Some at the FCC are considering whether to allow waivers of media ownership rules for some types of arrangements that are barred under draft rules involving TV stations, agency and industry officials said. They said in interviews that some Media Bureau staff members are considering a waiver process for joint sales agreements where a TV station brokers ads for another outlet in the market, when spots on the second station in the JSA exceed 15 percent of that broadcaster’s commercials. A draft order ending the 2010 quadrennial media ownership review would require the attribution of such JSAs to the station doing the brokering within two years (CD Nov 15 p1). That would mean many of the JSAs would need to be renegotiated so the arrangements don’t violate ownership rules, reducing their cost savings, said executives at companies that own brokering stations. There are more than 100 stations in JSAs (CD Nov 29 p5).
Smartphones continue to “steal” market share from portable game players and point-and-shoot digital cameras, according to data from ABI Research. Annual shipments of handheld game players are on track to drop 4 percent worldwide in 2012 compared to last year and nearly 13 percent in the more mature North American market, ABI said. Digital camera shipments are expected to fall more than 11 percent in 2012 compared with 2011 and nearly 20 percent in the North American market, it said.
The Court of International Trade affirmed CBP’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification of R.T. Foods’ tempura vegetables from Thailand as vegetable preparations in Chapter 20, rather than as miscellaneous edible preparations in Chapter 21. CBP’s classification as vegetables specifically described the product, so it could not instead be classified in R.T. Foods’ preferred catch-all edible preparations provision, CIT said.
CBP posted items agreed upon during the Dec. 4 meeting of the Advisory Committee for Commercial Operations (COAC), including a set of recommendations from the COAC Trade Facilitation Subcommittee.
The PS3 is now the most popular device for viewing streamed movies and TV shows via Netflix on a TV globally, Netflix and Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) said Tuesday. The companies didn’t give specific usage data. The PC is “the overall top viewing device” for Netflix content, said Netflix spokesman Joris Evers. But “this year, at times,” the PS3 “even surpassed the PC in hours of Netflix” content viewing, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a news release. The PS3 has also become “the primary development platform” for Netflix, it and SCEA said. The PS3 is “a natural fit for Netflix in terms of developing and first deploying our most advanced features,” said Hastings. Netflix has more than 30 million streaming members globally, it said. The PS3 was the first computer entertainment system to offer Netflix in full 1080p video resolution with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and to offer post play, second screen controls, on device sign-up, and alternate audio options including subtitles, the companies said. The PS3 is the only platform in which a new voice user interface called “Max” is being tested, they said. Early this year, Sony and Netflix expanded their partnership by bringing Netflix streaming to the new PS Vita in the U.S. PS3 users can start watching a movie or TV show via Netflix, pause it, and continue watching on PS Vita’s 5-inch, HD OLED screen.
The PS3 is now the most popular device for viewing streamed movies and TV shows via Netflix on a TV globally, Netflix and Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) said Tuesday. The companies didn’t give specific usage data. The PC is “the overall top viewing device” for Netflix content, said Netflix spokesman Joris Evers. But “this year, at times,” the PS3 “even surpassed the PC in hours of Netflix” content viewing, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a news release. The PS3 has also become “the primary development platform” for Netflix, it and SCEA said. The PS3 is “a natural fit for Netflix in terms of developing and first deploying our most advanced features,” said Hastings. Netflix has more than 30 million streaming members globally, it said. The PS3 was the first computer entertainment system to offer Netflix in full 1080p video resolution with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and to offer post play, second screen controls, on device sign-up, and alternate audio options including subtitles, the companies said. The PS3 is the only platform in which a new voice user interface called “Max” is being tested, they said. Early this year, Sony and Netflix expanded their partnership by bringing Netflix streaming to the new PS Vita in the U.S. PS3 users can start watching a movie or TV show via Netflix, pause it, and continue watching on PS Vita’s 5-inch, HD OLED screen.
The PS3 is now the most popular device for viewing streamed movies and TV shows via Netflix on a TV globally, Netflix and Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) said Tuesday. The companies didn’t give specific usage data. The PC is “the overall top viewing device” for Netflix content, said Netflix spokesman Joris Evers. But “this year, at times,” the PS3 “even surpassed the PC in hours of Netflix” content viewing, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a news release. The PS3 has also become “the primary development platform” for Netflix, it and SCEA said. The PS3 is “a natural fit for Netflix in terms of developing and first deploying our most advanced features,” said Hastings. Netflix has more than 30 million streaming members globally, it said. The PS3 was the first computer entertainment system to offer Netflix in full 1080p video resolution with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and to offer post play, second screen controls, on device sign-up, and alternate audio options including subtitles, the companies said. The PS3 is the only platform in which a new voice user interface called “Max” is being tested, they said. Early this year, Sony and Netflix expanded their partnership by bringing Netflix streaming to the new PS Vita in the U.S. PS3 users can start watching a movie or TV show via Netflix, pause it, and continue watching on PS Vita’s 5-inch, HD OLED screen.
With low-ticket soundbar systems comprising 75 percent of Boston Acoustics’ U.S. revenue, the company is hoping to boost sales of its higher margin products through a renewed commitment to the specialty channel for high-end products and in-store demo kiosks for a mid-priced system, company executives said Thursday at a New York press event.
Glu Mobile is “disappointed” with the performance of most of its new releases in Q3, CEO Niccolo de Masi said on an earnings call Thursday. While new title launches were “well received by consumers and critics and downloaded well,” the games “exhibited weak average revenue per daily active user” (ARPDAU), he said. Glu is “implementing a number of measures to ensure that our next product cycle will deliver higher ARPDAU,” he said. Glu shares closed 21.5 percent lower Friday at $2.56. In Q4, Glu has already launched Death Dome and the sequel to its most downloaded title of all time, Contract Killer 2, it said. As with most Q3 titles, “downloads and reviews are strong,” but ARPDAU on Death’s Dome is “below expectations,” said the CEO. Contract Killer 2, however, is “off to a solid start” and is among the top 25-grossing iPad apps and top 40-grossing iPhone apps, he said. To “prevent a reoccurrence of our weak Q3 new title performance,” and to “maximize Glu’s long-term growth,” the CEO said he decided to delay five Q4 title launches until Matthew Ricchetti, its new president of studios, can review them. As a result, by year-end, Glu expects to launch only two more titles: Dragon Slayer and Contract Killer: Zombies 2, he said. Glu Q3 revenue grew to $21.3 million from $16.9 million in the year-ago quarter and its loss narrowed to $3.6 million, or 6 cents a share, from $6.2 million, or 10 cents (CED Nov 2 p15). But of the 11 titles that Glu launched in Q3, only Eternity Warriors II and Blood & Glory: Legend were “financially successful,” said Chief Financial Officer Eric Ludwig. Sixty percent of Glu’s Q3 smartphone revenue was on iOS, 32 percent on Android and the rest on other smartphone platforms, he said. In the quarter, “the consumer smartphone upgrade cycle slowed in anticipation” of new iOS and Amazon device launches, the CEO said. That “resulted in slower sales for some device manufacturers and a restrained expenditure by consumers on their associated ecosystems,” he said. Ad budgets were also “soft due to the consumer pause,” he said. But Glu “maximized our positioning for Apple fall iOS launches,” he said. Glu “optimized and had five titles featured” in the new iOS 6 store and on the launch weekend of the iPhone 5, he said. All of Glu’s “most significant titles have now been optimized” for the iPhone 5, he said. Glu also recently “experienced degradation” in iOS ad revenue as Apple “extended it prohibition of incentivized advertising to include any linkage to external HTML 5 sites,” reducing sales via the Tapjoy iOS channel, he said. As a result, Glu’s Q4 forecast was “substantially lowered,” he said.
The Department of Energy will issue a rulemaking notice on set-top box energy efficiency standards, a spokeswoman said Friday. That’s now that talks lasting for most of this year for some multichannel video programming distributors to agree on voluntary guidelines broke down (CED Nov 2 p2). Stakeholders each blamed the other side for why the negotiations ended Oct. 26 at the request of advocates.