about “the earnings people who have recently lost income can make, or both.” The agency sent warnings to Isagenix International, Juice Plus+, Melaleuca, Youngevity International, Vivri USA and Plexus Worldwide. Letters tell the companies to “notify the FTC within 48 hours about the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns.” Melaleuca General Counsel Aaron Eddington emailed: "The FTC was absolutely right in bringing this to our attention. The posts in question violate several of Melaleuca’s policies and the Marketing Executive’s contract with Melaleuca has been terminated." The other companies didn’t comment.

President Donald Trump and members of his administration appeared Friday to narrow the scope of their desires for a fourth major COVID-19 aid bill in response to a better-than-expected Labor Department jobs report. Democratic leaders later pushed back. Labor said the U.S. economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, a month after it lost 20 million. Trump believes the U.S. is now “largely through” the pandemic but still wants legislation to provide another round of stimulus checks to Americans, a payroll tax cut and other tax incentives. Trump said in March he wanted future COVID-19 legislation to include $2 trillion in infrastructure spending, including for broadband projects (see 2003310070). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. urged the Senate to pass the House-approved Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions. HR-6800’s broadband funding includes an $8.8 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund and $5 billion for E-rate (see 2005130059). Trump “must join us to support real action to protect lives and livelihoods, rather than hide behind these jobs numbers and pretend that the job is done,” Pelosi said. “Now is not the time to be complacent or take a victory lap,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.