Spotify fell short of its monthly average user guidance for Q2 on “ongoing COVID-19 headwinds” and a “temporary issue” with sign-ups on a third-party platform, said CEO Daniel Ek on a Wednesday earnings call. MAUs grew 22% year on year, 3% sequentially, to 365 million.
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.
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.
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.