The new game Call of Duty: Black Ops, shipping Nov. 9, “looks truly amazing in 3D,” but the company doesn’t expect “it to materially impact the number of units sold this year,” new Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said. The game’s use of stereoscopic 3D “speaks more towards our dedication to innovation and creating the best possible experience for our fans,” he said on a conference call.

Associations have their work cut out for them meeting incoming freshman GOP lawmakers now that the House has shifted to Republican control with Tuesday’s midterm elections, trade-group executives agreed. They said their groups will make a push with new lawmakers about their issues largely by using current lobbyists experienced working with both parties on Capitol Hill. The midterms represent an opportunity for the groups to tell new committee chairmen and committee members early on about their issues, association executives said.

Qualcomm will incur $125 million to $175 million in restructuring expenses in fiscal 2011 as it positions FLO TV for possible sale, joint venture or wholesale service, executives said on a conference call. Qualcomm suspended direct-to-consumer sales of FLO TV this fall (CED Oct 5 p8), but is in discussions with “several interested parties” about a future direction for the service, CEO Paul Jacobs said. Money budgeted for 2011 will fund FLO TV as it reduces expenses and “better position it for the strategic alternatives” Qualcomm is considering, Jacobs said. Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI), which includes FLO TV, had $132 million in operating expenses in Q4, the company said.

Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club on Thursday again reported weak TV sales, saying same-store sales in the category were weaker in October than in the same month a year earlier. Target didn’t single out TV or CE overall but said hardlines same-store sales fell “in the low single-digit range” for the four weeks ended Oct. 30, with “the softest performance in music, movies and books."

THQ is “encouraged” with the strong initial reaction to its coming uDraw GameTablet peripheral that will ship Nov. 14 in the U.S., CEO Brian Farrell said in an earnings call Wednesday. Retail partners, as well as parents and children, reacted favorably to the product, he said.

Time Warner Cable said it will soon introduce a low-cost, smaller package of TV channels. The “budget-oriented video offering” is “consistent with our belief that some customers would like a smaller package,” CEO Glenn Britt told analysts Thursday after the company reported Q3 financial results. Cablevision executives endorsed the idea but said it would be difficult to implement given the preferred regulatory treatment TV stations enjoy among all sources of cable content.

ESPN Research + Analytics released results Thursday of what it called “the most extensive body of 3D research ever done,” conducted during ESPN’s telecast of the 2010 World Cup soccer matches from South Africa and comprising more than 1,000 test sessions at the two-year-old Disney Media and Advertising Lab in Austin, Texas.

Electronic Arts has 3D content and “when the market’s there” for it, “we're ready,” EA Chief Operating Officer John Schappert said in a Tuesday earnings call. But he said, “We think it’s still kind of early,” predicting it will be “a little bit more interesting next year.” CEO John Riccitiello said he saw more “potential” for EA in Internet Protocol TV than 3D. EA is “watching that very carefully,” he said, calling IPTV “a priority that’s high for us."

All lawmakers who worked on e-waste issues on Capitol Hill were reelected Tuesday. Officials in industry and environmental groups voiced uncertainty about where House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Tex., stood on the e-waste export issue or a comprehensive federal e-waste policy. Barton intends to make a bid for the chairmanship of the committee, he told Warren Communications News. But some industry sources said that Fred Upton, R-Mich., ranking member of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee is likely to take over the full committee and John Shimkus, R-Ill., will become chairman of the subcommittee.

Growth in the number of 3D screens worldwide and the rise in 3D movie releases led to a 69 percent revenue increase to $65.3 million for RealD, according to the company’s fiscal Q2 2011 earnings report, while net loss was $5.1 million, $0.12 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.4 million, $0.22 per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.