Tag Archives: Delay

Technology

No Super Bowl Ratings Coming; Nielsen Encounters Unprecedented Delay – Deadline

Leave a comment

UPDATE, 5:11 PM: Well, that was quick, kind of.

Nielsen still don’t have any Super Bowl LV ratings to report today, but they do now have something to say about the unprecedented delay – though it ain’t much.

“Super Bowl numbers are still being processed and verified,” a spokesperson for the blushing company finally said today. “We anticipate that final viewing figures, which will include Out Of Home (OOH) viewing, will be available to the media tomorrow. We will update the press and the industry accordingly when a final timeline is confirmed.”

Which sounds like more of we’ll let you know when we let you know, but we’re not telling you why.

Ref calls “foul.”

PREVIOUSLY, 4:21 PM: There was a lot of history made at the Super Bowl last night for Tom Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and halftime show headliner The Weeknd, but Nielsen today are making some history of their own.

Related Story

The Weeknd’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Scores A Touchdown – Review; Watch The Full Performance – Update

As America waits and waits on the viewership verdict, it appears at this late hour that there will be no ratings for the Big Game any time soon for the first time ever.

Literally becoming the new definition of the phrase “You had one job,” the long-time data measurement company has nothing to report on the Buccaneers 31-9 win over former reigning NFL champs the Kansas City Chiefs on CBS yesterday. Fast affiliate ratings may be available early in the AM tomorrow, I hear. However, as a well-positioned network source said, “that’s anyone’s guess at this point, isn’t it?”

The problem seems to be incorrect metrics that have caused Nielsen to “re-process” their data. A spread sheet of ratings information did go out earlier Monday, but was quickly recalled. Throughout the day, networks were told that numbers would be coming soon, only to be told that the release time had been pushed back again.

“It looks pretty certain there will be nothing tonight now,” said another network exec to Deadline on the delay. Usually unadjusted early numbers for overnight ratings are distributed to network clients around 8 AM PST. Around that time today, Nielsen made it known that nothing was coming down the pipe until at least 11:30 AM PST.

On that and the overall unprecedented delay on the big draw on TV, Nielsen did not respond to requests from Deadline on the matter. We will update if we hear from them, or when the Super Bowl ratings come in – whatever is first.

Even though Nielsen has seen ruptures in getting its data out from the likes of technical issues and extreme weather in the past, the company has never suffered as high profile a fumble as today.

Watched by over 100 million viewers with huge pull in the advertiser rich 18-49 demographic, the Super Bowl has been the biggest show on TV year after year for decades.

Like the Oscars and the Emmys, the ratings for the big game are some of the most important pieces of info for the networks, who rotate in their coverage of the Super Bowl, and setting ad rates. Data that takes on perhaps more significance this year coming off a NFL season full of coronavirus safety protocols, altered schedules due to positive tests and an 10% decline in the ratings on average. There is also the rise of the availability of the championship game on streaming, which is slowly but surely drawing more and more fans away from the traditional network viewing experience, pandemic or not.

Which is another way of saying, the ratings for the Super Bowl are a really big deal.



Read original article here

Business

Labor board denies Amazon’s request to delay Alabama unionizing vote

Leave a comment

Fox Business Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied Amazon’s motion to delay a union election at one of its Alabama warehouses slated for Monday.

Last month, the e-commerce giant had filed a motion with the U.S. labor board to delay the vote and give the board more time to reconsider its earlier decision to hold the election by mail during a nearly two-month time span to have a “fair” election, despite the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.

AMAZON PUSHES FOR IN-PERSON UNIONIZING VOTE FOR ‘VALID, FAIR AND SUCCESSFUL ELECTION’

Starting Monday, employees at the Bessemer facility will have until March 29 to mail in their ballots.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 3,352.15 +21.15 +0.63%

In November, employees at the Bessemer facility filed a petition with the NLRB saying they wanted to hold an election on forming a union to represent the 1,500 full- and part-time workers at the fulfillment center. The plan does not include drivers, seasonal employees, professional employees and others.

The employees are seeking to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

“The purpose of us coming together with our co-workers to form a union is to have better working conditions, better pay, and to be treated with respect and dignity on the job,” read a website created in support of forming a union at the Alabama facility.

Their push for forming a union received support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who said their efforts would mark a turning point for “every worker in America.”

However, Amazon previously argued that in-person voting is the best way to “approach to a valid, fair and successful election.” The company also said it would make “it easy for associates to verify and cast their vote.”

Amazon spokesperson Owen Torres told FOX Business that the company’s objective was to get as many employees as possible to vote and “we’re disappointed by the decision by the NLRB not to provide the most fair and effective format to achieve maximum employee participation.”

Torres argued that the labor board “recognizes that the employee participation rate for its own elections conducted with mail ballots is 20-30% lower than the participation rate for in-person voting.”

Torres also said that the company had “proposed a safe on-site election process validated by COVID-19 experts that would have empowered our associates to vote on their way to, during and from their already scheduled shifts.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE 

Still, the NLRB had deemed that mail-in ballots were the “safest and most appropriate method of conducting an election in view of the extraordinary circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” officials wrote in a notice.

Although the company said it respects their decision, Amazon said the warehouse has created thousands of full-time jobs in Bessemer since opening in March. The average pay is $15.30 per hour, including full health care, vision and dental insurance.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

“We respect our employees’ right to join or not join a labor union but we don’t believe this group represents the majority of our employees’ views,” Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox said earlier this year.

The company will “continue to insist on measures for a fair election that allows for a majority of our employee voices to be heard,” Torres said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Read original article here

World

Newly found Fukushima plant contamination may delay cleanup

Leave a comment

TOKYO (AP) — A draft investigation report into the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown, adopted by Japanese nuclear regulators Wednesday, says it has detected dangerously high levels of radioactive contamination at two of the three reactors, adding to concerns about decommissioning challenges.

The interim report said data collected by investigators showed that the sealing plugs sitting atop the No. 2 and 3 reactor containment vessels were as fatally contaminated as nuclear fuel debris that had melted and fell to the bottom of the reactors following the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake.

The experts said the bottom of the sealed plug, a triple-layered concrete disc-shaped lid 12 meters (39 feet) in diameter sitting atop the primary containment vessel, is coated with high levels of radioactive Cesium 137.

The No. 1 reactor lid was less contaminated, presumably because the plug was slightly knocked out of place and disfigured due to the impact of the hydrogen explosion, the report said.

The experts measured radiation levels at multiple locations inside the three reactor buildings, and examined how radioactive materials moved and safety equipment functioned during the accident. They also said venting attempt at Unit 2 to prevent reactor damage never worked, and that safety measures and equipment designs still need to be examined.

The lid contamination does not affect the environment as the containment vessels are enclosed inside the reactor buildings. The report did not give further details about if or how the lid contamination would affect the decommissioning progress.

Nuclear Regulation Commission Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa called the findings “extremely serious” and said they would make melted fuel removal “more difficult.” He said figuring out how to remove the lids would be a major challenge.

Removing an estimated 900 tons of melted fuel debris from three reactors is a daunting task expected to take decades, and officials have not been able to describe exactly when or how it may end.

The Fukushima plant was to start removing melted fuel debris from Unit 2, the first of three reactors, later this year ahead of the 10th anniversary of the accident. But in December, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government announced a delay until 2022. They said the development of a robotic arm for the debris removal — a joint project with Britain — has been delayed due to the pandemic.

Under the current plan, a remote-controlled robotic arm will be inserted from the side of the reactor to reach the molten fuel mixed with melted parts and concrete floor of the reactor. Eventually the lids also would have to be removed, but their contamination is a major setback.

The team of experts entered areas inside the three reactors that were previously highly contaminated and inaccessible after radiation levels came down significantly. They’re seeking data and evidence before they get lost in the cleanup.

Massive radiation from the reactors has caused some 160,000 people to evacuate from around the plant. Tens of thousands are still unable to return home.

___

Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi



Read original article here

Sports

Cactus League Informs MLB Of Desire To Delay Start Of Spring Training

Leave a comment

Less than a month before players are set to report to Spring Training, Arizona’s Cactus League has submitted a formal request to commissioner Rob Manfred asking that the start of Spring Training be delayed due to the Covid-19 infection rate in Maricopa County (Twitter link via Brahm Resnick of 12 News in Arizona). The Cactus League itself does not have the authority to delay the start of Spring Training, but its formal request figures to elicit a response from the commissioner’s office.

“Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Cactus League has formed a task force to ensure that our 10 spring training facilities are prepared to host the 2021 spring training season in a manner that is safe for all involved,” executive director Bridget Binsbacher wrote in a letter co-signed by nine other key members of the Cactus League. “We stand ready to work with you on the final preparation and outcome to begin the season. … But in the view of the current state of the pandemic in Maricopa County — with one of the nation’s highest infection rates — we believe it wise to delay the start of spring training to allow for the Covid-19 situation to improve here.”

The county’s appeal, however, doesn’t figure to have an effect on policy unless the players change their position – and on this issue they have been clear. In response to the letter from the Cactus League, the MLBPA released its own statement, reiterating their desire (and insistence) to start on time. “Although we have not received any communication directly, the MLBPA is aware of a letter that has been distributed today by the Cactus League Association,” the letter begins. It goes on to say, “The letter correctly notes that MLB does not have the ability to unilaterally make this decision.”

In negotiating the rules and conditions for the 2021 season, the MLBPA has been staunch in their desire to play a full season, which logistically necessitates a regularly-scheduled spring session under most if not all scenarios under consideration. For there to be any movement on the players’ part, owners and the league would have to account for the money that players would lose by delaying and truncating the season. This may be the players’ greatest point of leverage, and it’s not one they appear willing to compromise without considerable concessions on the league’s part. For what it’s worth, the NHL is currently active in Glendale with fans in the stands, notes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Glendale was one of the cities to sign the letter sent to the league.

There are basically two scenarios that could result in a delayed Spring Training. The first would be the local health crisis growing dire enough such that health officials mandate restrictions that conflict with the league’s ability to open camps. Considering the already-dire nature of the crisis at present, this isn’t considered a particularly likely outcome. The other possibility is the MLB and the MLBPA deciding together that a delay of camp is the proper course of action.



Read original article here