uAd Watchdog Recommends DirecTV Cease 4K Claimsr

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• AT&T may already be killing off the DirecTV name, but that doesn’t mean its recently acquired pay-TV brand doesn’t have to answer for its possibly misleading advertisements. As such, a national ad review board has directed the company – at the behest of Charter Communications – to discontinue claims made in its “Hannah and Her Horse” campaign that suggests all of its programming is available via 4K technology. 

  The National Advertising Division (NAD), which is part of the national Council of Better Business Bureaus and a self-regulation body for the advertising industry, recommended on Wednesday that DirecTV discontinue certain claims in the commercials that are related to pricing, wireless ability and 4K content after receiving a complaint from rival Charter.

  While recommendations from NAD aren’t legally binding, most companies generally follow them. For its part, DirecTV plans to appeal the decision, saying in a statement to NAD that it disagrees with the assertion that its ads “convey any misleading impressions” regarding service.

  The commercial in question features Sports Illustrated supermodel Hannah Davis and a “talking” horse walking down a beach opining that DirectTV’s 4K programming and wireless technology.

  NAD’s probe centered on Charter’s challenge that DirecTV’s claims implied that most or all of the company’s programming was available in 4K; cutovers can get DirecTV’s 4K content and wireless service for $19.99/month and that DirecTV has eliminated the need for wires and set-top boxes.

  In the end, the ad board determined that while DirecTV is one of the few companies offering 4K content and that it should be able to advertise that service, it wasn’t exactly telling the truth in how much programming is available.

  NAD noted the company only offers a small number of movies in 4k and not general programming.

  “NAD was concerned that the challenged advertisements could reasonably convey the message that DirecTV offers a substantial amount of 4K content,” the board said.

  As a result of the findings, NAD recommend that DirecTV modify its claim to clearly address the developing nature of 4K technology and tailor its claim by specifying the number of movies and/or program provided through the service.

  The review board also expressed concerns that consumers watching the ad might assume that 4K programming and wireless service features were included in the $19.99 price point, when that’s not the case.

  NAD recommended that the advertiser modify its pricing claim to clarify that programming packages begin at that price and make clear that the price does not include the advertised 4K or wireless services.

  Additionally, NAD recommend that DirecTV discontinue or modify its “free upgrade” and wireless claims related to the Genie HD DVR to specify that the company itself isn’t wireless, that the references are to cable wires and boxes and that the Genie Mini can be hidden behind the TV.

  This the second time DirecTV has run into issues with the ad review board this year. In April, NAD recommended the company pull its quirky promotions featuring Rob Lowe and a parade of peculiar alter-egos, after investigating a complaint from rival Comcast.

  DirecTV appealed the board’s findings that some of the claims in the ads were unsubstantiated, but an appeals board upheld the determination. Since then DirecTV has rolled out several new “alter-ego” commercials featuring football players like Peyton Manning and Tony Romo.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uWould You Pay $.20/Minute To Stow Your Dog While Shopping?r

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• There are dog watchers, dog walkers, dog hotels, and dog salons, but when you just need to keep your pooch pal outside of a store for a couple of minutes while you run an errand, do you resort to the old “tie the leash to the parking meter” technique? A startup in NYC is betting that you’ll be willing to pay for the convenience of stashing your dog in a “curbside kennel” while you shop.

  It’s called Dog Parker and it is currently being tested outside a Brooklyn eatery. CBS New York reports that there’s a $25 membership fee that gets users access to the temperature-controlled doggy lockers (three different sizes) for twenty cents a minute.

  The company’s founder says that she follows the same sanitation rules as doggy daycares and that the kennels are cleaned regularly.

  What’s a bigger concern is that bad dog owners would abuse the system as a way to cheaply stash their dog for hours at a time. While many dogs might be okay with spending hours in a locked crate on a New York City sidewalk, others may not handle it so well.

  The founder says the kennels are intended for short trips, but that stays are limited to three hours. If the dog is left longer than that, they are taking to a boarding facility where owners would have to pay an additional fee to retrieve their furry friend.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uMLB Commissioner Asks All Teams To Extend Safety Netsr

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  Following a high-profile lawsuit alleging that Major League Baseball and team owners had been putting fans at risk by not extending safety net coverage all the way from home plate to the foul poles, the league’s commissioner is now calling on all 30 teams to increase the netting, but nowhere near as far as the foul poles.

  Commissioner Rob Manfred isn’t ordering the teams to do so, but it “recommending” that they figure out a way to make their stadia safer for fans without getting rid of the interactive and fun aspect of seeing a game played live. That primarily means additional netting beyond the existing backstop.

  The recommendation “encourages” the teams to install netting (or something similarly effective) so that it protects field-level fans along the first- and third-base lines from “line-drive” foul balls. That would seem to indicate that the nets don’t would could still be allowed to permit fly ball and popup foul balls that are less likely to do damage.

  The Commissioner’s Office says it has retained a consultant specializing in stadium architecture and protective netting to assist interested Clubs in implementing this recommendation.

  Manfred is also calling on clubs to do more to educate fans about the potential hazards, beyond the standard pre-game announcements and back-of-ticket fine print that most teams rely on now. This would include figuring out a way for teams to identify to ticket-buyers which seats are protected by the extended netting.

  “Major League Baseball prides itself on providing fans in our ballparks with unparalleled proximity and access to our players and the game taking place on the field,” says the Commish. “At the same time, it is important that fans have the option to sit behind protective netting or in other areas of the ballpark where foul balls and bats are less likely to enter. This recommendation attempts to balance the need for an adequate number of seating options with our desire to preserve the interactive pre-game and in-game fan experience that often centers around the dugouts, where fans can catch foul balls, see their favorite players up close and, if they are lucky, catch a tossed ball or other souvenir.”

  Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the firm representing ticketholders in the MLB lawsuit, says in a statement that he’s glad to see the league addressing the safety issue, but contends that Manfred could do more than merely recommend that the teams extend the netting.

  “By next season, we don’t want any spectators to be under the threat of being harmed by a foul ball or bat injury, period,” says Berman.

  The recently amended complaint, filed in late October, includes detailed descriptions and images of dozens of injuries that the plaintiffs contend could have been prevented if more safety netting had been in place.

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uApple Reportedly Shelving Live-TV Streaming Service For Nowr

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  The last we heard – just four months ago – Apple planned to offer a live-TV streaming service in 2016. But apparently a lot can change in that amount of time, as a new report suggests the company has scrapped the venture — at least for now. 

  Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter, reports that Apple has suspended plans for a live-TV option after running into issues with different media companies.

  The crux of the problem reportedly comes down to the planned $30 to $40 per month cost of the service, with the networks wanting more money for their programming.

  Apple’s plans were more or less confirmed on Tuesday by CBS CEO Les Moonves who said during the Business Insider Ignition conference that the service was “on hold.”

  Despite the setback, Moonves, whose company was reportedly partially responsible for Apple’s previous live-TV delay, said he expects the company to have the service up and running eventually.

  “This will happen,” Moonves said. “It has four major networks and 10 cable networks, let’s say, and the price point will be in the $30s, $30 to $35, $40 maybe. People will not be spending money on channels they don’t want to watch.”

  While Apple puts the live-TV service on the back burner, Bloomberg reports that it will concentrate on being a platform for media companies to sell directly to customers through its App Store and developing new entertainment content for its Apple TV set-top boxes.

  Apple Said to Suspend Effort to Develop Live TV Service [Bloomberg]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uShoplifting Suspects Back Into Kohl’s Security Guard, Customer’s Strollerr

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  Two suspected shoplifters at a Kohl’s store near Pittsburgh were trying to flee the parking lot and back out of their parking space, and did something that they probably didn’t intend: they backed the vehicle into a store security guard who had pursued them into the parking lot…then into a stroller that contained a 3-year-old and a 6-week-old.

  The children and the security officer weren’t harmed in the altercation, but the suspects’ backing up into a store employee and a stroller made the incident more alarming and newsworthy. It’s also why the police are more interested in catching up with the suspects than in your average clothing store shoplifting incident.

  Police are looking for the driver, who will face charges four counts of recklessly endangering another person (for the guard, the mother, and both children), and also charges of retail theft and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

  “They started backing up, threatening to hit the [security guard], so I stopped,” the mother and owner of the stroller explained to WPXI (auto-play video at that link). “But she did keep backing up and that’s when she did make contact with the stroller.” Fortunately, the car only bumped the stroller, but the mother said that the incident uncaged her inner “mama bear.” Understandably so.

  Police ID suspected shoplifters who allegedly hit guard, baby stroller with car [WPXI] (Warning: auto-play video at that link)

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uUnited Airlines Bringing Back Free Snacks For Economy Passengersr

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  United Airlines appears to be bringing back the glory days of flying. Okay, not the ’60s-esque glory days, but the other ones: when you didn’t have to shell out $5 (or more) for a bag of chips. The carrier announced today that it’s leveling the snacking playing field by once again offering economy passengers free nibbles. 

  In yet another attempt to get in passengers’ good graces, the airline said on Wednesday that it’s aiming for customers’ stomach by offering free snacks on daily North American and Latin American flights starting in February.

  

  The treats will vary depending on flight times. Travelers leaving before 9:45 a.m. will receive something called a morning stroopwafel, a Dutch caramel-filled waffle.

  Trips taking place after 9:45 a.m. will include packaged savory snacks, like an Asian-style snack mix of rice crackers, sesame sticks and wasabi peas; zesty ranch mini pretzels; Cajun corn sticks or soy nuts.

  The new snack offerings come as United tries to win back customers while revamping its business practices under new CEO Oscar Munoz, and his current stand-in Brett Hart.

  “We’re refocusing on the big and little things that we know matter to our customers and shape how they feel about their travel experience,” Jimmy Samartzis, United’s vice president of food services and United Clubs, said in a statement.

  Among other changes, the company has made plans to overhaul its coffee option, bringing in Illycaffe’s scuro dark roast on all flights starting next summer.

  If the complementary coffee and treats just aren’t enough to sustain you during your flight, United says it will still offer its Choice Menu, which includes other snacks, sandwiches and meals for an additional cost.

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uBefore You Use “Star Shower” To Light Up Your Home For Xmas, Familiarize Yourself With Your Local Airport’s Flight Pathr

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• We’ve written before about jerks who deliberately point lasers at nearby planes, and we’ve also covered businesses that don’t realize that their rooftop light shows might present a hazard, but now some homeowners may be unintentionally blinding pilots by misusing their home decorations.

  You might have seen the TV ads for a product called Star Shower, that covers your home in points of light so that you don’t have to risk life and limb stringing lights in trees and along your roofline. While it might be a time-saver for folks who want to sparkle-up their holiday, it could be a blinding hazard to pilots in the sky above.

  NBC Los Angeles reports on a recent incident involving a U.S. Coast Guard plane that reported what appeared to be a laser strike near Sacramento, only to find out that it was a home using Star Shower.

  The instructions for the product warn users that “lasers should not be projected at or within the flight path of an aircraft within ten nautical miles of an airport,” but as this example shows, not everyone is reading the instructions — or if they are reading them, they may not even know where they are in relation to the flight path of their local airport.

  Nothing happened to the pilot in the Coast Guard plane, but a helicopter pilot for the L.A. County Sheriff tells NBC that he’s experienced “flash blindness” firsthand.

  “Everything goes away except green,” says the pilot. “The worst part about it is the pain. It can cause anything from a mild distraction to a complete incapacitation of the pilot resulting in the aircraft crashing.”

  He says he would be very wary of pointing a Star Shower or any similar laser projector into the sky because “it could conceivably have the same negative affects to pilots as one of the single pen light lasers.”

  In a statement, the makers of Star Shower reiterate that, “Lasers should not be projected at or within the flight path of an aircraft within 10 nautical miles of an airport. If your intended surface is within 10 nautical miles of an airport, lower the angle of the Star Shower so that no lasers point into the sky.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist