NEWS
Monday
12th May to Monday 19th May 2003
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Friday
16th May 2003
NTL Q1, core earnings rise
UPC,
end of Chapter 11 delayed
UK
3G, biggest ever tax claim?
Wanadoo
to launch eXtense WiFi wireless
Liberty
Media, Q1 profit
Sogecable
loses money and subscribers
Deutsche
Telekom back in black
Battle
of the French news channels
Does
Live live?
ANIEL
blames TV operators for DTT crisis
DISH
Network broadens Spanish offering
SpaceTV
to launch DTH service in India?
NTL
Q1, core earnings rise
Britain's largest cable company NTL, reported a rise in customers and first-quarter
core earnings just ahead of its own forecast, despite a decline in turnover.
"We're always pleased to make a good start to the year, and we think that with
our fast start, we'll be in good shape to continue the momentum throughout the
year," Chief Executive Barclay Knapp said.
The cableco, which emerged from bankruptcy this year, contrived an E9.5 billion
debt restructuring as part of one of the largest bankruptcies in US history,
which handed the company to its bond holders.
NTL nearly halved its first quarter net loss to E221.6 million helped by lower
interest payments. The company's shares have doubled in value in the past month.
EBITDA was E218 million in the three months to the end of March, ahead of its
own forecast of E217 million. Turnover fell to E763 million pounds from E778.4
million in the first quarter of 2002, but EBITDA margin rose to 28.6 per cent
from 27.7 per cent as the company cut costs.
Despite the slump in TV subscriptions, taking account of broadband connections
NTL added 27,100 net new UK customers in the quarter. NTL has lost 150,000 TV
subscribers since the beginning of 2002, with 18,000 of those going since December.
Capital expenditure fell to E115.5 million in the quarter from E150 million.
NTL's the debt-for-equity swap, which wiped out much of the debt piled up in
an acquisition spree at the peak of the 1990s technology boom, resulted in a
one-off non-cash exceptional gain of E5.9 billion.
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UPC,
end of Chapter 11 delayed
Dutch cable operator UPC said that a court appeal by a small creditor against
its life-saving debt swap would delay its emergence from Chapter 11 and the
completion of its recapitalisation. The company is under bankruptcy protection
in the United States and the Netherlands.
"We believe the appeal is without merit. However, the appeal will delay the
effective date for emergence from Chapter 11 and ... the completion of the recapitalisation
beyond the end of the second quarter 2003," UPC said in a quarterly results
statement.
UPC, which is controlled by John Malone's Liberty Media, said in April that
InterComm Holdings had appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court after a lower court
rejected its objection to the debt swap plan, which would erase two thirds of
UPC's E10.4 billion of debt.
The cable company had planned to complete the highly dilutive conversion by
the end of March, but the plan was delayed by a last-minute objection from InterComm.
A US court and Dutch appeals court have already ruled against Intercomm's objections.
UPC posted first-quarter net income before tax of E57 million, moving from a
E396 million loss in first-quarter of 2002.
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UK
3G, biggest ever tax claim?
BRITAIN's five mobile phone operators are considering launching a claim for
a E5.9 billion refund of VAT. According to the The Times the companies believe
the E33 billion they paid in the 3G licence auction three years ago included
VAT.
The Government says the sale of licences was VATexempt, a position that is now
being challenged. If the operators could prove that VAT was part of the price,
they could apply for a VAT refund worth 17.5 per cent of the total, from Customs
and Excise. Apparently all Britain's operators (Vodafone, Orange, mmO2, T-Mobile
and Hutchison Whampoa's '3') have examined the issue carefully. public.
The challenge has originated in Germany where MNOs are already pursuing a reclaim.
A spokesman for KPN said: "There is no consensus amongst tax experts as to whether
VAT was applicable on the licences. There are discussions ongoing in Germany,
and legal action is always possible if the tax authorities are not willing to
comply."
The EU's Sixth VAT Directive, which governs the tax's basic principles, says
VAT should not generally apply to public authorities. However, it also says
that if a public authority engages in one of a list of specified activities,
including telecoms, then VAT must be levied. However a VAT expert interviewed
by the paper said a claim would be 'optimistic' but given the sums involved
probably inevitable.
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Wanadoo
to launch eXtense WiFi wireless
On May 19th Wanadoo, a subsidiary of France Telecom, will introduce the first
WiFi package for secure wireless Internet access. Wanadoo will offer a new 'eXtense
WiFi' wireless broadband package for consumers and small businesses.
The WiFi wireless broadband solution provides a high-speed Internet connection
with no wires needed between the modem and the computer. With its modem router,
several computers can share the same network.
There will be a three month offer for the package, which will cost E200, a discount
of E99 off the regular price of E299 when the customer signs for a 12 months
subscription. The package will be available at France Telecom stores and from
participating resellers.
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Liberty
Media, Q1 profit
John Malone's Liberty Media turned in a first-quarter net profit boosted by
increased ad sales its Discovery unit. The company posted a profit of $132 million,
compared with a net loss of $1.5 billion, a year earlier although this was almost
entirely down to accounting changes related to goodwill amortization. Before
the changes the equivalent figure was $302 million.
Total revenue for the quarter slipped 1.6 per cent to $505 million from $513
million.
Liberty owns stakes in a range of media and communications companies, including
Discovery Communications, Sprint PCS, QVC and USA Interactive. In early March,
Liberty told Comcast Corp it wanted to either sell its 42 per cent stake in
home-shopping network QVC or become its sole owner. That triggered an on-going
process for determining the future of QVC, trying to determine its market value.
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Sogecable
loses money and subscribers
From David del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish pay-TV giant Sogecable declared a loss of E17.2 million in the first
quarter of the year, against a deficit of E10.5 million on the same period last
year.
Its turnover increased 6.4 per cent reaching E269 million, of which E199.6 million
was subscribers' revenues, down 1.3 per cent. EBITDA grew by 31.7 per cent reaching
E29.6 million.
The company lost subscribers in the period. As of March 31, Canal Plus had 1.8
million subscribers, 92,6143 down against the same period last year, while Canal
Satelite lost 56,247 subscribers, reaching 1,200,898 subscribers.
Sogecable announced that the new single platform, result of the merger between
Canal Satelite Digital and Via Digital, will launch in July with an offer of
more than 160 channels. The name of the new company will be known by the end
of this month. Even though Telefonica will become the largest shareholder in
the company with a 23 per cent stake, Sogecable and Canal Plus France, with
a 16.3 per cent stake each one, will control the new platform.
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Deutsche
Telekom back in black
German operator Deutsche Telekom, Europe's biggest telecommunications company,
reported a return to the black in the first quarter and raised its target range
for core earnings.
Net income in the three months to March 31st was E850 million compared with
a loss of E1.8 billion in the same period last year. Stripping out positive
tax effects and the sale of shareholdings, net income was E100 million compared
with a E1.4 billion loss. Group revenue rose 6.6 per cent to E13.6 billion.
The group it said it cut net debt by E4.8 billion in the quarter to E56.3 billion
as it rolled out its programme of the sale of non-strategic assets, including
a 15 per cent stake in Russian mobile operator MTS, and free cashflow jumped
to E2 billion from E300 million a year ago.
Group income benefited from improved core earnings at all of its four divisions
as revenue growth and cost-cutting boosted margins.
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Battle
of the French news channels
From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris
Just as the French government is about to announce the creation of an international
news channel, the battle between LCI (subsidiary of TF1) and i-Television (part
of Canal Plus) is gaining momentum. A few months ago Canal Satellite told TF1
that it would no longer carry its news channel after this summer. Now Isabelle
Parize, CEO of Canal Satellite, has explained why in an interview in French
daily Le Monde.
She said that she had been trying to meet the management of TF1 to discuss terms
since the carriage agreement came up for renewal in December 2001. The arrangement
was renewed for a year to keep the channel on air in the meantime. In December
2002 Canal Satellite told TF1 that carriage of LCI would terminate within six
months. It was only at the end of April 2003 that she finally managed to meet
them, as the ultimatum is nearing its term.
Canal Satellite, which currently pays a fee linked to the number of subscribers,
of about E10 million a year, is offering a flat rate of E12 million for the
next three years. Parize said that it is not for Canal Satellite to finance
TF1's news gathering operation. LCI has an annual budget of E45 million, considerably
more than either Euronews or i-Television (Canal Plus' own news channel) which
each have a similarly sized operation but with an annual budget of E30 million.
Some suspect that TF1 is using LCI to subsidize the news gathering of the main
channel.
Parize was hopeful that an agreement would be reached, pointing out that LCI
gains an estimated E7 million a year in advertising by virtue of the size of
its audience via Canal Satellite. The costs of LCI are not related to the number
of subscribers (unlike the case with film channels) so there is no reason to
pay a carriage fee on a per-subscriber basis; LCI already gains advertising
revenue linked to subscriber numbers. TF1 has four legal procedures currently
under way against Canal Plus - concerning football rights, poaching management,
and a complaint about cross advertising, as well as the one on LCI.
Asked about the long mooted merger between TPS and Canal Satellite, Parize said
that such a merger made sense to subscribers, to channel suppliers and to operators.
However the current tense climate between the operators makes it unlikely.
Canal Satellite hopes to get a further 200,000 subscribers this year, bringing
its total to 2,250,000. Churn is very moderate, only 8.4 per cent.
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to top
Does
Live live?
Could the notorious Live TV - complete with topless darts, news bunny and naked
weather forecasts - be returning to British screens? A group of former executives
of Live TV are said to be planning its resurrection.
Four years after the Mirror Group axed the cable TV station, Mark Cullen, the
former managing director of Live TV, and former head of programming Mark Murphy
are working to revive it, according to The Guardian.
Apparently staff have already been hired for the station which is planned for
the Sky TV network. Despite dismal ratings of around 100,000 viewers, Live TV's
colourful creators - lead by the former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie - turned
it into a media obsession.
Most famous of all was the news bunny, a giant rabbit that popped up on screen
during news broadcasts to give a cheery thumbs-up or a po-faced thumbs down
depending on the news.
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ANIEL
blames TV operators for DTT crisis
From David del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish National Electronic Association (ANIEL) has accused TV operators
of hampering the development of digital terrestrial television in Spain for
the lack of exclusive digital TV content and has called on them to get down
to work to develop the market.
Until exclusive digital content is developed, nobody will be interested in the
market, declared Jesus Banegas, President of ANIEL. For him, the electronic
industry is already prepared for a massive DTT launch, with set-top-boxes available
in the market at E150.
TV operators have a different view. They argue that the lack of set-top-boxes
available in the market is to blame for the present deadlock. Both, want the
Government to to mediate and regulate the market to get rid of the present vicious
circle.
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DISH
Network broadens Spanish offering
EchoStar's DISH Network, a satellite television provider, will add TeleFutura,
the US's newest Spanish-language television network, together with Univision
West, to its three DISH Latino programming packages and its America's Top 100
programming package. Dish will also incorporate movie channels, De Pelõcula
and De Pelõcula Cl‡sico, and music and lifestyle channel, Telehit.
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SpaceTV
to launch DTH service in India?
From Shbeta Malik in New Dehli
The Information & Broadcasting Ministry, a division of Indian Government, has
issued a conditional letter of intent (LoI) to NewsCorp's venture Space TV for
the proposed launch of the direct-to-home (DTH) television service. Space TV
had applied for the DTH licence in April last year.
Following the issuing of the LoI, Space TV can now officially go ahead with
the work of putting together a DTH platform. But before the final launch, the
company will have to adhere to the stringent guidelines stipulated by the Indian
Government.
As per the guidelines, the applicant company will have to ensure that the majority
of board directors should be resident Indians and also the chief executive officer.
In the DTH venture, foreign equity should not exceed 49 per cent while the Forign
Direct Investment should not be more than 20 per cent. Besides an `Indian partner,
other mandatory clause includes the uplinking of service only through an Indian
satellite. The company will have to ensure inter-operability of set-top-boxes
used in DTH as well. What's the FDI?
According to industry estimates, a typical DTH venture would need investments
worth between $ 400-500 million. The number of cable households in the country
is expected to double to 80 million in the next 10 years. DTH is likely to capture
15 per cent of this.
Besides Space TV, state-owned broadcasting division Prasar Bharati, Data Access,
ASC Enterprises Agrani and Essel-Shyam Communication have also announced their
plans to enter the DTH field. The Government has also given its consent to an
Indian company, the Essel Groups ASC Enterprises, for launching DTH operations
in the country.
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to top
Thursday
15th May 2003
Murdoch:
No buying spree
Hutchison
3G, UK CEO move
Mobilcom
sells 3G network
TV
images via MMS
Sky
Italia to offer History Channel
Liberate,
new independent Directors appointed
ND
SatCom opens subsidiary in the US
Murdoch:
No buying spree
Speaking after announcement of the News Corp Q3 results Rupert Murdoch has dismissed
suggestions he is planning to take over UK's terrestrial broadcaster Channel
5 and ruled out investing further in US television and newspapers.
Speaking in light of regulatory changes in both the US and UK that would allow
him for the first time to expand his ownership of TV and newspaper assets, he
said: "We do not see ourselves going out on a buying binge of television stations'.
we do not have any plans at this stage to be going out buying newspapers in
America'I've never asked to buy Channel 5 and if it went to a vote of the Sky
board, I would vote against it."
News Corp reported a E239m Q3 net profit against a E3b loss last time caused
by the write-down of its Gemstar investment. The company said revenues in the
quarter to the end of March rose 14 per cent year on year to E3.8b with operating
income up 25 per cent to E595 million.
Meanwhile BSKYB, Murdoch's UK satellite broadcaster, is to launch a multimillion-pound
marketing campaign to promote Sky Plus, its personal video recorder system,
in an effort to boost subscription revenues.
Until now Sky Plus has attracted just 79,000 subscribers. Potential subscribers
have probably been put off by the price of the service: the receiver already
costs Sky subscribers E278, but Sky Plus attracts another E14-a-month fee.
Extra revenues from Sky Plus would help the satellite group to achieve its target
of raising an average of E560 per subscriber every year.
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Hutchison
3G, UK CEO move
Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa announced that Dr Colin Tucker, currently Managing
Director of '3' UK, will be appointed as Deputy Chairman of 3 UK. In addition,
he will also be appointed Deputy Chairman of the HWL European Telecommunication
Group and to the main boards of Hutchison Whampoa's '3'operations in Italy,
Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Israel and Australia. In his new role, Dr
Tucker will serve as a principal advisor to the Hutchison Whampoa Managing Director
in relation to group's ongoing roll-out and development of '3' services worldwide.
Bob Fuller, currently co-CEO of Italian's '3' Italy, has joined the main board
of 3 UK and will be appointed as co-CEO with Dr Tucker. Dr Tucker will assist
Fuller in taking up his new position, whilst focusing principally on strategic
matters and industry relations. In order to further promote the close co-operation
between 3 Italy and 3 UK, Fuller will remain as a main board director of 3 Italy
and Vincenzo Novari, CEO of 3 Italy, has been appointed as a main board director
of 3 UK.
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Mobilcom
sells 3G network
German mobile operator Mobilcom is to sell its 3,723 UMTS sites to rival German
mobile company E-Plus. Mobilcom, which narrowly avoided bankruptcy last year
has looking for a buyer for its 3G network.
The agreement releases Mobilcom from all of its coverage obligations - contained
in the original licence agreement. E-Plus will receive an immediate boost to
its own 3G plans, with some 931 of Mobilcom's sites said to be already fitted
with 3G base stations. A further 2,000 sites have plans drawn up and are ready
for equipment installation.
Whilst both sides were being coy about the terms of the deal, which still awaits
the approval of the German Federal Cartel Board, it is believed that E-Plus
paid around E20 million. It is understood that France Telecom, Mobilcom's long-term
backer, will receive some E18 million.
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to top
TV
images via MMS
Ericsson Mobility World UK & Ireland and Digisoft.tv have signed an agreement
to promote Digisoft's MMS interactive TV application, DigiMMS software.
DigiMMS, allows TV viewers to send and receive MMS messages from their TV set,
encouraging users to trial the new technology before upgrading to the latest
MMS capable handsets. Users select an image using the remote control and send
it to their friend's phone or TV. Digisoft uses industry standards such as MHP
and MMS protocols such as MM3 and MM7, by which it can offer a solution to each
industry.
DigiMMS will generate revenues for mobile operators and broadcasters through
increased traffic, possible subscription charges, message forwarding and notification
services. Messaging over Interactive TV is expected to help mobile operators
to create a mass audience interest needed for MMS adoption.
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Sky
Italia to offer History Channel
Sky Italia, the new pay TV platform result of the merger between Stream and
Telepiu, will begin transmissions this summer and amongst its 100 new channels,
it will now also offer The History Channel (THC).
THC's parent company and Fox International Channels have inked a deal to launch
the channel in Italy. Schedule to launch in July 2003, THC will air as an Italian
language 24-hour network throughout the country on Sky Italia platform, featuring
programming from both the National Geographic and The History Channel. This
is the first time National Geographic and THC have worked together.
The History Channel in Italy will have a local profile with historical programmes
specially made for the Italian audience. "Successful channels tend to be localised
channels," Simon Pollack, MD of THC Europe said, "we want an Italian localised
channel with an international reach."
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to top
Liberate,
new independent Directors appointed
Liberate Technologies, a provider of software and services for cable and telecommunications
networks, announced the appointment of Robert Walker and Patrick Jones to its
board of Directors. The appointments will take effect when Liberate files its
amended annual report and other outstanding reports with the SEC.
From 1999 to 2001, Walker was the Chief Financial Officer of Agilent Technologies.
Prior to his work with Agilent, Walker worked for Hewlett Packard for 24 years.
Jones currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of several other
leading international public and private technology companies. He is Chairman
of the Board of Dione, PLC; and a director of Genesys, SA; QRS Corporation;
and SmartTrust, AB. From 1998-2001, he was Chief Financial Officer of Gemplus,
SA, the leading worldwide manufacturer of smart cards.
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to top
ND
SatCom opens subsidiary in the US
ND SatCom of Germany, a global supplier of satellite based broadband VSAT, has
founded a US subsidiary, ND SatCom, Inc. In response to the increasing global
demand for satellite communication solutions in the Americas, the subsidiary
will be ready for operation by the end of May to cover ND SatCom's activities
in region. Christopher Morris has been appointed as President & CEO of ND SatCom
American subsidiary.
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Wednesday
14th May
BSkyB,
big profit boost in Q3
Universal,
lawsuit against Bertelsmann
Muslim-American
TV to launch?
Telewest
takes home broadband to 2Mbps
New
CEO in Canal Digital
India sat launch success
EchoStar
moves bird
TW
Cable deploys new Pace DC-550 HD set-top
Insight
buys Harmonic systems
BSkyB, big profit boost in Q3
British Sky Broadcasting, the UK pay-television company lead by Rupert Murdoch,
reported a fiscal third-quarter operating profit before exceptionals of E97
million, compared with E16 million the previous year. The gain of customers
from rivals and increased subscription prices helped to its positive results
as the company declared its net DTH subscribers had grown 150,000 in the quarter
to 6.7 million. The ARPU in the quarter was E510, an increase of 7 per cent
over the same quarter last year and E18 higher than the ARPU for the quarter
to December 31, 2002 reflecting price hikes in the New Year.
Operating profit before goodwill and exceptional items increased to E355.6 million
for the nine months, an increase of 96 per cent on the comparable period. Total
revenues grew by 15 per cent on the comparable period to E3,263 million, whilst
operating expenditure rose by just 9per cent to E2,908 million, generating a
net operating margin of 11 per cent.
DTH revenues increased by 23 per cent to E2.53 billion in the nine months ended
March 31 This is principally a result of the 14 per cent increase in the average
number of DTH subscribers and the continued growth in ARPU.
The Group's advertising revenues continue to increase, achieving 15 per cent
growth on the comparable period to E285.6 million. Wholesale revenues fell by
34 per cent on the comparable period to E204.4 million. This reduction in revenue,
the broadcaster claims, is a direct result of the loss of cable subscribers
by NTL and Telewest over the last 12 months and the fall in cable ARPU as the
number of premium units taken by subscribers has declined. Conversely, the penetration
of Sky's basic channels, Sky One and Sky News, has increased to 100 per cent
of all cable homes and Sky Sports News has now increased its penetration to
85 per cent of digital cable homes.
Sky Active revenues performed strongly, increasing by 12 per cent on the comparable
period to E104 million. This increase was principally driven by further usage
of interactive advertising, SkyBuy (Sky's wholly owned retail business) and
increased revenues from interactive programming.
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Universal,
lawsuit against Bertelsmann
Vivendi Universal's music arm, Universal Music Group, filed a lawsuit against
Bertelsmann, accusing the German media group of copyright infringement through
its investment in Napster, the failed song-swapping service.
Universal's lawsuit, filed on Monday in New York, adds to the flurry of litigation
against the financial backers of Napster, which filed for bankruptcy last year
after a Bertelsmann bail-out failed. In February, a group of songwriters and
music publishers, filed a E14 billion copyright infringement lawsuit against
Bertelsmann. Last month Universal and EMI, the UK music group, sued Hummer Winblad,
the venture capital group that invested in Napster.
Universal is expected to seek to join its lawsuit with that of the music publishers.
Although Universal's claim covers alleged infringements of recorded music copyrights,
the legal basis for its claim is the same as that of the music publishers. Universal's
lawsuit makes no mention of damages. Under the copyright act, however, the company
can seek up to E130,000 in compensation for every instance of copyright infringement.
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Muslim-American
TV to launch?
A group of US investors is planning to launch a new television channel for Muslim-Americans
from studios in Manhattan aimed at reducing prejudice toward Muslims following
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The new channel, called Bridges TV, will
offer programming from comedies and dramas to documentaries and prayer services.
It's expected to debut in the summer of 2004 if sufficient support from cable
and satellite TV providers is forthcoming.
Bridges TV has attracted E0.89 million in 'seed capital' and it has won endorsements
from Muslim-American groups and celebrities such as boxer Muhammad Ali and basketball
player Hakeem Olajuwan.
Cable TV experts reportedly said the new channel has a decent chance of being
picked up by a digital or satellite service if it delivers 10,000 potential
subscribers. A campaign, announced May 2, has secured pledges from 1,500 so
far.
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Telewest
takes home broadband to 2Mbps
Cable firm Telewest has launched its 2Mbps home broadband internet service after
a month-long trial.
The firm signed up 1,500 of its 1Mbps users for a pilot phase last month to
evaluate interest, but admitted that it didn't expect the service to be snapped
up by its mainstream customers. Telewest said that over 30,000 of its 310,000
broadband customers had migrated from a 512Kbps to a 1Mbps service, and that
feedback from the trial suggested that offering the 2Mbps service will prove
viable.
The 2Mbps service will cost E70 per month if users have one or more of Telewest's
other services, such as digital TV or telephone. Otherwise it will cost E76.89
per month.
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New
CEO in Canal Digital
Christian Albech has temporarily been appointed CEO of Canal Digital AS, the
biggest television distribution company in the Nordic countries. Mr. Albech
is deputy managing director of Telenor Broadcast and he has broad experience
of Telenor's television operations.
Christian Albech is taking over from Terje Tandberg who has been Canal Digital's
CEO since early 2002. Mr. Tandberg is leaving his employment at his own request,
for personal and health reasons.
Canal Digital distributes TV-signals to more than three million households in
the Nordic countries and is the biggest television distribution company in those
countries. When Canal Digital last summer became a wholly owned subsidiary of
Telenor, it was only natural to gather Telenor's television operations in the
Nordic countries under the brand name of Canal Digital. All television distribution,
both by cable, satellite and SMATV, has been gathered in one common organisation.
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India
sat launch success
India has successfully placed an experimental communications satellite into
orbit after it tested its launch vehicle four days ago, the space agency said
yesterday.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the satellite, GSAT-2, was
placed in the geostationary orbit, and all systems on board GSAT-2 satellite
are functioning well".The GSAT-2 satellite has seven transponders and four piggyback
experimental payloads including a solar X-ray spectrometer and a radio beacon
experiment to investigate the ionosphere.
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EchoStar
moves bird
US comms watchdog, the Federal Communications Commission, last week authorised
EchoStar to operate a satellite using three DBS channels at the 157-degree orbital
location.
The FCC reportedly gave EchoStar 120 days to move its satellite - EchoStar 4
- from its present orbital location to 157 degrees. EchoStar asked the commission
for permission to move EchoStar 4, which has experienced a number of anomalies
while in service, since it would be easier to operate the satellite's control
system and orientation at the far Western location.
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TW
Cable deploys new Pace DC-550 HD set-top
Time Warner Cable has started to deploy Pace's new DC-550 HD Digital Cable set-top.
Pace said that its DC-550 HD box has numerous features that will enable cable
operators to offer what their consumers are looking for in a HD solution, including:
260 MIPS processing power and 64 MB of memory, HD cable set-top with component
video loop-through connectivity, optical and electrical audio loop-through connectivity,
video scaling in program guides, and has dynamic management of output scan rate
conversions and aspect ratios.
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Insight
buys Harmonic systems
US cable TV operator Insight Communications has deployed the Harmonic video-on-demand
(VOD) system to upgrade and expand its existing service. Insight Communications
has 1.4 million customers.
Insight Communications New Technology Integration vice president Patrick Forde
said, "VOD is an integral part of our strategy, both in the short and long term,
providing a critical competitive advantage and substantial revenue potential.
After assessing our initial experience with on-demand services, we found an
IP-based network is essential to maintaining the quality and value our customers
have come to expect. It also better enables us to scale our services as needed."
Harmonic Inc also announced it has enhanced its NMX Digital Service Manager(TM)
to provide visual monitoring capabilities for cable operators using Harmonic's
VOD platform. Harmonic's NMX now communicates directly with Narrowcast Services
Gateway(TM) (NSG) edge devices to deliver real time information for evaluating
the status of the network equipment.
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to top
Tuesday
13th May
BBC Vecta, new venture capital
arm
AOL,
Bertelsmann to merge music businesses?
FCC
close to relaxing US TV caps
New
technology marries satellite unicast/multicast
Banks
OK Saban payment plan for Kirch
SARS stops Asia's leading broadcast showcases
Thai
National Channel pulled
GlobeCast,
US Government delivery deal
PanAmSat,
satellite insurance to expire
BBC
Vecta, new venture capital arm
UK public broadcaster the BBC, is launching a new venture capital company to
develop and sell broadcasting services around the world in a drive by the corporation
to exploit public-private partnerships, the FT reported.
The venture, to be known as BBC Vecta, will be charged with using BBC technology
and services to form start-up companies that could be sold, floated or placed
in joint ventures with commercial rivals.
The new business arm, part of the BBC Ventures division, has a target of launching
and potentially selling 12 companies over the next three years.
Managers of the new companies will include external appointments. BBC Vecta
will replace the existing start-up subsidiary, Kingswood Warren Ventures. The
first business to be developed by the venture capital project will specialise
in wireless broadcast systems.
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AOL,
Bertelsmann to merge music businesses?
German media giant Bertelsmann and AOL Time Warner are in talks to merge their
recorded music divisions in a bid to rival industry leader Vivendi Universal,
the Wall Street Journal reported. However, the valuation of each unit and who
would manage the venture is still uncertain.
A previous merger attempt by the companies in 2000 fell foul of European regulators,
who were concerned that such as deal would result in the world's five biggest
music companies shrinking to four. Recent rulings in the media sector have indicated
that regulators may now be more amenable to a deal involving the so-called 'big
five'.
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FCC
close to relaxing US TV caps
The US Federal Communications Commission is set to receive specific proposals
for deregulation this week. FCC Chairman Michael Powell is expected to propose
an increase in the US television cap to 45 per cent when he presents a draft
of new media ownership rules. The proposals, as yet unpublished, a scheduled
to be voted upon June 2.
Current regulations prevent one company from reaching more than 35 per cent
of the US national television audience. Increasing the cap would allow large
television networks to buy more local stations. It would also eliminate the
need for CBS (Viacom) and Fox (News Corp), who are currently in breach of the
cap, to divest stations.
The Senate commerce committee, which monitors the FCC, will hold a hearing this
week on media ownership during which some senators are likely to call on the
FCC to make its rules avaialble for public comment.
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New
technology marries satellite unicast/multicast
Internet via satellite provider Europe Online has unveiled a client application
that brings together the unicast/multicast experience for the end-user. Such
integration simultaneously ensures optimised bandwidth satellite utilisation
for satellite Internet operators and consumers alike, claims the company.
When installed on the user PC, the integrated unicast/multicast client automatically
detects and delivers any requested file over 5 MB, i.e., MP3s, films, software,
games, etc., to the user's desktop via satellite at 2 Mbps with Forward Error
Correction in multi-cast fashion. Europe Online suggests that this makes efficient
use of bandwidth for the operator and brings high-speed 2Mbps channels to the
user.
"It is well known that the satellite functions best in the broadcast or multicast
mode," said Candace Johnson, President of Europe Online Investments. "The challenge
for all pioneers in the High-Speed Satellite via Internet field has been to
capture this advantage, which is essentially a broadcast mode and adapt it to
individual or small group requests."
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Banks
OK Saban payment plan for Kirch
US billionaire Haim Saban's payment plan for the insolvent German television
giant KirchMedia, has been approved in principle by Kirch's creditors banks.
Under the new deal, the banks will access increased sums earlier than originally
scheduled. Saban will also bear some of the legal costs of the deal, according
to reports.
The banks' approval should clear the way for Saban to acquire Kirch's main assets:
the company's massive film-rights library and a controlling stake in leading
German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. Saban agreed in March to acquire
Kirch's broadcasting and rights activities in a deal that could be worth up
to E2 billion. But, in a letter to Saban two weeks ago, the lenders threatened
to withhold agreement, accusing the investor of altering the terms in his favour.
Saban has yet to provide BaFin, Germany's takeover watchdog, with the appropriate
information which would result in his exemption from a mandatory tender offer
for ProSiebenSAT.1's outstanding shares. Failure would add about E400 to the
purchase cost.
Meanwhile, the Frankfurt prosecutor will resume investigations against Deutsche
Bank's ex-CEO Rolf Breuer regarding a damage claim filed by Leo Kirch. Kirch,
founder and former CEO of Kirch Holding had appealed against the prosecutor's
decision in October not to pursue his compensation claim.
A Munich court in February ruled that a statement Breuer made in February 2002
on Bloomberg Television about the creditworthiness of Kirch didn't comply with
the rules of secrecy in client relationships. Breuer had previously confirmed
that he would appeal against the ruling.
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SARS
stops Asia's leading broadcast showcases
Asia's largest telecommunications and broadcasting shows, CommunicAsia and BroadcastAsia,
which were originally scheduled to take place next month, have been cancelled
as a result of the continuing SARS epidemic.
Event organiser Singapore Exhibition Services expects a E6 million loss in revenue
from the cancellation, but said the move was necessary because the SARS outbreak
had not stabilised.
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Thai
National Channel pulled
From Owen Hughes in Sydney
The long-standing difficulty in creating a single broadcasting regulator for
Thailand has been blamed for the decision of the Nation Group to pull its locally-made
Nation Channel from the country's dominant pay TV platform, United Broadcasting
Corporation (UBC).
In a joint statement, the Nation Group and UBC said they had mutually agreed
the decision, which came into place at the start of May, three years into a
10-year carriage deal.
The Nation Group's Chairman Thanachai Theerapatvong noted that the agreement
called for a review after three years and that "Following this review, both
parties have come to the mutual agreement that since there are many regulatory
restrictions and obstacles, the Nation Channel can no longer operate on the
UBC platform."
The long-awaited establishment of a broadcasting authority to replace the overlapping
regulatory powers of existing bodies, has in turn delayed plans to allow pay
TV operators to carry advertising.
UBC, which has been campaigning to be allowed to carry advertising for the last
five years said that nothing would be done until the establishment of the National
Broadcasting Commission and the passing of a new Broadcasting Act by Thai legislators,
UBC Group's CEO Sompan Charumilinda said the current environment meant that
locally-made channels could not generate sufficient income to make them viable,
adding that the Nation Channel was the second domestically-produced service
to exit UBC, following the decision by the documentary-led Panorama Channel
in late 2002.
"The continuing ban on advertising on UBC prevents local programme producers
from generating sufficient revenues to maintain their services," he added.
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GlobeCast,
US Government delivery deal
France Telecom subsidiary GlobeCast has announced the creation of a new Government
Services Group in America to deliver the full-range of global satellite, terrestrial
network and integrated value-added services to the US federal government, local
and state governments and related non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The satellite service provider's US unit will tailor GlobeCast's global satellite
and terrestrial network capabilities to accommodate government communications
requirements, including closed video networks, data communications, disaster
recovery, mobile communication services, homeland security, IP connectivity
and other secured network services. Its full-service offer includes equipment
sales, system design and integration, engineering and network monitoring.
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PanAmSat,
satellite insurance to expire
An SEC filing has revealed that insurance policies covering nine of PanAmSat's
satellites will expire this month. According to Sky Report the company is currently
negotiating renewal policies.
As of March 31, PanAmSat had 'launch and in-orbit' insurance policies covering
15 satellites for up to E1.6 billion. The filing stated that the company could
discontinue insurance policies on some of its satellite due to higher premiums
and stricter terms.
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Monday
12th May
EC
shelves Spanish pay-TV football rights inquiry
Comcast
loss up but customer growth
TiVo,
new basic service
Murdoch
lobbies Congress on DirecTV
Bloomberg
Television partnered with YahooBB!
Siemens
teams up with Universal Studios Networks
Orange,
E14m to educate customers
SingTel
profit up despite cable drag
Nokia
launches new Spanish DTT STB
EC shelves Spanish pay-TV football rights inquiry
From David del Valle in Madrid
The European Commission has suspended its investigation into pay-TV football
rights acquired by Audiovisual Sport, a unit of Sogecable, on the grounds that
the merger between digital DTH platforms, Canal Satelite Digital and Via Digital,
has drastically changed the situation.
Brussels argues that the Spanish Government-imposed conditions on the digital
merger lay the groundwork for "a more competitive" exploitation of football
rights in Spain, according to the EC. Brussels believes that the Government's
conditions guarantee third parties the access to football rights under equal,
reasonable and non discriminatory conditions.
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Comcast
loss up but customer growth
US cable operator, Comcast reported a wider quarterly net loss but raised its
full-year outlook for new cable and high-speed Internet subscribers. Comcast,
with 21.3 million subscribers, said its loss rose to $297 million, in the first
quarter, from $89 million, a year earlier.
Comcast bought AT&T's cable systems at the end of 2002, and Brian Roberts, Comcast's
CEO, said the company now expects to add 75,000-100,000 basic cable subscribers
this year, a significant increase from the previous forecast that its subscriber
base would be flat.
The company also added 417,000 broadband subscribers in the first quarter, and
now expects to add 1.6 million new users by the end of the year, taking its
total subscriber base to 5.2 million.
Revenue, including AT&T Broadband, rose 9.7 per cent to $5.52 billion from $5.03
billion. Capital expenditures totalled $953 million in the quarter versus $1.10
billion the year before. EBITDA more than doubled to $1.64 billion from $808
million.
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TiVo,
new basic service
TiVo, digital video recorders (DVR) pioneer, announced it will offer a new introductory
level, TiVo Basic service. This service will provide licensees the opportunity
to include entry-level DVR functionality with high-value integrated products
such as a combined DVD/DVR.
With TiVo's Basic service, consumer electronics companies can offer consumers
basic DVR functionality with the easy-to-use TiVo interface. The service will
only be packaged with licensees integrated consumer electronics products. Licensees
will set pricing of their products based on the combined value of the TiVo Basic
service and other features and functionality offered in the product.
All integrated DVR/DVD products shipped with the ability to receive TiVo Basic
service can be automatically upgraded to the full TiVo service for E11.30 a
month or E260 product lifetime subscription fee. A customer can take advantage
of a built-in trial of the TiVo service and upgrade at any time as well as purchase
the new home networking package from TiVo, Home Media Option.
Consumers purchasing devices with the ability to receive the TiVo Basic service
will get limited DVR functionality such as pausing live TV, record from guide,
manual repeat recording by time and date, and 3 days of program guide data.
The basic service will not include the service features that have made TiVo
so popular with its subscribers, such as Season Pass, WishLista and Search by
Title. Easy upgrade and no obligation free trial will give consumers easy access
to these much-loved TiVo service features.
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Murdoch
lobbies Congress on DirecTV
Rupert Murdoch, News Corp's Chairman, presented his arguments to win congressional
support for his proposed acquisition of DirecTV, and was faced with questions
about rising cable television costs and media consolidation. "We believe the
strength of satellite is to give the public choice," he told the House Judiciary
Committee.
In April Murdoch struck a deal to acquire 34 per cent of Hughes Electronics
Corp, the division of General Motors that operates DirecTV, the US largest satellite
operator. The deal, valued at $6.6 billion, has yet to be approved by both the
Justice Department and the FCC.
Gene Kimmelman, a senior Director at the Consumers Union advocacy group, said
the proposed merger "is truly bad for consumers" because it could lead to price
increases for both cable and satellite television customers.
Murdoch countered that the company's self-interest is to put as many channels
as possible on DirecTV, and scoffed at the notion he would ever pull News Corp
programming from his possible satellite competitor, Echostar. "It would be madness
if I was to deny Echostar the Fox signal," said Murdoch. "It would cost us at
least $400 million a year."
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Bloomberg
Television partnered with YahooBB!
From Owen Hughes in Sydney
Japanese households are being offered the chance to view the local-language
feed of Bloomberg Television through their ADSL network.
Bloomberg Television has partnered with YahooBB! to offer subscribers of the
latter's ADSL service the 24-hour channel as part of a 19-channel line up available
across the country.
Bloomberg Television maintains that the deal is part of its long-standing commitment
to find new delivery mechanisms for the financial news and information provider
to reach its audience.
BB Cable TV is part of a bundled package of pay TV, high speed Internet access
and IP phone service that comes in a single bill. With more than six million
ADSL subscribers according to the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs,
Posts and Telecommunication, Japan is one of the most competitive markets in
the world for the technology and the 300,000 new users that sign up each month
are faced with a wide variety of deals to choose from. Yahoo BB! has around
two million subscribers.
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Siemens
teams up with Universal Studios Networks
The Siemens Mobile Group will integrate videos and games from the Universal
Studios German TV channels Studio Universal and 13th Street into mobile networks
together with the corresponding technical platforms for streaming and gaming,
as well as billing systems.
The short films will include the award-winning "Shocking Shorts" from the action,
detective, thriller, horror and mystery genres. Both companies will start offering
their joint services immediately to mobile operators worldwide.
According to Wolfram Winter, MD of Universal Studios Networks Germany: "If new
mobile technologies are to be translated into market success, it is essential
that technology and content providers work together very closely. Only if both
sides are familiar with and understand the framework within which the other
operates, can attractive services be developed for customers."
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Orange,
E14m to educate customers
UK mobile phone operator Orange is launching a E14 million ad campaign hoping
to persuade its customers to use their phones for e-mail and data. The company,
which hopes this year to double to two million the number of subscribers who
use mobile data services, said the campaign was designed to educate its 13.5
million customers and boost revenues.
The France Telecom-controlled group is hoping the new campaign, backed by a
focus on customer training in stores and a E5.6 per month charge for unlimited
colour services, will help propel revenues from data services to its target
of 25 per cent of group revenues by 2005 from a current 12 per cent.
Orange UK noted that 80 per cent of its customers used only 10 per cent of their
phone's capabilities. But it is hoping its new tariff, Orange Open Access, will
whet customer appetites.
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SingTel
profit up despite cable drag
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) annual revenue reached E5.13 billion,
41 per cent higher than the same period the previous year. Profit was 14 per
cent lower at E700 million for the company's fiscal year ended March 31, 2003,
the company said in a statement.
The rise in revenue was mainly caused by the inclusion of Australian subsidiary
SingTel Optus's figures for the first time over the whole year. The fall in
net profit from E815 million to E360 million was caused by exceptional E360
million charges taken, mainly relating to SingTel's C2C cable business, the
company said.
SingTel's overseas operations accounted for over 60 per cent of revenue and
half of pretax profits, according to the statement. Optus, the biggest of SingTel's
overseas associates, increased its annual revenue by 15.4 per cent to E3.11
billion while group revenue fell for the Singapore-based operations.
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Nokia launches new Spanish DTT STB
From David del Valle in Madrid
Electronic manufacturer Nokia, through its subsidiary Nokia Home Communications,
has launched a new digital set-top-box targeted at the Spanish DTT market.
Nokia's Mediamaster 150 T allows viewers to have access to all free-to-air digital
terrestrial channels. Endowed with a Navi Bars navigator, the box also allows
sound in Dolby Digital. The decoder is added to the existing Nokia boxes already
available in the Spanish marketplace. Nokia has announced more STBs will be
launched in Spain within this year.
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