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NEWS Monday 20th June to Friday 24th June 2005
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
| Tuesday | |||||
To no one’s surprise UK regulator Ofcom has determined BT will not be broken up in the interests of competition. In return BT has promised to give fairer access to the last mile. The deal – which avoids a reference to the Competition Commission - is the outcome of Ofcom’s review of the former public monopoly.
Full details of BT’s ‘undertakings in principle’ will be published on June 30 but will centre on setting up an autonomous division dedicated to ‘Access Services’. Rival operators have consistently complained that BT Retail, the company's consumer arm, receives preferential treatment from BT's network-owning wholesale division. BT says the new unit will provide consistent and transparent access to the local network – this will be monitored by an ‘Equality of Access Board’ with a majority of independent members. The unit will contain 30,000 of BT’s staff.
In addition BT has agreed to near term cuts in wholesale prices cutting the LLU rental from £105 (E154) to £80 per annum. Also BT will not drop its IP and Datastream prices until there are a minimum 1.5m unbundled lines in the market. Ofcom chairman David Currie says of the agreement: "We believe these proposals have the potential to encourage more sustainable competition, more services, lower prices and greater consumer choice."
Richard Sweet,
Head of Regulation at major alternative provider Thus plc, said:
"We welcome Ofcom's settlement with BT. Ofcom has correctly identified
equality of access at a key principle underpinning future regulation, and
we hope it will drive substantial improvements in the way that BT treats us
as customers. We also support Ofcom's decision not to make an Enterprise Act
reference, which would have caused further uncertainty and disruption. However,
Ofcom must be prepared to take firm and swift action if BT fails to deliver
on its undertakings."
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NTL, Telewest begin due diligence
In the clearest sign yet of impending merger UK cablecos NTL and Telewest have admitted a detailed ‘mutual due diligence’ programme has started as they edge towards the long awaited £6bn (E8.8bn) merger. The likely structure for the deal has emerged as a cash and shares offer from NTL for Telewest its smaller rival. The newco is likely to retain its primary stock market listing in New York rather than move to London.
However, the
sticking point in negotiations remains the valuation of Flextech, Telewest's
content business which includes UKTV, a 50:50 joint venture with the BBC.
Estimates vary from £450m to £1bn.
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About 10 per cent of U.S. TV ads could be fast-forwarded over by 2009 because of the growth of DVR technology, according to research by Accenture. It estimates that about 40 per cent of U.S. homes will have DVRs by 2009. About 8 per cent of U.S. homes now have DVR technology, resulting in around 2 per cent of ads being skipped.
The report, calculates that up to 10 per cent of ads could be skipped by 2009, with as much as $6 billion lost. The cost-per-thousand-viewers rate will grow at a compound annual rate of just 3 per cent through 2010, according to the research.
Broadcasters
fear the dual impact of ad-skipping and audience fragmentation will prompt
major advertisers to shun television in favour of more targeted forms of media,
including the Internet.
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Internet stealing young viewers
Young people across Europe are spending less time watching TV and listening to the radio as a result of using the Internet, according to research. The European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) found that almost half of 15-24 year olds (46 per cent) are watching less TV and 22 per cent are listening to less radio as a result of their time on the Internet.
The study also found that young people are spending almost a quarter of their media time (24 per cent) online, more than reading newspapers (10 per cent) or magazines (8 per cent). In comparison, the average European devotes 20 per cent of their media activity to the Internet.
Among 15-24 year olds, TV continues to represent the largest share of media time at 31 per cent with radio just ahead of the Internet on 27 per cent.
The study revealed that music dominates online activity for this age group with the Internet providing a cheaper and more convenient means of purchasing and downloading tracks. A quarter of 15-24 year olds are now buying music online having previously purchased it in the shops. Almost half of those questioned (47 per cent) would be prepared to pay for music download services, while 52 per cent of youths listen to music online now instead of elsewhere.
Gaming is also a popular online activity for the youth market. A quarter (25 per cent) would be prepared to pay for online gaming services. 40 per cent had visited a games website within the past 7 days, while 17 per cent had purchased a computer game online.
More than half
(58 per cent) preferred to chat to friends over the Internet, while, over
a third admit to talking less on the phone now that they are online while
26 per cent send less text messages.
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Sky has detailed the revamp of its pricing structure, in a move which will broaden the choice for starter packages and reduce price points from 96 to 15, but push the cost of the top package above £500 (E735) a year.
BSkyB said it hoped to attract new subscribers by reorganising its channels into six channel mixes as it targets 10 million subscribers by 2010.
BSkyB said the revamped channel mixes would include music, news, knowledge and children's programmes. The cheapest package, which includes two mixes, will cost £15 per month, while taking all six mixes will cost £21 per month.
"These changes
will enable the company to attract a growing number of profitable subscribers
as Sky heads for 10 million subscribers in 2010," BSkyB said.
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BT has raided Freeview and BSkyB for execs to launch its new entertainment brand. The telco has appointed Freeview's general manager Lib Charlesworth as head of sales and marketing, and BSkyB's head of pay-per-view Karen Saunders as head of programmes and acquisitions for its TV services division.
Charlesworth
brings more than ten years' experience to her new role at BT, having been
responsible for the launch, strategic development and marketing of the highly
successful Freeview service. Saunders has been head of pay-per-view at Sky
Networks for the past five years, during which time she oversaw content acquisition,
programming and marketing of Sky Box Office.
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Redmond wants regional digital platform
Phil Redmond who has just sold major indie Mersey TV for £35m (E51.4m) says he wants to create the North West Digital Platform, a digital TV channel not controlled by mainstream broadcasters.
"I've always
been one who looks to the future. It's a really exciting time to be in the
business. [Digital switchover] is too important to be left to a combine of
media companies. What's missing is an exhibition platform, where people can
put things up without have to fit in with the BBC, ITV or Channel 4 agenda.
I have been involved in the public policy debate about the North West Digital
Platform. We are in discussion with the North West Development Agency; they
are in theory going to fund it," Redmond said.
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The post production and play-out specialist TSI has teamed up with Two Way TV to offer its clients mobile-to-TV services. They say the partnership will mean that broadcasters will be able to instantly plug into revenue-generating TV services featuring high quality graphics that can run alongside programming.
TSI’s client
base includes broadcasters such as Simply Media, Best Direct and Transact
TV, among others. Two Way TV’s mobile-to-TV services can be tailor-made
to run alongside programming, or a number of off-the-peg formats are available.
Simon Peach, TSI Group Managing Director, said: "Two Way’s Simcast
system has brought together the best in broadcast graphics with the best in
interactivity. We’re looking forward to getting a range of services to
air with our client. We are very pleased to be able to offer Two Way TV’s
Mobile-to-TV services to our clients that will help bring new revenue opportunities
to broadcasters."
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Espial, the provider of client IPTV applications and middleware announced that Allen Technologies, a US healthcare technology leader, has chosen the Espial Escape browser framework and Espial Espresso graphical user interface components, to deliver Walled Garden and Web content to patient hospital rooms as an IPTV solution.
Allen Technologies'
IPTV systems convert each patient television set into a terminal in an interactive
computing network. Patients will gain instant access to information that clarifies
medical procedures or outlines additional hospital services. The additional
ability to research information from the Web or stay connected through email
and chat functionality is designed to improve patient care within American
hospitals.
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Telstra
pulls IPTV trial
Dixons
slow down
Stringer
promises new Sony strategy
Dolan
buy with junk bonds
Media
worth $1.8 trillion in 2009
3G
TD-SCDMA fails to impress in China
Ideal
Shopping bags £3.5m profit
De
Mol new channel
Alcatel
launches mobile and online sailing services
Irdeto
India win
MTV
on Hotbird
Telstra
pulls IPTV trial
Australia's largest telco has dropped out of a deal with Microsoft to develop
an IPTV service. Telstra spokesman Warwick Ponder said they decided not to
move into a trial phase because of the "current state of readiness"
of Telstra relating to the upgrade of its network for high-speed traffic and
other factors. He said the decision had nothing to do with Microsoft's technology,
but didn't rule out Telstra going with other vendors when it decides to move
forward with the service.
The cancellation is another setback for Microsoft, following the Swisscom
decision to delay launch of its television service partly because of problems
with Microsoft technology. SBC, which is also working with Microsoft, has
been forced to deny that its’ aggressive roll out plans are in jeopardy.
A Microsoft spokesman said that numerous phone companies around the world
are working successfully with Microsoft and that the company is on schedule
to deliver software for TV deployments.
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UK Electrical
retailer Dixons Group has reported an 8% fall in annual profits, and said
the outlook for the current year remains "challenging". The owner
of Dixons, Currys and PC World, which is a bell weather for the health of
the CE market , said its full-year pre-tax profits were £336.8m (E495m).
Dixons also announced it was changing its group name to DSG International.
The company said the move reflected that fact that its flagship Dixons chain
now accounted for less than 10% of group sales.
The company said: "The outlook for the year ahead is uncertain, but we
are anticipating a challenging trading environment, particularly in the UK
and Italy," he said. Dixons Group said sales at its Dixons chain fell
14% to £688m, from £798m in the previous year. However, sales
at the group's white goods and electrical chain Currys rose 6% to £1.8bn,
from £1.7bn in the previous year.
Dixons owns the PC City, Elkjop and UniEurope chains in continental Europe.
Full-year international sales reached £2.16bn.
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Stringer
promises new Sony strategy
Sony’s new CEO Sir Howard Stringer has promised to unveil a new strategy
by September, as, at an annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo, managers acknowledged
there had been strategic mistakes. The firm's shares have halved in value
over the past five years.
Stringer said the firm had spread itself too thinly, and needed to focus on
core strengths. "I am first and foremost a Sony warrior….We cannot
fight a battle on every front," Sir Howard said.
Sony is two years into a three-year £1.7bn (E2.5bn) cost-cutting plan
focused mainly on slimming down its workforce. Growth in its media arm - driven
by blockbuster films such as Spider-Man 2 - offset its weak electronics showing
last year to give it a 15% rise in profits.
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Dolan
buy with junk bonds
The biggest junk bond issue for 16 years is being proposed as part of the
Dolan family's bid to take private Cablevision. The $7bn in debt financing
lined up for the Cablevision deal includes up to a $4.25bn high-yield bond
issue, which would be the biggest since 1989 when RJR Nabisco sold junk securities
to raise about $6bn.
The willingness of the Dolans' bankers, to contemplate such a big issue suggests
they believe the junk market has recovered after the recent downgrade of General
Motors' debt. Cable with its very strong cash flows has an ideal profile to
support junk bond issues.
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Media worth $1.8 trillion in 2009
Broadband growth
will help propel the value of the worldwide entertainment and media industries
to $1.8 trillion by 2009, says PricewaterhouseCoopers.
It says total spending from new revenue streams such as broadband and digital
downloads will climb from $11.4bn to $73bn over the next five years, according
to PwC's report, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009. Spending
on media and entertainment around the world grew 8% last year to $1.3 trillion.
This was the largest gain since 2000. The Internet was the fastest growing
medium, with online advertising up 36% and access revenues up 21%, driven
by the switch from dial-up to broadband services.
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3G
TD-SCDMA fails to impress in China
From Shveta Malik in New Delhi
In what is being termed a “disappointing performance” the Chinese
home-grown 3G technology of TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division
Multiple Access) has reportedly had problems with sending multimedia messages,
making video calls, downloading and playing video clips, in trials carried
out by the China Academy of Telecommunications Research under the Ministry
of Information Industry (MII).
A source said that the TD-SCDMA chips mobile do not support well the 3G value-added
applications:
“It's certainly not good news, but we've heard mixed reports before this,”
Ted Dean, managing director of telecommunications consultancy BDA China Ltd
told media. Dean added: “It’s sometimes hard to read what these
types of reports mean.”
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Ideal
Shopping bags £3.5m profit
Ideal Shopping Direct, the shopping channel operator, has forecast profits
for the six months to June 30 were now unlikely to be less than £3.5
million (E5.15m) up from £700,000 reported for the same period of last
year. It made £4.1 million for the full year 2004.
Ideal said consumers were becoming increasingly confident about buying products
over the Internet and from the TV. With the number of households owning a
Freeview digital set-top box doubling to almost six million over the past
year, the group has been able to pitch its products to a larger number of
potential customers. The market for TV shopping is estimated at around £800
million and particularly attracts retirees and married homeowners, many with
grown-up children.
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John De Mol who
pioneered reality-TV shows by producing the original version of "Big
Brother", wants to win a chunk of his home market by combining his talent
for popular programming with new distribution channels.
De Mol's new TV channel, Talpa, is scheduled to launch in the Netherlands
with a mix of star power, more reality TV and exclusive sports offerings.
He is using the lure of soccer with exclusive highlights of the day's games.
At the same time, the rights to broadcast live Dutch soccer are owned by upstart
telecommunications company Versatel Telecom International, of which De Mol
owns 42%.
He also is pitching his new channel as the start of a wide-ranging media enterprise
that will start broadcasting a combination of TV, radio and interactive content
using cable and high-speed Internet exploiting the extensive portfolio of
media assets he has acquired.
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Building on its
role as an Official Partner of the 32nd America's Cup, Alcatel has launched
'Live Sailing' and 'Virtual TV', two services enabling the new media coverage
of America's Cup content via mobile handsets and personal computers. Alcatel
revealed the initiative on the occasion of the event’s preliminary Acts
4 and 5 in Valencia, Spain.
'Live Sailing' offers animated images and news updates of the races on mobile
handsets (GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G/UMTS mobile Java handsets). 'Live Sailing'
animations include different camera angles during races, trajectories, wind
direction, distances between boats and the finish line, and archives of previous
races.
'Virtual TV' brings coverage live to broadband-connected Internet users on
their personal computers. 'Virtual TV' streams a real-time 3D animation of
every regatta live, provides the latest news during races, live comments of
the key moments, a comprehensive schedule for the event and also includes
a searchable archive. Both services are available for immediate purchase from
the home page of the America's Cup official website. The direct online purchase
price is set at €19.95for each of these services, based on the more than
60 regattas taking place during the preliminary 2005 Acts prior to the Cup
proper.
Alcatel, as Official New Media Provider, is handling the distribution and sale of all related multimedia content for the event to mobile network operators and ISPs throughout the world. LA7, a subsidiary of the Telecom Italia Media group, has already agreed a deal for the distribution by LA7 in Italy of high added value America's Cup-related new media content such as images, sounds, videos and live coverage over mobile phones and the Internet.Marc Rouanne, COO for Alcatel's mobile activities, said the company’s involvement in new media for the 32nd America's Cup provided a prime showcase of it capability to deliver new value through new media for sports and entertainment content owners and service providers worldwide.
Rouanne told
advanced-television.com that the initiative would help establish what sort
of content people were willing to pay for. “There are a number of other
sports interested in the capability,” he admitted, adding that motor
sport was one activity that could benefit from the technology.
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Irdeto Access
announced that Atlas Interactive India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of the London-based
Atlas Group, has selected Irdeto PIsys for IPTV to protect content delivery
for its netTV project, a large-scale IPTV deployment that will initially serve
over 50,000 subscribers in New Delhi and will be further expanded to cover
38 major cities nationwide, including Mumbai, later this year, reaching millions
of fixed telephony subscribers.
The Atlas Group of companies is a well-established international telecom company
that offers a diverse portfolio of services in over 70 countries. The company’s
TV over IP project is to provide high quality Video-on-Demand (VoD), broadcast
TV, music, video conferencing, Short Message Service (SMS), email, web and
high speed broadband access through fixed lines using ADSL technology.
Irdeto Access partner BitBand, a leading provider of video content distribution
and delivery solutions over IP broadband networks for Telcos, will provide
the VOD servers on which content will be pre-encrypted for maximum security
using the Irdeto PIsys for IPTV system, a comprehensive content security framework
for broadband IP networks.
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MTV
on Hotbird
GlobeCast announced that it is delivering MTV Networks’ European channels
on the HOT BIRD satellite platform to cable and satellite television providers
across Europe, with an MTV-dedicated transponder aboard the HOT BIRD 6 satellite.
The channels include music and entertainment brands such as MTV European,
MTV France, MTV Netherlands, MTV Portugal, Nickelodeon Europe, Game One and
VH1 Europe.
GlobeCast’s
solution for MTV Networks includes connectivity from the broadcaster’s
UK facility in Camden to GlobeCast’s London gateway at Brookman’s
Park, as well as uplink and space capacity on HOT BIRD 6 for downlink at control
rooms throughout Europe. HOT BIRD 6, located at 13‘E, provides ideal European
coverage and reaches millions of homes via cable operators and DTH operators
such as TPS (France).
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With an offer
equivalent of $4,377 per sub, many on Wall St are hoping an alternative bidder
could emerge to force up the price offered by the controlling Dolan family.
They point out despite its prime New York franchises the offer isn’t
much above the $4,000 offer to Cox stakeholders when it went private.
In trading following the announcement the stock rose 20% to just below the
offer price, implying the market recognises the Dolan family is in pole position
because it owns 24% and controls 76% of the vote. In the past both Time Warner
and private equity groups have expressed interest in Cablevision. However,
TW is currently tied up with the integration its share of Adelphia.
After the proposed transaction, which incorporates spinning off all non cable
network business (property, sport franchises and programming) into Rainbow,
Charles Dolan would remain chairman of Cablevision and James Dolan would be
the chief executive and chairman of Rainbow, as well as a Cablevision director.
Tom Rutledge would be the CEO of Cablevision, and long-term programming and
distribution agreements between the two companies would remain in place. The
deal, therefore, has the added advantage of separating the feuding father
and son who fell-out over the shut-down of the Voom satellite business earlier
this year.
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John Rigas, 80,
founder of Adelphia Communications, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for
looting the cable television company and lying to investors. His son Timothy,
former chief financial officer, received 20 years.
A former prosecutor said of John Rigas’ punishment: “It’s a
very severe sentence that will likely amount to a life sentence for the defendant.
The judge is sending a message in the strongest possible terms that this type
of behaviour will not be tolerated.” The father and son were convicted
in July of using Adelphia as their “personal ATM”, tapping it for
$50m in improper cash advances and to buy $1.6bn in securities.
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A new WiFi-based
location system, which its developers claim provides better results than global
positioning system military satellites, has been launched across the largest
25 cities in the US.
Invented by Skyhook Wireless, a Boston based start-up, it could solve problems
such as tracing stolen laptops and providing 911 emergency location information
on voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone calls. It takes advantage of
the rapid proliferation of commercial WiFi hotspots and can be applied to
the more than 100m WiFi-enabled devices.
Skyhook has compiled a database of more than 1.5m private and public WiFi
access points with their location across the major metropolitan areas. By
triangulation, its software can pinpoint the location of a WiFi-enabled device
by its proximity to different WiFi access points the device picks up through
its WiFi radio chip. Skyhook says it is accurate within 20-40 metres.
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CASBAA
appoints VP Regulation
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) announced
the appointment of John Medeiros as Vice President for Government Relations
and Regulatory Affairs. He will be responsible for oversight of the Association's
anti-piracy and regulatory activities across an Asia Pacific footprint covering
14 markets. He reports to CASBAA Chief Executive Officer Simon Twiston Davies.
This new post is part of a significant expansion of the Association's campaigns
to counter piracy of pay-TV broadcasts and to advocate modern regulatory practices
for the broadcasting industry.
Mr. Medeiros joins CASBAA following an extensive career with the US government,
most recently as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore
and Deputy U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong.
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"We spent
considerable effort in appraising IPTV solutions," stated Don Davern,
Commercial Head of Smart Vision. "We chose Minerva because they have
an enviable track record in real-world deployments and offer a complete solution.
Minerva's integrated approach to IPTV has helped us achieve our deployment
goals on schedule."
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Advanced Digital Broadcast announced that it has received a significant order from Telefónica for its hybrid Internet Protocol (IP) digital terrestrial television (DTT) set-top box (STB). The unit incorporates Advanced Video Coding (AVC), Video Telephony and Video-on-Demand (VOD) technologies. This STB is also multimedia home platform (MHP) ready to provide for future market requirements.
ADB began supplying
the STBs in May 2005 for the rollout of Telefónica’s Imagenio
service in Spain, previously trialled in Madrid and Alicante. ADB looks forward
to supporting Telefónica in successfully achieving deployment of IPTV
services in the Spanish market.
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UK Department
for Culture, Media and Sport's communications chief Siobhan Kenny has quit
to take up a new job at Walt Disney Television. She has been appointed vice
president, communications, for Disney TV across Europe, the Middle East and
Africa.
As the director of strategy and communication at the DCMS for the past three
years, Ms Kenny has overseen key governmental projects including the BBC charter
review and the London Olympic bid.
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Sky to enter broadband VOD market
Following hard on its web to TV announcement, Sky is reportedly set to announce a VOD over broadband offer. The service will let top tier subscribers (about half the total) download movies and sports programmes to their computers over a broadband link. The move will be seen as a response to the aggressive plans of cable companies, telcos and ISPs to offer "TV on demand" services.
It has been assumed
Sky would either tie up with an operator – probably BT – or be a
third party supplier, and either may still be the end game once dominant broadband
to TV players emerge. The Sky service is only available via PCs as Sky’s
STB only has a regular phone connection and would have to be retro-fitted
for a broadband connection.
The programmes can be then be patched through to a TV but this is arguably
significantly less user-friendly than an IPTV connection with a network PVR.
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Dolan’s want to take Cablevision private
The Dolan family
that controls Cablevision Systems has presented a plan to the company's board
for taking the company private in a $7.9 billion deal, according to US press
reports.
Apparently the deal proposes spinning off Cablevision's cable TV channels,
sports teams and entertainment properties like Madison Square Garden into
a separate publicly listed company, Rainbow Media Holdings. Rainbow Media
Holdings, a subsidiary Cablevision, owns several channels, including American
Movie Classics and WE: Women's Entertainment.
Under the terms of the plan, Cablevision stockholders would get $21 in cash
for each share they currently own as well as shares in Rainbow that would
be distributed on a pro rata basis, according to The Journal. The combined
cash-and-stock offer represents a 25% premium to the stock's price last week.
The deal would values the public shareholders stake at $7.9 billion and Cablevision's
cable system business as a whole at $13.6 billion. Cablevision's board is
expected to form a special committee to consider the proposal.
The Dolan family currently owns about 20% of the company's common stock but
has a 71% voting interest through its ownership of a special class of super-voting
stock.
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UK pressure group
Voice of the Listener and Viewer, is advocating the launch of an independent
free-to-air satellite broadcasting system. It is calling for the government
and Ofcom, the media regulator, to facilitate the creation of an independent
satellite television service to provide consumers with more choice and to
promote the adoption of digital television. For those unwilling to subscribe
to pay-television, the only option is BSkyB's Freesat.
BSkyB, Europe's largest satellite television operator run by James Murdoch,
became the first company to offer free satellite digital television in October.
However, there has not been a strong marketing push behind this service and
many consumers are unaware of it.
Jocelyn Hay, chairman of VLV, said she was concerned at the lack of free-to-air
options for consumers who could not get Freeview. VLV is also concerned that
BSkyB's Freesat users need to obtain a viewing card which guarantees them
free access only for the next five years. Viewers could face the risk of Sky
withdrawing its card or a change in terms. BSkyB rejected suggestions that
it might withdraw its card. "Sky has made it clear that, in the event
of a card changeover, it will offer replacement cards to viewers for no more
than £20."
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BskyB is to take
full control of the Artsworld channel and make it available to its subscribers
for no charge. From September, the majority of Sky's 7.7 million subscribers
will be able to watch Artsworld, which was previously restricted to those
prepared to pay an extra £6 (E9) a month.
The move is seen as part of the chief executive James Murdoch's strategy to
change perceptions of the service among potential subscribers and politicians,
and widen Sky's appeal. John Cassy, the channel manager of Artsworld, said:
"It is great news for the arts that a dedicated cultural channel will
be available to millions of households."
BSkyB originally took a 50% share in Artsworld in 2003, saving the service
from going under. Launched by Channel 4 founder Sir Jeremy Isaacs in 2000,
Artsworld suffered from the BBC's decision to launch its own arts channel
BBC4. BSkyB is buying out a number of individual shareholders, including Sir
Jeremy, to raise its stake in the channel from 50% to 100%.
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BT is getting
into the music download market, launching a service enabling mobile phone
users to listen to 50 radio stations over their handsets, and download tracks
for a small fee.
The initiative, in partnership with radio group UBC Media will allow users
to pause, rewind and record live radio shows. Called BT Livetime will be launched
as a pilot with Virgin Mobile but it is likely to be extended to other networks.
Other services will include music videos and live TV news and sports coverage,
for which BT has already signed deals with Sky News and Sky Sports News.
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BSkyB is reported to be developing a new interactive TV portal that will allow website operators to reach a new audience through the television set. Scheduled for launch later this year, Sky hopes it will attract a range of web content providers including established e-business operators, not-for-profit organisations and individuals.
The portal will be available without subscription to all digital satellite viewers in the UK and Ireland, and will provide access to a range of Internet services that have been adapted for TV. Services will be accessed using conventional URLs or via the portal's listings pages and online search engine.
Sky says the portal will complement the existing entertainment, gaming and communications services available on the existing Sky Active portal by creating an inexpensive TV distribution channel for a wider range of web content. Sky claims the new portal will make it easier for website operators to launch an iTV service.
Registration, testing and validation services will be available online at Skyinteractive.com and website operators will be able to adapt their services using the WTVML technology that was developed by Sky and subsequently made available as a public standard.
There will be
no up-front charge to register and launch a site to the portal and website
operators will be able to choose from a range of optional marketing features
to promote their content to Sky viewers. These will include the ability to
register a 'shortcode', called a SkyKey, that will allow viewers to jump directly
to their site from the portal's home page.
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Ofcom threatens BT with Competition Commission
Ofcom is threatening to refer BT to the Competition Commission as the two sides try to thrash out an agreement over access, says the Guardian.
BT has until the end of June to introduce greater competition and transparency. If Ofcom remains unconvinced that BT is prepared to offer "transparent and equal access" to its local network, then it will kick off an investigation that could lead to the enforced break up.
The threat of breaking up BT has always been part of the Telecoms Review. In November, Ofcom rejected calls to break up BT but warned that it would take action against the former monopoly unless it made necessary changes to open up its network to competition.
Although Ofcom's
preferred option is "Real Equality of Access" it has always said
it is prepared to seek the break-up of BT if necessary. A spokesman for the
telco dismissed the report as speculation and denied that BT and Ofcom were
at loggerheads.
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How
Spanish TV makes money
From David Del Valle in Madrid
With the exception of state-owned television TVE, making TV is a profitable business in Spain. A report produced by professor Laura Bergés: "La mercantilización de la television española" shows that private TV channels, Tele 5, Antena 3 and Canal Plus earned E685 million between 1998 and 2001, mainly thanks to ad revenues.
The costs in
the Spanish TV system have increased from E504 million in 1989, when private
TV was launched, to E2.404 billion in 2000. Spanish channels have cut staff
expenses from 29 per cent in 1991 to 18 per cent in 2000.
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Satellite operator Inmarsat said it had raised E522 million after pricing its initial public offering at the top end of the marketed range.
Inmarsat will
use the proceeds to pay back debt and to win market share in its core data
and voice service markets. Based on the offer price, the market capitalisation
of Inmarsat at the start of conditional dealings will be about E1.75 billion.
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The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) have approved subscription radio licences and the establishment of a licensing framework for satellite subscription radio services. The decision paves the way for the two U.S. satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, to begin delivering service into Canada through its partners north of the border. The commission placed conditions on the two licensed satellite radio services, including that the satellite radio licensees offer at least eight original channels produced in Canada. Also, at least 85 per cent of musical selections and spoken word programming broadcast on the Canadian channels must be Canadian.
In addition,
at least 25 per cent of the Canadian channels must be in the French language,
and at least 25 per cent of the musical selections on the Canadian channels
must be new Canadian musical selections. A further 25 per cent of the selections
must be by emerging Canadian artists, CRTC said.
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A new report
predicts that by 2010, mobile music will be worth $11.3bn, with nearly $6.8bn
worth of realtones - mobile phone ringtones that sound like a real song rather
than - sold by the end of the decade. Ringtones of all varieties are expected
to be worth $4.9bn this year, with almost all ringtones set to become real
music by 2010.
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Norwegian football buy for Telenor and TV2
Norwegian TV viewers have been secured access to watch Norwegian football as a result of the sale of rights from the Norwegian Football Federation to TV2 and Telenor for the next four years.
TV2 and Telenor have joined forces in buying football rights to the best of all those interested in football and to both top and recreational levels in Norwegian football. The agreement between the Norwegian Football Federation and TV2 and Telenor comprises all rights to all Norwegian football shown on TV as well as on the Internet, broadband and mobile phones. Telenor and TV2 will consider resale of rights to other parties and use on other platforms.
TV2 and Telenor
aims to establish a new sports channel together. The new channel comes as
an addition to TV2's main channel and TV2 Extra and will be a pay TV channel.
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The BBC's international entertainment channel BBC Prime is set to launch in Singapore on StarHub Digital Cable. The launch is expected to take place by the third quarter of this year.
Wayne Dunsford,
BBC Worldwide Director of Channels, said: "Launching on StarHub is a
very important development in the growth of BBC Prime in Asia and keeps the
momentum of the roll-out of the channel on schedule. We look forward to working
with StarHub to satisfy the demands of their subscribers."
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BT is to be the Official Broadband Partner of the forthcoming Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. The All England Lawn Tennis Club has teamed up with BT for the second year running, to bring video from the world's most famous tennis tournament to broadband users via the web.
BT Broadband and BT Yahoo! Broadband customers will be able to keep up with all the latest action, including six hours a day of live multi-court commentary; end of day highlights; full match reruns; video news updates; player interviews; behind the scenes programming; archive of golden moments; classic matches; player video profiles and end of championship review – for free by logging onto www.wimbledon.org.
Non-BT customers can also access footage with a £7 (E10.44) one-off charge, although selected clips from the day's highlights, the archive and reviews will be available to all visitors for free .
BT is also using its global fibre and satellite distribution network to deliver the international TV coverage to major international broadcasters.
Gavin Patterson,
Managing Director Consumer, BT noted that Wimbledon had been "quick to
embrace the opportunities that technology can bring and in doing so has successfully
extended its brand. By streaming content via the Web, fans can fully enjoy
Wimbledon, wherever they may be based."
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