Mexico recently suspended certain trade relief measures originally introduced to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, KPMG said Aug. 16. They included measures to support the manufacturing industry, export services and rules for refunds of import taxes to exporters. During the suspension period, KPMG said “any days remaining will be considered to be ‘non-business days,’ so that any unexpired limitations period will be tolled and will not be triggered or to begin to run again until the first business day following the day the suspension ends, and at that time, the deadlines of any processes that have been paused will resume.” The suspension is in effect for 30 business days after Aug. 12.
Sound United and Sonos joined the ranks Friday of exhibitors pulling out of CEDIA Expo due to concerns over the COVID-19 delta variant. James Krakowski, Sound United vice president-commercial operations, told us Thursday the company was fully expecting to exhibit at the Sept. 1-3 show in Indianapolis “until last week” when infection rates across the country escalated, causing the company to put plans on pause. Friday, he told us he informed Expo owner Emerald that Sound United would pull out of CEDIA completely “due to the safety of my employees and their families.”
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.