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NEWS Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July 2005
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
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Telecom Italia has launched IPTV trials in four major Italian cities, prior to an anticipated 21 city commercial rollout in 21 cities throughout Italy this autumn. Once the trial phase is complete, over 4 million households will be able to access a wide range of content including movies, news, sport, music, reality shows and live events on their TVs over a 4 MB per second ADSL connection. The trial covers more than a thousand households in four Italian cities (Rome, Milan, Bologna and Palermo).
As well as traditional programmes offered by a selection of TV broadcasters, a whole catalogue of video on demand content is available during this trial phase. Telecom Italia’s full commercial IPTV service will offer live Serie A TIM and B TIM Italian football, top Italian basketball, a huge video library of 600 films plus 30 new films per month, reality shows and live events.
The trials are
being conducted with technology partners Alcatel, Microsoft and Pirelli. Alcatel
is supplying technologies including the latest generation of ADSL access devices
and its ‘Open Media Suite’ set top box video entertainment TV distribution
platform. Microsoft has supplied Telecom Italia with its Microsoft TV IPTV
Edition software. Pirelli Broadband Solutions has developed intelligent modular
routers.
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DMB approval paves way for multimedia services
The European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) has approved the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) standards for the delivery of multimedia content and services on the move, paving the way for a new era in broadcasting and telecommunications.
DMB has its roots in digital radio technology DAB, which was specifically developed for mobile reception. DMB is designed to broadcast television and video to mobile handsets, in parallel with existing DAB services, both audio and data, and can be easily integrated wherever a DAB infrastructure already exists. A DAB network is already available to 80 per cent of Europe and there are more than 800 DAB services reaching 475 million people in 40 countries around the world.
WorldDAB Forum’s
President, Annika Nyberg, said that ETSI’s approval of the DMB standard
was an important step forward in the anticipation of a strong mobile technology
in Europe and worldwide. "Manufacturers, chip designers and solutions
providers are already poised to bring video, along with DAB audio and data
services, to consumers using DMB enabled devices. WorldDAB expects DAB’s
DMB application to take a significant place in the emerging world of digital
broadcast entertainment."
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Viacom and DirecTV ink carriage deal
Viacom and DirecTV have agreed a comprehensive long-term deal that secures continued carriage of CBS, UPN, BET, and several MTV Networks channels, including, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, TV Land, Comedy Central, Spike TV, CMT, Noggin, BET, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Nicktoons, and MTV Espanol, to DirecTV subscribers nationwide and local carriage to DirecTV subscribers of CBS and UPN O&O broadcast stations. The deal also provides DirecTV with the necessary rights to launch CBS' industry leading HDTV programming on a ‘local into local’ basis.
Martin D Franks,
Executive Vice President, CBS, noted that as co-pioneers in the world of HDTV,
the pair would now work together over time to bring viewers "local into
local" HD.
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Mackay content with Fremantle platform role
International TV programme producer FremantleMedia is creating a new content division - New Platforms - to be led by Catherine Mackay, who has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of this new business.
In this role, Mackay will be responsible for establishing and growing FremantleMedia’s capabilities to create, produce and supply original entertainment for a broad range of new distribution platforms and new devices. Specifically, the division will have the primary responsibility within FremantleMedia for creating and supplying new content to telecom companies, mobile operators, broadband Internet and other platforms. The division’s mandate will include creating content with the potential to be rolled out as global formats for the new platforms, as well as investing in opportunities to build direct-to-consumer entertainment businesses.
Tony Cohen, CEO,
FremantleMedia, noted that Mackay was spearheading the company’s efforts
to establish a significant global creative business in this new area. "Digital
technology means that there is a tremendous opportunity for FremantleMedia
to entertain viewers via the new platforms as well as our growing core business
producing for broadcasters," he added. Mackay said the role gave the
opportunity to develop "powerful new content and new distribution relationships
that will establish us on a global basis outside our traditional market of
broadcast television".
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Nokia raises mobile market estimate
Nokia has reported overall industry volumes slightly higher than expected, prompting an upgrade of its full-year market estimate by 20 million to about 760 million units.
However, it noted that this growth came primarily from emerging markets where low-end products predominate and pricing pressures are currently intense, industry average selling prices continued to edge downwards. "This was certainly the case for Nokia in the second quarter, which in turn impacted our profitability. We currently believe these trends will continue for both the industry and Nokia for the remainder of the year," said the company.
Nokia gained or held its mobile device market share in all regions. A 33 per cent market share in the second quarter was a result of strong sequential gains in Latin America, China and North America, while keeping market share in both Asia-Pacific and Europe/Middle East/Africa. In 3G devices, Nokia also gained market share, in line with our expectations.
Nokia's second-quarter
2005 group net sales increased by 25 per cent to E8.1 billion, compared with
EUR 6.5 billion in the second quarter 2004. Nokia's second-quarter operating
profit grew 13 per cent year on year to E1.0 billion, compared with EUR 0.9
billion in the second quarter 2004, with an operating margin of 12.5 per cent
(13.7 per cent).
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China is forecast to supply more than 50 per cent of all worldwide digital set-top by 2010, according to recent research. The study - The Chinese Market for Digital Set-Top Boxes - reveals that China produced more than 17 million digital STBs in 2004, which accounted for around 35 per cent of the total worldwide market (including China). This figure has already made China the largest digital set-top box production base in the world according to IMS Research.
The production volume of digital set-top boxes in China is forecast to grow at a 21 per cent CAGR over the next five years to reach 56 million units in 2010. This means that over 56 per cent of worldwide digital set-top box supply in 2010 is likely to come from China.
"In 2004,
more than 50 per cent of the digital set-top boxes produced in China were
destined for export markets," commented Ann Yi-Yen Bird, the report author
at IMS Research. "Despite high growth predicted for the domestic digital
set-top box market, the proportion of total Chinese production output for
export markets is forecast to maintain at above 50 per cent over the next
five years," continued Bird. Currently, the majority of digital STBs
produced in China are basic satellite boxes. As deployments of digital cable
TV, digital terrestrial TV and IPTV in both China and the rest of the world
intensify, the proportions of digital cable, digital terrestrial and IP set-top
boxes within total Chinese digital STB production are expected to increase
over the next five years.
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Ericsson has reported upbeat second quarter earnings and sales growth that outperformed rivals Lucent, Motorola and Alcatel and it upgraded its forecast for the mobile phone networks market.
Sales were boosted
by the early booking of SEK 2 billion ($256 million) of revenue for rolling
out the network of US cellco Cingular. Ericsson made a second quarter pre-tax
profit of SEK 8.5 billion, up from SEK6.7 billion in the first quarter and
SEK7.3 billion in the second quarter of 2004. Revenues came in at SEK38.4
billion up 18 per cent.
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The RTL Group has moved to secure control of UK commercial broadcaster five by agreeing with United Business Media to acquire the outstanding 35.4 per cent shareholding in the channel for £247.6 million (E356.2). The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be finalised in the Autumn.
RTL's shareholding has risen progressively since 1997, when it was one of the founding shareholders, owning 29 per cent. This was subsequently increased to 35.4 per cent and, later in 2000, as part of the merger between Pearson Television and CLT-UFA, the overall stake increased to 64.6 per cent.
Five has steadily grown audience and advertising market share since launch, reaching 6.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively in 2004. In 2003 Five made an operating profit for the first time and in 2004, under IFRS, reported revenue of GBP 290 million and an operating profit of GBP 19 million.
Gerhard Zeiler,
CEO of RTL Group, said that the transaction " Five is a key shareholding
for us and we look forward to continuing to work with the management team
to develop the business," he added.
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BT is boosting the speed of its Broadband Basic product giving all new and existing customers a new superfast service up to twice the current speeds. The move means BT's entire family of retail consumer and business broadband products will now come with mega-fast 2Mb as standard.
Gavin Patterson, group managing director, Consumer, said that the higher speeds opened up a wealth of new possibilities for the use of broadband, such as high quality video over broadband, online gaming and superfast downloads of music tracks and film clips. Customers are demanding more from their broadband through the explosion of new content and applications. High speed broadband is key to meeting that demand and delivering these new services to a mass market," he added. "The future 'battleground' in broadband will be in differentiating services rather than price and speed as it is today and, with this upgrade, BT will concentrate on addressing these new challenges."
BT faces competition
from follow telco France Telecom's Wanadoo ISP, which is also doubling the
speed of its offering of the 1Mb service it currently provides. Announcing
the introduction of the new service, Eric Abensur, chief executive of Wanadoo
UK, said, "By providing our customers with 2Mb broadband as standard,
they will quite simply, get double the speed of the 1Mb connection allowing
them to download files in half the time or surf the Internet twice as quickly.
We see this of great benefit to our customers. With this new offer we want
to demonstrate our continuing commitment to giving our customers more for
their money, by offering our fastest speeds as standard."
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Search engine blinkx has introduced SmartFeed, claimed to be the first service to enable Internet users to receive highly personalised audio and video content, from a wealth of news and entertainment sources, via RSS.
The SmartFeed service enables blinkx users to receive continual automatic rich media updates from a wide variety of video and audio sources. Internet users can now visit www.blinkx.tv, enter a customised search, specify from which of over 30 channels they wish to receive content, and click the 'Create SmartFeed' button to begin receiving relevant rich multimedia content, delivered directly to their desktops.
"The Internet
has evolved into a vast media network, with more and more multimedia content
becoming available every day," said Suranga Chandratillake, founder of
blinkx. "Much of the most current and compelling content on the Internet
is in multimedia format - take breaking news, for example. blinkx's unique
automatic transcription technology and SmartFeed service help users navigate
the increasing and diverse range of rich media that's available to them."
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Media and entertainment technology group Thomson is to take a controlling stake in VCF Thématiques. The investment will take the form of a capital increase and will allow Thomson and the current owner of VCF Thématiques, the VCF Group, a subsidiary of Euro Media TV, to further develop their broadcast playout activities.
VCF Thématiques is a leading provider of playout services to 50 TV channels in France, broadcasting more than 1,000 hours of programmes a day. The company is a broadcast playout provider for Multithématiques (Canal + group), NRJ TV, TF6 and Série Club (M6/TF1 groups), TV Breizh (TF1 group), Canal France International (CFI), 13ème Rue (NBC-Universal), Infosport (TPS group) and other broadcasters in France.
As part of the Group's Two Year Plan, and capitalising on its technology expertise and on the quality of its media services, Thomson is targeting opportunities in key segments of the growing worldwide television broadcast management and services market. Thomson expanded its broadcast services activity with the November 2004 acquisition of Corinthian Television Facilities in London.
"VCF Thématiques
will expand our Network Operations Services business in Europe and brings
us an established Media and Entertainment customer base in France," said
Nabil Batlouni, Senior Vice President Europe, Network Operations Services,
Thomson. "The trend to outsource broadcast playout services has started
and will continue. Thomson, which is already a preferred partner for numerous
broadcasters around the world, will play an increasingly important role in
this line of activity."
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Communications giant Motorola has revealed record second-quarter sales and earnings. Sales rose 17 per cent at $8.83 billion (E7.34 billion), compared to second-quarter 2004 sales of $7.54 billion.
Motorola also reported a gain of 3.3 percentage points in global mobile device market share and record Mobile Devices shipments of 33.9 million units, representing an estimated global market share of 18.1 per cent, an increase of 3.3 percentage points versus the year-ago quarter and 1.7 percentage points versus first quarter of 2005.
"Motorola
delivered a very strong second quarter and once again exceeded guidance,"
said Ed Zander, chairman and CEO, who said the company was delighted that
customers were embracing seamless mobility solutions around the globe.
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Shorts International's Shorts TV service is now available to Orange customers via the Orange World portal. The deal with Orange, a leading provider of mobile entertainment, will enable Orange customers to download independent short films and animations direct to their phones.
Deborah Tonroe,
Head of Commercial Development at Orange, said: "Enabling customers to
experience short films and animations on their phones via Orange World is
an exciting way to ensure that we deliver compelling and diverse content for
all our customers. The deal with Shorts International demonstrates how Orange
is broadening access to and enjoyment of films in general. It adds to the
growing portfolio of video content available to Orange World users",
she added.
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Lucent Technologies has reported healthy third-quarter results, buoyed by 3G network business. Revenues increased 7 per cent to $2.34 billion from the same period the year before, reflecting strong growth in Lucent's mobility unit where sales grew 14 per cent to $1.17 billion.
"This quarter, we continued to deliver steady, profitable results driven primarily by our strength in 3G mobile networks and growth in our Services business," said Lucent Technologies Chairman and CEO Patricia Russo. "We believe our wireline business is stabilising, and we continue to strengthen our position in the next-generation of IMS-based networks with more customer trials and developments.
"These actions
contribute to our positioning for success in the key growth markets for next-generation
networks," said Russo. "We continue to invest in the areas that
are critical to our vision of converged services —mobile high-speed data,
broadband access, next-gen optical, VoIP, as well as services, the government
sector and emerging markets. And we are increasingly focusing these investments
in areas such as next-gen access for high-end video distribution like IPTV
and revenue-generating applications for converged services."
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Germany's highly competitive free-to-air TV landscape is set to be boosted by the transformation of the existing NBC Europe/Giga channel into a full entertainment channel by the end of September. The channel is hoping to get a one per cent audience share over its first year. Once it breaks even, the channel is supposed also to contain originally produced programmes.
Germany's TeleMunchen
Group had previously announced its plan to transform its existing general
entertainment channel Tele5 into a movie channel supplied by the huge TMG
film library.
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The four additional pay channels have six months to start broadcasting, like those already licensed. However, the CSA pointed out that this is contingent on setting up a commercial distribution network, which should happen from September 2005. The CSA also restructured some of the multiplexes to accommodate the new channels in a more coherent manner. The four new FTA channels are put into multiplex R2, joining RMC and Direct 8. The four new pay channels are attributed to multiplex R3, which currently broadcasts only Canal+.
The CSA also
decided on 19 new transmission sites for DTT for the Spring of 2006 and another
24 for Autumn 2006. These are in addition to those already decided for the
Autumn of 2005. This will bring DTT coverage to two-thirds of the population
by the autumn of 2006. Finally, the CSA restated the new aim of bringing DTT
to the whole population. A joint working group has been set up between the
CSA and the Direction du Developpement des Medias, which is to put forward
its proposals by 1 October 2005.
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Singapore-based MobileOne Ltd. (M1) has added 3,900 3G customers in the second quarter this year to touch an overall 5,400-mark for its relatively new service. The take-up of 3G, launched earlier this year, has been slow but is likely to improve when a more attractive range of handsets is available later in the year, indicated the company. The company said that 3G content has to be modified to attract more users and the company is betting on Singapore-relevant music and television content.
"We don‚t
have many customers out there yet...but that will really accelerate during
the second half," said Neil Montefiore, chief executive officer of M1.
"Net profit margin remains under pressure as we are incurring 3G network
operating costs, depreciation and amortisation, while 3G revenue will not
have meaningful impact in FY 2005." M1 stated that its net profit after
tax for the six months ended 30 June 2005 was US$47.1 million with operating
revenue of US$227 million.
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Digital advertising creation and measurement specialist Zip Television has revealed research which it hopes will enable broadcasters and platforms to maximise red button response and iTV Return On Investment.
The report – 'Passive2Active' - reveals that 30 per cent of potential advertising interactors, dubbed 'Unimpressed Pragmatists' are not pressing the red button because there are too few incentives. A further 22 per cent, referred to as 'Apprehensive Stargazers', are too daunted by the prospect to interact with an ad. It highlights a golden opportunity for broadcasters and platforms to entice potential interactors to maximise red button response and increase interactive TV's (iTV) ROI.
Emma Seymour, Research Director at Zip Television, said that viewers were divided into five sub groups to identify their demographics, attitudes and preferred programme genres. "There was a broad spectrum of interactor types, ranging from out-and-out rejectors ('Bitter Ad Haters'), through 'Unengaged Passives', to strong interactor acceptors ('Dedicated Interacters'). But it was 'Unimpressed Pragmatists' and 'Apprehensive Stargazers' that represented the greatest potential to press red - given the right targeting and messaging."
Emma Somerville,
BBC's Head of Interactive Programming, suggested that broadcasters must take
a lead in educating potential users. "The BBC has a major role to play
in educating audiences and the industry as to the benefits of Interactive
TV. We know we have managed to reach a huge number of people through our red
button services - let's not forget that the UK leads the world in interactive
TV. However, we are also aware that there are still audiences who are not
willing to interact - understanding why they do not want to join in is the
first step in broadening our reach further."
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Pay-TV revenue
and content protection specialist Latens Systems has broadened its Partner
Programme with the addition of Indian advanced TV projects systems integrator
Horizon Broadcast Electronics (Horizon). Horizon will integrate the Latens
CAS (Conditional Access Systems) family of products and offer frontline support
to its clients
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News Corporation is to acquire Intermix Media, Inc. for approximately $580 million in cash, or the equivalent of $12 per common share. In a separate transaction, Intermix announced today that it exercised its option to acquire the 47 per cent of MySpace.com that it does not already own. MySpace.com is the leading lifestyle portal for networking online. Both MySpace.com and Intermix's more than 30 sites will become part of News Corporation's newly formed Fox Interactive Media unit.
News Corp suggests that the acquisition, combined with the recently announced formation of Fox Interactive Media, underscores the company's commitment to expand its Internet presence by offering a deeper, richer online experience for its millions of users.
With the addition of MySpace, and Intermix's network of sites, News Corporation's US web traffic will nearly double to more than 45 million unique monthly users, putting the Company in the top echelon of most trafficked content sites on the Internet today. Intermix's group of entertainment, humour, gaming and social networking sites has become the leading network for shareable digital entertainment such as pictures, music and video. MySpace.com is the fifth ranked web domain in terms of page views according to comScore Media Metrix.
"Intermix
is an important acquisition for News Corp, instantly doubling the number of
visitors to our sites and providing an ideal foundation on which to meaningfully
increase our internet presence," said News Corporation's Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, Rupert Murdoch. "Intermix's brands, such as
MySpace.com, are some of the web's hottest properties and resonate with the
same audiences that are most attracted to Fox's news, sports and entertainment
offerings. We see a great opportunity to combine the popularity of Intermix's
sites, particularly MySpace, with our existing online assets to provide a
richer experience for today's Internet users."
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Media and entertainment giant Thomson has entered into a partnership with India's premier Telecom and Internet Service Company, VSNL, part of the USD$17 billion Tata Group. Under the agreement, Thomson and VSNL will jointly explore opportunities, and intend to combine their respective expertise to offer high quality services and new technologies to the Indian media and entertainment market.
The deal gives Thomson a foothold in the Indian market and will leverage the reputation of the House of Tatas, the brand recognition of Tata Indicom and VSNL's expertise and presence to grow its broadcast, network and telecom activities. The move reflects Thomson's Two-Year Plan to grow revenues by E1.5 billion to E2 billion by the end of 2006 and to broaden the Group's Media and Entertainment client base, notably in Asia.
It is anticipated that Thomson's expertise in digital video technologies will offer significant benefits to VSNL and the companies will explore new opportunities in managing and delivering content for third parties, including broadcasters and content providers, aiming to offer leading edge solutions to VSNL's Media and Entertainment customers in India. Similarly, Thomson believes opportunities will open up for its Grass Valley broadcast and network activity and its Technicolor business, which provide services to media content creators and distributors.
In addition, Thomson and VSNL will explore development of end-to-end solutions for network operators, such as optimised satellite transmission as well as content management and distribution solutions like digital cinema, based on Thomson's world-leading position in solutions and access products.
"Our partnership with Tata/VSNL brings exciting opportunities for Thomson and expands our presence in India, a market of strategic importance to us," said Frank Dangeard, Chairman and CEO of Thomson, who added that the co-operation should provide a solid basis for future growth in Thomson's other core Media & Entertainment activities, such as services for content creators, from post-production to digital cinema.
"The Media
and Entertainment sector in India has seen unprecedented growth in the recent
past primarily due to the increasing appetite of the Indian consumer, the
potential for which is growing by the day," said N Srinath, Director
of Operations for VSNL.
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Lagardere Active, the broadcasting subsidiary of the Lagardere group, has decided to cease transmission of celebrity-focused channel Match TV from the end of August. Match TV was created in 2001 and has been making losses of E3 to E4 million a year.
Recent Medicabsat viewing figures failed to show any improvement in its audience share and was probably the nail in Match TV's coffin – its overall audience share represented just 0.2 per cent of the overall population, or 0.5 per cent of cabsat homes.
In January, Match
TV relinquished its DTT licence, which the CSA had awarded it in 2002. Lagardere
Active will now concentrate on the areas it knows best, namely music and children's'
programming.
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"Though mobile video does not yet appear to have widespread appeal, In-Stat believes that there is enough interest for it to generate some significant revenue for carriers in the near term," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat senior analyst. The number of subscribers purchasing mobile video content in the US will increase from an estimated 1.1 million in 2005 to over 30 million in 2010, In-Stat forecasts.
In-Stat's findings
also indicate that the most desirable customers (long-term loyal customers
who are satisfied with their service and unlikely to churn to other carriers)
are the least interested in purchasing mobile video.
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Customers of Portuguese mobile operator TMN will be able to "share the moment" with the person they are talking to, following the cellco's launch of a commercial video sharing service. The service is enabled by the Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) implemented in TMN's core network infrastructure. TMN customers are able to enjoy video sharing with the Nokia 6680 3G imaging smartphone.
According to
Markku Verkama, General Manager, Networks, Nokia, "IP multimedia is becoming
mainstream and Nokia is strongly driving the openness of IP-based concepts
such as video sharing with the target to enable operators to offer a diversity
of services independent of the network or handset."
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Alcatel is to
undertake a major upgrade of dominant Dutch telco KPN's broadband
infrastructure to prepare for the delivery of triple play services in the
Netherlands. This contract involves the upgrade of 1.3 million DSL lines,
allowing higher bandwidth and the delivery of triple play services.
"As the leading provider of broadband services in the Netherlands, we
want to offer the new value-added services that will keep us ahead of the
competition. We are getting ready for the future of user centric broadband
services," commented Eelco Blok, KPN director Corporate Strategy.
Michel Rahier,
in charge of Alcatel's fixed communications activities, added that the upgrade
of KPN's broadband access network was "an essential step towards massive
deployment of triple play services."
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Shapiro also pointed out that DVR usage apparently boosts viewing, and networks are slowly adapting with alternative ad formats, programming and technologies that are geared to minimise ad skipping or its impact.
"We believe that much of the analysis so far, which asserts that there is a linear relationship between 'ads skipped' and ad dollars, is based on a faulty premise," Shapiro said.
Banc of America
estimated there are about 9 million DVRs in US. households today, representing
an 8 per cent penetration. That penetration number will rise to more than
30 percent by 2009, the firm said.
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France Telecom
has confirmed that it is considering bid for Amena, Spain's third-largest
mobile network. The telco has sent due diligence teams to Spain as part of
preparations for a possible bid, but a company spokeswoman said that a decision
hadn't yet been made. Any acquisition would represent France Telecom's first
move into acquisitions since its debt crisis in 2002.
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Setanta is understood
to have teamed up with UK cableco Telewest to organise a bid for the Premiership
rights. Telewest's involvement in content deals is in question at the moment
as a mooted merger with fellow UK cable company NTL may result in the disposal
of the company's content arm, Flextech.
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Satellite operator Eutelsat and NHK, Japan's national public have agreed a deal for a full transponder on the Atlantic Bird 3 satellite for the duration of February 2006. The capacity will be used by NHK to carry HDTV coverage of the Winter Olympic Games, which will take place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 26 February.
The satellite link will provide a permanent, fully secure means of communication between NHK production units filming in HDTV at Olympic venues and the broadcaster's programme units located in Paris and at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) in Turin's Olympic Village.
As Japan's leading broadcaster and the first in the world to demonstrate HDTV, in 1964, NHK serves a total audience of 40 million TV households, of which more than eight million are already equipped to receive HDTV by satellite. Since December 2003, NHK has also been distributing HDTV programming to its terrestrial channels, including general and educational channels.
Eiichi Kashino, Senior Producer of NHK News said: "High-definition has been one of the main vectors for the development and identity of our group for more than 40 years, and the Olympic Games are a very special opportunity for us to show our viewers what this developing technology can offer. Covering a sports event of this scale implies a need to be in the right place at the right time in order to share real-time the emotion of the moment with our community of viewers."
Olivier Milliès-Lacroix,
Eutelsat's Commercial Director said: "Within the overall activity of
video applications, which account for 70 per cent of our revenues, coverage
of Olympic events by our broadcasting clients is an activity which calls for
the best technology and expertise." He added that Eutelsat was "fully
committed to supporting the development of HDTV in Europe and across the world."
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Organisers of the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival have revealed that, together with a range of panels and master-classes addressing traditional aspects of programme making and broadcasting, delegates will have the opportunity to assess the impact of new distribution platforms and technologies.
A session entitled 'Freeview vs. Pay-TV' notes the unexpected success of DTT 'free' platform Freeview, and asks whether pay-TV's inexorable rise to market dominance is under threat. Dawn Airey (Managing Director, Sky Networks at BSkyB), Roger Lynch (Chairman and CEO VideoNetworks) and Lisa Opie (Managing Director at Flextech Television) are lined up to discuss the issue.
A subsequent
session – 'Upwardly Mobile' recognises that appetite for 3G content is
increasing and the public are prepared to pay for mobile content in a way
that does not apply to the Internet, broadband and interactive TV. This interactive
session offers delegates the chance to get ahead of the game and to understand
why 3G and mobile TV should be top of the TV agenda. Panellists include Matthew
Kershaw (Head of Interactive Media at MTV Networks Europe), Graeme Ferguson
(Director of Global Content Services at Vodafone) and Deborah Tonroe (Head
of Commercial Development at Orange).
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Cable company Telewest is to put its TV content business Flextech up for sale for at least £800 million (E1.15 billion), according to weekend press reports. The sale is seen as a key step towards the long-anticipated merger of Telewest and ntl, expected in the next few months.
But according to The Telegraph, ntl have strong objections to any move to sell Flextech to a free-to-air TV competitor, fearing this could damage the prospects of the merged pay-TV cable group.
ITV and German-owned broadcaster RTL have both been suggested as potential bidders for Flextech, which owns the Living TV and Challenge channels and holds a 50 per cent stake in UKTV, a joint venture with the BBC. Other groups expected to show an interest in Flextech include Hallmark International—the media company chaired by former Five chief executive officer David Elstein—and US media giant Time Warner.
Meanwhile, Irish TV company Setanta are believed to be teaming up with Telewest to make a bid for the broadcast rights to the Premiership, currently held by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB and due to expire in 2008.
In an effort to break Sky's monopoly, the European competition commission has ordered that the Premiership split up the rights into several smaller packages and sell them off to different broadcasters.
Telewest has been in negotiations with Setanta for several months, and it is thought that the talks could lead to the merged cable company, ntl and Telewest, taking a stake in the Irish company.
Setanta recently
recruited BSkyB executive Trevor East, who was part of the team that negotiated
Sky's £1 billion Premiership deal.
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The latest DVB-H pilot is underway as mobile television is put to the test in Australia. The year-long trial will see 1,000 mobile subscribers in Sydney supplied with Nokia 7110 videophones.
According to The Australian content partners have not yet been announced, but telecommunications group Telstra and pay-TV group Foxtel, as well as some free-to-air networks, are expected to be involved in the 15-channel trial. The transmission group The Bridge Networks, owned by Macquarie Bank, will also be involved.
Bridge Networks' managing director Darren Kirsop-Frearson said the trial would measure service coverage, particularly within buildings, and provide feedback on the quality of services. "It's a very exciting development and evidence of a true convergence of the broadcast and telco industries," he added.
The trial has
apparently aroused the interest of the federal Government, with Communications
Minister Helen Coonan looking at the technology as another way of injecting
more services into the media sector ahead of the possible removal of cross-media
and foreign ownership restrictions.
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FarEastone
launches 3G service ahead of competitors in Taiwan
From
Shveta Malik in New Delhi
FarEastone has introduced 3G services in Taiwan. The company has set a target of 50,000 3G users by the end of 2005. FarEastone's 3G network uses WCDMA technology and subscribers can access 3G services offered by NTT DoCoMo in Japan.
FarEastone president and chief operations officer Jan Nilsson said, "Our clients now can make video calls to 21 countries via 37 networks."
FarEastone is
among three established mobile operators lined up to launch third-generation
mobile services. It will be followed by Chunghwa Telecom, the state-owned
market leader and second-ranked Taiwan Mobile over the next few weeks. Chunghwa
Telecom and Taiwan Mobile aim for 100,000-user base by the end of this year.
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AsiaSat is to issue a Request for Proposal to acquire AsiaSat 5, a replacement satellite for AsiaSat 2 which is expected to reach the end of its life in 2010.
AsiaSat 5, scheduled for 2008 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East, will be a new generation communications satellite designed to offer improved power and coverage across the Asia Pacific region where more than 360 million viewers are currently reached.
"Planning the replacement for AsiaSat 2 well ahead of the satellite’s projected retirement schedule will ensure our ability to continue to provide services to customers at that location," said Peter Jackson, chief executive officer of AsiaSat. "It will also give us a chance to launch another replacement if that proved necessary before AsiaSat 2’s retirement."
At the time of
its launch in late 1995, AsiaSat 2 was the most powerful satellite serving
Asia, and is currently used by many regional and international broadcasters,
video and teleport service providers, and governments and corporations for
VSAT network services.
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Interactive media strategy for Fox
News Corp. have formed a new division to strengthen the Fox entertainment, news and sports brands across the internet. Fox Interactive Media (FIM) will be headed by Ross Levinsohn, formerly of Fox Sports Interactive Media, and will manage the interactive assets from all Fox divisions – including Foxsports.com, Foxnews.com and Fox.com – as well as co-ordinate the owned-and-operated television station web properties.
FIM’s first focus will be the creation of a broadband service to pull together its video assets, allowing users the opportunity to personalise it. News Corp. said the aim was to provide "the ultimate home base for users' news, information, entertainment and community needs".
"We believe
no other media company has been as successful at creating distinctive content
and finding ways to distribute it over every conceivable platform to mass
audiences around the world," said News Corp. chairman and chief executive
officer, Rupert Murdoch. "We're confident this success will translate
to the internet," he added.
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Tele2 puts offer in on Versatel
Stockholm-based Tele2, the pan-European telecommunications operator, has made an offer with investment firm Apax Partners to buy Dutch telecommunications Versatel for a total of €1.34 billion. The move will create the leading alternative operator in the Netherlands and Belgium
Under the agreement, Tele2, which has 28 million customers in operations across Europe, will sell Versatel’s successful German operations to Apax for €565 million once the deal is completed.
Tele2, who recently acquired Spain’s Comunitel, say they are fully committed to the triple play strategy of Versatel in the Netherlands, and the company will offer exclusive soccer games through ADSL2+ this autumn, combined with broadband internet and VoIP.
Versatel has
been the subject of takeover speculation since May, recently being forced
to deny reports that it was in talks with Deutsche Telekom following the circulation
of a fake press release.
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CNN.com to launch broadband video service
CNN.com’s broadband premium service, CNN Pipeline, will put users in control of multiple live video streams, CNN’s video archives and on-demand news clips from around the world.
Accessed by downloading
a video player, CNN Pipeline is designed to meet the needs of consumers who
want live, on-demand news they can select with a click of the mouse.
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BBC to sell programmes abroad over internet
The BBC’s director of new media and technology, Ashley Highfield, has confirmed that plans to sell downloads of popular programmes over the internet to overseas viewers are "coming up the agenda", reports the MediaGuardian.
According to the BBC 22.8 million of their website's 48.1 million average monthly users are based overseas, with new technology enabling them to identify exactly where their internet users are coming from.
The annual report shows £69.2 million has been spent on the website, with this figure expected to continue to rise as the number of broadband users around the world consuming audio visual content increases. The BBC have also successfully tested software enabling transmissions to be restricted to UK licence fee payers. A public trial of its interactive Media Player (iMP) – technology that should allow UK licence fee payers to download any programme or radio show from the previous week – is to be staged later this year.
"If we're
making all this investment to make audio visual content available free of
charge in the UK, if we could make some money back internationally it could
help mitigate some of those costs," said Highfield.
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Turner Broadcasting brings Cartoon Network to Germany
Cartoon Network, one of Turner Broadcasting System Europe’s flagship brands, is to launch in Germany in September. It will be available in German to more than 33 million households on national free to air television on kabel eins, part of the ProSiebenSat.1 group.
"This deal is a powerful combination of our expertise in kids and kabel eins’ mass market reach as a leading free-to-air player, and it represents an excellent opportunity for us to introduce our entertainment brands into the marketplace," said Jeff Kupsky, executive vice president, TBS Europe.
Cartoon Network
has already been launched as localised Greek and Russian services this year,
and will now be available in 14 languages.
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Telcom merger may challenge BT
Telecoms groups Cable & Wireless and Energis are understood to be in the early stages of merger talks to create a serious rival to BT, the UK’s biggest fixed-line phone company, The Guardian reports.
It is believed
that C&W is looking to buy Energis for around £700 million, creating
a business with revenues of around £2.3 billion in the UK, much of it
from providing services to major companies.
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Next-generation television offerings that focus on interactivity are likely to find widespread success in Spain, the UK, and Japan, according to a new study. But due to the variety in advanced television offerings, operators will have to target services specifically to each region, say researchers at Parks Associates.
In both the United Kingdom and Japan, 75 per cent of people show a strong inclination toward advanced television services. But while consumers in the UK favour interactive features such as voting abilities, the study found the Japanese to prefer personalised recommendations and one-button access capabilities. In Spain 80 per cent of the population have shown a keen interest in personalised recommendations and voting abilities.
"The 'one size fits all' mindset regarding television services is obsolete," says research analyst Deepa Iyer. "The strategic advantage in the next phase of advanced television services goes to operators who can deliver targeted solutions today that can be expanded as their subscribers demand more advanced features and services." These companies will look to network, software, and other solutions providers that can offer maximum flexibility and scalability in such offerings as set-top box design, middleware, electronic program guides, and home networking.
The study, IP
Video Services: Analysis and Forecasts, also examines the "digital readiness"
of 12-nations for interactive and personalised television services, ranking
the US sixth.
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Alcatel and Shanghai Media Group (SMG), have set up an IPTV Lab in Shanghai to drive the commercialisation of IPTV services in China. The first of its kind in China, the Lab will see IPTV experts from both companies work together to develop solutions that are critical to the delivery of IPTV services to end users, such as DRM solutions, a broadcast control management platform, content integration and service management platforms tailored to the needs of Chinese service providers.
In the Lab Alcatel integrates SMG's broadcast content and head-end equipment with Alcatel's end-to-end IPTV service delivery architecture, as well as terminals to simulate a complete network environment for developing, validating and test-running IPTV services.
"Operators all over the world are either offering video services - or actively investigating their deployment - in addition to their voice and data services," says Michel Rahier, in charge of Alcatel's global fixed communications activities. "China sees exponential growth in the number of broadband users, creating profitable opportunities for operators to go into the IPTV business."
The Lab team
will also carry out in-depth studies on various business cases for IPTV, in
order to offer comprehensive consulting services to help operators launch
profitable IPTV services.
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The European Commission has opened access to a new radio frequency, making part of the 5GHz band available for Wi-Fi. The new spectrum will allow data transfer at 50 megabits per second compared with 10 megabits on the current 2.4 GHz radio band, and will be made available throughout the European Union.
To be implemented by October 31 2005, the frequency will give consumers access to Voice over IP in hotspots around the world. And according to the Commission, the number of hotspots in western Europe is expected to rise from 26,000 to 45,000 by the end of this year.
"High-speed electronic communication networks are essential to Europe’s competitiveness," says Viviane Reding, Information Society and Media Commissioner, adding that the move "will help industry to create innovative services, such as wireless Voice over IP, for a single European market".
Japan and the
United States are also said to be implementing rules for the use of 5 GHz
range for Wi-Fi. And according to market analysts, today’s 120 million
Wi-Fi users world-wide (25 million in Western Europe) may grow to 500 million
and more over the next 3 years.
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Forgent Networks is suing fifteen companies for infringement of Digital Video Recording Patent. The Patent, which expires on May 21, 2011, relates to a computer controlled video system allowing playback during recording.
The defendants
include Cable One, Charter Communications, Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications,
EchoStar Communications Corporation, The DIRECTV Group, Time Warner Inc. and
their respective subsidiaries.
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Consumer electronics firm Sharp are to launch a new LCD which can simultaneously display two different images, providing information and content tailored to specific users, depending on the angle at which they view the screen.
Increasingly wider viewing angles in LCDs have made clear and highly readable displays possible without the loss of image quality, no matter what direction the display is viewed from. But the new display has its drawbacks. Viewers directly in front of it will see only two images overlapping, and the mix of sounds means that at least one user must wear earphones, although Mikio Katayama, head of Sharp's LCD business, says the firm would consider equipping screens with directional speakers at a later date.
Sharp say the
display, which is expected to cost twice as much as an ordinary LCD television,
will go on sale worldwide, and the technology will be sold for other firms
to use.
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