Englewood, Colo. - The Fox, NBC, and CBS broadcast TV networks made their feelings known about Dish Network's new "Auto Hop" commercial skipping feature by filing lawsuits against the satellite TV provider for violating copyright and retransmission.

Englewood Cliffs, N.J. - LG Electronics USA kicked off a national advertising campaign Thursday, called "Only LG," which is aimed at generating excitement for its Cinema 3D TVs by telling the story through the consumers' eyes.

Bentonville, Ark. - Walmart will offer discounted prices on select CE products as part of its June 3-9 Father's Day event.

Offerings, which will be available in stores and/or online, will include:

•        a 32-inch Element LCD TV (720p, 60Hz)  for $198
•        a 40-inch Element LCD TV (1080p, 60Hz) for $278
•        a 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 for $249, a $109 savings;

Tokyo - Following its recently announced plans to scale back in-house television component production, Sony Corp. said Thursday that it is ending its joint venture with Sharp to produce and sell large-screen LCDs.

According to reports from Japan, Sony will sell back to Sharp its 7 percent stake in the Sharp Display Products Corp. joint venture that began in 2009.

Sony will receive 10 billion yen ($126 million) for the stake, which is what it originally invested in the operation based in Sakai city, western Japan.

New York - Best Buy has begun offering in select New York City stores what it describes as the first web- and app-enabled AC thermostat.

The thermostat, and an accompanying smart outlet, both developed by energy-management vendor ThinkEco, will allow consumers to control their ACs remotely via smartphone app or browser, effectively transforming a stand-alone window unit into a smart, networked appliance.

Torrance, Calif. - Rydeen took the wraps off the next generation of its navigation rearview mirror, model MN312S.
 

Arlington, Va. - Installed home technology is strongly solidified in builders' portfolios of services and offerings, according to the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) "10th Annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study."

Entertainment and automation solutions are helping builders differentiate their businesses, while more common home technologies like structured wiring are necessary to compete effectively in the market.

Carlsbad, Calif. - The new Nortek group that consolidates the company's AVC Group brands with the previously independent SpeakerCraft/Proficient and Panamax/Furman brands will realign all nine brands into three business groups to reduce product and R&D duplication and deliver programs with higher impact, a group executive told TWICE.

Center Valley, Pa. - Olympus introduced Thursday an M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f/1.8 high-grade portrait lens to its glass lineup for the Pen Micro Four Thirds and OM-D camera lines.

The new prime lens, which will hit shelves this summer at a $900 suggested retail, offers a comparative 150mm focal length using a 35mm camera, and includes high-speed autofocusing; the single-focal-length telephoto lens is optimized for studio, stage, indoor sports and portrait photography.

Cherry Hill, N.J. - National CE and appliance distributor Almo kicked off its annual four-city convention series here this week with its Mid-Atlantic Expo.