U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses regarding the mandatory advance electronic information requirements for truck carriers.
TiVo will seek to cut subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) to “$75 or less” in 2005, from $125 this year The increase in SAC this year was fueled by TiVo’s $50 million increase in promotional spending this year, which includes a program offering a $100 rebate that reduced the price of the standalone PVR with a 40 GB hard drive to $99, CEO Michael Ramsay said at Roth Capital investor conference this week. Based on monthly average revenue per subscriber of $8, TiVo recoups the cost of acquiring the customer in “a year or less,” he said. While TiVo charges $12.95 monthly for its service, it recognizes over 4 years revenue from customers paying a one-time $299 fee for a “lifetime subscription.” Those subscribers produce average monthly revenue of $6.19. Subscriber acquisition costs will decline in 2005 because TiVo will get “more cost out of the hardware which means the cost of the subsidy goes down,” Ramsay said. TiVo’s recent agreement with Macrovision on a new licensing pact will have “little near-term impact” on the company. The contract, signed in Aug., places limits on how much content may be recorded and stored on high-capacity PVRs. TiVo and rival ReplayTV agreed to impose changes in the “trigger bits” built into Macrovision analog copy protection in a PVR to activate one of 4 new copy-control settings to be determined by the content owner. Macrovision brokered the deal between the major film studios and the PVR suppliers. “It does give studios a little more control” over the content being recorded on PVR hard drives with capacities of 400 hours or more, Ramsay said. While TiVo has attracted 15-20 advertisers to its platform, including a heavy sampling of car manufacturers, the company’s ad revenue “has been constrained” by the size of its installed base. TiVo has about 1.9 million subscribers. Ad sales represent less than 10% of TiVo’s total revenue, but the company plans to increase sales by expanding the space dedicated to ads on the service, Ramsay said.
Carriers
The latest effort by the U.S. Copyright Office to broker a compromise over legislation targeting anyone who “induces” copyright infringement has failed to assuage fair-use advocates, while content owners remain quiet. The Copyright Office late last Fri. circulated its latest draft proposal, a very short bill aimed at anyone whose business model profits from others infringing copyrights (CED Sept 13 p9). In a much lengthier explanatory memorandum, the office argues the latest version resolves some criticisms of its previous draft. Established opponents of S-2560 by Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Hatch (R-Utah) and ranking Democrat Leahy (Vt.) remained opposed, while others, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA), were taking a more cautious approach.
The latest effort by the U.S. Copyright Office to broker a compromise over legislation targeting anyone who “induces” copyright infringement has failed to assuage fair-use advocates, while content owners remain quiet. The Copyright Office late Fri. circulated its latest draft proposal, a very short bill aimed at anyone whose business model profits from others infringing copyrights. In a much lengthier explanatory memorandum, the office argues its latest draft resolves some criticisms of its previous draft. Established opponents of S-2560 by Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Hatch (R-Utah) and ranking Democrat Leahy (Vt.) remained opposed, while others, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA), were taking a more cautious approach.
On September 8, 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a general notice entitled: ACE: Open Application Period for Participation in a National Customs Automation Program Test for Importers and Brokers.
As previously reported, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a Federal Register notice stating that it is expanding access to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal, and that an ACE account must be established as the first step.
The Journal of Commerce reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has asked for permission to keep the hours-of-service (HOS) final rule for truck drivers in effect for at least six more months while it tries to revise it after it was vacated by a court decision in July. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/08/04 news, 04090810, for the FMCSA's filing to stay the court decision.) (JoC, dated 09/06/04, www.joc.com)
On September 7, 2004, President Bush signed Proclamation 7808 which makes various changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) with respect to: the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004 (AGOA III), the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA) has replied to the joint supplemental comments submitted by seven non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and national trade associations that requested the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to expeditiously adopt a conditional exemption for NVOCCs from the tariff publication and enforcement provisions set forth in the Shipping Act of 1984, as amended, and the corresponding regulations in 46 CFR 520.