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NEWS Monday October 4th to Friday October 8th 2004
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
| Tuesday | |||||
Harris Corporation buys Encoda
Harris Corporation, an international communications equipment company, is to acquire Encoda, a supplier of software and service solutions for the broadcast media industry. The $340 million cash deal is subject to post-closing adjustments and regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in early November.
"Encoda's end-to-end workflow solutions include traffic and billing and program-scheduling systems that are broadcast industry standards, and their automation and media asset management solutions are very complementary to Harris' existing automation business," the companies commented in a statement.
Howard Lance, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris Corporation commented: "Encoda's enterprise software solutions will significantly expand Harris' existing product offering to the global broadcast media market."
"As digital
content continues to move centre stage in the media industry, Harris will
be leading with solutions for our customers that automate workflow, improve
efficiency, and reduce costs," Lance continued. "With this acquisition,
Harris can now truly offer end-to-end workflow solutions -- software, hardware,
and services – for customers worldwide."
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Rupert Murdoch has outlined concessions designed to allay fears that the tycoon would be given too much power over News Corp by shifting its domicile from Australia to the United States.
The company has agreed to enshrine Australian listing rules in its new corporate by-laws to fend off accusations - levelled by some institutional shareholder groups - that investor interests would be jeopardised by the move. Under the proposals, board committees at News Corp will consider corporate governance recommendations including new standards for measuring the independence of directors; disclosures on succession planning; procedures to consider shareholder proposals; and potential annual boardroom elections.
The company also
vowed not to issue any new super voting shares and pledged that any investor
with more than 20 per cent of the voting shares could call a special shareholder
meeting. Murdoch, News Corp chairman and CEO, said the changes would mean
News Corp would be governed by one of the strongest regimes of any company
in the world.
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Middle East integrated satellite services provider Sama Communication (SamaCom) has signed a transponder deal with Nilesat to launch a new DTH platform. SamaCom is a subsidiary of Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone.
SamaCom and Nilesat will co-operate in marketing a new DTH platform using transponder capacity on Nilesat 102 satellite. SamaCom's new platform will enable it to directly uplink to Nilesat 102 from Dubai and allow broadcasters from Europe, America and Asia to have content turned around from other satellites to SamaCom's Nilesat platform. The new platform complements SamaCom's portfolio of DTH platforms for Arabsat 2D, Asiasat 2, Asiasat 3S, Hotbird and Atlantic Bird satellites.
SamaCom currently
broadcasts over 79 television channels from its two teleports in Dubai. Its
customer base includes over 25 broadcasters and it provides uplinks to over
20 satellites. In addition to the satellite services SamaCom also provides
terrestrial TV and radio broadcasting services to Dubai Media from its facilities
in Dubai and Northern Emirates.
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Comcast and Time Warner might have to re-think their plans to jointly take over bankrupt cable company Adelphia Communications. According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, Adelphia may refuse to allow the joint bid for the cable company if the company's board decides that the auction would yield a higher price if Comcast and Time Warner bid against each other rather than together.
Comcast, the
largest US cable operator, and Time Warner, the second-largest, are in the
preliminary stages of exploring a joint proposal to acquire all of Adelphia's
assets.
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ITV is in talks about the sale of its digital channels, Plus and Men & Motors, as part of its strategy to sell off its non-core assets to create a more streamlined ITV, according to a report from Brand Republic. The UK commercial broadcaster holds a 50.5% stake in the channels, which it co-owns with BSkyB as part of Granada Sky Broadcasting.
According to industry insiders, ITV is hoping to sell its stake to Sky, which will enable the satellite broadcaster to increase its dominance in the men's market against other digital channels including Flextech's Bravo. Another option being mooted is a management buyout.
As previously
reported, ITV is also set to raise as much as £40 million (E60 million)
from the sale of its post-production firm, The Moving Picture Company, as
it cuts the shortlist of bidders down to six.
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Competition, falling prices and new regulations will spur millions of US households to adopt high-def TV during the next five years, stated a new report from Strategy Analytics titled "The Transition to Digital Television: FCC Mandates and Market Evolution."
The research
firm said that the number of U.S. households owning some type of HD-capable
hardware will rise from 8.7 million in 2003 to more than 14 million by the
end of this year. Roughly half of these households will also receive HD programming
from cable, satellite or terrestrial sources. By 2008, about 37 million households
will receive HD programming, says the report.
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By 2008 there
will be 13m digital radios in the UK, up from the current 1m.
This is the prediction of industry body the Digital Radio Development
Bureau's Five-Year DAB Digital Radio Forecast - announced yesterday and
endorsed by leading manufacturers including Sony, Philips and JVC.
In four years,
the report says, 29% of British homes will have a digital radio, and
the industry will be worth £500m (E757m) a year. DRDB chairman Ralph
Bernard
said the industry was close to the "tipping point" when digital
radios would
become mass market objects in the same way mobile phones did. "
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Japan's NTT DoCoMo launched a roaming service that enables its hotspot customers to use in-flight access provided by Connexion By Boeing.
The Boeing service is being launched for long-haul flights on a number of international carriers including Japan Airlines and ANA in Japan as well as China Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and SAS.
Users of DoCoMo's
Mzone hotspot service will be able to connect while in-flight using their
normal user name and password, DoCoMo said in a statement. They will then
be billed extra on their normal Mzone invoice. The in-flight access will be
available to DoCoMo users starting on 22 October.
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Qwest Communications and DirecTV have formed a marketing alliance that will allow Qwest to offer DirecTV digital satellite television services to residential customers across the western United States.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2005, Qwest will market and provide front-line customer support for the DirecTV service and incorporate it as part of its full suite of bundled communications services. "By offering DirecTV programming as a core product in Qwest's suite of residential services, the companies will provide a simple, yet compelling solution for customers who want the value and convenience of ordering the best voice, video and data services through one provider," said Mitch Stern, DirecTV President and CEO.
On another front, DirecTV also announced the launch of its first Vietnamese network. Saigon Broadcasting Television Network, first and only 24-hour Vietnamese-language Channel Originating in US, will be available nationwide in DirecTV's new VietnameseDirect Programming Package
Created by a
joint venture involving International Channel Networks and Saigon Broadcasting
Network, SBTN will now be available to the more than 1.8 million Vietnamese
Americans living in the United States. SBTN programming is produced mainly
in the US, specifically for the Vietnamese American community. The content
consists of news, talk shows, sports, children's programs, cultural and history,
and general entertainment and variety programs.
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UTOPIA (Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency) has selected virtual SmartCard vendor Widevine's Cypher Suite for its IPTV network. The deal involves a three year contract, which will offer IPTV, ultra high-speed internet, always-on video monitoring and broadcast quality video telephony to 14 cities in Utah.
Paul Morris, executive director for UTOPIA commented: "The idea of paying for smart cards never appealed to us and Widevine's solution provided the security we needed at a cost we feel is right." UTOPIA is one of the world's largest fiber-to-the home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-business (FTTB) projects launched to date.
Widevine's Cypher
Suite contains patented technologies for VOD, digital broadcast, conditional
access/digital rights management and Digital Copy Protection.
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Amino Communications has been chosen to supply set-top-boxes to independent telephone companies who have deployed IPTV utilising head end services from Iowa Network Services (INS). INS is a telco company jointly owned by 127 independent telephone companies, serving approximately 280,000 residential and business customers across the US state of Iowa.
INS invested
in a digital video head-end and middleware to enable the local telcos to offer
IPTV services to rural Iowa communities they serve. To date, four telephone
companies have deployed the service using INS' head-end and Amino's set-top
boxes at the consumer end, with three additional companies planning to go
live with commercial services later this year. Several more are expected to
deploy the service as consumers become increasingly aware of the benefits
of IPTV.
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The BBC's Director
of Strategy and Distribution and architect of Freeview, Carolyn Fairbairn,
has decided to leave the organisation after seven years.
She and her family are to spend a year travelling around the world with their
three children.
She was previously
on the Executive Committee led by Greg Dyke and a former Director of Strategy
at BBC Worldwide where she developed the BBC's plans to maximise commercial
opportunities in the UK and around the world.
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Comcast COO Stephen
Burke has been chosen to be the Chair of The 2005 National Show, the National
Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) announced today. The 2005
convention, scheduled for April 3-5 at The Moscone Centre in San Francisco,
is NCTA's 54th Annual Convention & International Exposition, the principal
annual trade show of the cable and telecommunications industry.
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British Sky Broadcasting Chairman Rupert Murdoch sees a bright future for the satellite pay TV operator. He told investors that Sky's customer base was growing fast countering market worries of low subscriber growth.
"I cannot speak in front of the quarterly figures but [BSkyB] should assure everybody that there is an appropriate increase," said Murdoch. He also reiterated BSkyB's target of lifting total subscribers by about 25 per cent to 10 million in the medium term.
Murdoch added neither Freeview or cable platforms posed serious threats. "We have all the channels offered by Freeview plus another 200 with sport and long-term movie contracts," he argued.
Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York, Murdoch said that News Corp, which owns 35.4 per cent of BSkyB, would be tempted to consider a buy-out of the British affiliate. But he warned that unfavourable currency issues would make the purchase price, at about $12 billion, too expensive for the group. He also expressed interest in buying out minorities in News Corp's US affiliate Fox Entertainment, of which it owns 18 per cent.
Murdoch also
criticised the former management team at BSkyB led by Tony Ball.
He said previous management had dropped a volume-driven strategy in favour
of "pushing for profit, they turned down promotional efforts and turned
up the price too much."
The company also announced that it will no longer be awarding guaranteed bonuses to senior executives. The move forms part of a concerted strategy to rebuild bridges with investors ahead of the pay-TV group's annual meeting next month, at which it is expected to seek approval for a controversial share buyback. Sky would like to buy back 5 per cent of its shares.
News Corp's owns
share would rise to 37 per cent after the buyback. Under City rules, any shareholder
with more than 30 per cent of a company has to launch a full takeover if it
wants to raise its stake. Rule nine of the Takeover Code is designed to stop
large shareholders gaining a 50 per cent stake without paying a premium for
control. BSkyB is expected to ask shareholders to waive those rights.
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An attempt by British mobile phone operators to claim tax rebates worth £3.35bn (E5 billion) for 3G licences that were bought at the height of the telecommunications boom has been referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
The move is likely
to make the UK a precedent-setting case for European operators seeking tax
rebates on 3G licences. Billions of euros are potentially at stake because
European mobile operators spent about E100 billion on the licences. If the
companies are claiming the prices paid for 3G licences in the auctions included
VAT and if they win, operators could be entitled to claim back this money
from governments.
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Time Warner said it plans to aggressively pursue new cable service subscribers to staunch a loss in video subscribers to DirecTV Group and EchoStar. "We haven't been very aggressive in introductory offers and tactics like that," Don Logan, Chairman of Time Warner's media and communications group said, referring to promotions offered by satellite TV operators. "We're not happy losing customers, and we don't plan on staying in that position," he said.
The cable industry overall lost video subscribers to satellite TV services at a faster-than-expected rate in the second quarter, as satellite operators cut initial prices for new customers. Logan, who spoke to investors at Goldman Sach's conference in New York, backed previous financial targets of double-digit revenue and profit growth for Time Warner's cable services division over the next five years. The growth is expected to come from launching and bundling new telephone-over-Internet services and from new subscribers to its high-speed Internet service, in addition to the launch of more introductory offers.
Executives of
Time Warner said the cable operations have become its top priority. The firm
announced plans to bid for bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications,
possibly in a joint bid with Comcast, the top US cable operator.
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Following the end of its arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayor (MGM), Zee Network's English movie channel has been renamed as Zee Movie Zone (ZMZ). The channel was earlier known as Zee MGM. The two partners, Zee and MGM, decided to part ways following the buy-out of MGM by Sony Corp.
Zee's joint venture with MGM was in operation for the last four years with most of its content being sourced from the latter.
"Options on bringing in a new partner are open and we are at the moment in talks with various companies. We have tied-up with a central Hollywood content agency to source movies. We also hope that MGM's doors won't be completely shut on us. Their non-exclusive stuff would still be available to us," said the spokesperson of Zee. According to industry sources, ZMZ will source content from all vendors in the Hollywood market, including Paramount and Universal.
ZMZ's competitors
in India include Star Movies and HBO.
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Japan's Mobile Broadcasting will begin MobaHO!, a satellite digital multimedia broadcast service (SDMBS) for mobile devices from October 20. The service will initially feature seven video channels, 30 audio channels, and about 60 data broadcast programs.
The programmes will be received along major highways and in JR commuter trains in the Tokyo area. The service will later be expanded to cover other JR and private train lines in the Tokyo and Osaka areas. The monthly subscription fee is set at 400 yen ($3.64), and monthly fees for optional channels range from 300 yen to 2,080 yen ($2.73-18.91).
The company estimates
that the break-even point for the service is 1.5 million users, and is aiming
to sign up two million users in three years. Users will need a dedicated terminal
to receive the service.
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Dutch telco group KPN is to provide wireless digital TV from 18 October. The service will provide customers with radio and television channels. The company claims to be the world's first telecoms operator to venture into the TV market using DVB-T technology. KPN hopes that the technology will offer an alternative to cable TV.
Customers who already purchase other services from KPN will receive a discount off the price of the service. Customers who have a phone subscription and ADSL internet connection from KPN will pay E7.95 a month. If customers have a KPN fixed-line or mobile phone subscription, they pay E10.95 a month. Digital TV from KPN costs E13.95 a month for all other customers.
The company expects
the reception will extend to cover most of the Netherlands by the end of 2006.
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British wireless broadband network operator The Cloud has formed an alliance with mobile phone operator O2 that will enable O2 customers to get wireless broadband access in places such as pubs, cafes and train stations across Britain. The Cloud runs about 4,600 wi-fi hotspots across the country.
The deal comes after O2 announced the launch of a laptop card that can connect to the internet using existing wireless networks, wi-fi and 3G technology. The Cloud CEO George Polk said: "This is exactly what The Cloud was formed to do – provide a turn-key solution to carriers, allowing them to quickly and cost-effectively bring WLAN services to market. By bringing the resources of The Cloud Carrier Services, our UK network and our RoamPoint team to bear on the challenge, we have met O2's demanding requirements and delivered on time and on budget a key component of the O2 Connection Manager solution for wireless data mobility."
A key component
of The Cloud's service, the company claims, is the security of the O2 WLAN
offering. Customers accessing the O2 WLAN service are authenticated via an
interactive system that utilises their mobile phones, either by means of an
Interactive Voice Response call back or an SMS delivered password. This ensures
that customers are in full control of their usage and expenditure and are
not exposed to fraud risk when using the O2 WLAN service.
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Italian regional broadcaster RTV38, is set to launch its free-to-air interactive TV services this week. RTV38 is the first of over six hundred Italian regional broadcasters to deploy interactive DVB-T MHP applications.
The interactive
applications that will be launched were developed by Irish and Italian software
developers in a partnership between RTV38 and Irish interactive TV software
company DigiSoft.tv. RTV38 interactive applications will include local government
information services, interactive weather, interactive advertising, promotional
applications, a household and personal tax calculator, email and sms messaging
and TV content-related applications such as Golden Goal and Idea Weekend.
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NBC Universal, the broadcasting and entertainment arm of General Electric, forecast profits and sales growth of more than 20 per cent next year after extracting benefits from the merger of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment.
According to
a report in the FT, Bob Wright, NBC Universal Chairman and CEO, said operating
profits were on track to reach $3.1 billion in 2005, up from $2.4 billlion
this year, while sales were expected to jump from $12 billion to about $15
billion. In addition to savings and synergies from the deal, Wright said the
enlarged group would look at international expansion. He predicted that the
group could exploit DVD demand outside the US and expand the cable TV channels
of VUE to increase its overseas presence. "We want to be more aggressive
in developing our international presence," he added. "We were not
aggressive enough with NBC."
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Walt Disney's CEO Michael Eisner predicted a sharply improved performance from the US group's studio business in the coming year following the release of high-profile animated and live action films.
Eisner said growth
in studios as well as reduced losses at the ABC network, plus strong contributions
from theme parks and consumer products, could allow the group to contemplate
dividend increases and share buy-backs. However, the CEO also anticipated
a shake-out in the animation industry after warning that too many players
were crowding into the market for the computer-generated imaging used in blockbusters
such as Shrek, Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Pixar, the studio behind Toy Story,
is reconsidering whether to continue its 10-year production and distribution
tie-up with Disney.
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Independent production and distribution company 'Off the Fence' has acquired five High Definition titles from Gulliver Media. Off the Fence has the worldwide rights, excluding Germany, Australia and China, to the five shows, two of which, Bilby Brothers and Crown of Thorns Starfish, are ZDF co-productions.
Ellen Windemuth, Managing Director at Off the Fence, commented, "We are very happy to represent these titles in the international marketplace. As an HD pioneer, Gulliver Media has great potential which we look forward to supporting."
Larry Zetlin,
of Gulliver Media, added, "I am very happy to enter into this new relationship
with OTF, the company came with exceedingly high commendations from several
European broadcasters. OTF's presence in Europe and good reputation as a distributor
of high quality 'different' productions will assist Gulliver to gain a higher
profile in Europe and around the world."
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"We are very excited to get to the one million milestone in such a short space of time," commented Nigel Oakley, vice president of Marketing at RadioScape. "The release of our range of modules has really accelerated the adoption of DAB and contributed to the record time of reaching one million units shipped."
RadioScape has
introduced products such as the first MP3 and DAB player, the first FM/RDS
DAB radio and the first tri-band DAB receiver, as well as pioneering features
such as pause, rewind, record, Electronic Program Guide, 5.1 surround sound
and video implemented for nominal additional costs, according to RadioScape,
as these are done via software.
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BT Broadcast
Services (BTBS), the media solutions and satellite services arm of BT and
Point Of Presence Media (PoP), announce a minimum three-year-term contract
whereby BTBS will provide the delivery platform for PoP Media's OTV service,
as well as acting as a reseller of the service to BT's retail and leisure
customer base. This deal is the first of its kind for BTBS and is part of
its wider strategy to become a recognised media platform owner, the company
said.
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Stockholm-based triple play provider Net Insight is launching a solution for
DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcast - Terrestrial) networks that incorporates unique
two-way time and frequency transfer functions in its next generation SDH/SONET
Nimbra platform.
According to
the company, the new functions can be used to eliminate the need for distributed
GPS clocks or as a parallel system for enhanced redundancy and resiliency.
This significantly reduces the investment and operational costs for DVB-T
networks.
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The chances of a merger between broadcasters Channel 4 and Five have been boosted after the owners of Channel Five said they were prepared to accept a minority share of a combined group, The Times newspaper has reported.
"We are
prepared to go to a minority position in a combined company. The idea of 4
and Five was not that we would take over Channel 4. Both channels need to
be bigger," Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of European TV broadcaster RTL, which
jointly owns Five with UK-based United Business Media, was quoted as saying.
"I think we will know by the end of the year whether this deal can be
done. It will only be done if both sides are willing to say yes," Zeiler
said.
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Hutchison Whampoa has cut the price range IPO for the spin-off of Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited (HTIL) from HK$6.52-HK$7.55 per share to HK$6.01-HK$7.04 per share, after investors snubbed the sale because the price was too high.
Hutchison Telecom made losses in five of the eight markets it operates in during the first half and doesn't plan to pay a dividend. Investors managing $43 billion of stocks in Asia outside Japan said they wouldn't buy the shares at the previous price range, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 11 fund managers.
The new price range values the sale at between $899 million and $1.05 billion, based on a total of 1.155 billion shares offered. The company will sell 69.3 million American depositary receipts, which are equivalent to 1.04 billion ordinary shares, to global investors at $11.67 to $13.67 each.
HTIL aims to
begin trading on October 14 in New York and the next day in Hong Kong, with
final pricing set for October 7.
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Telewest's programming arm Flextech, is to launch a new channel specialising in reality and entertainment TV. The group, which runs the UKTV network in partnership with BBC Worldwide, is aiming to launch Living TV 2 by the end of the year in a bid to turn Living into the UK's "sixth" main TV channel.
Living TV said
the new channel would have similar relationship with the main channel as ITV2
has to ITV1 and E4 with Channel 4. "We announced earlier this year our
plans to make Living TV the sixth channel and we have a very aggressive strategy
in place," he said. "Part of that strategy has been to acquire some
of the best reality and entertainment programming but now we have so much
that we can't do it justice on one channel any more."
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BT has reduced the price of its BT Broadband Basic service to £17.99 (E27) a month - down from £19.99. The news follows the UK telco's announcement on July 1 to slash the rental prices for its family of consumer broadband products by up to 25 per cent.
The new price will be available to both new and existing broadband customers from October 1, 2004. Duncan Ingram, MD of BT Openworld, commented that the move proves BT's commitment to delivering the best possible value broadband to its customers and to as wide an audience as possible. "BT is now extremely hard to beat in terms of combined service and value. For example, BT Broadband Basic is now cheaper than a number of our major rivals and extremely competitive against other entry level broadband products," Ingram added.
Competition is
fierce in the broadband industry. In August Wanadoo UK doubled the speed of
its broadband service (now 1 Mb ADSL) while keeping the cost of the service
the same at £17.99 a month.
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Bill Hilary has
been made President and CEO BBC America, the BBC's wholly owned US entertainment
channel. Hilary, formerly Executive Vice President & General Manager at
US channel Comedy Central, will be responsible for the development and operations
of BBC America, including bbcamerica.com and BBC America On Demand, and for
any other digital channels and services associated with the future growth
of the brand.
Prior to his career in the USA, he spent 19 years in the UK's television industry.
He joined the BBC in 1998 as Head of Independent Entertainment and Comedy
Commissioning and was promoted to Head of Independent Commissioning in 1999,
overseeing not only the BBC's entertainment and comedy commissioning but also
its drama and factual sections.
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After successfully rolling out the E! International Network in every major market of Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East, E! Networks is planning to launch The Style Network globally. Kabelvision Indonesia will be the first international partner for the channel, carrying the service on its new digital cable platform in the first quarter of 2005. Kabelvision has licensed both The Style Network brand and programming in the three year deal.
The operator
will also create original programming for the channel, using formats provided
by The Style Network."The Style Network has experienced an explosive
growth over the past few years in the US and is one of the most promising
brand propositions available today," claimed Kevin MacLellan, Senior
Vice President, International, E! Networks. "The appetite for lifestyle
programming in the Asia Pacific is huge, and we believe this first deal with
Kabelvision will anchor the Style brand in this important region, putting
us into an excellent position to extend the brand worldwide."
"Kabelvision was one of the first to carry the E! Entertainment channel
in the region. We are pleased to announce that The Style Network will be on
Kabelvision Digital Cable platform once it launches in the 1st quarter of
2005," said Marshall Cooper, CEO, Kabelvision.
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FremantleMedia France has entered into a joint venture with French independent producer, KM Productions to create a new production outfit, which will specialise in making reality TV and entertainment shows. FremantleKM will also have an exclusive first-look at all of FremantleMedia's reality formats for French adaptation.
Bibiane Godfroid, FremantleMedia's President and Head of Programmes, said the alliance was the most efficient way of capitalising on its recent production success. "Thanks to the complementary talents of the KM team, we will be able to rapidly move forward with solid, alternative programming solutions for all broadcasters in France."
KM Production's
President and Founder, Renaud le Van Kim confirmed that access to the FremantleMedia
format catalogue was one element that swung the deal favourably. "However,
the clincher was the knowledge that FremantleMedia and KM Productions work
so well together."
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"We are
delighted to have established this partnership with Zone Vision, the leading
international media company, which has a stronghold in Central and Eastern
Europe," said IBC founder and president Jon Helmrich. "This is one
of many partnerships we'll be establishing to provide territories around the
world with our diverse catalogue of dynamic programming."
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Japan has beaten Korea to get the world's first satellite-based mobile broadcasting system up and running. Japan's Mobile Broadcasting Corp (MBCo) held a news conference Tuesday revealing its plan to launch satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) from October 20, the local press reported.
For the services,
SK Telecom and MBCo jointly launched satellite MBSat, also nicknamed "Hanbyol,''
in March. SK Telecom holds a 34.66 per cent stake in the satellite while MBCo
has the remaining 65.34 per cent.
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Asian pay TV growth, video piracy, opportunities from China and the roll-out of 3G services will top the agenda when the region's leading broadcasters and satellite and cable operators meet this year at the annual CASBAA Convention in Hong Kong from October 27-29.
"This is a great time for the region's cable and satellite broadcasters to come together, with massive opportunities opening up in China and from the genuine convergence of broadband and wireless technologies," said Marcel Fenez, Chairman of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA).
"The China wireless market alone, with more than 300 million subscribers and a fast-growing mobile data segment, is one of the world's great media and entertainment prospects. The CASBAA event is where the industry meets to understand the market dynamics and meet the decision-makers."
The CASBAA Convention
2004 will hear from senior broadcast and studio executives, specialists on
technology, and regulation and industry leaders from growing markets such
as China, Korea and India.
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NDS and with Discretix, a provider of security solutions for mobile handsets and storage devices, announced the commercial availability of an OMA DRM V2 compliant DRM solution. The solution aimed at the mobile multimedia market will be the first fully featured robust Mobile DRM solution to exploit the benefits of the embedded security solutions deployed in today's handsets and storage devices.
This latest version of the OMA DRM specification differs substantially from its predecessor in terms of the level of security and protection provided to content owners. This in turn puts an increasing demand on the security capability of the handset as well as it's processing power and battery life.
The integrated
DRM solution utilizes key technologies from both companies: NDS technologies
for content protection, encryption, rights management, metadata, and personalization.
NDS has created mVideoGuard an end-to-end Mobile DRM solution for all types
of content; music, video, MMS, ringtones, games and applications, and for
multiple delivery mechanisms - downloading, streaming, unicasting, multicasting,
broadcasting. The handset solution will incorporate elements of NDS' software
client layered on top of Discretix's CryptoCell embedded security solution,
and Discretix's DRM Device Toolkit, specifically its protected storage, content
decryption, key wrapping and certificate handling modules.
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Softbank said it would start a high-speed broadband internet connection service and an online video rental service in a move that is likely to put further pressure on its rival NTT, the country's leading telecoms group.
According to
the local press, the internet and telecoms group will offer the world's first
fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service at a speed of 1 Gb/s, or 10 times the speed
offered by NTT. The new service will be priced slightly lower than NTT's service.
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Speaking on the eve of the launch of Media Player 10, Steve Balmer Microsoft CEO, laid out the company's plan to make itself a dominant supplier in music players, mobile media and STBs within the next three years.
Blamer claimed the company was close to agreeing STB trials with UK cable operators as he stated, "I think we're near a tipping point. The key is getting [these new devices] to be simple to use and we need a device that can get to a critical mass."
He paid tribute
to Apple's iPod but added no Apple product could get to critical mass "they
don't have the volumes". However, he was happy to cite the iPod as an
example of competition that made the EU Commission's recent verdicts on Microsoft's
anticompetitive behaviour unfair. Microsoft is appealing against the verdict,
the $497m fine and the order to remove its media player from some versions
of Windows.
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Following confirmation in July that Siemens Business Services had been selected as the Single Preferred Bidder for a new Technology Framework Contract for the BBC, and would become the new owner of commercial subsidiary BBC Technology, Siemens has signed a E2.7 billion, 10 and a half year global contract to deliver technology services to the corporation. The acquisition of BBC Technology will see the transfer of some 1,400 employees into Siemens.
The BBC expects to save about E45 million per annum over the life of the contract. Siemens Business Services will use the deal as a platform to expand its already well established media business.
"Siemens has demonstrated its ability and commitment to invest in technology services and innovation that will help us revolutionise the use of technology in making and distributing programmes," commented John Varney, CTO for the BBC, who added that central to the agreement was the need to deliver cost savings and release the value of BBC Technology.
"The media industry is facing great challenges: IT, communications and broadcast technologies are converging," noted Dr Adrian v Hammerstein, Group President of Siemens Business Services, who added that with BBC Technology firmly established in the UK and US, it was acquiring a strong platform in two key markets .
Adrian Corcoran,
MD of BBC Technology admitted that being part of a large, global organisation
gave the unit the resources, opportunities and investment "that just
weren't available as part of the BBC, whose focus quite rightly is content
not technology investment."
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ProSiebenSat1 Produktion and SES Astra unveiled a first in European commercial free-to-air television. On October 14th, ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion will, for the first time, simultaneously broadcast a high-resolution HDTV signal in parallel with the traditional digital standard-resolution via ASTRA 19.2° East.
The ProSieben/BBC co-production "Pride - The Law of the Savannah" (a wildlife programme about the adventures of a young lion) will be available to viewers equipped with appropriate receivers both via conventional standard-definition (SD) reception and, exclusively via ASTRA, in the new HDTV standard.
Ferdinand Kayser,
President and CEO of SES ASTRA, welcomes the HD initiative: "ProSiebenSat.1
Produktion has produced an HD trailer for ‘Pride' which is broadcast
as part of the ASTRA HDTV promotion. We are very pleased to be able to assist
one of Germany's leading private broadcasting companies in testing HDTV and,
based on current market trends, remain convinced that the successive transfer
from standard resolution to HDTV will have the same impact on the television
sector as the introduction of colour TV."
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Channel Five has signed a deal to partner with UK interactive television company Zip Television. The deal with Five, which will allow advertisers to jump from Five's broadcast into the Zip TV Channel, follows the agreement between Zip Television and the Flextech and UKTV channels operated by IDS.
Damon Letzer, Interactive Business Controller at Channel Five, sees the agreement with Zip Television as complimentary and essential to Five's interactive strategy. He said: "We want to offer advertisers more than the customary interactive advert. We will be looking at exploiting further opportunities to interact with the viewer and Zip allows us the creative breadth and bandwidth to examine this new potential."
Five is keen
to explore the use of interactive advertising behind the broadcast programmes:
allowing advertisers to extend beyond just using interactive advertising in
the commercial break. Letzer continues: "We have carefully planned our
interactive strategy to give advertisers a variety of ways to develop dialogue
with their customers."
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Dutch cable operator
Casema announced it will add an additional 40 to 50 digital TV channels for
free with the standard analogue TV package as of January 1.
With this offer, Casema hopes to attract more customers to digital television.
At the moment, Casema has around 24,000 digital subscribers.
In order to be able to watch the free stations, customers will still need to buy a digital receiver, which is available for between E100 and E200. Casema expects a penetration of digital receivers of ten per cent by the end of 2005, and 80 per cent within five years.
Casema is the
third cable operator in the Netherlands with 1.3m subscribers.
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The court ruled in favour of Warner Bros after it filed suit against Golden Channels in December 2002. The initial claim was for US$25 million in disputed payments for which it provided contents and other broadcasting rights to Golden Channels.
Sources at Golden Channels told The Jerusalem Post that the initial agreement between Warner and Golden Channels was made five years ago when market conditions were different.
They said that the cable company was trying to pay for the programming according to new market conditions, for which content costs had been reduced by 50 per cent. It said that all programming providers had adhered to the new pricing except Warner.
Earlier this year, the three cable companies Golden Channels, Matav and Tevel merged services to form Hot. As part of the agreement, Matav is required to indemnify Golden Channels for 26.5 per cent of the damages awarded to Warner, amounting to approximately US$5.1 million.
In a statement,
the cable operators said they are reviewing the court's verdict and its implications
and will consider whether to appeal the court's ruling.
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State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is planning to introduce its broadband services including IPTV and Internet services by the end of this year. The service will be initially introduced in the National Capital Region (Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida).
For the project,
BSNL has signed a revenue sharing agreement with Atlas Interactive. There
is going to be US$200 million investment over the next three years. The two
companies, which have entered into a 15-year revenue sharing deal, will partner
to deploy TV over IP, time-shifted TV, interactive TV, video-on-demand, videoconferencing,
broadband, and a range of commercial and information support services to be
developed in collaboration with the private and public sectors.
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The International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission granted EchoStar additional satellite capacity, giving the company an opportunity to expand services during the next few years.
The bureau approved applications from EchoStar to construct and operate satellites at 83 degrees, 109 degrees and 121 degrees, according to Sky Report. The FCC approval is for EchoStar Satellite LLC and an entity called EchoStar KuX Corporation.
Specifically,
the three bureau orders released allows EchoStar to operate satellites in
the fixed satellite service (FSS) using "extended" Ku-Band frequencies
at the orbital locations. According to the FCC, EchoStar stated in its applications
for the satellites that the extra capacity will supplement and support existing
DTH services including more local TV and high-def programming, transport of
programming to DBS uplink centres, international DTH, broadband offerings
and programming transport services.
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The BBC is said to be in discussions with Boeing to start providing airline passengers with live in-flight television. A report in the Independent newspaper said that the US aircraft maker plans to start offering live TV next spring through its Connexion by Boeing system which entered service with Lufthansa in May and has also been selected by seven other airlines.
Passengers will be able to choose from four live channels supplied by different broadcasters, by connecting their laptops to an on-board internet service. As well as the BBC, Boeing is also thought to have approached the US cable television network CNN. One of the BBC programmes which could be screened is the News 24 channel.
Boeing estimates the market for in-flight internet access at $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year within the next decade. The Connexion service costs $29.95 for unlimited access on long-haul flights of more than six hours. There is also a pay-by-the-minute tariff.
The rival European
plane maker Airbus is promoting an in-flight system known as Tensing, which
is cheaper to install on aircraft and less expensive to use but is limited
to e-mail access.
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UK-based Trilogy
Broadcast has announced changes to its senior management structure as part
of its continued growth strategy. Roger Henderson, formerly CEO of Chyron
Corporation, has been appointed Chairman, and Mike Knight, formerly General
Manager of Pro-Bel and a Senior Vice President of Chyron Corporation, joins
as CEO. Roger Stanwell, who has been Managing Director of Trilogy since its
formation in 1986, will become Commercial Director with a wide-ranging brief
to develop the business, and holds direct responsibility for sales and marketing.
The retiring Chairman, Ray Hartman will become a non Executive Director.
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BSkyB launches biggest ad campaign in 6 years
BSkyB is rolling out its biggest advertising campaign in six years in a high-stakes bid to win new subscribers and convince sceptical investors that its strategy is on track.
The marketing strategy, highlighted by CEO James Murdoch at the company's results conference, shift the emphasis away from price and on to luring pay-TV ‘refuseniks' with movies, cultural programming and children's shows.
"We're trying to show the breadth and quality of what we offer, and to some extent trying to surprise people," Managing Director of Sales and Marketing Jon Florsheim commented.
Sky is under pressure to reach its target of eight million subscribers by the end of next year and 10 million by 2010, after falling short of expectations in the last two quarters. Analysts and investors have had their doubts and Sky's shares dropped 20 per cent on the day when new Chief Executive James Murdoch unveiled his strategic plans in August.
To reach its goal Sky has boosted its annual marketing budget by 50 per cent to about £75 million (E 112.5 million) for the year ending next July.
"We don't
want to be seen as a utility, we want to be seen as an entertainment company,"
Florsheim said. Sky wants to capitalise on the pre-Christmas sales opportunity,
but Florsheim said the campaign, which will evolve and extend into next year,
will take time to shift people's views on multi-channel TV. "It's not
a make or break campaign, clearly, a three-month campaign is only part of
the strategy, even just in terms of our overall marketing and advertising."
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The five-year legal battle between Microsoft and the European Commission has entered a new phase as the company sought to persuade a European judge to freeze the antitrust sanctions imposed by Brussels in March.
According to reports, Microsoft told the Court of First Instance, the second-highest court in the European Union, that the Commission decision infringed its intellectual property rights, hurt its business model and created new law. It said the Court should suspend the sanctions until an appeal against the decision was decided probably in four or five years.
But the Commission's legal team as well as lawyers from rival software companies argued that Microsoft had been unable to show that the immediate implementation of the sanctions would cause severe and irreparable harm. They said there was no threat of the company losing market share, and dismissed Microsoft's concerns as "speculation".
Microsoft signalled
that it still remained open to settling the dispute with the Commission outside
the courts. Brad Smith, the company's general counsel, said: "There are
many constructive steps we could have taken and could still take."
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NTL is reportedly
planning to launch a video-on-demand service early next year. The service
is already offered in London by Video Networks, through its HomeChoice platform.
BT Group is also said to have plans to launch a VOD product next year as does
France Telecom's Wanadoo.
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BT has unveiled plans for doubling the speed of connections and offering enhanced levels of service to its Business Broadband Network customers, at no extra cost. Business broadband network products enable the UK user to connect up to 20 computers to a single broadband connection.
Customers using
the 512kbps and 1Mbps services will automatically be upgraded to Network 1000
and 2000 respectively, allowing them to take advantage of double download
speeds. In addition, customers using the 2Mbps service will be able to take
advantage of reduced line rental of E146 (£100) per month, down from
E190 (£130). New customers who sign up will also have access to this
improved service.
As part of the upgrade, customers will also be given a service level guarantee
(SLG) and advanced help desk support.
The upgrades
to business services will be performed automatically over the course of October,
November and December. From 1 November 2004, 1Mbps will become the entry-level
speed for the Network product portfolio.
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Several private equity companies and a mobile phone operator, MMO2, have expressed interest in buying all or part of NTL's television and radio broadcasting business ahead of an October 11 deadline for first-round bids.
The wide interest followed the release two weeks ago of an sales memorandum about NTL's network of transmission towers by Goldman Sachs, which is advising the company on the sale. Industry sources expect NTL, the largest cable operator in the UK, to sell the towers business for about £1.2 billion (E1.8 billion).
National Grid
Transco, the owner of Britain's gas and electricity networks, is said to be
interested. An acquisition by National Grid of the towers is likely to be
heavily scrutinised by the Office of Fair Trading, the competition watchdog,
and Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, following the group's £1.1 billion
purchase in June of Crown Castle, the only other tower business in the UK.
The company is likely to finalise a deal before year-end.
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The Financial Times has teamed up with Motorola to provide the mobile company's users with the latest business and financial news straight to their phones.
The new service
enables readers to download up-to-the-minute news directly to their mobile
phone, which runs in "ticker" style along the bottom of the phone
screen. This service is specifically available to users of the Motorola V300,
V525/V500, V600 and V80. Last week, the FT announced a similar deal with Sony
Ericsson.
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Jean-Rene Fourtou,
CEO of Vivendi Universal, is to spend about E3.8 million on doubling his personal
stake in the French media and communications group.
Fourtou had reportedly informed the board that he would buy shares on the
open market "several times over a number of days" that could double
his holding of 185,629 shares. The announcement came after the market closed,
as Vivendi shares closed down 0.8 per cent at E20.63. Shares have almost doubled
since the height of the company's financial crisis two years ago.
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Alcatel Australasia
CEO Andrew Young pointed out that if customers expect bandwidth of one gigabit
per second in the year 2020, fibre is the answer.
"Fibre-to-the-premises can support more telephone lines than any one
user could every require. It can support Internet access at speeds at least
an order of magnitude faster than the fastest ADSL in Australia right now,
and two orders of magnitude faster than basic ISDN. Fibre can also support
more cable television channels at higher resolution than any of today's coax-based
cable networks," he said.
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Comcast SportsNet,
a regional sports coverage with networks in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington,
and Chicago, and subsidiary of US cableco Comcast, announces the launch of
a fourth network serving the Northern California region. The new network,
to launch on November 2, will serve approximately 700,000 Comcast cable customers
and will also be made available to all cable and satellite operators in the
area. In addition, the network's coverage area will expand into the Bay Area
to include San Francisco by January 2005.
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Nokia has won
a contract to provide the 3G network for MTC-Vodafone, a Bahrain mobile telecom
joint venture between Mobile Telecommunications Company and Vodafone Group.
Nokia and Future Communications expect MTC-Vodafone to be able to offer 3G
services by the end of 2004. No financial terms were released.
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