In its first full week of availability, Columbia TriStar’s Radio was the #1-rented movie on DVD and VHS in the U.S., Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended Feb. 1 showed. Rentrak said the title earned $8.91 million in the week in the 2 formats, for a total of $9 million to date. On DVD alone in the week, Radio earned $6.86 million for a total of $6.93 million to date. The movie knocked the same company’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico down to #2, earning an additional $6.92 million in combined DVD and VHS earnings for $14.33 million total. The DVD version alone earned an additional $5.47 million in the week, $11.36 million to date, Rentrak said. The only other new title in the top 10 was Artisan’s horror film House of the Dead at #6, earning a combined $3.67 million and $3.72 million to date. The DVD alone earned $2.82 million in the week, $2.86 million to date, Rentrak said.

The Mo. PSC opened a docket to investigate VoIP technology to help the agency prepare comments for the FCC’s VoIP rulemaking. Parties that want to participate must notify the PSC by Feb. 10. The agency directed its staff to schedule workshops on VoIP issues. It said it hoped to complete a preliminary report by March 15. The PSC said it was aware of the recent federal district court ruling that the Minn. PUC had no jurisdiction over VoIP because it was an information service, but said this docket (TW-2004-0324) wasn’t meant to indicate the agency intended to regulate VoIP telephony.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued messages on a number of antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty actions, many of which (marked by an * in the action column) were previously published in the Federal Register by the International Trade Administration (ITA) and summarized in International Trade Today.

It was the same old story in the top 10 U.S. videogame rental chart for the week ended Feb. 1. Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week showed Need for Speed: Underground from Electronic Arts (EA) for PS2 in its 11th week of availability once again the #1-rented title. EA also once again was the publisher with the most titles in the top 10, while Sony Computer Entertainment’s console again was the only platform represented in the top 10. Rentrak said Need earned an additional $243,940 in rentals in the week for a total of $4.62 million to date. EA’s other titles in the top 10 were NFL Street at #2 (up 5 in its 3rd week, earning an additional $204,983, for $371,744 to date), Madden NFL 2004 at #5 (down one in its 25th week, $137,310 and $6.4 million), Medal of Honor: Rising Sun at #8 (down 2 in its 12th week, $131,788 and $4.9 million). Activision again had 2 titles in the top 10: True Crime: Streets of L.A. at #3 (down one in its 13th week, $182,268 and $4.2 million) and Tony Hawk’s Underground at #7 (down 2 in its 14th week, $132,377 and $4.4 million). Rounding out the top 10 were games from Atari, Sony, THQ and Take-Two Interactive: Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 at #4 (down one in its 9th week, $142,444 and $2.3 million), SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs at #6 (up 2 in its 13th week, $134,017 and $3.3 million), WWE Smackdown! Here Comes the Pain at #9 (up one in its 14th week, $120,117 and $3 million), Manhunt at #10 (up 9 in its 11th week, $120,075 and $2.2 million).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a general notice announcing that it plans to conduct a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test of the Periodic Monthly Statement for deposit of estimated duties and fees.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued the preliminary results of the antidumping (AD) duty changed circumstances review of pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that it is postponing until no later than April 6, 2004 (from February 16, 2004) the preliminary antidumping (AD) duty determinations on light-walled rectangular pipe and tube from Mexico and Turkey.

Thomson offered workers at its Marion, Ind., TV tube plant a one-year extension of a contract that expires in April, including provisions covering a closure, union officials said. A vote on the proposed extension by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1160 was scheduled for Wed. Results weren’t available by our deadline.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated an antidumping (AD) duty investigation on outboard engines from Japan.

Preliminary views on World Radiocommunications Conference 2007 (WRC-07) on satellite services and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) will be ready for a planned Nov. meeting of the Inter-American Telecom Commission (CITEL), an informal working group (IWG) on the WRC-07, agreed. The IWG on satellite services and HAPS met Wed. at FCC hq to approve terms of reference for WRC-07 and to discuss views on agenda items. The consensus was that views on the 9 relevant agenda items weren’t solid enough to prepare for a spring CITEL meeting. Responding to a question on how solid the views had to be, attorney Stephen Baruch, chmn. of the satellite services IWG, said the views could be altered. At WRC-03, “the preliminary views were maintained all the way to the end of the working group cycle, but these views are alive,” he said. An issue that interested much of the group was agenda item 1.19, which would study spectrum requirements for global broadband satellite systems for possible harmonized fixed satellite service (FSS) bands for Internet applications. The item is the only satellite issue that had no relevant resolution at WRC-03. Other WRC-07 agenda items identified as relevant to the IWG included: (1) A study of current satellite allocations that could support modernization of the civil aviation telecom system (item 1.6). (2) Sharing between mobile satellite service (MSS) and space research services in the 1668-1668.4 MHz band and between MSS and fixed or mobile services in the 1668.4-1675 MHz band (item 1.7). (3) Potential use of the 27.5-28.35 GHz and 31-31.3 GHz and of 47.2-47.5 GHz and 47.9-48.2 GHz bands for HAPS -- systems providing wireless telecom and broadcasting services from aircraft (item 1.8). (4) Sharing between nongeostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) and fixed satellite service (FSS) in the 17.7-19.7 GHz bands (item 1.18) (5) Analysis of compatibility between radio astronomy and active space services (item 1.21). The IWG’s next meeting tentatively is scheduled for March 17.