Charter Communications will drop the word "again" from any future airings of an ad that features the Grim Reaper bemoaning his family's satellite dish "went out in the rain, again," the National Advertising Review Board said Thursday. NARB reaffirmed a National Advertising Division decision sought by AT&T's DirecTV early this year that Charter had appealed (see 1801310022). A NARB panel also recommended the operator end claims that paint satellite TV as unreliable and its Spectrum TV service as reliable.

Pivotal Research Group dropped its Spotify rating to hold after the company approached Pivotal's $200 price target, Jeffrey Wlodarczak wrote investors. The analyst cited “too aggressive” 2018 premium monthly average user growth expectations, ahead of Thursday earnings report. There's “credible weakening global Google Spotify search trends data” that continued into Q3, said Wlodarczak Wednesday. He noted the launch of a “revamped Google YouTube Music” that’s likely to be integrated with Android phones, which, along with Apple Music integration on iPhones, creates the potential for Spotify “to get squeezed as Google and Apple lever their smartphone ‘gatekeeper’ status to aggressively incentivize consumers to trial their internal music streaming services.” Wlodarczak said Apple “likely just passed SPOT” in the number of premium U.S. subscribers, while Facebook has signed music licensing deals to allow its customers to add music to videos, which “may (or may not) lead to a more aggressive FB transition into music.” Spotify shares closed up 0.1 percent Wednesday at $188.09.

Cord cutters are expected to climb 33 percent this year to 33 million, and U.S. adults watching traditional pay TV are expected to decline 3.8 percent to 186.7 million, eMarketer said Tuesday. It said with a number of operators having integrated Netflix into their channel lineups, more such pay-TV/over-the-top partnerships are expected and they -- plus other strategies -- could help slow the pay-TV losses though they won't stop them. Kagan said virtual MVPD revenue should hit $2.82 billion this year and top $7.77 billion by 2022. It said virtual MVPD revenue per subscriber is about a third of traditional cable services but is growing and expected to top $37 a month this year, up 19 percent from 2017.

Forty-one percent of streaming media player owners use the devices daily or “almost daily,” compared with 34 percent of smart TV or smart DVR owners, Parks Associates said Tuesday. Owners of smart TVs spend 9.8 hours per week watching pay-TV content, and streaming media player owners view content from online services 10.4 hours per week, it reported. Nearly half of U.S. broadband households own a gaming console, but only 37 percent connect that device to the internet, Parks said, while 44 percent of smart TV owners connect their TVs to the internet. More than 34 percent of streaming media player owners own an Amazon Fire TV, up from 28 percent in Q1 2017, it said.

Comments on FCC-proposed changes to children’s TV rules are due Sept. 24, replies Oct. 23, based on the NPRM set for publication in Wednesday's Federal Register. The NPRM seeks comment on relaxing the timing constraints for when kidvid content must be shown, on allowing broadcasts on multicast channels to satisfy kidvid requirements, and on relaxing filing requirements for broadcasters (see 1807120050).

The FCC is soliciting comments on the state of competition in the audio service industry, including broadcast stations, DBS and audio streaming, said a public notice Monday in docket 18-227. The input is to be used for the communications market report required by the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act, it said. The agency said it's looking for information on major audio market participants, industry trends and the extent of competition. The notice said comments would be due 30 days after appearing in the Federal Register, replies 15 days later.

Walmart declined to comment if its Vudu video streaming service is coming to market with an $8-per-month plan and a free ad-supported offering. The reported price would undercut Amazon’s $8.99-per-month for Amazon Prime Video and meet Netflix’s entry-level plan for one view and standard-definition video. Netflix tops out at $14-per-month for 4K video streams for up to four users. Vudu offers videos for rental or purchase.

Netflix revamped its user experience design to make it easier for subscribers to find content, blogged Stephen Garcia, director-product innovation. “Sometimes our members need a little bit of help figuring out where to start,” Garcia said, saying Netflix tested how to make it easier to find titles for TV viewers restricted to a few buttons on a remote control. It’s easier to start browsing with a series or a movie, research showed: Users may not be sure of the exact title they want to watch, but they have a sense of whether they are in the mood for a quick series episode or a longer movie experience, he said. The streaming service also made it easier to access titles members saved for later viewing in the My List section. The update began rolling out Wednesday. The TV search additions are part of a "long line of incremental improvements" designed to enhance Netflix customers' viewing experiences, said Chief Product Officer Greg Peters during the company's quarterly earnings interview Monday (see 1807170002). Peters also referenced improvements Netflix made in its mobile user interface and smart downloads.

Smart TVs are expected to capture a 70 percent share of global set shipments this year, up from 64 percent in 2017 and 45 percent in 2015, said IHS Markit Tuesday. Overall TV shipments are recovering in 2018, due to increased price erosion from declining LCD TV panel prices, with shipments rising 3.5 percent to 223 million units, it said. “Global growth is expected in all regions this year, and positive annual unit growth is forecast to continue during the buildup toward the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,” said Paul Gagnon, research and analysis executive director. “The rise of streaming video availability worldwide,” especially for special events like the World Cup, has "encouraged strong growth in smart TV sales in recent years,” it said. The increasing penetration of Amazon Alexa, Google Home and other voice-control platforms “will further increase demand for smart TVs in 2018 and beyond,” said IHS. “Streaming video is also the most common way for consumers to view 4K content while broadcast and pay TV options are limited, further fueling smart TV adoption.”

Roku announced Monday wireless speakers, the first speakers designed specifically for its TVs. Roku's control of software in the speakers and the TV enabled engineers to optimize wireless setup and connectivity and ensure audio video synchronization, it said. Once speakers and the TV are paired, users can listen to audio from any streaming channel on the Roku platform, live TV from an antenna or set-top boxes, it said. The wireless speakers support Bluetooth music streaming from mobile devices, have dialogue enhancement to improve intelligibility and automatic volume leveling, Roku said. In preorder through July 23, the speakers have a $149 introductory price, going up to $199; shipping is set for October. Voice and tabletop remotes are part of the bundle.