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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 25th November 2005
DT may offer net to rivals
Spain speeds up switch to digital
RTL buys n-tv stake from CNN
EC drafts internet regulation
Newspaper man for Ofcom
Carlyle eyes Hyundai’s cable?
BBC2 broadcasts on internet
BBC anti-Sky, says Murdoch
Online ads bring in the bucks
Zee invests in Middle-East
DT may offer net to rivalsDeutsche Telekom is willing to give its rivals access to the E3 billion super fast internet network it plans to build in Germany, despite the government’s suggestion that it could be exempt from regulation which would force the company to do this.
Kai-Uwe Ricke, Deutsche Telekom’s Chief Executive, has not revealed when he would sell access to his competitors, but has said he "will talk with other market players about using our net at some point in time."
Europe's biggest telco is currently obliged to allow rivals to buy access to its current DSL fast Internet network, reselling it to their own clients. But while the German government have said that this new, faster VDSL network could be excluded from this regulation, the European Commission believe it should be considered as part of an existing wider-ranging review of bitstream access, which concerns giving rivals access to Deutsche Telekom's existing DSL network.
Deutsche Telekom plans to connect 50 German cities with the new net by 2007. Allowing up to 50 megabits of data to be sent per second, it is fast enough to broadcast HDTV.
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Spain speeds up switch to digital
From David Del Valle in MadridSpain is accelerating the switch of terrestrial aerials to digital, one week before the launch of the free-to-air DTT platform that will offer up to 20 TV channels. According to FENITEL, the National Telco Installers Association, on average every day 1,000 residents' associations are adapting their TV installations to have access to DTT.
It is estimated that the adaptation costs will be between E800 and E1,000. The bill for every household to watch DTT is around E120 to E150 including aerial adaptation and remote and between E220 and E250 in case of an MHP-based STB.
The broadcasters plan to launch a massive marketing and advertising campaign by mid December, two weeks after the official launch of the platform, to raise public awareness. Electronic manufacturers forecast that around 300,000 set-top-boxes may be sold over the next months.
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RTL buys n-tv stake from CNN
From Dieter Brockmeyer in FrankfurtRTL Television, the core asset of RTL Group in Germany, is taking over the 50 percent stake in the German news channel n-tv from CNN. RTL will own 100 per cent of the news network that reaches over five million German viewers every day. In 2002, RTL took over a 50 per cent stake in the channel, the first news network in Germany, and operated it since on a joint venture basis.
Advertising sales have been moved to the RTL sales company IP Deutschland. Financial details of the deal, which still needs to pass the German cartel authority, were not disclosed.
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The European Commission has toned down plans to regulate the internet, but still wants websites showing television online to be subject to new regulations, reports The Times.
Viviane Reding, the Commissioner for Information Society and Media, has prepared a draft directive, and although the proposals are said to be "liberal", British communications regulator Ofcom has expressed concern that the EU aims to regulate at all. "We believe that there are alternative and potentially more effective measures of regulating content on the internet short of direct regulation, such as self-regulation and user-empowerment," an Ofcom spokesman said.
The draft directive includes a distinction between "push content" and "pull content". Push content is conventional broadcasting, "pushed out" to consumers over any medium, including the internet, and this will remain subject to heavy regulation. In contrast "pull content", such as television clips on websites that are selected by consumers, would be subject to three basic rules.
A spokesman for Reding said: "We believe that there should be a ban on the incitement to racial hatred and rules to protect minors, to be detailed by member states. If there is any advertising, that should be clearly identified as such." However, the text portion of websites will remain exempt from regulation, meaning that newspapers and radio websites will not come under Europe’s jurisdiction, unless they use video clips to illustrate a story.
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Former Trinity Mirror Chief Executive Philip Graf is replacing Richard Hooper as Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of Ofcom, the British communications regulator. He will also chair the watchdog's content board, which regulates the quality and standards of television and radio.
On taking up these positions on January 1, Graf will leave behind his job as Chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance – the body that funds the Press Complaints Commission – and his role as Chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, the advisory group to the government on the promotion of broadband services.
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Hyundai Department Store is said to be in talks with private equity firms, domestic and foreign, over the sale of a large stake in its cable TV unit, Hyundai Communications.
The Carlyle Group of the US is one of several firms to express an interest in the deal which could see a 40 per cent stake of the Korean operator – one of the country’s top four, with more than 1 million customers – sold for up to $300 million (E254.2 million).
Hyundai have not yet confirmed the reports and Carlyle, which is believed to be close to selling its Taiwanese cable TV business to a consortium led by Australia’s Macquarie Bank for about $900 million, declined to comment. Hyundai stores are part of the South Korean combine including the auto maker and the electronics company.
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BBC2 is to be the first of the corporation's channels to be broadcast simultaneously over the internet next year. As the BBC make an effort to reach viewers via the internet and mobile phones, Roly Keating, controller, said that the convergence of media devices should be viewed as an opportunity, not a threat.
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Rupert Murdoch has recalled how Sky put "the whole of the broadcasting establishment against me, and particularly the BBC".
In an interview with the UK Press Gazette, the trade paper now owned by his son-in-law Mathew Freud, Murdoch said: "They had 240 people in their public affairs department at one stage who did nothing but lobby for legislation against Sky, and were a constant pain. And, of course, a lot of those same people are sitting in regulatory position today, which doesn't make life any easier."
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In the third quarter of 2005, US revenues from online advertising have reached $3 billion (E2.5 billion) for the first time, 33.9 per cent up on last year’s figure for the same period.
According to the IAB and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the third quarter figure is a 4.7 per cent rise from the second quarter of 2005, and the total for the year may now exceed $12 billion, up from $9.6 billion in 2004.
"Interactive advertising continues to prove itself as the most cost effective medium in driving sales and changing consumer attitudes," said Greg Stuart, President and Chief Executive Officer of IAB.
Meanwhile in the UK online advertising is on track to become a £1 billion (E1.4 billion) industry according to the IAB's UK branch. Spend increased by almost 62.3 per cent in the first half of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004.
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Zee Network – Indian media and entertainment group – is to investment $50 million (E42.3 million) in establishing Middle-East headquarters in Dubai. The project, named Zee Towers, will house regional offices as well as studio operations.
"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing economies in the world," said Zee Network’s Chairman Subhash Chandra. "Zee Towers is in line with our investment commitment to this region."
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Thursday 24th November 2005
Bit Torrent studio accord
AEPOC warns Commission soft on piracy
Mobile content partnership for ITV and 3
US Cable orders PC TVs
EC commissioner challenges broadband and content players
CBS for Internet on-demand?
News and Telstra content deal
News network for the Nonaligned Movement
Digital satellite radio on the rise
Ex-Adelphia exec to plead guilty
Sony Ericsson moves up the mobile ranks
Sky offer research for revenue
Tandberg and PCCW partner for HD over DSL
Visions West choose Optibase IPTV platform
MTV ups interactivity with conVISUAL
Philips solutions enhance STB technologies
Bit Torrent studio accordThe US movie industry took another step against online piracy forging an agreement with Bram Cohen, the developer behind Bit Torrent, so that BitTorrent.com will remove all links to pirated material. By acting to block piracy, Cohen and his company "are leading the way for other companies by their example", said Dan Glickman, chairman of the MPAA.
However the move is largely symbolic as other networks based on Bit Torrent’s free ware have proliferated. Cohen, who has now spoken out against piracy, has recently raised venture funds to develop a commercial version of the software that could become the basis for legitimate studio download services. According to research last year Bit Torrent networks accounted for over 30 per cent of all internet traffic. As it came under pressure from the studios the traffic transferred to other networks such as edonkey.
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AEPOC warns Commission soft on piracyJean Grenier, chairman of anti-piracy association AEPOC, criticised European Commissioner Viviane Reding for implying piracy was an inevitability in the multimedia era.
Speaking at an AEPOC symposium in London, Grenier referred to the EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media's recent speech at MIPCOM where she said media companies had a responsibility to create platforms "attractive enough to compete with pirated works available for free on peer-to-peer networks". "One might conclude from this quote that the European Commission has accepted piracy as a natural, inevitable phenomenon of the market and leaves it to the industry to cope with it. We all, AEPOC Members, don’t think so," said Grenier.
The symposium agreed that as well as technology, changing attitudes among politicians and the public was the key to reducing piracy and that they must be made aware that piracy is not a victimless crime.
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Mobile content partnership for ITV and 3
ITV, Britain's largest commercial broadcaster, and mobile media company 3 have announced a far reaching output deal that delivers popular Britain shows to mobile.The content partnership, which will initially last for one year, allows 3's growing 3G enabled customer base to watch live TV, as well as clips and highlights from ITV's hit shows, beginning with the latest series of "I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!"
The ITV content will be designed specifically for the mobile platform and will include highlights and behind the scenes footage.
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US Cable orders PC TVsThe cable industry R&D consortium CableLabs and Microsoft announced a deal to make digital-ready PCs available on the market by Christmas 2006, the U.S. cable industry revealing for the first time its intention to compete on the PC-based platform. The Microsoft-CableLabs pact calls for the creation of Media Centre PCs capable of supporting a CableCard5 module, meaning that the PCs can receive the full cable video channel line-ups, the first time full-fledged computers will become cable-sanctioned display devices.
The CableCard is a plug-in that enables the manufacture of a whole range of standards-based devices, including set-tops, by incorporating the security and encryption technology into a removable card, instead of incorporating these functions into the devices themselves. With a CableCard-enabled PC, consumers can watch video on their PCs as easily as they can on their TVs. Dick Green, CEO of CableLabs said: "The cable industry is very interested in having the PC serve as another means to allow consumers to enjoy cable programming. By working with Microsoft, we have come up with a solution to enable consumers to enjoy the wide range of entertainment options they want."
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EC commissioner challenges broadband and content players
From Colin Mann in MontpellierEurope risks being left behind globally in the development of broadband networks and services unless industry takes a pro-active role, according to Viviane Reding, commissioner for information society and media. In a video address to delegates at the IDATE content industries and broadband economics conference, Reding said that although the European broadband market was growing, Europe was still some way behind other territories, and there was "much to do".
"We can and will deliver so much more," she said, noting that convergence was paving the way for new growth. "We need to clear away the barriers to development of new, content-rich services," she stated. "We are seeing old services on new platforms, with TV available on-line and on mobiles. Europe has a great capacity for the creation of content."
She warned that unless action was taken, the old industries would erode with the new ones failing to develop. "Rights owners should realise they are sitting on top of a goldmine. They will be undermined if they don’t start mining that gold now. We see new services emerging based on new forms of content creation elsewhere, but where are they in Europe. We’re at the bottom of the broadband wave; are you ready to ride it to the top," she asked.
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CBS for Internet on-demand?Viacom-owned CBS is in discussions with Google for video search and on-demand video which it sees as an opportunity to boost CBS’s reach. It has also held talks with Yahoo, although no deals have yet been struck. "They need our content, we need their technology," said Les Moonves, CBS chairman. "We argue about which is more important. I think ultimately my content. No matter how you get it, content is still the most important thing."
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News and Telstra content deal
By Rose Major in MelbourneNews Corp and telco Telstra, its partner in Australian pay-TV platform Foxtel, are set to announce a content deal, first for Telstra's 3G mobile network, then possibly for IPTV, according to local press reports.
An agreement along those lines would be likely to see News Corp and Foxtel-owned television channels offered to Telstra's 3G customers - as per the recent BSkyB deal with Vodafone in the UK - and later a version of the Foxtel platform over IP networks.
Foxtel already has a deal with cable operator Optus for that company to resell the platform to those on its network. But it is unclear whether an IPTV deal with Telstra would include all the non-News-owned channels on Foxtel.
As well as the channels on the platform Foxtel wholly owns - The Biography Channel, The Comedy Channel, Crime & Investigation Network, Fox 8, Fox Classics, The Fox Footy Channel, The History Channel and female-skewing entertainment channel W - the company has interests in 10 more, and News Corp in a further five, including two Fox Sports channels. BSkyB also has a 33.3 per cent shareholding in the Australian version of Sky News.
Any IPTV service is unlikely to launch for some time yet. Telstra has just announced it will invest $13 billion over the next five years upgrading its networks and systems.
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News network for the Nonaligned MovementGovernments across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America plan to launch an Internet-based news network to counter what they called prejudiced reporting by Western media.
Plans to create the Nonaligned Movement News Network were approved by information ministers and senior officials from more than 80 mainly developing nations – including Cuba, Iran, Syria, Myanmar, North Korea and Zimbabwe – many of which claim their reputations have suffered because of foreign media coverage.
In a statement ministers said countries will start to use the network from early 2006, providing news on domestic events, countering "smear campaigns which developing nations have suffered from biased and distorted Western media reports".
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Digital satellite radio on the riseThe U.S digital satellite radio market will grow from an installed base of 12 million units in 2005 to 55 million units in 2010, according to forecasts by JupiterResearch, representing a compound annual growth rate of 35 per cent.
The new report, U.S. Satellite Radio Forecast, 2005 to 2010, also predicts that 66 per cent of sales in 2005 will be transportable devices comprising of both plug and play and handheld units, a trend that will continue though to 2010 where this figure will drop to 60 per cent.
In-car device sales will grow from 2.5 million units sold in 2005 to 6.9 million units in 2010. But the report finds that both XM and Sirius need to move beyond the automobile and integrate satellite radio into other devices in order to spur growth. "The primary challenges for Sirius and XM are price and competition with other portable media players and music services, such as iPods and iTunes, respectively," said David Schatsky, Senior Vice President of Research at JupiterResearch.
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Ex-Adelphia exec to plead guiltyMichael J. Rigas – the former Executive Vice President of Adelphia Communications and son of company founder John J. Rigas – is scheduled to plead guilty before Judge Jed Rakoff in Federal District Court in Manhattan, according to the judge's law clerk, Andrew Woolf.
After a trial last year, both John Rigas and another son, Timothy J. Rigas, were convicted of charges related to the systematic looting of Adelphia. John Rigas was convicted of conspiracy and fraud, while Michael Rigas was acquitted of conspiracy and wire fraud, but faced a second trial for securities and bank fraud.
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Sony Ericsson moves up the mobile ranksWorldwide mobile phone sales totalled 205.4 million units in the third quarter of 2005, a 22 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to data from Gartner. And while Nokia and Motorola retained their top positions with 32.6 per cent and 18.7 per cent market share respectively, followed by Samsung with 12.5 per cent, Sony Ericsson has replaced LG Electronics in fourth place.
Helped by strong demand for its Walkman phone, the Finnish manufacturer’s market share in the three months to the end of September rose to 32.6 per cent, up from 31.9 per cent in the second quarter. But Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said Sony Ericsson had failed to match production with demand, leading to a shortfall in its two most successful models – the Walkman 800 and K750.
Gartner has increased its prediction of full-year worldwide mobile handset sales to 810 million units from its earlier 779 million forecast.
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Sky offer research for revenueSky is attempting to boost its advertising share by insisting that advertisers take revenue out of ITV and place it with Sky if they want to use its Skyview audience research data.
Skyview, a massive survey of customer viewing habits, covers a panel four times as big as the industry's official audience measurement body, Barb, and has access to more than 10 times as many digital viewers.
Sales house Sky Media see Skyview as a major commercial lever, and media agencies have been told they will only be given access to the findings if they commit to shifting money out of ITV1 under the CRR process this winter.
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Tandberg and PCCW partner for HD over DSLPCCW's now Broadband TV has chosen Tandberg’s advanced compression solutions for a world-first roll-out of HD over DSL. The deal expands on the two companies' existing relationship and will make now TV Asia's first advanced encoding HD operator, as it deploys the HD encoding solution for MPEG-4 AVC.
The now Pay-TV service currently has more than half a million customers, making it the largest IPTV platform in the world. And with the Tandberg EN5990 MPEG-4 AVC encoder now TV will be able to deliver its HD service in half the bandwidth that would have been required for the same picture quality with its former MPEG-2 encoding.
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Visions West choose Optibase IPTV platformVisions West has chosen Optibase’s MGW 5100 carrier grade IPTV streaming platform for an upgrade to their Lexington, NC headend. The upgrade includes the addition of 70 video and 38 music channels and will enable Visions West to expand delivery of advanced television services to its subscribers.
Commenting on the capability of Optibase to stream ATM and IP in tandem, Visions West Chairman Jim Crabtree said: "This will become a very cost effective option as we begin to trial delivery of video using IP technology."
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MTV ups interactivity with conVISUALMTV has commissioned conVISUAL with a test installation of the "Mobile Interactive TV Platform" in Berlin, the aim being to extend the range of interactive services for MTV viewers.
The platform will initially be used for the interactive chart clip show "Get the Clip" of the current VIVA+ program. Apart from the receiving, processing and presentation of SMS messages, conVISUAL will also responsible for the evaluation of dynamic voting.
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Philips solutions enhance STB technologies
Philips is releasing two semiconductor system solutions that will enhance set-top box technologies, speeding up time-to-market for Consumer Electronics makers and enabling a new variety of easy to experience multimedia features in the home. The solutions include the STB22x, a new family of STB platforms, and the introduction of a DLNA compliant Digital Media Adapter reference design based on the Nexperia PNX1500 media processor.
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Wednesday 23rd November 2005
Iesy/Telecolumbus merger OK
High in the Sky
The future’s bright for Internet TV
UMTS chief sees 3G evolution
FUN and games for Liberty
Murdoch and Telstra talk
Fox movies to download
IPTV set to boom in Europe
Time for Taiwanese WiMAX
TiVo faces tougher future?
Sony’s sorry now
Widevine patent rules next-gen networks
Buhl joins Kaon
Iesy/Telecolumbus merger OK
From Dieter Brockmeyer in FrankfurtThe German cartel office has approved the takeover of the German cabler Tele Columbus by Iesy GmbH in Hamburg. Backed by the US investment house Apollo it also owns the cabler iesy in Hesse and ish in North Rhine Westphalia reaching a total of about 5.3 million homes.
Tele Columbus, which owns 2.6 million homes directly, marks the first major step in consolidation of so-called Level 3 and 4 networks in Germany. The iesy companies were level 3 operators, formerly owned by Deutsche Telekom and providing signals via cable backbones to their own and third party level 4 companies. After the takeover the combined company will directly own about 4.5 million homes and will become the number one cabler in Germany. Kabel Deutschland supplies about 10 million homes but actually owns only owns some three million connections.
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BSkyB’s introduction of HDTV services next year will initially see HD versions of Sky One, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Artsworld hit the screens, with other broadcasters encouraged to follow.
An exact launch date and pricing details have not yet been revealed, but Sky's Director of Customer Products and Services, Brian Sullivan, insists the service "will be affordable to the mass market from day one". Sullivan also revealed that there would be more than one programme package, but that the pricing structure would remain simple, and indicated that there will be two third-party channels at launch.
Sky Sports will feature the best of the action from Sky's four existing channels, most of which will be in HD, as will Sky Movies. However, the HD Sky One and Artsworld channels may include some standard definition programming.
Sky expects 700,000 HD-ready TV sets to have been sold by Christmas, and 2 million by next Christmas.
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The future’s bright for Internet TV
Brightcove, an internet television startup that helps programmers collect revenue from shows distributed on the web, has attracted high profile backing from investors including AOL and IAC/InterActiveCorp.
The service will not be officially available until next year, but according to Forrester Research, the $16.2 million (E13.8 million) investment in the year-old startup highlights the growing trend of increased video content on the web, and the interest in advertising to support it.
Programme owners that upload videos to Brightcove's servers can opt to let Brightcove attach a 15 or 30-second commercial to their videos. Brightcove takes an estimated 30 percent cut of advert sales, according to Forrester Research estimates.
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UMTS chief sees 3G evolution
From Colin Mann in MontpellierJean-Pierre Bienaimé, chairman of the UMTS Forum, has suggested that ensuring access to harmonised spectrum will deliver economies of scale to the mobile industry and directly benefit end users.
Bienaimé told delegates at the IDATE international conference that lower cost terminals could make "G/UMTS relevant and accessible to the world’s population. He suggested that the challenge for industry - in a world of 6.4 billion people and 2 billion mobile subscribers, was to broaden the reach of the technology.
He felt it important to harmonise frequency fees, in particular between telecom and other types of services such as broadcast, and suggested that the likely acceptance of mobile broadband and mobile triple play would raise the need for an evolved UMTS. "It’s vital that operators ensure the long-term competitiveness of the 3G infrastructure," he stated. According to Bienaimé, 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) Evolved UMTS specifications should target availability of commercial products around the year 2010.
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Liberty Media is to acquire a majority stake in online games developer, FUN Technologies, which provides services to many of the world's largest interactive entertainment groups, including AOL, MSN and Virgin. Investing $50 million in the deal, Liberty will own 51 per cent of the shares of New FUN, of which FUN will become a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Liberty Chairman and CEO, John Malone, commented on the "effectiveness of combining compelling interactive media with television", and talked of "combining FUN's leadership in online skill games with Liberty's media assets and expertise in using video to build popular brands and services."
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News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch and Sol Trujillo, Chief Executive of Australian telco Telstra, have been in talks to discuss their relationship in the internet age, according to the FT.
Discussions are said to have included the future of Foxtel in which Telstra has a 50 per cent stake and News Corp 25 per cent. Although both companies declined to give details of the outcome of the talks, analysts believe they would have touched on the implications of Telstra’s recent announcement of the launch of a movie download service for broadband subscribers.
One analyst said: "The boundaries are being blurred so much it is hard to know what the opportunities are and for whom. Telstra needs movie content for its download services but, then again, Murdoch might be concerned that it could become a rival to Foxtel’s own movie services."
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Movielink, an online movie download service, has added more than 1,200 20th Century Fox titles to its library following a distribution deal with the Hollywood studio. The legal download service – a joint venture of studios operated by media conglomerates Viacom Inc., Time Warner Inc., General Electric Co and Sony Corp – now features content from all of Hollywood's major film studios.
"Broadband connections continue to improve, and the movement to [direct film delivery] to TV continues to become more of a reality," said Peter Levinsohn, Fox President of worldwide pay television and digital media. "As with any consumer product, we want to make sure we're in every distribution outlet."
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The number of IPTV subscribers in Europe looks set to increase from a current figure of 658,000 to 8.7 million by 2009, accounting for almost 10 per cent of the total pay TV market.
According to new report from Screen Digest, European IPTV: Market assessment and forecast, the number of IPTV subscribers in Europe has increased 66 per cent so far this year and with more services about to launch, 2005 is projected to see a 200 per cent increase on 2004 figures.By 2009 IPTV will have a 9.4 per cent share of the European pay TV market, with the impact of the IPTV boom being most apparent on local pay TV markets in France, Italy and Spain. By 2009 IPTV will have a 20 per cent share of the pay TV market in Italy, 17 per cent in France and 16 per cent in Spain.
"Although some technical and content issues have yet to be resolved, the combination of compelling, competitively priced triple-play offers that include true video-on-demand will prove a winning formula," said the report’s author, Daniel Schmitt. "Many traditional pay television providers are finding that they too must adopt IPTV technologies in order to remain competitive".
The most successful IPTV operator is Italy's Fastweb, followed by the two French telcos Free Telecom and France Telecom, with 190,000, 130,000 and 116,000 customers respectively. France’s third major network operator, Neuf Telecom, takes the French total to 281,000, making them the leading IPTV market in Europe.
Despite being Europe's oldest IPTV market the UK has yet to become a significant player, with a household penetration of 0.08 per cent. In mid 2005 the UK had just 30,000 IPTV subscribers, the majority of which are accounted for by Homechoice.
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The Taiwanese government is prioritising the rollout of WiMAX wireless broadband services and has more than tripled its budget for the development of the technology, according to TeleGeography.com.
With Taiwan’s telecom equipment market currently dominated by overseas companies, there are fears that the island’s technology developers will get left behind. The Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s cabinet, has now upped next year’s budget for promoting WiMAX from TWD300 million (E7.6 million) to TWD1.1 billion (E27.9 million) with the aim of helping local developers to claim back market share.
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Shares of TiVo shot up by more than four per cent following its plan to allow the transfer of television programmes to handhelds like iPod or Sony PSP. But analysts are predicting a less rosy future, expecting losses for fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2007.
"A lot of people are competing for the mobile video marketplace and other companies have more robust research and development budgets [than TiVo]," said April Horace, an analyst with Hoefer & Arnett, citing Cisco/Scientific Atlanta, Motorola and EchoStar as tough rivals.
Meanwhile TiVo may face more immediate problems, according to the FT, as television networks and studios that own most programming, try to keep control of their content as it migrates to digital platforms.
Jim Denney, TiVo’s Vice-President of product marketing, acknowledged that TiVo had failed to consult television networks or studios before announcing their plans, but said the company was using open-industry standards.
Although the networks suggest that TiVo poses little threat, due its relatively limited user base, some experts disagree. "I’d be very surprised if TiVo doesn’t get a ‘cease-and-desist’ letter from the intellectual property owners," said, founding partner of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, a law firm that specialises in media issues.
TiVo plan to place digital ‘watermarks’ on programmes in order to discourage piracy.
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Sony BMG are facing accusations of violating consumers' rights and trading in malicious software as, in separate legal actions, the Electronic Frontier Foundation – an influential digital rights advocacy group in California – and the Texas attorney general filed lawsuits against them.
Earlier this month it was revealed that in its efforts to curb music piracy, Sony BMG had embedded millions of its music CD's with software designed to limit copying, but which also exposed users' computers to potential security risks. A public apology was posted on the company website last week, and affected CD’s are being recalled with restriction-free versions offered to consumers who purchased CD's carrying the copy-protection XCP software. According to Sony BMG, the software was bought from British company First 4 Internet, and installed on 52 recordings, totalling nearly five million discs.
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Widevine patent rules next-gen networks
Widevine Technologies has secured a new patent providing intellectual property protection to its Widevine Cypher content protection suite. Covering the business rules around video and audio security, it provides protection in the areas of expiration times on access to content, metering of viewing, transaction processing for these rules and the concept of creating a new user account when one is found not to exist.
Glenn Morten, Chief Technical Officer of Widevine, said the patent is "significant to the secure delivery of content for consumer entertainment over next generation networks" which require new business rules for purchasing and controlling access to content.
This is the second patent to be issued for Widevine, the first of which provides protection in the areas of content encryption, transaction processing, conditional access, rule-based rights and entitlements and flow control to include time shifting and trick play.
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Tom Buhl has been appointed VP Sales & Marketing, Europe by Kaon Media. The former president of Force joins Kaon Media to further expand the business with European TV and Broadband Operators.
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Tuesday 22nd November 2005
IP distributors cautious of EC reform
Sat1 deal threat?
Spain: industry backs DTT re-launch
TiVo to iPod
Discovery Networks Europe transmission centre goes live
Telstra wants more from Foxtel
House and Senate at odds over switch
Clear Channel radio goes digital
Huawei wins IPTV bid
Music videos for mobiles on the increase
Mobile handset jukebox powered by Siemens
Thomson expands triple play offering
Amino expansion reflects IPTV growth
IP distributors cautious of EC reformDespite the reservations of many broadcasters, ISPs, mobile operators and national regulators, the European Commission is pressing ahead with the most widespread review of broadcast regulations since 1989.
Because of the spread of multi platform media, the Commission wants to differentiate between linear and non-linear content with linear – or traditional scheduled content - subject to the existing and heavier regulation than non-linear content. However, 'new content' distributors fear extra levels of regulation and difficult and confusing definitions between linear and non-linear. They also regard the review as potentially introducing regulation of internet content via the 'backdoor'. Industry figures had hoped their objections would slow down the Commission but Vivienne Reding, the Commissioner for communications and IT, wants swift progress.
The Commission denied it was trying to regulate the internet, saying although the revisions laid down the basic principles, they left detailed regulation up to the member states. It also said that the regulations would be more aimed at the producers of content than the distributors.
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Sat1 deal threat?
From Dieter Brockmeyer in FrankfurtUS billionaire Haim Saban may struggle to close the sale of ProSiebenSat.1 to Axel Springer. The Federal Cartel Office has submitted a written notice of objection to Sat.1 The Cartel Office, believes the transaction would weaken the competition in the TV advertising market, because the merger would make Springer's market share symmetrical with Bertelsmann and two corporations who would cease to compete against each other.
It also thinks the transaction would reinforce a dominant market position of Springer in the tabloid readers market. Such a preliminary ruling is not unusual and gives the parties involved a further chance to comment on objections raised prior to a final decision and - if necessary also by proposing the imposition of obligations - to set aside such objections. However, in the proposed merger of the German major cable operators under the umbrella of Kabel Deutschland, the preliminary ruling lead into a final failure of the entire project. A final decision of the Cartel Office is to be expected by the end of December of this year.
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Spain: industry backs DTT re-launch
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish electronic and TV industry has given their support to the forthcoming DTT re-launch.
All the key players -manufacturers, broadcasters, TV carriers, content and I TV providers, among others- have joined forces to promote DTT to consumers. Representatives from the sectors shared a stand at a major exhibition where visitors could check out DTT and RTVE took the opportunity to launch on trial two of its TV channels, Canal 24 Horas and Teledeporte.
All the players have also joined in asking the Government for money to help them finance all the costs, as well as they have asked it to play a more active role in the market in order to raise public awareness. The Administration is sponsoring a web www.televisiondigital.es and a telephone number for inquiries and public information about DTT.
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TiVo to iPodTiVo announces a new feature that will let TiVo owners watch recorded television shows on Apple's video iPods and on Sony's handheld PSP game machine. This builds on TiVo's update in February allowing its users to transfer programmes to personal computers and DVD's, as well as to portable video players that support Microsoft's mobile video format.
The release of new software in the first quarter of next year will extend that capability to the Sony PSP and the video iPod, tapping into a market that is potentially much bigger. TiVo has 3.6 million subscribers and claims to be adding up to 250,000 each quarter.
Owners of the Apple or Sony devices will need to pay TiVo to unlock the software that converts videos to the MPEG-4 format used by those players. The price of this, which will cover MPEG-4 licensing fees, has not been set but according to Jim Denney, TiVo's Vice President of product marketing, similar programmes typically cost between $15 and $30.
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Discovery Networks Europe transmission centre goes live
From Colin Mann in LondonDiscovery Networks Europe has opened one of Europe's most extensive media transmission centres, distributing 48 television broadcast feeds to 104 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The 10,000 square-foot centre is located at the company's European headquarters in London's Chiswick Park.
Content for Discovery Network's 12 brands broadcast throughout the region, including the flagship Discovery Channel, will be prepared for transmission at the tapeless facility. The centre was also designed to accommodate emerging multi-media formats including high definition television, 3G and other mobile technologies and broadband content delivery.
"The size and scope of the transmission centre reflects Discovery Networks' rapidly expanding range of media services offered throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa," said Robin Paxton, Managing Director, Discovery Networks Europe. "The centre's advanced technology and robust capacity enables us to rapidly respond to changes in media technology and bring new products to market."
The centre, which will broadcast 31 million minutes of programming per year to 173 million cumulative viewers, was built by Ascent Media and will be staffed by more than 50 Ascent Media employees.
Bob Gentry, SVP, Ascent Media Network Services Europe, said that Ascent and Discovery had created a high quality, high reliability, high flexibility technology platform that would allow DNE to expand and broaden the offerings to its audience. "This is a truly tapeless, file-based environment capable of delivering on all of Discovery's business needs today and in the future," he added.
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Telstra wants more from Foxtel
From Rose Major in MelbourneOne of Australian pay-TV platform Foxtel's major shareholders, Telstra, is aiming to sign more of its own telephony and broadband customers to the platform by simplifying its customer care systems.
A planned A$11 billion (E6.8 billion) upgrade to Telstra's network and systems should enable the company to deliver more subscribers to Foxtel, Telstra Chief Executive Sol Trujillo told the Financial Review newspaper. At the moment, diverse systems make it difficult for Telstra to sign customers to more than one service at once. Telstra owns half of Foxtel, with News Corp and PBL owning 25 per cent each.
Sometimes the diverse parts of the Telstra empire can seem disjointed. Last week, Telstra's internet division, BigPond, denied that a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to offer BigPond's broadband internet customers the ability to download over 7000 films to watch on PCs, would conflict with Foxtel's business.
Trujillo also indicated he wanted to see Foxtel bring more profits to the company as technologies improved the platform, adding that Foxtel hadn't always performed to its potential.
Changes to sports rights legislation may help that process. Communications Minister Helen Coonan recently indicated that she may reduce the number of sporting events that must be offered first to free-to-air television in legislation expected next year.
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House and Senate at odds over switchThe US switch-over to digital TV should happen as early as December 2008, three months sooner than the Senate's proposed date, according to a plan approved by the House of Representatives. And although the House approved the sum of $830 million to finance a converter box programme, this figure falls short of that proposed in the Senate's bill.
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Clear Channel radio goes digitalClear Channel is to upgrade 200 radio stations to air HD digital broadcasts by the end of the month, more than triple the number previously expected. And by 2007 the company estimate that 95 per cent of its 1,200 stations will have been upgraded.
The rollout marks an effort by Clear Channel to stave off competition from satellite radio services, such as XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc and Sirius Satellite Radio, with the company believing that the advantages of digital radio – CD-quality music and the availability of artist and song information – will help them to keep their market share.
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Huawei wins IPTV bidHuawei, a specialist in the research and development of telecoms equipment, is the winner of Guangdong Telecom's IPTV bid, reports ChinaTechNews.com.
The company have been developing IPTV since 1999, and are now authorised to provide live BTV, VOD and mobile TV to an estimated 100,000 users in the Zhujiang Delta Region.
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Music videos for mobiles on the increaseAs the video for the new James Blunt single receives its global premiere on mobile phones, the industry predicts that this form of promotion will be a growing trend, reports The Guardian.
Blunt's video will be available to download first to customers on the 3 network, and the company, who have 3.2 million users in the UK, believe music to be one of the major factors in attracting people to its 3G network. More than 15 million videos have been downloaded since the service was first offered.
According to Danny van Emden, digital media director at EMI, mobile phones offer the industry increased marketing opportunities because they are used in far greater numbers than music players, such as the iPod. And since the popularity of real music ringtones first highlighted the potential of mobile music, full track downloads, better quality ringtones and music videos over next generation 3G networks are now on offer, encouraging credible artists to get involved.
John Reid, Executive Vice President of marketing at Warner Music International, whose artists include Madonna and Green Day, said that the mobile aspect could become as important in revenue and marketing terms as traditional formats: "From the A&R guy sitting in the studio with the artist, they live it now. Once it becomes part of your business, it's easier to devote resources to it."
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Mobile handset jukebox powered by SiemensSiemens has signed a framework agreement with T-Mobile International for its music download technology for mobile handsets, making their "Music2You" (M2Y) service the preferred solution for all T-Mobile subsidiaries worldwide.
T-Mobile Germany was the first to take advantage of the opportunity, with its "Mobile Jukebox" offering the first combined wireless/wireline solution for downloading music to both mobile handsets and computers. M2Y enables tracks to be previewed on a mobile handset and then purchased and downloaded full length over the mobile network. The purchased tracks can also be downloaded via a PC and then burned to a CD or played on any customary WMA/MP3 player.
"Music downloads are one of the most interesting applications for GPRS, EDGE and W-CDMA networks, as they allow full the necessary download speeds," said Giulio Panzera, the M2Y Project Leader at Siemens Switzerland. "The market for digital music is going to expand, and the requirements placed upon the mobile networks will continue to rise," he added.
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Thomson expands triple play offeringThomson is to launch three new residential products designed to assist cable operators in deploying new triple play services to their customers more quickly and cost-effectively.
The suite of applications – a triple play residential gateway for the delivery of TV, voice and Internet, a hybrid cable-IP box offering access to both IPTV and broadcast TV services, and a wireless cable modem offering integrated voice over IP and wireless Internet access – are specifically targeted at helping cable operators to increase their ARPU and reduce customer churn.
The company, who since first entering the cable business in 1999 have shipped more than seven million cable modems into their cable operator customer base, has a Two-Year Plan commitment to enhancing its IP devices and solutions.
"With industry analysts predicting dramatic growth in the market for triple play services over cable, Thomson now has a line up of cable TV set-top boxes, cable modems and hybrid cable and IPTV residential gateways that cover every conceivable triple-play service delivery scenario," said Frédéric Kurkjian, Vice President, Worldwide Cable Business Unit within Thomson's Access Platforms & Gateways activity.
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Amino expansion reflects IPTV growthAmino, a provider of high-performance IP set-top boxes and software for the IPTV industry, has announced the recent expansion of its Asia Pacific (APAC) office, based in Hong Kong.
The relocation reflects the increased growth of the IPTV market in this region and Amino's success in winning new deployments with Asian service operators. A recent report published by Infonetics Research states that the IPTV industry is set to "skyrocket", reaching 53.7million global subscribers and $44billion in service revenue by 2009. The Asia Pacific region is identified in the same report as a region experiencing particularly strong levels of subscriber growth, largely due to the advanced DSL technologies such as VDSL and ADSL2, already in place.
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Monday 21st November 2005
Cisco completes triple play offer with Scientific-Atlanta purchase
RTL buys into Top Up
SFR mobile TV
Nokia commercial DVB-H launch by end 2006
Private and Playboy get together
Sogecable sets up Sogecable Media
Universal movies for download
Hutchison 3G launches Austrian Videomail
South Korea takes DMB to London
Disney down on studio failure
C4 broadband joke
Extreme feed for Poland
Thomson for Austar
Sat TV for PC
New kids channel from Turner
Cisco completes triple play offer with Scientific-Atlanta purchaseInternet networking giant Cisco Systems is to acquire digital content network specialist Scientific-Atlanta in a deal that completes Cisco's end-to-end triple play solution for networks and the home. Cisco is paying $43 per share in cash in exchange for a total purchase price of approximately $6.9 billion, or approximately $5.3 billion net of Scientific-Atlanta's existing cash balance.
"Video is emerging as the key strategic application in the service provider triple play bundle of consumer entertainment, communication and online services," said John Chambers, president and chief executive officer of Cisco Systems. "The combination of Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta brings unmatched experience and innovation in delivering large scale video systems and networks. Moreover, Cisco's international presence and IP leadership will also create strategic synergies that accelerate the combined growth opportunity."
Jim McDonald, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Scientific-Atlanta, said the combined strengths and resources of the two companies would position them to address more quickly the growing number of opportunities in the markets they served and enable them to create new products and services that might not have existed otherwise.
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2006.
Following the close of the transaction, Scientific-Atlanta will become a division of the Routing and Service Provider Technology Group under the leadership of Cisco Senior Vice President Mike Volpi. Jim McDonald will report directly to Volpi. Prior to the close, Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta will operate as separate businesses and will continue to work with their existing partners.
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RTL buys into Top UpRTL Group through its UK channel subsidiary Five, has taken a strategic investment in Top Up TV's business. This will enable both parties to explore and develop a number of free and pay services on Freeview and other platforms including Five's plans to launch further free-to-air channels.
Five is confident that this relationship will present a number of opportunities to launch new free-to-air services during the course of 2006. David Chance, Top Up TV Chairman, said: "We have an excellent relationship with Five and extending it in this way is a natural next step for our continued growth."
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SFR mobile TVFrench mobile operator SFR says it will launch the 'SFR TV-Video' service by the end of November, providing immediate access to over 60 video programmes and 50 TV channels on customers' handsets. Content will include music videos, sports clips and broadcast news. TV channels are categorised thematically as generalist, film and music, entertainment, and news and sports.
There is no subscription fee; customers pay for connection time to the Vodafone live! portal. The service is based on open-standard Streamezzo rich media technology and is billed as a first in France. It is said to be compatible with most mobile operating systems.
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Nokia commercial DVB-H launch by end 2006
From David Del Valle in MadridAt a conference in Madrid, the VP of Strategy and Business Development EMEA at Nokia, Serge Ferre, was for the commercial launch in Spain of DVB-H-based mobile TV by the end of 2006.
He was confident of the success of the service, following the pilots in which Nokia is currently involved worldwide. In Spain, Nokia, along with Telefonica Movistar, Abertis and the main broadcasters, is conducting a DVB-H test, whereby 500 people in Madrid and Barcelona are receiving 14 TV channels.
To develop the DVB-H-based mobile TV business, he urged the regulatory authorities to pave the way with a clear regulation of the business. For business model to be implemented, he was in favour of a pre-paid.
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Private and Playboy get togetherPrivate Media Group and Playboy TV International announced the a five-year agreement to merge their two adult pay-TV channels, Private Gold and Spice Platinum, consolidating their market leadership in Europe. The new channel will be called Private Spice.
Under the agreement, Playboy TV International will operate, distribute and market the new channel and Private will provide content, brand and marketing support. Currently, there is little overlap between the two channels and subsequently the new channel will significantly increase the distribution in the region.
Mark L Rudolph, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Playboy Television International said: "With this strategic initiative we will provide our customers and viewers the combined strength of Private and Spice in a single channel. The deal reflects Playboy TV International's successful development of its distribution and channel management in Europe and places the new channel in a market position second to none."
Berth Milton, CEO of Private Media Group commented: "Our collaboration with Playboy TV International enables us to increase our broadcasting presence in Europe and we are delighted with this opportunity which will certainly have a significant positive impact on our business. This agreement clearly demonstrates that demand for high quality content is key and confirms Private's unique position in the adult broadcast market."
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Sogecable sets up Sogecable Media
From David Del Valle in MadridSpanish pay-TV group, Sogecable, owner of digital DTH platform Digital Plus, Canal Plus and the new commercial TV channel Cuatro, has set up a new company, Sogecable Media, to manage and market on an exclusive basis the advertising in all the group’s media companies (Digital Plus and its programming magazine, Canal Plus and Cuatro).
This new company, directed by Juan Casal, until now director of operations at Sogecable, will be shared by Sogecable S.A., with a 75 per cent stake, and Gestion de Medios (GDM), with 25 per cent. Sogecable Media will be divided into three main management areas: commercial, new businesses and special actions and marketing.
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Universal movies for downloadNBC Universal said it would make movies and television programmes available through Internet downloads.
The company announced a deal with the privately held Wurld Media, the parent of the Peer Impact service. Under the agreement, movies will be available for on-demand rental on Peer Impact for a 24-hour viewing period.
Earlier this month, NBC Universal said it would make certain NBC programmes available commercial-free to users of the DirecTV Group's new digital video recorder for 99 cents an episode. Viacom's CBS Television Network has made a similar deal with the cable giant Comcast, its on-demand shows will include commercials.
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Hutchison 3G launches Austrian Videomail
From Colin Mann in AmsterdamHutchison 3G Austria (H3G) is to launch the first mobile Videomail service in Austria one month ahead of Christmas, just in time to send festive video-greeting to friends and relatives. The service is facilitated by wireless IT consultancy specialist LogicaCMG’s uOne solution. H3G’s 266,000 subscribers across the country will now have access to the new mobile service.
Chris McDermott, chief executive officer of LogicaCMG global telecoms, said the uOne platform was the ideal solution for operators who wanted to offer their customers the latest in mobile technology.
LogicaCMG’s uOne solution is an Internet Protocol (IP)-centric platform that enables the deployment of multimedia convergent services efficiently and cost effectively. Built on an e-mail centric architecture with wireline, wireless and/or broadband service delivery capabilities, it offers a wide range of convergent services, ranging from unified messaging and voicemail services, to advance Videomail services while delivering cost-effective voicemail and e-mail.
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South Korea takes DMB to London
From Rose Major in MelbourneSouth Korea will stage a trial of its digitalmultimedia broadcasting (DMB) technology in London in April 2006, in an effort to raise the profile of the technology in Europe.
DMB delivers video to handheld devices such as mobile phones, and can be seen as a competitor to the DVB-H technology that has been favoured in trials in Europe. South Korea has already arranged trials in France and Germany in early 2006.
The country's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, which is linked with the Ministry of Information and Communication, will conduct the trial, alongside Korean tech companies including Samsung and LG. British participants include the BBC, Channel 4 and BT.
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Disney down on studio failureWalt Disney Co. reported a lower quarterly profit weighed down by poor performance at its movie studio. Net income fell to $379 million in the fourth quarter, including the effect of stock options expensing, from $516 million a year ago. Revenues rose to $7.734 billion from $7.543 billion a year earlier. For its studio entertainment segment, Disney reported an operating loss of $313 million in the most recent quarter.
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C4 broadband jokeChannel 4 has revealed plans to launch a new broadband comedy channel early next year that will allow aspiring comedians to showcase their acts online. The 4Laughs initiative will initially enable filmmakers to upload video sketches up to ten minutes in length to be viewed and rated by Internet users as part of a 'virtual comedy festival'.
The broadcaster is currently exploring the possibility of commissioning existing Channel 4 comedy talent to create original content to be streamed exclusively on the Internet. The launch of the broadband comedy service comes just months after Channel 4 unveiled FourDocs, an online documentary channel allowing users to submit their films.
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Extreme feed for PolandThe Extreme Sports Channel is set to step up its presence in Poland with the launch of a dedicated Polish feed of the channel on 1st January 2006. Extreme says it will support the new feed of the channel with specially commissioned, localised programming, local events, on-air promotions as well as a Polish version of the popular action sports website.
Phil Jones, MD of the Extreme Sports Channel said: "We’re committed to growing the global footprint of the channel whilst simultaneously building deeper relationships in specific territories with localised content and marketing. Poland is a key market for Extreme and we’re looking forward to enhancing our relationship with viewers there."
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Thomson for AustarThomson and AUSTAR announced an agreement for the delivery of Personal Digital Recorders (PDR) to support the launch of AUSTAR's PDR service across
regional and rural Australia from mid 2006.AUSTAR is Australia's second largest subscription television operator and the largest operator in its market of regional and rural Australia. Marking Thomson's first entry into the Australian Subscription-TV market, delivery of the AUSTAR Personal Digital Recorders is due to commence mid 2006.
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Sat TV for PCHauppauge Digital has released a new add-on card to convert a PC into a
satellite TV receiver. The WinTV Nova-s receives free satellite channels, and will work with Freesat, the service announced by the BBC and ITV in September. No viewing card and no subscription fee are required.The £59.99 (E87) device plugs into a spare slot inside any desktop PC and
decodes signals from a satellite dish. Owners can watch satellite TV on the
full screen, or in a window whilst working on something else on the PC.
Programmes can even be recorded to the PC's hard disk for later viewing.
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New kids channel from TurnerTurner Broadcasting is to launch new channel Cartoon Network TOO, introducing a variety of modern classics and familiar favourites to a new generation of viewers when it launches in the UK next year. The company will also introduce Boomerang +1 so increasing its kids portfolio and boosting its penetration in the UK market. Turner Broadcasting owns the biggest group of UK kids channels and believes these new launches will bolster its position and improve its audience share in an increasingly fragmented and fiercely competitive market.
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