Rebecca Day

Paid account sharing could bring Netflix 15 million additional U.S. and Canadian paid sharers and a million new members, Cowen analyst John Blackledge wrote investors Wednesday, after its Tuesday announcement it will begin rolling out its Profile Transfer globally early next year to more broadly monetize account sharing.

Wedbush Securities’ concerns over FuboTV’s “cash burn” and its ability to raise capital to “extend its cash runway” were assuaged somewhat by Monday’s announcement that the virtual MVPD folded its Fubo Gaming subsidiary and ceased operation of its Fubo Sportsbook, effective immediately, analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Tuesday.

Chandra Holt stepped down as CEO of Conn’s and resigned from the board, effective immediately, the company announced Tuesday. Former CEO and current board member Norman Miller will be interim CEO, it said. Shares hit a 52-week low Tuesday at $6.22before closing 14.8% down at $6.91.

Companies wasted no time jumping on the new consumer hearing aid category Monday, the date the Food and Drug Administration’s rule establishing over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids as a regulatory category took effect. Best Buy and Walmart, looking to grow their health and wellness businesses, outlined their hearing aid efforts in Monday posts.

Now that the Matter smart home connectivity specification has been released, the Matter logo will start appearing on product packaging and on e-commerce stores as soon as manufacturers secure certification for their Matter-enabled devices, Michelle Mindala-Freeman, Connectivity Standards Alliance global marketing head, emailed Consumer Electronics Daily last week, responding to questions after the long-awaited release of Matter 1.0 this month (see 2210040055).

Netflix has an opportunity to limit churn in coming months by offering its ad-supported tier, which launches Nov. 3 in the U.S. (see 2210130058), to subscribers looking to quit the service, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Friday. Netflix reports Q3 earnings Tuesday.

Netflix’s much-anticipated ad-supported plan, dubbed Basic with Ads, will launch in the U.S. Nov. 3 at $6.99 a month, the streaming service said Thursday. Current monthly plans -- $9.99 for Basic, $15.49 for Standard and $19.99 for Premium -- “will not be impacted,” said Greg Peters, chief operating officer-chief product officer.

Voxx’s fiscal Q2 2023 revenue fell 12.2% to $125.7 million for the quarter ended Aug. 31, below expectations, due to continued chip shortages, inflationary pressure, shifts in consumer discretionary spending and retailer inventory cutbacks, said CEO Pat Lavelle on the company’s Wednesday earnings call. Shares fell 9.3% Wednesday, closing at $6.55.

Roku is branching out into smart home products, it said Wednesday, announcing a line of security cameras, video doorbells, lighting and plugs made by Wyze Labs that will be sold exclusively in nearly 3,500 Walmart stores beginning Monday.

Discounts will hit record highs for electronics, computers and toys this holiday sales season, Adobe said Monday in its 2022 online holiday shopping forecast. The analytics firm expects electronics to drive $49.8 billion of online spending, up 2.9% year on year: “Heavy discounts will impact margins and spending but attract enough shoppers to maintain growth.”