ITC postponed preliminary decision on alleged dumping of TVs in U.S. by Chinese and Malaysian manufacturers until Nov. 21 from Oct. 7, commission officials confirmed. Final decision will be issued 6 months later. No reason for delay was given, but sources said ITC needed more time to review investigation, which stemmed from complaint filed in May by Five Rivers Electronic Innovations and labor unions from Sanyo and Toshiba. “I think they realize it’s a complicated business and it’s not that easy to understand,” source said.

Regardless of whether divide in CE industry over “hybrid” financing model for collection and recycling of electronics waste (e-waste)is bridged, state and local govts. are seeking to press forward with hybrid model and get agreement among stakeholders for interim system at what’s considered crucial meeting of full group of National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) at Chicago Sept. 23-24.

Electronic Arts (EA) and Namco Hometek were biggest winners on videogame rental chart in U.S. for week ended Sept. 14. Preliminary data announced by VSDA Thurs. showed that PS2 version of EA’s Madden NFL 2004 was again #1-rented title, earning additional $350,000 during week for total rental earnings to date of $1.57 million. Xbox version of game dropped one notch to #8 (additional $100,000 in week and $580,000 to date). PS2 version of EA’s NCAA Football 2004, meanwhile, was again #3-rented title ($160,000 in week and $2.33 million to date). All 3 next- generation console versions of Namco’s Soul Calibur II were again in top 10 with PS2 version in lead (at #2 again, earning additional $250,000 during week for total to date of $690,000), followed by versions for Xbox at #4 again (additional $120,000 during week and $340,000 to date) and GameCube up one notch at #5 (additional $120,000 during week and $290,000 to date). There were no other titles for GameCube in top 10 but one other game for Xbox made chart -- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, down 2 notches at #10 (additional $90,000 during week and $1.29 million to date) -- as PS2 again proved dominant. Rounding out top 10 were one game each from Sega, Atari and Take-Two Interactive: ESPN NFL Football 2K4 at #6 ($110,000 during week and $160,000 to date), Enter the Matrix at #7 ($110,000 during week and $8.84 million to date) and Midnight Club II at #9 again ($90,000 during week and $6.57 million to date), respectively. VSDA said its rental data was now being provided by Rentrak’s Home Video Essentials division for 2nd week. VSDA Vp-Public Affairs Sean Bersell said data had previously been provided by Rentrak’s Streamlined Solutions subsidiary. As result of change, he said, “VSDA and Rentrak mutually agreed to rebrand the charts” and VidTrac name is now no longer being used.

Columbia TriStar’s thriller Identity was again top-rented DVD in U.S. for week ended Sept. 14, preliminary data from VSDA showed Thurs. VSDA said title earned additional $3.95 million in rentals during week for total to date of $8.93 million. There were 4 new DVDs in top 10: MGM’s Bulletproof Monk at #2 ($3.94 million during its first full week of release and $4.01 million in rentals to date), Paramount’s The Core at #3 ($3.34 million in week and $3.43 million to date), Warner’s Malibu’s Most Wanted at #5 ($2.70 million in week and $2.77 million to date), Miramax’s View From the Top at #10 ($1.66 million in week and $1.68 million to date).

Former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan pleaded not guilty Wed. in Okla. Dist. Court to 15 felony charges of violating state security laws, a spokesman for Okla. Attorney Gen. Drew Edmondson said. Sullivan appeared before State Judge Russell Hall in response to charges Edmondson filed against him, WorldCom/MCI and 5 others last month (CD Aug 28 p1). Sullivan, who was free on $50,000 bond, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing conference Nov. 13, the spokesman said. Another defendant ex-WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers pleaded not guilty Sept. 3, and a preliminary hearing conference for him was scheduled for Oct. 30. A pretrial conference for MCI/WorldCom, which also pleaded not guilty last week, is scheduled for Nov. 6. The spokesman said no arrangements had been made for other defendants, but “we are in communication with their attorneys.”

As rumors continue to proliferate in game industry that Nintendo of America (NOA) will soon drop price of GameCube by $50 to $99, more bad news arrived for company’s console. This time news came via 3rd-party U.K. publisher Eidos, which indicated it no longer would support Nintendo’s console. Comment wasn’t provided by Eidos at our deadline, but published reports quoted CEO Michael McGarvey as saying decision was made because GameCube was “a declining business.”

FCC voted unanimously Wed. to adopt rules governing one-way digital, cable-ready TV sets, pushing digital TV transition one step further.

The FCC voted unanimously Wed. to adopt rules governing one-way digital, cable-ready TV sets, pushing the digital TV transition one step further. The order largely accepts the technical, labeling and encoding rules in an agreement reached by the cable and consumer electronics (CE) in Dec. However, the FCC made some changes, one of which was to order that the sets include over-the-air digital tuners -- something broadcasters wanted. The order also would allow computer manufacturers and others to hook their wares up to cable systems if the devices complied with the same content protections prescribed by the FCC. FCC Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree said that was “not just a rubber stamp” of the industries’ original agreement.

Eidos said it returned to profitability in fiscal year ended June 30 despite delays in its latest Tomb Raider videogame, The Angel of Darkness. Chmn. John van Kuffeler, said preliminary results for year indicated improvement was “driven by strong sales” of 4 key game releases “and by our ongoing management of the cost base.” Company said 4 “Pillar Titles” in year were latest Tomb Raider offering, along with Championship Manager 4, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, TimeSplitters2.

Although CLECs will benefit from much of the FCC’s recently released Triennial UNE Review order, potential problems remain, CLEC experts said Thurs. in an audioconference sponsored by CCMI consultants. Questions from an audience of CLEC providers indicated there still was confusion about the terms of the order, ranging from line splitting to the use of EELs. CLEC consultant Andrew Regitsky warned that a new TELRIC rulemaking scheduled for release at the FCC’s Sept. 10 agenda meeting could be a negative for CLECs.