Sling TV says monthly subscriptions will increase to $35 a month from $30 beginning Aug. 27, matching the new subscriber fee for the Orange and Blue packages. A Reddit user posted the email received Tuesday. The Sling email attributed the price hike to higher content costs. The virtual MVPD noted recent enhancements including increasing DVR storage from 10 to 50 hours, the ability to pause live content, a redesigned app and local channel integration in the Sling guide with Locast. It also has a Watch Party. The Dish Network subsidiary didn’t respond to questions.
Logitech shares fell more than 10% Tuesday morning after the company’s fiscal Q1 report reflecting a cautious revenue outlook and weaker gross margins. The company maintained a fiscal year outlook of flat sales growth in constant currency, “plus or minus five percent.” Shares closed 10.3% lower Tuesday at $108.45.
The FCC unanimously voted to seek comment on collecting equal employment opportunity data from broadcasters through Form 395-B, said a docket 98-204 Further NPRM Monday. The data collection was originally part of a proceeding in 2004 that stalled over concerns about confidentiality. “After so much time, this pause turned into a standstill,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We can do better than this.” The order stems from a draft circulated by Rosenworcel in February, and issues raised by Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in 2019 (see 2103260038). Failure to collect the EEO data “has hampered our ability to determine what regulatory actions are necessary to ensure equal employment opportunities,” said Starks. Rosenworcel commended Starks and Commissioner Brendan Carr for their collaboration here. The FNPRM seeks to “refresh the record regarding the collection of broadcaster workforce composition data and obtain further input on the legal, logistical, and technical issues surrounding FCC Form 395-B.” The item doesn’t appear to make specific proposals, and seeks comment on how confidentiality concerns should be handled, how the data collection interacts with court decisions on minority discrimination and recruitment, and whether the data should be “station-attributable.” Broadcasters had expressed concern that EEO data attributable to specific stations could be used against them in petitions to deny and similar filings. “An anonymous filing approach could impede” the FCC from contacting licensees if there are problems with the data, the FNPRM said. NAB said it is looking forward to reviewing the FNPRM and broadcasters "are committed to ensuring that they are able to recruit and retain a diverse workforce that represents the local communities they serve."
Amazon customers’ shopping behavior -- Prime and non-Prime -- didn't change significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with earlier periods, said a Consumer Intelligence Research Partners report dated July 15 and released by the company Monday. Amazon “prospered during the pandemic” by getting more customers to shift to Prime, resulting in higher shopping frequency and increased loyalty, it said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau Lifeline report (see 2107060056) highlights the need for commissioners to consider pausing increases in standards, stakeholders said in recent interviews. Some said the agency should delay the phase-down in voice-only support and consider increasing the subsidy amount, particularly amid the pandemic. The report released about two weeks ago said the formula for updating minimum service standards will "continue to yield increasingly high results." MSS increases have sparked concerns.
Revisions to the tariff schedule over the past six months echoed the back and forth between the U.S. and the European Union over retaliatory tariffs under both the Airbus and digital services tax disputes. Provisions for new tariffs were added then suspended, some immediately. Other changes include updates for USMCA tariff-rate quotas, a Section 301 exclusion extension and an extension to Section 201 safeguards on large residential washers.
The Utilities Technology Council, Edison Electric Institute and Southern Co. urged the FCC to pause further certification for unlicensed equipment in the 6 GHz band, pending further interference testing, in a call with aides to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The probability of interference to licensed microwave systems and the risk to the safety, security, and reliability of critical infrastructure energy and water utilities, as well as public safety and commercial communications systems which rely on 6 GHz microwave systems is simply too great,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295.
The Utilities Technology Council, Edison Electric Institute and Southern Co. urged the FCC to pause further certification for unlicensed equipment in the 6 GHz band, pending further interference testing, in a call with aides to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The probability of interference to licensed microwave systems and the risk to the safety, security, and reliability of critical infrastructure energy and water utilities, as well as public safety and commercial communications systems which rely on 6 GHz microwave systems is simply too great,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295.
Video platforms need to be able to seamlessly address the use of multiple device types, said a Wednesday Kaltura report, saying 70% of video watchers use two or three devices to view content, and 10% use more than six. TV was the most popular viewing source for 62% of respondents: Smart TVs were the top way to watch content for 38% of respondents vs. set-top boxes at 25%, it said.
The FCC could consider pausing future increases to minimum service standards for mobile broadband capacity to seek comment because the current formula continues to “yield increasingly high results” as data consumption increases and the availability of unlimited data plans grows, said the Wireline Bureau’s Lifeline marketplace report listed in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The bureau said the commission could also revise the current formula for calculating increases since the majority of Lifeline subscribers are mobile wireless subscribers and 93% of subscribers use less than 4 GB monthly, and 75% less than 1 GB. The bureau will release a public notice by July 31 on the updated standard levels effective Dec. 1, as required by the 2016 Lifeline order. The bureau suggested the commission could consider modifying its phase-down in support for voice-only services due to concerns about subscribers who may want just voice-only Lifeline plans. The report suggested requiring Lifeline providers provide information about the data, speed and minutes of use associated with its Lifeline plans to better measure availability.