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NEWS Monday December 20th to Friday December 24th 2004
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
| Tuesday | |||||
UGC has reached agreement with EMP Europe, a leading private equity firm dedicated to Central and Eastern Europe, and several other Slovenian shareholders to acquire their interests in Telemach, the largest broadband communications provider in Slovenia with over 100,000 cable TV subscribers and 10,000 broadband Internet customers.
Since its foundation in 1999, Telemach has realised significant financial and operational growth. Revenue has grown over 25% per annum over the last three years and more than 85% of its network has been upgraded to 862 MHz. In addition, approximately two-thirds of Telemach’s network supports broadband Internet and digital television services. UGC will acquire a 100% interest in Telemach based on a total enterprise value of €74 million, which represents a multiple of approximately 8.2 times expected 2004 fourth quarter annualized normalized EBITDA. UGC will pay cash of approximately E71 million for its 100% interest.
The transaction
is subject to review by the Slovenian competition authorities and expected
to close in the first quarter of 2005.
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3G
Millionaire
Celador International has sealed a wireless distribution deal with Vodafone,
giving the world’s largest mobile community exclusive rights to the Who
Wants To Be A Millionaire? game on its Vodafone live! with 3G handsets.
The game, developed by mobile games specialist Macrospace, is expected to roll out in January in the UK followed by Germany, Holland, Ireland, Portugal and Spain throughout the first quarter of 2005.
Simon Gunning,
head of interactive media at Celador International comments, “Vodafone’s
commitment to 3G and their passion about offering the very best mobile entertainment
to their customers makes this the perfect partnership. The addition of the
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? game to their games portfolio is a real credit
to the value and appeal of the Millionaire brand. We look forward to working
with them to make the game a success.”
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Flat
panel now fastest selling
Plasma and LCD televisions are outstripping regular TV sales in the UK. In
January 2003, flat panel sets accounted for just 3% of the six million TVs
sold by May this year the figure reached 25% and is predicted to reach the
50% mark by the end of the year, according to trade body Intellect which represents
electronics manufacturers.
Laurence Harrison, director of consumer electronics at Intellect, said the
sharp drop in the price of plasma and LCD TVs was an important factor in their
success. “The industry hasn’t seen price erosion on a product like
this for a long term,” he explained. “A set that was £2,000
(E2,900) or £3,000 a year ago might be down to £1,000 now.
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Deutsche Telekom
is understood to want to shed up to another 10,000 jobs in 2006-2007 at T-Com,
its fixed-line unit, as part of its ongoing drive to lower labour costs, reports
the FT.
Further cuts have yet to be formally agreed, but would be in line with Deutsche
Telekom's long-standing policy of seeking to lower labour costs, which currently
total about E3.3bn per quarter for its 250,000-strong staff, and which have
been a key element of chief executive Kai-Uwe Ricke's efforts to improve the
group's profitability.
In March DT reached a key deal with unions to cut wages for its 120,000 Germany-based
employees in return for a pledge to limit job cuts in 2004 and 2005, and make
no compulsory redundancies until 2008.
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Microsoft's attempts
to get EU antitrust sanctions suspended failed when they were upheld by a
senior European judge. Microsoft had asked the judge to suspend the sanctions
until its appeal against the Commission's March ruling is decided - probably
four or five years from now.But according to a statement issued by the European
Court of First Instance, "Microsoft has not shown that it might suffer
serious and irreparable damage as a result of the implementation of the contested
decision".
This means that the two duties imposed on Microsoft in the March ruling will
have to be implemented straightaway. First, Microsoft will have to offer a
version of Windows without its MediaPlayer software to personal computer makers
and consumers. Secondly, it will have to license information to its rivals
so that they can design products that interoperate smoothly with Windows-driven
PCs.The Commission had in March also imposed a record E497m fine on the group,
but Microsoft had not asked the court to suspend payment.
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HMV, one of the
UK's leading music retailers, has teamed up with Microsoft to launch its own
digital music downloading service. HMV will invest around £10m (E14.5m)
into setting up the service, which it hopes to roll out by February next year.
The two firms are developing software and hardware that will allow customers
to download music directly onto PCs. HMV said the system will be compatible
with Microsoft's Windows Media Audio, and therefore with 75 types of portable
music players, but not Apple's iPod. The record store refused to reveal the
planned price and how many tunes would be available and how much they would
cost in comparison to the music available at its stores. The software and
hardware needed to access the system will be available at the retailer's 200
stores across the country and its online shop. Computer giant Apple's iPod
is estimated to account for 50 per cent of the digital music player market.
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PanAmSat Holding
Corporation has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for a proposed initial public offering of shares of its common
stock, implying the investors behind its acquisition earlier this year are
anxious to see a quick return.Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global and Merrill
Lynch are serving as joint book-running managers of the offering, PanAmSat
said.
A registration statement relating to the securities has been filed with the
SEC but has not yet become effective. PanAmSat operates a fleet of 24 satellites
and provides video, broadcasting and network distribution and delivery services
around the world. In August, the DirecTV Group completed its sale of PanAmSat
to affiliates of Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts and Co., The Carlyle Group and Providence
Equity Partners.
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The southern
hemisphere's three heavyweights of Rugby League have averted a potential financial
crisis by agreeing a new, improved television deal with Rupert Murdoch's News
Limited. There were fears that South Africa, Australia and New Zealand would
suffer a 30 per cent cut in annual revenue but the new agreement will see
the three unions average £35m (E51m) a year each compared with £29m
under the existing deal, which expires next year.
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"The slogan
'content everywhere' could directly translate into 'piracy everywhere' turning
these new opportunities into new, serious threats for the media industry,"
explains Jean Grenier, president of AEPOC at the organisations annual meeting.
"Existing legislation and enforcement priorities must be reviewed across
Europe to take the new reality into account."
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Kids's TV network Nickelodeon UK is calling on its viewers to drop Telewest and sign up to Sky after the cableco dropped four of its channels when the two failed to agree a new carriage contract.
Nickelodeon, Nick Replay, Nicktoons and Nick Jr TV channels were dropped by Telewest on Thursday afternoon (December 16) after failing to agree new carriage terms.
Nickelodeon UK managing director David Lynn said although a deal with Telewest has not been completely ruled out, viewers should consider approaching other broadcasters.
"We remain open to discussion with Telewest and have been working hard to resolve this issue and to get Nickelodeon back on air for our Telewest viewers.
"However, until we hear back from Telewest we can only suggest that Nickelodeon fans contact Telewest's customer service line to express their concern, or approach another service operator such as Sky, NTL or HomeChoice," he said. The Nickelodeon website supports Lynn's advice and has put up details of Sky and HomeChoice to help Telewest customers look elsewhere, apparently thousands of viewers have phoned Nickelodeon to complain about the axing of its channels from Telewest just days before Christmas.
Nickelodeon cited "substantial changes" to the existing agreement with Telewest as the reason for the new carriage deal being rejected while Telewest said that it has to keep programming costs "competitive" to offer its viewers value for money.
Nickelodeon UK
is a joint venture between BSkyB and MTV Networks.
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Canal+ Group, France Telecom and broadcast transmission service provider TDF have completed the E528 million sale of cable MSOs NC Numericable and France Telecom Cable, as well as the cable networks owned by France Telecom and TDF, to private equity firm Cinven and cable operator Altice.
Total proceeds from the sale are E351 million for France Telecom, E87 million for Canal+ Group and E90 million for TDF. This amount will be adjusted, if applicable, to take into account the number of networks for which ownership is actually transferred. Canal+ Group and France Telecom will each retain approximately 20 per cent in the newly formed entity, representing an investment of approximately E37 million for each company, corresponding to their interest in shareholders equity.
The deal marks the end of exclusive negotiations between Canal+ Group and France Telecom and the new owners since August 2004. Both Canal+ and France Telecom had sought to play an active role in the progressive consolidation of the cable industry, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March, 2004, allowing them to combine their cable activities to enable the acquisition of a controlling interest in the resulting entity by new shareholders.
Canal+ Group intends to encourage the emergence of a major player in the cable industry and pursue its strategy of making its channels available on all distribution platforms. Similarly, the agreement reflects France Telecom's progressive withdrawal from the cable business while enabling the creation of an integrated cable company that both owns the infrastructure and operates cable services.
The agreement signed with the new partners include terms and conditions allowing France Telecom and Canal+ Group to divest their stakes in the medium term. The transaction - expected to close in the first half of 2005 - is subject to regulatory approval from EU competition authorities, as well as approval from the municipal authorities where the networks operated by France Telecom Cable and NC Numéricable are located The ownership structure of the new entity will be: 50.01 per cent for Cinven; 10.01 per cent for Altice; 19.99 per cent for France Telecom and 19.99 per cent for Canal+ Group.
The new entity
boasts some 4.2 million homes passed and approximately 1.7 million active
customers at November 30, 2004, providing coverage of 17 of France's 20 largest
cities.
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ITV's London
news programme will be available on demand, 24 hours a day to subscribers
of Video Network's Home Choice TV service in the capital from mid-January
2005.
Video Networks relaunched in May 2004 under new management and now has an
estimated 15,000 subscribers. Subscribers will be able to access the ITV news
content as part of their basic subscription packages, which begin at £27.50
(E39) a month. The interactive service will also archive news programmes under
subject headings such as the 2012 London Olympic bid.
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BSkyB is expanding
the range of puzzles and games available through its interactive television
channel, Sky Active, after signing a new agreement with Puzzler Media Limited,
the UK's leading puzzle publisher and supplier.
Puzzler will offer a selection of pay-to-play puzzles for adults and children
of all ages in the Puzzles & Prizes section of Sky Active. Content available
from Puzzler from launch includes a selection of Wordsearch puzzles updated
daily, with Crossword, and Kriss Kross puzzles to follow. Regular competitions
will also be a key feature of the service.
Puzzler Media is the UK's leading publisher of puzzle content, selling over
17 million puzzle magazines annually. In addition to magazine publishing,
Puzzler provides content on the web, CD-Rom's and on the NTL and Homechoice
TV platforms as well as to a host of leading newspapers and magazines.
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A series of transactions involving UnitedGlobalCom, Liberty Media International and Cable Partners Europe has seen UGC acquire Liberty Media International's interests in Belgium's largest cable MSO Telenet and Irish pay-TV operator Chorus.
The first transaction - valued at approximately $143 million (E107 million) by UGC, of which $121 million was paid to LMI - involved indirect wholly-owned European subsidiaries of UGC (‘UGC Newcos') first acquiring from LMI various debt instruments of Cable Partners Europe (‘CPE') and one of its subsidiaries and then participated with CPE in a restructuring which has resulted in the UGC Newcos now holding a 78.4 per cent common equity interest and 100 per cent preferred equity interest in Belgian Cable Investors (‘BCI'). BCI in turn holds an indirect 14.1 per cent interest in Telenet.
In the second transaction, UGC has acquired LMI's 100 per cent ownership interest in Chorus for 6.4 million shares of UGC Class A common stock, valued at approximately $55 million.
Mike Fries, President and Chief Executive Officer of UGC, said that the acquisitions strengthened UGC's position as the leading broadband operator in Europe, describing Telenet as “one of the most attractive stand-alone assets in our business with a triple play strategy and results that largely mirror our own,” adding that UGC would consolidate “meaningful operating cash flow from Chorus”.
John Malone, President and Chief Executive Officer of LMI, suggested that the transaction reinforced UGC's position as LMI's primary European broadband vehicle, adding that the Telenet and Chorus management teams would now have the opportunity to benefit from UGC's significant scale, operating efficiency and expertise.”
Richard Callahan, CEO of CPE, said that the successful conclusion of negotiations between the parties involved, which saw UGC pay $138 million to CPE in consideration for the majority and controlling ownership of Callahan Associates Holding Belgium, “provides for the well-funded future of CPE. We continue to firmly believe in the Broadband market and our success with Telenet in Belgium and the creation of Ono in Spain attest to the quality of our management team.” He looked forward to a continuing relationship with LMI and UGC through a shared interest in Telenet.
He confirmed that CPE's ambitions now lay outside the Western European arena. “Where regulators have a positive attitude to liberalisation of telecoms, the customer benefits. We are now exploring a number of opportunities, around the globe, with the aim of replicating our prior European successes."
Telenet is Belgium's largest cable operator with approximately 2.5 million video, voice and broadband Internet Revenue Generating Units (RGUs). The total consideration paid by the UGC Newcos for the interest in BCI represents a multiple of approximately 7.8 times Telenet's 2004 EBITDA on a nine-month annualised basis.
Chorus is Ireland's
second largest cable television and MMDS operator providing video, voice and
broadband Internet services to over 200,000 RGUs. Chorus also had E80.1 million
of indebtedness for borrowed money at October 31, 2004. The purchase price
for Chorus represents a multiple of approximately 6.9 times estimated 2004
EBITDA.
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Microsoft is
holding out slender hopes for new settlement talks with regulators as an EU
court decides this week whether to suspend antitrust sanctions. The company
was fined E497 million and ordered to strip its Media Player software from
some versions of its operating system.
The European Court of First Instance, the EU's second-highest court, is expected
to rule whether the company must comply now or wait years until a panel of
judges hears its full appeal. Microsoft must convince the court president
that its case can be won on appeal and that its business will be irreparably
harmed unless sanctions are suspended. The Commission says the sanctions would
be meaningless if delayed, because the market will have moved on. Either side
can appeal to the EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice.
If Microsoft fails it will be forced to sell two versions of Windows in Europe
– one with Media Player and one without.
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Private networks Antena 3 TV and Mediaset-controlled Tele 5 have urged the Government to give a real boost to the DTT market, which has been in stalemate since the collapse of pay-TV platform Quiero in 2002.
In an unprecedented move, both TV channels have launched a joint TV advertising campaign to promote digital terrestrial television, at a time when the Government is considering whether to award two new analogue TV channels with nation wide coverage.
The broadcasters believe it is time for Spain to jump on the DTT bandwagon, so they have asked the Administration for: The re-allocation of Quiero's three and half multiplexes (14 channels) among existing broadcasters so that they can operate one multiplex each (able to carry up to four channels); and the bringing forward to 2007 of the analogue switch over, initially scheduled for 2012.
The networks
claim to be ready to launch five to six TV channels in a short time, on the
condition that the Government clears the way for the development of the DTT
market.
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Norway's TV2 has bought a 10 per cent stake in iVISJON, as an investment in the future of broadband services.
“TV2 strengthens our position as a content supplier to regional broadband networks. This will be vital to the further development of optimal concepts for broadband services in Norway,” comments Oyvind Klausen, CEO and Editor in Chief of iVISJON.
iVISJON delivers IPTV-services such as traditional TV-channels, video and TV-programmes on demand, local content for broadband networks as well as high-speed Internet and telephony. The company owns the distribution rights for 40 TV-channels in addition to distribution rights for films from 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., SF-Anytime and Sandrew Metronome.
Other shareholders
in iVISJON are energy group Agder Energi, regional media house Fædrelandsvennen
and media group Schibsted.
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BT says it has passed the four million wholesale broadband customer milestone and is connecting a new customer every ten seconds. The latest million ADSL connections have come in only four months and BT is now adding an average 8,500 customers a day, seven days a week.
More than 95
per cent of UK homes and businesses can now receive broadband service and
that figure will reach 99.4 per cent by next summer. The four million connections
are shared between more than 150 service providers, including BT's retail
operations. There are also an estimated 1.7 million cable broadband customers
in the UK.
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An Indian court remanded in custody the head of a popular Indian Internet auction site owned by US giant eBay Inc. over the sale of a video showing lewd acts by teenage students
Lawyers applied for bail for Avnish Bajaj, country manager of Baazee.com and a US citizen and Harvard Business School graduate. But the judge ordered Bajaj to remain in custody for a week, saying the alleged offence did not warrant the granting of bail. The two-and-a-half minute video clip involving a teenage girl and boy from a well-known Delhi private school has shocked parents in sexually conservative India. The clip was filmed on a mobile phone then auctioned on the site. Public transmission and sale of pornography is a crime in India but possession of pornography and viewing it in private is not.
If convicted,
Bajaj could be jailed for up to five years, fined 100,000 rupees ($2,220)
or both, police said. Baazee.com said in a statement it was "outraged"
at Bajaj's continued detention and said it would continue its efforts to "dismiss
this baseless case immediately."
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The BBC is closing a string of successful websites and reinvesting the money in projects that have a clearer public service focus.
It will announced its string of sites will be slimmed down to help make the case for charter renewal. In an interview with the Guardian, the BBC director of new media and technology, Ashley Highfield, said that he was planning to save £6m (E8.7m), a tenth of the corporation's annual online spend, by closing sites that cost too much and aped commercial rivals; there are likely to be consequent job losses.
Among sites closed will be one devoted to US sport, and one on local history deemed poor value for money. "In order to free up the required funding we must start to behave more like television and radio, decommissioning sites or cutting back on funding, or even archiving them as circumstances change," said Mr Highfield, whose new media department was one of those recently earmarked by the director general, Mark Thompson, to move to Manchester.
Today's announcement
is the second wave of site closures announced since former newspaper executive
Philip Graf delivered a government commissioned review of BBC Online earlier
this year, which praised its wide reach but warned that it overstepped its
remit in places.
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Ebay is to buy the Internet housing rental listing service, for $415 million in a deal that gives it access to a new segment of the online real estate market.
Under terms of
the deal, eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, would pay about $385
million in stock and $30 million in cash for privately held Rent.com. The
deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Rent.com, launched
in 2001 and based in Santa Monica, California, allows apartment owners and
managers to list properties on its Web site for free and pay fees only when
the listings result in leases. Rent.com expects to post revenue this year
of more than $40 million.
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Modern Times Group announced that Viasat Broadcasting has signed a three-year agreement with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) for the shared rights to broadcast blockbuster movies and TV series produced and distributed by the Hollywood Studio. The agreement covers the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish territories and the content will be broadcast on Viasat's TV3, TV3+ and ZTV channels.
The agreement
also covers the rights to broadcast library features and mini-series including
the free-to-air TV premieres. Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG,
commented: “This agreement reflects our increased investment in programming
during 2004.”
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The Americom-16 (AMC-16) satellite of SES Americom has been launched onboard an Atlas V launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Initial signals have already been received from the satellite.
The hybrid Ku-
and Ka-band satellite will begin payload and performance testing at 82 degrees
West. It is anticipated that AMC-16 will be ready to support the transmission
of high-speed data and digital video services throughout the US for the Americom
2Home customer EchoStar DISH Network during the first quarter of 2005.
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TU Media Corp. is planning to run pilot run of the satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) service in January 2005 before launching the full commercial service in May next year. The Korean Broadcasting Commission (KBC) picked TU Media as a satellite DMB service provider earlier this month and the government is expected to issue a licence soon.
TU Media has stakeholders in SK Telecom and Toshiba Corp-owned Mobile Broadcasting Corp. The company will offer DMB-compatible phones through SK Telecom, which plans to sell the handsets in March. The service offers seamless video, CD-quality audio and data through handheld devices like cell phones or in-car terminals.
Samsung has already developed the DMB-specific terminal – the SCH-B100 - in anticipation of a commercial launch. The high-end handset is equipped with a 2.2-inch monitor and a 2-megapixel camera and its low power-consumption battery enables people to watch videos for two and a half hours.
Earlier this
year, SK Telecom had projected that a satellite DMB service would attract
1.5 million subscribers by 2006, break even in 2008 and have eight million
customers by 2010 with $1 billion in revenue.
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Live digital TV, custom ring tones, mobile music DJs, 3D games and multi-megapixel cameras are among the “cool applications” fuelling the growth of 3G cellular technology, according to Doug Rasor, Vice President and Manager, Worldwide Strategic Marketing at Texas Instruments
Addressing a
Wireless Leadership summit, Rasor explained the significant opportunity 3G
represents for delivering a multimedia experience to the mobile phone that
is fun, personal and entertaining. According to Rasor, in order to drive 3G
adoption and revenues, the industry must deliver 'must have' mobile entertainment
services to the mobile phone. Rasor further noted that meeting consumer expectations
for a high-quality multimedia experience will be a strong step toward making
trendy mobile features 'must-have', revenue-generating services
One of the fundamental trends influencing the multimedia experience is the
intersection of the wireless and consumer electronics marketplaces, Rasor
explained. “From the convergence of these two booming industries, we'll
see tremendous innovation, much of which cannot be fathomed today,” Rasor
noted. “Some of the new applications will stick, others will not. But
to be sure a cauldron of creativity is in the making, and you can count on
seeing new technology that will make wireless applications easier, more entertaining
and more affordable.”
Rasor suggested
that the intersection of the two markets would present big opportunities for
everyone in the value chain. “For operators it will mean more traffic
on their networks and more revenue. For TI, it already means taking our strong
position in both wireless and consumer electronics and channelling that into
delivering the most advanced 3G solutions and the most compelling multimedia
applications. As more such advances in applications appear, the potential
3G barriers consumers once faced, including high-priced, bulky handsets with
short battery life, will continue to dissipate and focus the buying decisions
more on the compelling services and content that 3G delivers.”
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Digital video compression specialist Tandberg Television has reached an agreement in principle to acquire Atlanta-based N2 Broadband, Inc, a provider of scalable, open-platform solutions for on-demand entertainment. The move enhances Tandberg Television's reach into North American Cable market, as well as accelerating N2 Broadband's EMEA and APAC market penetration .
Under the terms of the agreement, Tandberg Television intends to acquire privately-held N2 Broadband for a mix of cash and Tandberg Television shares. The total consideration is expected to be in the range of $110 million to $130 million (E83 million to E98 million). Completion of the transaction – expected in the first quarter of 2005 - is subject to final negotiations, confirmatory due diligence and all customary legal and regulatory conditions.
Eric Cooney,
President and CEO of Tandberg Television said the N2 Broadband acquisition
would immediately strengthen the route to market for the company's video compression
systems into the US cable market. N2 Broadband's President and CEO, Reggie
Bradford, who will take up the role of President of Tandberg Television Americas,
suggested that the combination of N2's VOD systems with Tandberg Television's
video compression solutions was a natural progression for both companies and
would address the needs of the global digital entertainment market for open,
scalable solutions.
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The move also
complements Yoomedia's recent merger with DITG (Digital Interactive
Television Group), whose gaming assets include the Avago and William Hill
channels on Sky. All of Yoomedia's gaming brands operate in the 'soft' fixed
odds gaming market, a sector which has seen massive growth in the last 12
months, particularly among women, according to Yoomedia.
The launch of the online version of FancyaFlutter has allowed Yoomedia to develop better quality, more sophisticated games than are possible over digital interactive television.
David Docherty,
Yoomedia's CEO, said that Yoomedia now had “a strong presence on all
the main interactive platforms, including television, mobile and now online.”
He anticipated that FancyaFlutter.co.uk would attract large numbers of players
in the online world.
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Teachers' TV, a new digital channel for the education community in the UK, has awarded a three-and-a-half year contract to ntl Broadcast to provide a channel package. When the channel launches in early 2005, ntl will provide backhaul from the London playout centre, fibre connectivity to the company's Winchester teleport, uplinking and space segment on the Astra 2A direct-to-home satellite. The package also includes fibre connectivity to the SDN multiplex for a position on the UK digital terrestrial platform's free-to-air service, Freeview.
A similar deal has been won by Ascent Media Network Services Europe (AMNSE), which will provide 24-hours a day playout from the Central Playout Area (CPO) at its Stephen Street facility in London. Once the new channel is up and running in early 2005, the aim is to quickly migrate Teachers' TV over to a tapeless environment with a file-based transfer of programmes rather than a tape-based multi-platform.
Simon Thrush, head of satellite and playout in ntl's Media Solutions group, described his operation's deal as “a great example of the sort of package that we are able to offer new channels wanting to broadcast to multiple platforms. In this case we are providing transmission onto the Sky Platform using Astra capacity and to Freeview using our own fibre network.”
Technical staff
at AMNSE will link Stephen Street's CPO to its Winchester teleport and the
SDN multiplex. This will enable Teachers' TV to be transmitted to digital
viewers via the Astra 2B direct-to-home satellite and the Freeview digital
terrestrial platform.
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Digital TV software specialist ANT has unveiled a new content presentation and control software, which aims to accelerate the realisation of next-generation digital TV. ANT Galio allows service operators and middleware companies to offer superior digital TV services, with broader ranges of highly dynamic interactive content, using existing hardware, infrastructure and off-the-shelf development tools. Pace Micro Technology, a long-standing partner of ANT, has announced that it will be the first to license ANT Galio for its range of IPTV set-top boxes (STBs).
ANT suggests
that until now, such services have been too complex and expensive to develop
for mass deployment, and has created ANT Galio to meet the needs of telcos,
ISPs, cable operators, broadcasters and middleware companies wishing to deliver
sophisticated combinations of digital TV programming with interactive content
and services to the customer's STB. Galio is designed to be embedded within
today's consumer electronics devices such as STBs, digital TVs, DVD players
and PVRs.
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Even as the fate of conditional access system (CAS) still hangs in balance in India, multi-system operators are trying to introduce digital cable service, by selling set-top boxes. Hathway Cable and Datacom Private Limited, which has a strategic alliance with Star India, has launched its digital cable services in Mumbai and Delhi, while competitor Hinduja TMT, has also introduced its service.
Hathway, which is offering the service in Delhi in partnership with telecommunication company Bharti, is offering services such as DVD-quality pictures, stereo sound, over a 100 channels, electronic programme guide and parental lock. Hathway, which has a presence in 10 cities across the nation - Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Nashik, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Vijaywada, is offering the new service for US$68.5 as a deposit amount, for which users get a set-top box, smart card and remote control. The monthly cable TV charges will remain unchanged. The company is planning to introduce its Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony soon. The digital cable TV service is already available in Chennai, where CAS implemented earlier.
“It is not CAS as it is not 'forced' buying of the digital receiver, nor is it mandatory,” said a Hathway official.
The Cable Network
Association in India, which recently met the Indian government, has also called
for implementation of CAS.
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XDC aims to digitise
500 cinema screens over the next two years to create the first European digital
cinema network, and is positioning itself as a third party investor
between the distributors and the operators.
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Walt Disney Television International (WDTVI) India is set for the dual channel debut of Disney Channel and Toon Disney on December 17. Disney Channel will be a 24-hour Hindi service, while Toon Disney will be India's first and only 24-hour Tamil and Telugu language kids' channel (Hindi feed would be available soon). Both channels will also provide an optional English language feed in appropriate markets.
“India is a primary market central to Disney's global emerging strategy,” said David Hulbert, president, WDTVI.
Walt Disney is targeting 20 million households by the end of the first year of operations. The two channels, to be distributed by Star India, are expected to be bundled for US$0.26.
Disney Channel's multi-genre programming strategy will include 400 episodes of locally produced content in the first year. The launch month's schedule will feature around 25 half hours of local original production.
“Satellite
television is growing at a very rapid pace here, but less than 10 per cent
of kids tune into kids' channels,” observed Rajat Jain, managing director,
WDTVI-India. “The unique strength and appeal of the Disney Channel and
Toon Disney, combined with the distribution commitment of Star India, gives
us a great opportunity to capture the hearts of millions of viewers across
the country.”
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Finnish digital broadband service provider Maxisat is to use Latens IP CAS Content and Revenue protection systems to safeguard its pay-TV services. Maxisat is to provide encrypted pay-TV services as part of its Maxinetti DSL based triple-play offering.
The TV content will be encrypted using the new Latens SEE (Stream Encryption Engine) and will only be decrypted by set top receivers entitled to do so by Latens IP CAS.
Andy Mathieson,
Director, Latens, said the Maxinetti triple-play offering increased the choice
for Finland's consumers of TV, broadband and telephony services.
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