Nielsen praised a Cal. Superior Court, L.A., ruling to deny Univision a preliminary injunction blocking the launch of Nielsen’s Local People Meter (LPM) system in L.A. “The evidence we presented demonstrates clearly that the electronic people meter is a more reliable and complete way to measure TV viewing than handwritten paper diaries,” Nielsen said in a statement. Univision said it was disappointed and argued that Nielsen’s sample doesn’t accurately represent the composition of the L.A. market, including the Hispanic-American population. Nielsen’s system has come under heavy scrutiny. The Senate Communications Subcommittee will examine Nielsen’s system in a July 15 hearing (CD June 29 p8). Members of Congress have called on Nielsen to suspend further rollout.

(a) final AD cash deposit rate of zero; however, suspension of liquidation will continue.

In its first week available, Atari’s DRIV3R was the #1- rented DVD in the U.S., according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended June 27. Rentrak said the 3rd entry in Atari’s popular Driver series earned $412,459 in the week on PS2, while the Xbox version was #3, earning $252,107. Atari had one other new title in the top 10 -- Shadow Ops: Red Mercury at #5 ($201,061) -- and was the only publisher with more than 2 SKUs in the top 10. And Take-Two Interactive was the only publisher with 2: The PS2 version of Red Dead Revolver at #2 (down one in its 8th week, $290,596 in the week, $2.15 million to date) and the Xbox version at #8 (down 2, $156,459, $1.24 million). The only other non-PS2 game in the top 10 was Vivendi Universal Games’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay for Xbox at #9 (down 6, $151,254, $641,978). PS2 titles rounding out the top 10 were Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow at #4 (up 43 in its 2nd week, $211,019, $268,400), Midway’s NBA Ballers at #6 (down 4 in its 12th week, $196,448, $2.82 million), Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed Underground at #7 (down 3 in its 32nd week, $183,537, $8.87 million) and Eidos’s Hitman: Contracts at #10 (down 5 in its 10th week, $149,311, $2.32 million).

The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.

In its first full week available, Columbia TriStar’s thriller Secret Window starring Johnny Depp was the #1-rented DVD in the U.S., Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended June 27 showed. Rentrak said the title earned $8.25 million on DVD in the week, for $8.36 million to date. Last week’s #1 DVD -- Columbia TriStar’s 50 First Dates -- slipped to #2, earning an additional $7.92 million on DVD, for $16.23 million to date. The only other new DVD release in the top 10 was Miramax’s Bad Santa at #4 ($5.42 million in the week, $5.52 million to date).

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has preliminarily determined to revoke the antidumping (AD) duty orders on industrial nitrocellulose (INC) from Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and United Kingdom.

Consumer intentions on buying TV sets stayed virtually unchanged in June from its strong percentage in May, according to preliminary data in the Conference Board’s monthly survey. Of 5,000 households polled, 7.8% said they plan to buy a TV set in the next 6 months, vs. 7.9% in May, 7.7% in April, 7.2% in June 2003. The Consumer Confidence Index jumped sharply in June to levels not seen in 2 years, the Conference Board said. “Consumers expect the economy to continue to grow at a healthy clip and to continue to generate additional jobs.”

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of bulk aspirin from China for the period of July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003. In addition, the ITA is revoking the AD duty order with respect to one company.

(a) The ITA states that Linyi Sanshan does not qualify for a separate rate; therefore, it is subject to the China-wide rate of 376.67%

Verizon asked the Hawaii PUC for expedited hearings on the proposed $1.65 billion sale of its local exchange operation to the N.Y.-based Carlyle Group and a ruling by Dec. 31. Verizon said it wanted a decision this year to ensure a smooth transition and minimize uncertainties for customers and employees. But PUC staffers said it would be very difficult to complete an investigation in 6 months because of the deal’s complex structure and the fact that it involves Hawaii’s only incumbent local exchange provider. The 29-page petition outlined the general terms of the transaction. Verizon and Carlyle said the deal will involve creation of 4 corporate operating units for running the company. They would operate under a new Carlyle holding company called Paradise Mergers that would involve a consortium of Hawaiian banks as investors with corporate board seats. The filing didn’t name the investors. Carlyle said the Hawaiian operation would be run locally and the carrier’s payroll of 1,700 might grow to handle administrative functions Verizon had moved to the U.S. mainland. It promised that the company’s senior management would all be Hawaii residents. Carlyle said it won’t seek rate increases to pay for costs of the sale transaction, but may seek a boost to recover the “tens of millions of dollars” in anticipated capital costs associated with re-establishing back-office functions in the state. The filing made no mention of infrastructure investment plans. Verizon Hawaii operates under rate-of-return regulation. PUC staffers said there’s no set deadline for completing review of the sale. But they said the review would take longer if there’s significant opposition to the sale, which would trigger more extensive discovery. The state Consumer Advocate Div. said it plans to hire a consultant to review the complex deal, plus assign a third of its staff on a part-time basis to review the sale. The division has until July 16 to file its preliminary opinion. The deal also needs FCC approval, but since it doesn’t involve Verizon’s wireless or federal- service business units, the state’s verdict is expected to be the crucial decision.