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The world's largest video rental chain has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit over what plaintiffs' attorneys are calling "excessive late fees." Asserting that late fees are punitive and exceed any real costs incurred, Santa Monica law firm O'Neill, Lysaght & Sunn, LLP filed suit against <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster Inc.</A> Wednesday, August 23, in Los Angeles. The plaintiff: one Monica Rocha of Hollywood, and a "class" of other Blockbuster customers.

Some consumer-electronics manufacturers are plunging ahead with increased production and new models of digital television sets, despite continuing controversy about broadcasting standards and a scarcity of high-definition programming.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com">CBS Television</A> and Thomson multimedia's <A HREF="http://www.rca.com">RCA</A> brand announced that they have entered into an advertising agreement for Thomson to underwrite the costs of producing high-definition coverage of Super Bowl XXXV as well as the four AFC playoff games. CBS reports that all NFL HDTV programming will be broadcast in 1920x1080i, the highest-definition widescreen digital television format.

With the slow but sure move toward providing consumers with digital television and other services via cable, the set-top box manufacturers have been aggressively jockeying for a position in the audio video system. In a deal sure to give Philips' market share a boost, <A HREF="http://www.att.com/">AT&T Broadband</A> and <A HREF="http://www.philips.com">Philips Electronics</A> announced last week their plan to market Philips' digital cable set-top boxes to US consumers beginning in 2001.