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Satellite service provider PanAmSat (PAS) has joined forces with KenCast, Inc and Trinity Workplace Learning to demonstrate the first satellite-delivered live video to handheld devices. The trio used the WiMAX Forum Plenary, on July 12 and 13 in Vancouver, Canada, to deliver a live video stream from Trinity's facilities in Dallas, which was uplinked to PanAmSat's Galaxy 11, then encoded and transcoded by Kencast to handheld devices at the Vancouver trade show.
"PanAmSat
has been the industry leader in promoting and utilising new and innovative
technology, first with compressed digital delivery to cable systems then creating
the first high-definition television neighbourhood and now WiMAX. Satellite-delivered
WiMAX technology is the future for handheld devices such as smartphones and
laptops," claimed Bruce Haymes, senior vice president, Business Development.
He also suggested that WiMAX would also enable the delivery of IPTV throughout
the US, as well as being integrated into PAS's satellite news gathering or
SNG services.
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Mobile Media Company acquires Rubberduck Media Lab
Oslo-based wireless interactive entertainment specialist Mobile Media Company is to buy Rubberduck Media Lab Limited. The move strengthens Mobile Media's presence in the TV to mobile arena and is aimed at presenting broadcasters and content providers with a fully-featured platform, to provide the best possible streaming television experience to mobile device users across the globe.
Mobile Media Company sees Rubberduck as forming a key building block in the company's global launch programme for mobile TV channels, with the expectation that they will prove to be highly valuable as services are extended across new markets.
"The Mobile Media Company is committed to the future of mobile as the fourth screen for information and entertainment," commented Karsten Hauge, chief executive officer of The Mobile Media Company. "Mobile devices will be as important as a source of information and entertainment as the television set currently is, and our acquisition of Rubberduck reiterates our commitment to the future of mobile entertainment, and our own evolution as The Personal Broadcaster," he added.
Gavin Whyte, who remains as director at UK-headquartered Rubberduck Media Lab said that "the strength of the combined companies enables us to fulfil our belief in the future of mobile television, reaching a global audience on the move, anywhere and at any time."
Rubberduck enables broadcasters and content owners to launch, manage and control their own B2C mobile video portals offering live TV, streamed video and downloadable on-demand clips. Rubberduck's solution utilises software already pre-installed in most 2.5 and 3G phones, therefore reaching the maximum number of mobile users.
"The world
is finally waking up to the tremendous possibilities of an interactive television
that you can carry in your pocket," said Steinar Svalesen, executive
vice president and general manager of Mobile Media North America. "Branded
downloadable content and streaming video services for the wireless mass market
are now a reality. With the acquisition of Rubberduck Media Lab, Mobile Media
expects to see further significant growth across all geographies this year,
especially in North America."
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XM Satellite Radio in WCS Wireless deal
US satellite radio broadcaster XM Satellite Radio is to acquire WCS Wireless, a private entity, for 5.5 million shares of XM Common Stock. The deal gives XM access to additional wireless spectrum.
The principal assets of WCS Wireless are wireless spectrum licences in geographic areas covering 163 million people throughout the United States, including 15 of the top 20 metropolitan markets. On average, WCS Wireless licences include 10 megahertz in the frequency bands adjacent to XM's satellite radio service. XM and WCS Wireless expect to close the transaction before the end of the year, subject to necessary government approvals.
XM suggests that
the acquisition gives it "an exceptional opportunity "to expand
its existing business with a variety of multimedia subscription services,
including video and data offerings, transmitted over these new frequencies.
XM expects to announce more detailed plans for the use of this additional
spectrum in the future.
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Tandberg Television boosted by NA market
Tandberg Television has reported revenues of MNOK 457.0 (E57.8 million) in 2Q 2005, up 21 per cent compared to MNOK 379.1 in 2Q04 and up 11 per cent sequentially. Pre-tax profit was MNOK 74.9, up from MNOK 43.2 in the same period in the previous year.
According to
Tandberg Television, there was a sharp increase in its North American market
momentum. The company announced significant contracts for video compression,
digital simulcast and software solutions, including two major announcements
in the North American cable market valued at over US$14 million. The company
also commissioned the world's first integrated customer support for both video-on-demand
and compression systems within its Atlanta based 24/7 Network Operations Center
(NOC). The company also reported strong impetus in Asia and Europe during
2Q 2005.
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SeaChange closes Liberate acquisition
Digital video systems provider SeaChange International has completed the previously announced acquisition of Liberate Technologies' business assets outside of North America. Liberate supplies interactive television software to some of the world's largest network operators, including ntl, Telewest and UGC in Europe. Under terms of the acquisition, SeaChange and its subsidiaries have been assigned certain customer contracts, received patents and other intellectual property, and assumed certain limited liabilities, related to Liberate's business outside of North America in exchange for approximately $23.5 million (E19.4 million) in cash consideration.
As part of the transaction, SeaChange will continue operations in Liberate's former facilities in San Mateo, California and London, England and is continuing employment for approximately 20 employees.
"This strategic
acquisition provides SeaChange the value of Liberate's interactive software
platform, experienced engineers and contracts with some of Europe's top broadband
operators. It is very complementary and accretive to our television business,"
said Bill Styslinger, president and CEO, SeaChange International.
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Japan's Jupiter Programming Co has revealed that its 100 per cent-owned basic movie channel, Movie Plus, has exceeded 6 million subscribing households as of the end of May 2005. This makes the service Japan's first and only movie-specific channel that is currently at this level of distribution. Movie Plus is available across Japan on 308 cable television systems, and on satellite via SUKAPA!/Sky PerfecTV!.
Tetsuo Karasawa,
President of Movie Plus, said, "Thanks to the support of the viewers,
Movie Plus became Japan's first channel dedicated to movies to exceed the
6 million-subscriber mark. As we look to the future, we will continue to strive
to improve and strengthen our original programming, and develop the channel
further through aggressive promotion and responding to meet the diverse needs
and requests of movie fans across the country."
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iTV standards gain licensing terms
Licensing programme developer and administrator Via Licensing Corporation has announced the availability of financial license terms for patents essential for implementations of the Digital Video Broadcasting Multimedia Home Platform 1.0 (MHP 1.0), and CableLabs OpenCable Applications Platform (OCAP 1.0) standards. The move will better enable and encourage adoption of the standards by streamlining the process and reducing the overall cost of obtaining the necessary licenses for both device manufacturers and service providers.
The patent licences for MHP 1.0 and OCAP 1.0 will be offered separately and Patent holders including Comcast, OpenTV, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.), Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Thomson, and Time Warner Cable are currently discussing the final licence documents.
The financial
terms are available at www.vialicensing.com under the ‘Licensing Programs'
menu. The goal of the participating companies is to have a patent licence
agreement available to interested device manufacturers and service providers
by the end of the fourth quarter of 2005. Device manufacturers and service
providers are each required to obtain separate patent licences from the pool,
with manufacturers making payments based on the number of devices manufactured
and service providers making payments based on the number of subscribers that
their service reaches.
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International entertainment broadcasting group Modern Times Group has signed an agreement to sell the majority of Modern Entertainment's movie title rights to Lions Gate Entertainment for an undisclosed consideration. MTG has also announced its intention to close down the Modern Entertainment business in due course. The company suggests that this will have little impact on MTG's financial results moving forward.
Modern Entertainment
licenses film rights to theatrical and DVD distributors, broadcasters and
cable networks around the world. Modern Entertainment is based in Los Angeles
and operates within the Modern Studios business area. US-based Lions Gate
Entertainment is the premier independent filmed entertainment producer and
distributor, and has one of the global entertainment industry's largest libraries.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, said that the disposal and
the decision to close down Modern Entertainment reflected MTG's strategy to
focus on its core broadcasting operations and directly related businesses
in Europe.
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The UK's leading commercial broadcaster ITV is to launch its new channel aimed mainly at male viewers, ITV4, on November 1, according to MediaGuardian.
Reports suggest that Mick Desmond, the chief executive of ITV Broadcasting, revealed to staff that the channel will start transmitting exactly one year after ITV3 launched, replacing the former Granada Plus cable and satellite channel.
Desmond indicated that ITV4 would be an entertainment channel showcasing a mix of brand new US drama, top-end British drama, comedy, movies, sport, sci-fi and factual programming, designed to complement the programming on sister channels ITV1, 2 and 3 and to appeal to a more male audience than ITV2 and a younger audience than ITV3 (25-44)."
The new service
is tipped to feature on a new slot on the digital terrestrial multiplex Freeview
service that ITV was awarded in April, while on cable and satellite it is
likely to replace ITV's Granada Men and Motors channel.
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Ofcom's latest Communications Market Report shows there are now more households with broadband than dial-up connections. Ofcom said broadband had become a "genuinely mainstream consumer product" in 2005, and was now present in nearly 30 per cent of all UK households and businesses. Last year there were on average 73,800 connections a week with 8.1m by the end of June 05.
The watchdog's figures also show that connections are becoming faster and cheaper, while 99.6 per cent will be able to get broadband from their local telephone exchange by the end of this year. Meanwhile, more than 60 per cent of the country's 25m households now receive digital television. Ofcom said that more than 250,000 households switch to digital or add set-top boxes for additional televisions each month.
Digital radio
is also progressing. By the first quarter of this year 1.5m DAB digital radio
sets had been sold. Listening to digital radio through TV and over the internet
is also increasing: 36 per cent of adults with access to digital television
at some point tuned into radio stations, up from 29 per cent in 2003, and
19 per cent of internet users listened to radio online, up from 15 per cent
in 2003.
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China steps further from foreign media
China appears to be stepping back further from liberalisation of its media ownership. According to the WSJ, it has declared a ban on forming partnerships with foreign broadcasters to operate channels.
Chinese broadcasters also are barred from leasing channels to foreign companies, according to a notice posted on the Web site of the government's television regulator. It said the rule took effect on July 7th.
Some foreign companies such as Nickelodeon have already formed joint ventures with Chinese partners. A Chinese-language channel part-owned by News Corp.'s Hong Kong-based Star Group has been granted rights to broadcast to small areas of the mainland. It isn't clear how those arrangements might be affected.
The announcement
comes three months after regulators tightened controls on foreign investment
in production joint ventures, saying most foreign companies would be limited
to one such venture.
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Pace Micro Technology is developing a pay-TV iPod-style portable PVR. The ‘PVR to go' device allows pay-TV subscribers with personal video recorders to download programmes then watch them on a mobile unit.
Pace says it
is trying to persuade its big set-top box customers - Sky in Britain, Comcast
in the US and Foxtel in Australia - to order but they are waiting for a sufficient
number of consumers own personal video recorders and the retail price of the
‘PVR to go' is below £200 (E295). Sky recently reported that 10
per cent of its customers own PVRs.
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CBS News, part of Viacom, has announced plans to launch a 24-hour broadband network to compete with 24 hour cable news channels and to make a play for the uptrending online advertising market.
Known as CBSNews.com, the site is a major expansion of the CBS News site and will feature streaming videoplus VOD. The site will also feature an in-house blogger, "Public Eye". Larry Kramer, president of CBS digital media, said: "The idea here is to really open up the newsroom," suggesting that Public Eye might provide video coverage of the network's daily story meetings.
CBS, like the other big US networks, has faced a steady ratings decline amid a proliferation of cable and internet competitors.
Walt Disney's
ABC News already has a broadband product and Cable News Network now provides
free video over the internet. Jim Walton, CNN president, has identified a
forthcoming subscription broadband channel as the organisation's future.
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XM and AOL move for live Internet events
In a bid to widen the audience for live events, AOL and XM Satellite Radio are backing a venture that will deliver live performances to Internet, satellite and wireless customers.
The Anschutz Company, a concert promoter also holds a stake in the venture. Kevin Wall, executive producer of broadcasts of the Live 8 concert this month calling for aid to Africa, will run the new venture, Network Live.
Wall, former
vice chairman of the Internet services company iXL Enterprises, said Anschutz
was aiming to offer up to 40 concerts from major acts this year and develop
its own brand-name series, which could then be distributed or downloaded to
an array of devices.
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Switchco, the
UK organisation formed by broadcasters to co-ordinate the digital switch,
are taking presentations from advertising agencies hoping to win the job of
promoting the 2012 Big Switch project by highlighting the greater choice and
interactivity of digital television particularly in the context of the Olympics.
The government is anxious to convert so-called digital refuseniks – who
will need to buy digital equipment if the government is not to court unpopularity
by rendering voters' television sets useless just as the Olympic Games begin.
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Intelsat and Globecast up capacity
Intelsat and GlobeCast are expanding the reach of international broadcasters across Europe, through the joint launch of a new Ku-Band Direct-to-Home (DTH) Television Platform on Intelsat 905. The new offering presents international programmer with the opportunity to reach a significant number of foreign nationals, who are residing in Europe.
The platform
will initially support 12 or more digital channels, and will grow at pace
as the expected international TV community develops. Intelsat will host the
DTH platform on its Intelsat 905 satellite located at 335.5üE, while GlobeCast
will provide uplink, multiplex, and conditional access services from Europe.
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TV Works, a joint venture of Comcast Corporation and Cox Communications announced that it has acquired the business and assets of MetaTV, Inc., a software services company. Prior to the acquisition, Comcast and Cox were investors in MetaTV.
TV Works has
hired all of MetaTV's employees, and the company will develop interactive
applications, including those that can be integrated into the GuideWorks interactive
programme guide platform and will be OCAP compatible. GuideWorks, a joint
venture between Comcast and Gemstar-TV Guide International, is a developer
of interactive television guidance and navigation solutions for multichannel
video providers.
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STB maker Pace Micro Technology reported a full-year pre-tax profits to June up 37% to £8.1m (E12m) (2004: £5.9m), on turnover of £253.3m (2004: £239.9m).
However, the group, which recently won a contract with Comcast said there would be an uneven split of revenues between the first and second halves of this year as deliveries to the US and Europe due to begin at the end of calendar year 2005 would grow in 2006. As a result, it said, second half revenues for next year were "expected to be significantly ahead of first-half revenues, with first-half results expected to be below break-even".
In the UK, it
expected sales to fall, as the market became "increasingly mature".
Revenues in continental Europe and Asia Pacific and China, were also expected
to fall, although average selling prices were set to rise.
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The EU is considering regulation on taste and decency, accuracy and impartiality for Internet broadcasters.
Viviane Reding, the European Information Commissioner, is expected to set out ideas today as part of the opening of the biggest revision of European television regulation since 1989’s Television Without Frontiers. She will unveil five "issues papers", one of which will discuss the impact of technological change and conclude that "non-linear audio-visual content" — television downloads — needs to be subject to regulation.
The idea is that
any website trying to make money from broadcasting television — perhaps
by providing video clips in addition to text — could be brought into
the net. Broadcasters will have until September 5 to respond in writing. A
draft directive will be produced at the end of this year.
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Q1 2005 has seen a rapid expansion in subscribers for multi-channel television. The growth of satellite operators has continued to be at the expense of cable subscriber numbers. In the most recent quarter, cable subscribers have fallen by 21,000 while satellite subscribers have risen by 830,000.
Reported in the FT Sanford Bernstein research says this implies an annualised subscriber expansion rate of 3.6 per cent; the most rapid growth in the past five years. More than 80 per cent of US households subscribe to multi-channel television. Last week the second-biggest satellite operator, announced 325,000 net new subs for the quarter. This followed DirecTV’s the 505,000 new customers in its first quarter.
Comcast, the
biggest cable operator, was the only one to report a sizeable loss in subscribers,
with 26,000 net losses. Analysts said that could partly reflect the fact that
Comcast was rolling out its telephony services later than rivals such as Time
Warner.
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NTV may become first major broadcaster in Japan to offer web-based TV programmes. The web plan comes in the wake of the hostile takeover attempt by Livedoor, an Internet start-up, of Fuji TV, Japan’s largest TV broadcaster, which would have created the first integrated TV and internet group in Japan.
NTV’s decision
to take the initiative in internet programming appears to be a response to
the growing incursion of the internet into the territory of conventional media.
In Japan, a start-up telecoms group, Usen Broad Networks, is offering a free
video service on the Internet while Yahoo! Japan also offers video on the
internet.
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The Governors Annual Report on the BBC has been published confirmed previously announced figures for BBC World Europe's leading exporter of TV programmes made £55m (E81m) on sales up to £706m.
The margins were equally poor at the post-production, studios and costume business the BBC says is no longer core. It made pre-tax profits of £7m on revenues admittedly mostly on internal sales of £135m
BBC Broadcast,
recently sold to Australia's largest investment bank for £166m, made
pre-tax profits of £7m on internally generated revenues - of £109m.
The BBC's governance unit cost £8.4m last year; this is the unit responsible
for monitoring regulation and lobbying the government. The BBC has refused
to give a breakdown of how the £8.4m was spent.
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SES GLOBAL announced
that the BBC has contracted a further transponder, this time on the ASTRA
2A satellite at 28.2o E. Observers speculate the BBC is preparing for the
launch of its high definition television service early next year, although
it says it will use the extra space to "reconfigure" the satellite
broadcasting of its TV, radio and interactive services.
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NDS Group announced
that Auna, Spain’s leading broadband and cable TV operator, has selected
Synamedia, the NDS secure broadband TV & VOD architecture. Using the Synamedia
solution integrated with VideoGuard content protection, Auna will make its
existing cable pay-TV service and Video-on-Demand available to new subscribers
that are connected to ADSL. NDS will protect Auna’s IPTV and VOD broadband
roll out for Spain_s major cities.
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Reed Expo has
confirmed the launch of Content Everywhere, a new international showcase for
the entertainment and media delivery industry to replace Mediacast. The company
says the new event answers a growing call from the market for a London-based
international forum designed to bring together the latest technologies, services,
consumer devices and interactive solutions that are enabling the delivery
of content across multiple platforms to fixed and mobile devices.
Content Everywhere will be held at Olympia, London, between 9 and 11 May 2006
and will feature demonstrations of state-of-the-art devices, technologies
and services alongside themed feature areas and interactive networking zones.
Thomas Staneker, VP Consumer Marketing, Fixed Solutions Division of Alcatel
comments: "The way that content is delivered and received is dramatically
changing. We are excited about the new Content Everywhere event because it
will bring together the biggest players in the telecommunications and content
industries and will provide us with the ideal forum in which to show content
owners, broadcasters, operators and retailers how to utilise our technologies
and solutions to enable new IPTV and Mobile Video business models."
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Broadband over powerlines suddenly has big backers as both Google and IBM announce they are investing in key technology companies.
Google is lining up with Goldman Sachs and Hearst Corp to finance Current Communications to the tune of $100 million (E82.8 million), according to WSJ. "Clearly the technology is ready to be pushed into new markets. It's already commercial and ready for prime time," said Scott Bruce, Managing Director of Current and its major backer, Liberty Associated Partners. " Google said it was "very excited to have a relationship with Current Communications Group to help promote better access to the Internet." Ken Bronfin, President of interactive media for Hearst said: "We have an interest in delivering our content through the widest possible pipes, the idea of creating another delivery mechanism to the home, especially in underserved areas, is attractive."
Meanwhile, IBM has announced a partnership with CenterPoint Energy, a Houston based utility, to develop broadband services over electric power lines.
The companies will open a centre to test and demonstrate the technology for consumers and other utility providers. CenterPoint Energy will also set up a pilot program in about 220 Houston homes that will run this August.
By relying on the adapters - which currently cost about $200 but are expected to become less expensive - utilities do not need to send a worker to install equipment. Consumers can use the adapters in any room with an outlet. The Federal Communications Commission is backing the development of this technology in hopes of creating a counterweight to the cable and phone industries, which provide the bulk of the 36 million broadband lines now being used in American homes.
CenterPoint says it will be one of the first utilities to test new technology, including faster chips that roughly triple connection speeds to about 7Mbs.
Although the
adapters or 'bridges' for data over powerlines have been around for years,
the technology has not gained significant traction, with applications like
WiFi and WiMax taking precedence up to now.
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Arqiva has moved to expand its media solutions business with the acquisition of Inmedia Communications from The Carlyle Group for £68.5 million (E100 million).
Tom Bennie, Chief Executive Officer of Arqiva, said: "There is significant growth potential in this market. We have funded the transaction from our own financial resources and I am particularly pleased to be reinvesting in core teleport infrastructure business in this way."
Nick Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Inmedia, added: "These are both infrastructure businesses with a good deal of synergy and it makes perfect sense to combine the best strengths of both, to ensure their continued success and to secure long-term benefits for customers." Less than a year ago Inmedia was created by a private equity funded buy-out from Kingston Communications.
Arqiva was formed
from the acquisition earlier this year of ntl broadcast by a consortium lead
by Macquarie Communications.
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Speculation has re-emerged that RTL, which owns 65 per cent of Channel Five, is in talks to take full control by acquiring the 35 per cent owned by United Business Media. City observers expect an offer in the range of £220 million (E323 million). RTL is also seen as a candidate to buy Flextech, the programme division of Telewest which is expected to be sold before its parent's merger with ntl.
RTL is part of
Bertelsmann which set aside E1 billion for acquisitions this year and said
it expected RTL to spend most of the money.
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Music group Sony BMG has struck a license deal with file sharing service, iMesh. This the latest such deal to follow the recent US Supreme Court 'Grokster' verdict which held P2P networks could be held liable for copy right infringement.
Once one of the
most popular of post-Napster song-swapping networks, iMesh, formed in 1999,
was sued by the record labels in 2003 for copyright infringement and settled
for $4.1 million. The company is also said to be close to a licence deal with
Universal Music Group.
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'Ultra fast' ISP selects Alcatel
Alcatel announced it has been awarded the contract to provide a full triple play offering by Be, a new broadband service provider in the UK that will initially consist of a 24 Mbit/s Internet service -- the fastest yet in the UK.
Established in October 2004 under the name Avatar Broadband, Be is leveraging Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) to initiate its services. Alcatel's solution, based on advanced IP, access and management technologies, will enable Be to offer 24 Mbit/s speeds and provide cost-efficient backhauling and aggregation for massive amounts of broadband traffic.
"The Alcatel
solution gives us a real advantage over our competitors," said Be co-founder
Boris Ivanovic, who launched a similar service in Sweden after acquiring ISP
Bostream. "By working with Alcatel and exploiting its triple play expertise
we can deliver the fastest speeds available, with a greater number of features
and customer services unmatched by any competitors in the market."
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Eagle Broadband, Inc. and GlobeCast, announced that All Access Technologies has selected the companies' IPTVComplete video solution to deliver advanced video and entertainment services to residential subscribers in Florida, Texas, and Nevada.
All Access Technologies,
is an emerging, multi-service broadband provider that designs, builds and
operates private Fibre-to-the-User (FTTU) networks that deliver advanced voice
over IP, high-speed data, security and other integrated services to high-end
multiple-dwelling units (MDUs) and planned communities. The company will use
Eagle/GlobeCast's IPTVComplete to add video and entertainment to its integrated
bundle of residential services. All Access will offer a full range of basic,
premium and high definition programming, video-on-demand and pay-per-view
services.
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Setanta Sports, the international sports broadcasting group, announced a number of key management appointments. Trevor East is joining Setanta as Director of Sport. East, 54, was previously Deputy Managing Director of Sport at BSkyB. He was at BSkyB for ten years, having joined there after 22 years at ITV where he rose to Head of Sport.
The company has also appointed Mark O'Meara as Chief Operating Officer. O'Meara, 34, joins from Servecast, Europe's leading provider of broadband video services, where he has been CEO since 2003.
Richard Brooke
is moving from a non-executive role to becoming the company's Director of
Corporate Development. Richard, 51, was Group Finance Director of BSkyB until
1998 and has been a board member and advisor to Setanta since 2002.
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The Federal Communications Commission has released data showing high-speed connections serving residential, small business, larger businesses, and other subscribers increased by 34 per cent, to 37.9 million users during 2004. Leading the growth were cable modem services and DSL. DSL lines increased by 45 per cent, to 13.8 million, while high-speed cable connections increased by 30 per cent, to 21.4 million lines, during 2004.
Meanwhile, 549,621
broadband connections reported at the end of 2004 were classified as wireless
or satellite, up from 367,118 reported at the end of 2003. Fibre and power
line connections grew from 602,197 at the end of 2003 to 697,779.
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France
Telecom launches Liveservices and Livecom
From
Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris
France Telecom is to launch a range of services linked to its ADSL service and "Livebox" ADSL modem. It has also just launched a communication service, Livecom, which will also be available to non subscribers in the coming weeks.
The new services include "Livemusic", which comprises a small receiver linked to the Livebox by a wi-fi link, which plays music stored on the user’s PC or streamed via the Internet on your hi-fi system. The box has its own remote control and LCD display. France Telecom has concluded agreements with a number of Internet radio stations for them to be included in the Livemusic service, both French and international (but none of the BBC stations were included in the UK listing).
Livezoom is a telesurveillance service to monitor the home. A webcam linked to the Livebox by wi-fi enables the subscriber to see what is going on in his home while away. France Telecom has also reached a deal with a professional telesurveillance company, which can install a full remote monitoring system in the home, connected via the Livebox. The Livephone is a broadband cordless phone, which can also check e-mails, synchronise a diary, etc. and costs E100.
Another service
is photo transfer. The aim is to make the Livebox into the multimedia hub
of the home. Finally, Livecom is a full communications software, including
VOIP, videophone, 3G, SMS, MMS etc. Users can communicate free of charge via
broadband to other users, or purchase credit to call fixed or mobile phones
and receive incoming calls. This currently uses one of the H protocols, but
will migrate to SIP in the near future.
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Cablevision: Dolan’s must pay more
Cablevision Systems
Corp.'s controlling shareholders, the Dolan family, must raise their offer
price before a deal to buy the company's cable operations, a top investor
has said. The Dolans have offered shareholders about $33.50 (E28) a share.
It also plans to spin off Cablevision's programming networks as part of the
deal. But some Wall Street analysts have said the Dolans' bid puts the company
into play, with Time Warner Cable and Comcast as possible candidates to buy
the systems. One major investor told a banking conference: "They have
to sweeten the bid. From the point of view of price, it's lower than it should
be and it's very opportunistic. The family does have to bridge the financial
gap somehow."
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EC will ease copyright for online music
The European Commission is considering a boost for Europe’s online music provider by making acquiring copyright across borders easier and cheaper. The EC will examine introducing a pan-European copyright licence for online music providers. National collecting agencies could then be free to manage the copyright licensing of performers throughout the EU.
Currently providers
can spend about E475,000 per track to acquire licences in all EU member states.
The EC says such prohibitive costs had slowed the growth of the European online
music market, which last year recorded sales of only E27 million, against
E207 million in the US. The Commission plans to make formal proposals in October.
It could either choose to issue pan-European legislation or make recommendations
to the EU member states. There are, though, no plans to introduce Europe-wide
copyright licences outside the online music industry.
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The BBC wants
government help to create a 24-hour World Service Arabic TV news channel to
challenge al-Jazeera. The World Service is now the biggest speech radio station
in Iraq, where its weekly audiences have increased to 3.3 million (22 per
cent of the radio audience) from 1.8 million (13 per cent) last year. The
BBC says the service would cost £25 million (E37 million) a year.
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Tata-Star
brand DTH service T-Sky
From
Shveta Malik in New Delhi
The Tata-Star DTH JV has announced that their DTH service will be named T-Sky. Also, the joint venture indicated that its proposed company name is Tata Sky Limited, replacing its working name, Space TV Ltd. T-Sky will be a nationwide Direct-to-Home (DTH) service. The launch date is yet to be announced.
Vikram Kaushik,
chief executive officer of the joint venture said, "Our new brand name
highlights the pedigree of the JV partners. It symbolises the strength of
the joint venture. The high quality services and reliability of TATA and the
international know-how and expertise of Sky, the most successful DTH platform
in the world."
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BBC show debuts online but takes rap
BBC THREE will premiere a programme on broadband for the first time when it streams the new series of hit comedy The Mighty Boosh a week ahead of its transmission on July 26. It will be the first of a number of original and award-winning BBC THREE comedies that will be premiered via broadband in the coming months. All episodes will be available to view for up to seven days after the final programme of the series transmits on BBC THREE.
Meanwhile BBC3
will be one of the few departments to receive criticism in the forthcoming
BBC annual report. Although the report congratulates BBC3 for its success
in growing original comedy, the governors want the channel to focus on more
serious news, current affairs and drama.
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Police have charged a Florida man with a third-degree felony, after he was arrested for accessing a St. Petersburg neighbour’s wireless Internet network without permission.
According to the police, the man was seen outside the complainant’s home sitting in a parked SUV and using a laptop computer. "The arresting officer wasn't initially sure a violation took place," said George Kajtsa of the St. Petersburg Police Department. "He consulted our legal staff and they looked up the relevant statute."
The charge, unauthorised
access to a computer network, applies to all varieties of computer network
breaches, and gives prosecutors considerable leeway depending on the severity.
It carries a potential sentence ranging from probation to 5 years in prison.
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ESPN and MobiTV Made-For-Mobile Sports
MobiTV, the television network and technology platform for live television on mobile phones, and ESPN, announced that video content from ESPN is now available to mobile phones via MobiTV.
"ESPN's
mission is to serve fans anytime, anywhere, and expanding our reach among
the fast-growing mobile audience is key to achieving that goal," said
Manish Jha, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Mobile. "We
are proud to offer our subscriber base the best sports programming on mobile
television," said Phillip Alvelda, CEO and chairman of MobiTV, Inc.
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