The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a request allowing reviews to proceed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for various wireless facilities that FirstNet plans to build, during the pandemic.

The Competitive Carriers Association dropped plans for its in-person annual meeting and will instead hold a virtual conference Oct. 27, the group said Friday. “Due to current circumstances and concerns for the health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors, it is not possible to move forward with the in-person portion of CCA’s 2020 Annual Convention,” said President Steve Berry: “The day will be chock-full of keynotes and panels featuring industry thought-leaders and key government officials, and attendees can interact in panel discussions and network with exhibitors showcasing their latest innovations though the virtual exhibit hall.”

Live Nation’s “expectation” is live concerts won't "return at scale” before next summer, “with ticket sales ramping up in the quarters leading up to these shows,” said CEO Michael Rapino on a call Wednesday. “We remain confident that fans will return to live events when it is safe.” Through Q2, 86% of concert fans held on to tickets for rescheduled shows and shunned refunds, “demonstrating their continued desire to attend concerts in the future despite the current uncertainty,” he said. Virtual concerts are in “huge demand, so the company established a “live from home platform," he said. He estimates 67 million fans globally viewed more than 18,000 virtual concerts and festivals in the quarter: “We are seeing the potential for livestreaming to become an additional long-term component of our concert business.”

Work-from-home mandates are having a “positive impact” on the Synaptics PC and video interface businesses, said CEO Michael Hurlston on a fiscal Q4 investor call Wednesday. Customers are looking to “broaden their offerings with solutions like headsets, speakers, soundbars and smart displays that enable consumers to make more of their time at home while still connecting with friends and family,” he said. The PC business “achieved record revenue and profitability” in the quarter, he said. Demand for enterprise and consumer laptops “remains strong, and we believe this strength will be sustained,” he said. The stock closed 8.5% higher Thursday at $89.69.

Lockdowns helped Roku add 3.2 million incremental active accounts, a record for a non-holiday quarter, said Chief Financial Officer Steve Louden on a Wednesday evening call (see materials here under Q2). The company ended Q2 up 41% year on year in active accounts, at 43 million, fueled by shelter-at-home mandates. Revenue jumped 42% to $356 million, reflecting growth in platform and player segments. Player sales rose 28%, while average selling price decreased “only 2% ... given less promotional activity due to strong demand” and some inventory constraints, said Louden. The stock closed 6.9% lower Thursday at $153.87. The outlook for that industry remains “highly uncertain” for this year and it will be “well into 2021 before TV ad investment recovers to pre-pandemic levels,” said CEO Anthony Wood. The ad streaming market is in “very early days,” said Wood, envisioning that “all television is going to stream. Streaming hours per active account peaked in early Q2 and “has since moderated, but remains above pre-COVID levels,” said Louden. Responding to a question on HBO Max and Peacock, which launched over the past few months outside the Roku platform, Wood said, “We're not always first when it comes to adding new services to our platform because it's important to us that we establish a win-win-win relationship.” The company wants to “add all the content that we can.” Roku’s economic model with content distribution partners and advertisers “is what funds our business” and allows the company to sell low-cost players." MoffettNathanson tempered its view in a Thursday investor note, saying “looming competition from Android and TV OEMs,” and lack of key performance data makes it difficult to extrapolate COVID-19 lockdown gains into the future. The slowdown in ad impression growth in Q2 to 50% from nearly doubling in Q1 “is a bit worrying” given linear ad market trends, said Michael Nathanson. Ad-based VOD “appears a bit weaker than anticipated” given the rise in active accounts, he said. Though Roku appears well-positioned for the trend, the analyst said “it remains unclear if they will get a cut of Mulan purchases on Disney+ or share the economics of similar transactions on other major [Subscription] VOD platforms” (see 2008050037).

Walmart is opening drive-in theaters in 160 of its parking lots Aug. 14-Oct. 21 in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival. Customers can reserve a space at TheWalmartDriveIn.com; tickets are free but must be reserved.

Wireless charging company Energous had another product delay, said CEO Steve Rizzone on an investor call Wednesday. The company “months ago” previewed the NewSound Primo W hearing aid, which was expected to be in the market now, but factory shutdowns and supply chain issues delayed production. Energous expects to have chip procurements from NewSound by year-end, said Rizzone. The company is looking to its recently announced WattUp PowerHub developer kit to create new revenue opportunities. Q2 revenue was $114,375 vs $47,500 in the year-ago quarter. Energous received $9.2 million in the quarter through a stock offering, it said. The company is now targeting military applications.

Nearly 40% of U.S. employees can telecommute, reported Recon Analytics Thursday. Of those, slightly more than half are contemplating moving to a smaller city or town, it said. “The pandemic has prompted many Americans to reevaluate their priorities and living conditions.” The prevalence of videoconferencing drove bandwidth requirements upward, “especially on the upload side,” it said. The analyst firm canvassed 1,600 employees on COVID-19 videoconferencing, finding more than a quarter use it frequently for work, 21% occasionally.

Sonos, whose exclusion from the List 4A tariffs was granted in March (see 2005110034), is diversifying its supply chain into Malaysia even amid COVID-19 delays, said Chief Financial Officer Brittany Bagley on a quarterly call Wednesday. The company planned to have “significant” U.S.-bound production from Malaysia ramped up by Dec. 31. Due to pandemic-related government restrictions on manufacturing in Malaysia, reaching scale will take until mid-2021, Bagley said. “Essentially all” Sonos products subject to 7.5% tariffs fall under the exemption, which was retroactive to Sept. 1, but expires Aug. 31. Sonos began the process of seeking refunds. Revenue fell 4% in fiscal Q3 ended June 27 to $249.3 million. Gains were offset by higher freight costs to increase inventory levels and fill back orders to meet “higher-than-expected” demand. Most of Sonos’ physical retail partners were closed for in-store sales during much of Q3, said the shareholder letter. The majority have reopened but with capacity and other restrictions. It’s confident it can continue to scale its direct-to-consumer channel, up 299% in the quarter, “over time.” On the transition to the S2 operating system, which left many legacy product owners angry, CEO Patrick Spence said there's “no churn" and “millions” of homes have converted. The wireless multiroom audio company, which last week settled with Lenbrook over a patent infringement lawsuit (see 2007300059), remains confident about its patent fight with Google at the International Trade Commission, said Chief Legal Officer Eddie Lazarus. There are “quite a few companies” in the multiroom audio space that Sonos believes are infringing its patents, “and we're in touch with many of them.” The stock closed 18.3% lower Thursday at $14.29.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a request for reviews to proceed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for towers that U.S. Cellular is building in Lawrence and Oshkosh, Nebraska, during the pandemic.