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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 8th December
News Corp, Liberty deal close
EU mulls single telecom content licensing regime
Copyright crime: tougher penalties
Mobile TV in the Metro demo
Pan Asian mobile TV consortium formed
Eutelsat stake changes hands
Euro1080 Makes Decisive Move to MPEG4
FCC may smooth way for telco TV
Increasing telco TV deployments
02 sells Airwave
coull.tv launches intelligent online video search site
Oki Starts Field Trial For Set Top Boxes
News Corp, Liberty deal closeNegotiations between News Corp and Liberty Media about swapping Rupert Murdoch’s 39 per cent stake in satellite operator DirecTV for John Malone’s 19 per cent voting stake in News Corp are reportedly agreed all but determining a price for DirecTV. Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corp, said this week that he remained "optimistic" about completing a transaction.
Chernin added that the fact that News Corp had decided to part with the DirecTV stake, an asset Murdoch fought hard to acquire in order to increase his distribution muscle, meant that the company had determined it could still prosper without it. This reflects the shifts in distribution power brought on by the increased use of the web. Chernin added that News Corp was not prepared to let the process drag on so long that it hurts operations.
Liberty said DirecTV would provide distribution muscle to Liberty’s content assets and also offer billions of dollars worth of tax benefits. Liberty said it did not yet know whether it would reduce its stake to 25.1 per cent needed to ensure tax advantages, or increase it to 51 per cent or even 100 per cent.
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EU mulls single telecom content licensing regimeThe European Commission would like to see the establishment of a single licensing regime for telecom content among the EU's member countries, said Ken Ducatel, member of the cabinet of Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for the information society and media.
'Having a single market for content will provide economies of scale for telecom operators operating in the EU as against the very costly scheme of having a licensing scheme from one EU member country to another,' he told a forum at ITU Telecom World.
'The profitability of traditional telecom companies remains good, but it is on a downtrend with the increasing inroads of mobile operators. The outlook for telcos isn't very good and they need to go up the value chain with value added services,' Ducatel said.
Copyright crime: tougher penalties
Copyright criminals must face far tougher regulation The Gowers Report says. It was commissioned by the government to look at modernising UK copyright laws for the digital age. While it proposes new powers against copyright infringement, it also says private users should be allowed to copy music from a CD to their MP3 player.
It also recommends the 50-year copyright protection for recorded music should not be extended – against the wishes of artists who wanted t extended to match the 95 years granted in the US.
Former newspaper editor Andrew Gowers said piracy and counterfeiting was probably the biggest challenge the intellectual property system faced. The report estimates 20 per cent of the entertainment industry's turnover was lost to illegal copying and says tougher enforcement is a vital part of reform. It calls for penalties against people who sell pirate versions of music and films on the internet to be brought in line with those who make hard copies. Currently the former face two years and the latter 10.
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Mobile TV in the Metro demo
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisDuring the launch party for the new French news channel France24, the RATP (the body running the Paris Metro) along with TDF, Canal+ and the Minister of Industry mounted a demonstration of mobile TV in the underground railway. The minister, along with a number of journalists and security officers, boarded the Metro for just the one stop from Assemblee Nationale to Tuilleries (where the France 24 party was to be held) - surfing TV channels on a DVB-H enabled Sagem mobile phone all the way.
At the press conference that followed, Pierre Mongin, president of the RATP explained that the Eiffel Tower DTT signal is picked up in the suburbs and sent by optical fibre to the Metro station. It is then amplified and broadcast in UHF through all the corridors and passages in the station and the tunnels by radiating cables, using the DVB-H standard. The system could be deployed relatively inexpensively on several Metro lines over the next 18 months. This complements the GSM mobile telephone access that the RATP has been deploying in the underground over the last two years, at a total cost of E13 million.
Pan Asian mobile TV consortium formed
SK Telecom, Toshiba , Glocal Media, and International Mobile Broadcasting have formed the Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium to enable digital multimedia broadcasting for mobile operators in the region. Trials are set to begin in early 2007 with leading mobile operators in Asia.
"The vision will bring a new era of Broadcasting in the Asia region. People can enjoy informative, educational and entertaining live contents from all over the world anytime and anywhere with cell phone most cost effectively by adopting S-DMB system that was commercially proven in Japan and Korea," commented Masashi Suenaga of Toshiba.
Eutelsat Communications has confirmed Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations has acquired 25.5 per cent of its shares capital from Eurazeo at a price of E15.70 per share.
Giuliano Berretta, CEO of Eutelsat Communications declared: "I would like to express my gratitude to the exiting shareholders, Eurazeo, Cinven, Nebozzo and Goldman Sachs who have accompanied Eutelsat in the course of our development over the last years, from the transformation into a private company to the period following our IPO.""Following the acquisition announced on 5 December by Abertis to acquire 32 per cent of the capital of Eutelsat Communications, this second operation marks the end of the reorganisation of the capital of our Group. We will now benefit from an association with two leading European groups in infrastructure who will enable us to pursue and accelerate our development."
Euro1080 Makes Decisive Move to MPEG4
From 2nd January 2007 onwards, all channels of Euro1080, will be broadcast in MPEG4. HD1 will temporarily remain available in MPEG2 on Astra 23.5°E. Though the frequencies will remain the same, it is possible that with some types of set top boxes a new scan is required to receive the MPEG4 compressed signal.
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FCC may smooth way for telco TVThe Federal Communications Commission may vote soon to make it easier for AT&T and Verizon to sell television service, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said. He has circulated a proposal to the other four commissioners to require local franchise authorities to decide within 90 days on some phone-company applications to offer TV in competition with cable providers.
FCC action may speed the companies' efforts to offer TV service and counter cable companies. The phone companies say lengthy negotiations with hundreds of local agencies have hindered their attempts to offer TV service and raised costs. "The process can pose some unreasonable barriers to entry, and there are steps the commission can take to address some of these barriers," Martin said. Martin also called for limits on the types of fees local agencies can "reasonably require" new TV providers to pay as part of franchise deals. Some communities have asked phone companies to finance unrelated projects such as recreational facilities, he said.
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Increasing telco TV deployments
A large number of headends were built in 2005 and 2006 to support increasing telco TV deployments. The wide availability of H.264 compression equipment has prompted telcos that were waiting to move forward with deployment plans, reports In-Stat. Growth in telco TV deployments and subscribers will result in the building of more than 800 headends between 2005 and 2010, the research firm says. Upgrades to take advantage of technology advances will further fuel the telco TV headend boom.
"Much of the near-term upgrade revenue will come from telcos that are adding HD channels to their existing SD channel lineup," says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst. "In 2009 and 2010, we expect telcos to replace equipment that is 4 to 5 years old, as compression algorithms will have improved to make the bandwidth savings worth spending the money."
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Airwave, the UK national police communications network, is set for a possible £2 billion (E2.89bn) sale after a decision by O2 to review the options for the business. Private equity players are likely to be among those interested. The business offers recurring revenue streams in the form of its long-term contracts with the Government and other parties.
Airwave, which has more than 150,000 users, including all police forces in England, Scotland and Wales, has 150 separate contracts, including a £2.9 billion, 19-year contract signed with the Home Office in 2000.
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coull.tv launches intelligent online video search sitecoull.tv has launched an online community that enables viewers to search for specific moments within video, click directly on moving objects and tag and comment on them - making user-generated video content even more interactive.
A version is also available to brand owners and marketers, allowing viewers to click on objects within a moving video and link directly to the specific micro-site or product page.
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Oki Starts Field Trial For Set Top BoxesOki and Changzhou Broadcast and Television Information Network, a cable TV company promoting digital TV broadcasting in China, have commenced a field trial with set top boxes in China. Taking the results from this trial, OKI will enhance the functions such as security for the CA cards.
Thursday 7th December
Sky and Google unveil broadband alliance
NTL drops ITV bid
Yahoo! reshapes for future growth
Vivendi to exit NBC Universal?
Analogue cut-offs drive DTT STB Market
Portugal to get second digital satellite pay-TV platform
Ten relaunches online, eyes digital TV
Telecom Italia disputes TPS/CanalSat merger
Ericsson and NRK customised mobile TV advertising
Telefónica puts mobile TV on hold
FLO Forum Expands
AT&T U-verse gets HDNet and HDNet Movies
BT’s Two Way Vision
Sky and Google unveil broadband allianceBSkyB and Google are to work together in bringing web-based services to Sky’s community of broadband Internet customers. The wide-ranging set of multi-year agreements sees the technology and entertainment giants join forces to create a customised experience for Sky Broadband customers. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
Sky will be Google’s first partner globally to deploy Google’s suite of search, advertising, communications and video services, all of which will be tailored and branded for Sky’s broadband platform.
The collaboration covers in three key areas: Video; Communications: Search and advertising. Sky will launch a multi-platform User Generated Video (UGV) portal powered by the first global deployment of Google’s syndicated video content tools. Sky Broadband customers will enjoy access to a comprehensive online communications platform. This will include a fully customised version of Google’s email product, ‘Google Mail’. In addition, Sky will explore opportunities to provide further services such as Google’s VoIP (voice over internet protocol) telephony services, enhanced storage and future product developments.
In terms of Search and advertising, Google will provide its search tools and targeted search advertising across Sky’s portfolio of online sites. The two companies will also explore future forms of web, TV and mobile advertising.
James Murdoch, Sky’s Chief Executive, said the broadcaster was on track to build a large and successful broadband business and was "increasingly well positioned to participate in the rapid growth of online search and advertising."
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NTL drops ITV bidCable group NTL has formally abandoned its £4.7 billion bid for ITV, saying it believes a deal between the two companies "is unlikely to be attained on terms acceptable to NTL".
However, it reserved the right to make another move if BSkyB sold "all, or a material part" of its 17.9 per cent in ITV. NTL has been fiercely critical of the stake bought by BSkyB in the ailing broadcaster.
The cable firm said it has now submitted its views to both the Office of Fair Trading and media regulator Ofcom, "because it presents serious competition and public interest issues".
"The fact that Sky would spend nearly $2 billion to acquire its stake immediately following the mere announcement of NTL's proposed combination, before the ITV board had an opportunity to respond, highlights the magnitude of the competition issues involved," it said.
NTL now intends to focus on integrating the Telewest and Virgin Mobile businesses.
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Yahoo! reshapes for future growthGlobal Internet company Yahoo! has unveiled a reorganisation of its structure and management to align its operations with its key customer segments -- audiences, advertisers and publishers - and more effectively leverage Yahoo!'s significant strengths to capture future opportunities for growth.
"We're moving aggressively to deliver the most possible value to our key customers - audiences, advertisers and publishers - and seize the major new opportunities we see ahead for the Internet," said Terry Semel, Yahoo! chairman and chief executive officer.
He said the strategy capitalised on big emerging trends and leverages the company’s core strengths in search, media, communities and communications. "We plan to drive growth and profitability by leveraging our deep audience insights to create a full-fledged advertising network, with a marketplace that meets supply and demand both on Yahoo!'s valuable owned-and-operated network and across the entire Internet," he added.
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Vivendi to exit NBC Universal?
A top Vivendi executive has labelled the French conglomerate’s 20 per cent stake in NBC Universal ‘non-strategic’ and suggested it could be sold to buy Vodafone's stake in French telco SFR.
Vivendi owns 56 per cent of SFR, and chief financial officer Jacques Espinasse said the company would like to buy out mobile phone giant Vodafone's 44 per cent stake if the telco is willing to sell.
Vodafone's willingness to deal could spur Vivendi to exit its NBC U stake sooner rather than later. Vivendi can exit its stake beginning in January, when it can sell the first $3 billion of its holdings. Vivendi can then sell stock worth $4 billion in both 2008 and 2009. If Vivendi doesn't sell, GE holds an option to buy out its stake in May 2010.
Either way, Espinasse said Vivendi, which owns Universal Music Group, Canal Plus and Vivendi Games, won't be a shareholder in NBC U in five years.
"It's not a core business, because we are not in the driver's seat and we never will be," Espinasse told Daily Variety after a Wall Street presentation.
Analogue cut-offs drive DTT STB Market
The Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) Set Top Box (STB) market is poised to surpass $1 billion, driven by the analogue signal cut-off date of February 17 2009 in the US, and prospects of a large Chinese market, reports In-Stat.As DTT markets mature, the growth in uptake of DTT tuners will continue, aided primarily by increased consumption for second and third TVs, the high-tech market research firm reported.
"The prospects of turning off analogue terrestrial broadcasts, coupled with ongoing marketing campaigns, are powerful motivating factors for consumers to adopt the digital platform," noted Michael Inouye, In-Stat analyst.Research by In-Stat also showed that Europe continues to lead DTT, and could see significant digital penetration as analogue cut-offs continue and commence.
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Portugal to get second digital satellite pay-TV platform
From Branislav Pekic in RomePortuguese telecommunications and cable TV operator TVTel is working on a digital satellite pay-TV platform, which could become operational in 2007.
With this goal in mind, the company has started selecting a network of installers-distributors to market the offer throughout Portugal. Sources from the sector say that the new platform will use the Spanish satellite system Hispasat (30º East), similarly to its main rival, TV Cabo, which transmits its digital package via the same orbital slot.
Meanwhile, TV Cabo is adding two new channels – France 24 (as of December 6) and Al-Jazeera English (from December 15) - to its satellite and cable pay-TV packages. One channel, SIC Comédia, will be dropped from the line-up from the grid as a result of the "duplication of comedy content", as the current package already includes the AXN, Fox and Fox Life channels. For its part, SIC has made known that its thematic channel will still be available via other platforms, such as those of Cabovisão and TVTel. A company spokesperson claimed the four SIC cable channels are watched by 23 per cent of all cable viewers in Portugal.
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Ten relaunches online, eyes digital TV
From Rose Major in MelbourneAustralia’s Ten Network has unveiled its long-awaited digital strategy, based around making its content available on as many devices as possible and says it may also enter into a partnership to bid for one of the two sets of digital-terrestrial channels the government is auctioning next year.
A new version of Ten’s website will launch in February next year, focused on video streaming and downloads. There will be some 50 extension sites from the main site, with versions for 3G mobile phones and other portable devices, as well as broadband-targeted sites. Most sites will be open to registered users only, with Ten hoping to eventually target advertising using information on that database.
Ten has already made some forays into its new strategy. One sketch from its popular Thank God You’re Here comedy show has been available each week to download from its website. Ten claims that these were the number one podcast in Australia. Episodes from drama Tripping Over were also available to download. But a number of Ten's top-rating shows, such as The OC, are US imports so Ten may be restricted in what services it can offer.
Criticism of Ten’s lack of a digital strategy had been building, particularly since rival Seven Network joined forces with Yahoo to create Yahoo7 in January this year. While not a highly original strategy, Ten said it was different from its rivals, Yahoo7 and Ninemsn in that "Ten has neither licensed its digital future to a third party nor replicated the search, email and classifieds-based attributes of the portals."
But Ten is courting partners for digital-terrestrial. In an interview with The Australian newspaper, Ten’s general manager of digital, Damian Smith said: "We’re open to discussions with a range of parties about participating in those platforms." Ten and other terrestrial networks can bid for channel B but can only provide content to channel A.
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Telecom Italia disputes TPS/CanalSat mergerTelecom Italia (TI) has reportedly filed an appeal with the State Council of France over the Finance Ministry's decision to allow the merger of Vivendi’s pay-TV division CanalSat with TF1/M6's TPS unit.
The Italian firm markets ADSL services through its Alice France division and also offers TV-over-DSL. According to AFX News, TI says the merger decision brings with it the spectre of ‘substantial competition risks’. The proposed tie-up was approved in August this year after CanalSat and TPS agreed to comply with no fewer than 59 conditions relating to antitrust issues affecting the deal. The Italian giant is not alone in expressing concern: France Télécom has also voiced its reservations while several other triple-play telecoms operators, such as neuf Cegetel and Club Internet, have claimed to have had problems securing content that is currently available to cablecos.
The merger of the two units is expected to be completed by the end of 2006, following which the enlarged entity – with the working title CanalPlusFrance – will be 65 per cent owned by Vivendi's Canal Plus, 20 per cent by Lagardere, 9.9 per cent by TF1 and 5.1 per cent by M6.
Ericsson and NRK customised mobile TV advertising
Ericsson and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) have launched a trial of personalised mobile TV advertising. The trial sees advertisers employ customised marketing with individual mobile TV viewers, with content provided by agency partner, Proximity Oslo, a part of the Global BBDO network.
The two-month trial is commencing in Norway early this month and is open to the public. Volunteers will be able to access NRK's two TV channels and five of its radio channels. A made-for-mobile 24/7 TV program based on the popular Norwegian TV ‘On the Line’ will also be available during the trial. Customers can use their handsets to interact with the show's host via voting and chatting, and can contribute content by uploading photos and video clips.Advertisements will be interactive, customised to ensure their relevance to individual users, and tailored to the user's age, gender, location and personal interests. Advertising content will also span an array of formats including videos, banners, ticker texts and branded downloadable content.
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Telefónica puts mobile TV on hold
From David del Valle in MadridTelefónica has decided to defer the launch of mobile TV on the grounds that the market is not still mature and that the lack of proper business model to develop it.
"If we listen to engineers (mobile TV) technically works and could be deployed world wide right away, but if we listen to our clients, they do not understand the value of this proposition, whether a film, a football match", said Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, Head of Telefónica Internacional. "Before launching it (mobile TV) massively, we need to know what proposition our clients want", he added.
Moreover, Telefónica is not sure about the business model. "We are not sure about the formats that is why we are refraining from launching them" (the mobile TV services"), he explained.
Telefonica is undertaking mobile TV tests and is one of the most likely candidates to win a mobile TV licence, along with Orange and Vodafone, to be awarded by the end of the year or the beginning of 2007.
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FLO Forum Expands
The FLO Forum has revealed that the Mobile Media Planning CORP. (MMPC ) of the Softbank group has joined its membership. MMPC has publicly stated its commitment to exploring FLO-based mobile TV services in Japan through its MediaFLO planning entity."We believe that open standards based FLO technology will deliver the quality viewing experience that consumers in Japan will demand of mobile TV," commented Masahiko Yabuki, President, MMPC "In addition, through our active membership in the FLO Forum we expect to articulate requirements important to the Japan market."
MMPC joins the FLO Forum, which includes another Japanese operator, KDDI, as a member. "FLO technology-based Mobile TV stands to become an important revenue source for operators in Japan. It is a service that allows operators to offer new multimedia applications to consumers," said Shingo Izawa, Director of Media Technology Department, KDDI.
The total membership of the group now stands at more than seventy, with a strong group of wireless industry leaders based in Japan, including Anritsu, Kyocera, Sanyo-Fisher, Sharp and Toshiba.
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AT&T U-verse gets HDNet and HDNet MoviesAmerican telco AT&T and HD television network HDNet have confirmed a distribution agreement to deliver HDNet and HDNet Movies as part of the AT&T U-verse TV channel line-up.
Under the agreement, AT&T U-verse TV customers will have access to HDNet's 24-hour, all-high-definition programming, as well as HDNet Movies, which offers a full schedule of feature films, all unedited and commercial-free.
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BT has announced a deal with leading interactive production company Two Way TV for the supply of its most popular games and channels on the telco’s IPTV service, BT Vision.
BT Vision customers are now able to play a selection of fun puzzle games, including Deal With It!, a unique strategy game based on poker, Mazemaster, Tactiles, and Push ‘n Shove. In early 2007 these titles will be joined by Two Way TV’s full portfolio of prize games.
Two Way TV’s CEO, Jean de Fougerolles, said that combining the appeal of TV with the interactivity of broadband, made BT Vision "a fantastically powerful platform for interactive content, particularly for games."
He confirmed that Two Way would initially be offering titles that had been tried and tested on cable and satellite, but would quickly be taking advantage of the full capability of the platform to add video-rich games, fully interactive gameshows and more. "I believe that we’ll see a real convergence on BT Vision between on-demand video content and interactive services," he concluded.
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Wednesday 6th December
Abertis takes 32% Eutelsat stake
Telefónica launches HDTV channel
ESPN acquires NASN
Carter gets city PR job
BSkyB, Qualcomm, claim MediaFLO trial success
Older generation not downloading
SeaChange and On Demand deliver IPTV solution to Corvette
TV Cabo deploys Sigma Systems’ All Play OSS Solution
R delivers business Services enabled by Nortel
Abertis takes 32% Eutelsat stakeAbertis Telecom, the telco arm of Spanish infrastructure group Abertis Infraestructuras has acquired a 32 per cent stake in Eutelsat for E1.07 billion, making it the satellite operator’s largest shareholder. The shareholdings were obtained from investment funds Texas Pacific Group, Spectrum, Cinven and Goldman Sachs - all minority shareholders in Eutelsat. The transaction, which works out at E15.50 per share, will be financed with a syndicated bridge loan.
Abertis suggested that the acquisition would project its telecommunications business internationally, provide complementary technology to its terrestrial technology thanks to Eutelsat's satellite network and consolidate the company’s "dynamic" presence in France as a diversified transport and telecommunications infrastructure operator. Abertis described the investment as "a major step in terms of international expansion."
Salvador Alemany, Abertis’ CEO, said the investment represented "a major and clearly very decisive step in our strategy of sector and geographical diversification. It brings greater visibility, of a complementary nature, to our activity in the telecommunications sector, in addition to reinforcing our position as an integrated infrastructure operator in the fields of transportation, mobility and telecommunications."
Pro forma for the transaction, Eutelsat's shareholder structure will be: Abertis Telecom 32 per cent; Eurazeo and others 25.5 per cent ; others, including free float 42.5 per cent.
Announcement of the deal followed Eutelsat’s November 20 confirmation that the board and some of the company's main shareholders had been approached about a possible transaction involving the company's shares. Eutelsat was floated in November 2005, with key shareholders Eurazeo, Texas Pacific and Cinven at the time pledging not to sell any part of their holdings as part of the IPO.
A statement from Eutelsat acknowledged the transactions announced by Abertis and separately by the investment bank Lehman Brothers International (Europe) to acquire approximately 2 per cent of its share capital from certain shareholders. The company indicated that Abertis Telecom had access to a limited data room, subject to confidentiality commitments, and with the authorisation of the Board of Directors of Eutelsat at its 7 November meeting.
"No information liable to have a significant impact on the share price of Eutelsat Communications was communicated to Abertis within the framework of this authorisation," claimed Eutelsat.
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Telefónica launches HDTV channel
From David Del Valle in MadridSpanish telco Telefónica, through its subsidiary Telefonica Servicios Audiovisuales, has launched a trial HDTV channel, Canal AD, aimed at promoting and developing HDTV services.
Telefonica has invited all TV content providers to take part in the HDTV experience jointly to develop and test HDTV services. Using the MPEG-4 encryption standard AVC/H.264 HD, Canal AD will be distributed via the Hispasat 1C satellite covering Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe.
The HDTV channel will be eventually be made available to all (DTH, IPTV, cable) TV platforms being developed by Telefonica in America and Europe.
Canal AD is the result of the Project Profit ADI (Interactive HD) led by Telefonica Servicios Audiovisuales with partners such as RTVE, Sogecable, satellite operators Hispasat and Astra and technology companies including Fresh-IT, HyC and Televes.
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Walt Disney sports entertainment subsidiary ESPN has agreed to acquire sports network NASN from Setanta Sport and Benchmark Capital Europe. Terms of the agreement – reported to be in the region of E80 million - were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close early in 2007 subject to regulatory approvals.
"Growing our business in Europe is a key strategic initiative for us," said Russell Wolff, managing director of ESPN International. "We expect NASN, which has performed well and created a unique market position, to be a strong addition to our portfolio."
NASN is the only network in Europe completely dedicated to North American Sports, airing over 800 live and as-live sports events each year. These include over 200 live games from the NHL, NFL, and the All-Star Baseball League. The channel today reaches over six million households in 26 European countries.
Setanta was a launch investor in NASN in October 2002, together with Vulcan European Media. In June 2005, Vulcan sold out to Setanta which then sold a 50 per cent interest to Benchmark Capital Europe.
Reports suggest that Setanta is to raise about E320 million in equity and debt in order to help fund its £392 million (E580) live English Premier League coverage and acquisition of golf’s PGA Tour rights. Irish commercial broadcaster TV3 is rumoured to be about to invest some E100 million.
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Carter gets city PR jobFormer Ofcom chief executive Stephen Carter, a long-time frontrunner for the role of ITV chief executive, has made the surprise move of returning to the agency world and taken up the role of group chief executive at City PR firm Brunswick.
The former managing director and chief executive of J Walter Thompson will, in his role of group chief executive, report directly to the firm's chairman and founder Alan Parker. Carter joins four months after quitting UK comms regulator Ofcom, where he was its first chief executive.
Prior to Ofcom, he was chief operating officer and managing director of UK cable telco NTL, which, ironically is one of Brunswick's clients. He was at JWT immediately before that.
The appointment of Michael Grade, the BBC chairman, to the role of executive chairman of ITV, itself surprised the media world, when it had been assumed that Carter’s appointment was imminent.
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BSkyB, Qualcomm, claim MediaFLO trial success
BSkyB and wireless technologies specialist Qualcomm have announced the successful completion of a joint technical trial of Qualcomm's MediaFLO System in the United Kingdom. The technical trial, conducted over two months in the city of Cambridge, featured 11 channels from the BSkyB content menu delivered to non-commercial devices from Qualcomm and aimed to demonstrate the performance of the MediaFLO System in both laboratory and mixed field test environments.According to Qualcomm, MediaFLO’s performance in the trial in general either met or exceeded the company’s previous performance claims, including the finding that MediaFLO is capable of supporting 20 channels of QVGA video and stereo audio in a single 5MHz spectrum allocation. This performance represents a 20 per cent increase in channels relative to prior performance claims of 20 video channels per 6 MHz channel.
"We’re very pleased with the results of this trial of MediaFLO technology in the UK," commented Robin Crossley, strategy adviser, technology for BSkyB. "This was a thorough test of the technology’s capabilities, yielding encouraging results, and confirms Qualcomm’s performance claims about the MediaFLO system." Peggy Johnson, president for Qualcomm MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Internet Services said that the results of the technical trial underscored the inherent benefits of the technology.
In addition to the BSkyB trial, Qualcomm is working with service providers around the world to explore MediaFLO services. In Japan, both KDDI and Softbank have announced their consideration of the nationwide deployment of MediaFLO services. Additionally, MediaFLO USA, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, is set for a commercial deployment with Verizon Wireless based on the MediaFLO System in the United States.
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Older generation not downloadingDespite the common belief that downloading is now for everyone, the reality shows that whilst only 14 per cent of 18 to 24 year old respondents have never downloaded anything and will not do so in the future, 48 per cent of respondents aged between 55 and 64 have not and will not download, according to new research from ICM, commissioned by BiBC.
Furthermore, whilst 71 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds (with Internet access and who would download) would be interested in digital TV integrated with broadband to deliver alternative programmes on demand, the percentage of 55 – 64 year olds interested falls to 46 per cent.
The older generation are similarly reticent when it comes to downloading movies and other visual media to other devices. 54 per cent of 18 to 24 year old respondents would download to an MP3 player, but only 16 per cent of 55 to 64 year olds are interested in downloading to this device. No one in the 55 to 64 age group has considered downloading movies and other visual content to a mobile phone or PDA.
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SeaChange and On Demand deliver IPTV solution to CorvetteMoscow-based broadband provider Corvette Telecom is launching an IPTV service built on open technology and content services from SeaChange International and its subsidiary On Demand Group.
Corvette's IPTV service, branded ‘City TV’, will initially provide customers on its 300,000 homes-passed Moscow network with on-demand access to top-rated content, including Hollywood feature films and independent titles as well as music, children's and lifestyle programming.
The solution includes modular components to manage various aspects of IPTV, such as on-demand and broadcast services and mobile video and other convergence applications.
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TV Cabo deploys Sigma Systems’ All Play OSS SolutionTV Cabo, national pay-tv operator in Portugal, has implemented Sigma Systems' OSS technology to provide complete service management support across the country, including voice over IP (VoIP) services, digital video services, pay-per-view, high-speed data (HSD) and WiFi access. Sigma's Service Management Platform (SMP) already supports TV Cabo for high-speed data services over Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and satellite.
Sigma is currently managing over 2 million subscribed and prepaid services for TV Cabo. Future deployments will provide end-to-end service management for video on demand (VOD).
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R delivers business Services enabled by NortelSpanish cable operator R is delivering a suite of voice, multimedia and advanced IP services, including telephony, video and instant messaging, to business and residential customers using a Carrier VoIP solution from Nortel. R’s new services portfolio enables business customers to outsource their communications, enhance productivity and prepare for fixed mobile convergence, while residential customers can select from a range of new voice and multimedia services.
"We’re in the business of making it easier to talk, instant message, watch videos, listen to music, get the news and play games," said Arturo Dopico, managing director, R. "The growing demand for interactive services, and the need to deliver them as simply as possible, is as relevant for our business clients as it is for the personal user."
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Tuesday 5th December
BT launches IPTV service and scores football deal
Prisa lobbies for Sogecable-Telefónica alliance
Ofcom 3G sell-off
Yahoo! offers BBC News clips
ITV buys online Enable directory
Yahoo and Reuters camera phone news service
First interactive DTT services launch in Sardinia
Ensequence interacts with Jetix UK and UKTV
NDS acquires Jungo
Bollywood goes HD
EMI E-mail Service trial
BT launches IPTV service and scores football deal
From Colin Mann in London
BT has finally launched its IPTV service, BT Vision. With the telco long having trailed an "autumn launch", Ian Livingston, CEO BT Retail, noted that leaves had only just started falling, "so it must be autumn."The service’s unveiling event saw BT reveal the new set-top box, the V-box, manufactured by Philips which contains a personal video recorder (PVR) able to store up to 80 hours of content, pause or rewind live TV and record. The box is also HD ready. BT Vision also features a ‘Replay TV’ service, with the UK’s Channel 4 content available at launch, with other broadcasters expected to be announced in due course. BT is giving away the V-box – worth £199 (E295) - for free to existing and new customers who sign up to a new contract with BT Total Broadband. The box will be installed by a BT engineer. There will be an installation fee of £60 and a connection charge of £30. BT will introduce a self-install version of BT Vision next year.
There is no subscription or minimum monthly payment. Customers can subscribe to genres of content should they wish or pay as they go. Movies will be available on a pay per view basis with current titles offered at lower prices than satellite, cable and high street video chains. Subscriptions for other types of content can be for as little as one month at a time providing customers with great flexibility.
BT also revealed that its customers would have access to live FA Premiership football from next season, the telco having reached an agreement with pay-TV sports broadcaster, Setanta, to offer the best of its live sports content on the platform. Combined with BT’s existing ‘near live’ FA Premiership rights, the deal means that BT Vision customers can watch three quarters of all next season’s Premiership matches in full.
BT will start to fulfil orders from a pre-registered existing customer base from mid-December, initially connecting thousands of customers then hundreds of thousands by the end of 2007. BT aims to have two to three million BT Vision customers in the medium term.
Gavin Patterson. MD, BT Consumer, confirmed that the telco’s target market was the 14 million homes that did not currently take subscription TV. "We offer more choice than Freeview, and better value than Sky or NTL," he claimed. "Ninety per cent of customers can receive the service. It’s not restricted by cable franchise areas or Local Loop Unbundling." He expected the service to be profitable in its own right in three to four years, and important role in retaining BT’s customer base for longer.
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Prisa lobbies for Sogecable-Telefónica alliance
From David del Valle in MadridSpanish media group Prisa, a shareholder in pay-TV group Sogecable, has urged the Government to lift the existing legal restrictions, and pave the way for an alliance between Sogecable and the pay-TV market.
The previous Administration imposed tough limits on both companies until the end of 2007 in exchange for its approval to the digital satellite merger between Telefónica-controlled Via Digital and Sogecable-owned Canal Satelite Digital to create the present Digital Plus. One of the restrictions to guarantee free competition prevented them from a possible alliance in the pay-TV market.
Now, Prisa is lobbying for that restriction to be lifted. The intention is to take advantage of all synergies between digital DTH platform Digital Plus, with 2 million subscribers, and Telefónica's IPTV service Imagenio, with 300,000 clients and jointly launch a triple play offer at a time when the pay-TV market is deadlocked and competition is intensifying with the arrival of new pay-TV operators, such as IPTV platforms.
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Ofcom 3G sell-off
Europe's largest ever sell-off of 3G spectrum will be proposed by UK comms regulator Ofcom this week, in a move that will prompt fierce lobbying of the telecoms regulator by the main mobile networks.Ofcom is expected to confirm its desire to auction off 190 MHz of the 2500-2690MHz band, which could usher in fresh competition for the existing five networks, reports The Daily Telegraph.
The ‘3G expansion band’ will go on the block next year offering almost twice as much capacity on the airwaves as the 100 MHz offering.Mobile operators, including Vodafone and O2, want any auction to be postponed until Ofcom rules if they can use their legacy 2G spectrum for 3G services, such as high-speed video downloads.
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Yahoo! has signed a deal to offer clips of BBC News video to its US users. The BBC will offer around 30 video clips of its news output each day via a deal Yahoo! has struck with ABC News, which has exclusive representation for the distribution of BBC News via on demand broadband and wireless content in North America.
"The demand for BBC content in the US is growing all the time and we believe our expansion on new digital platforms is critically important to helping us meet that demand," said the director of the BBC's global news division, Richard Sambrook.
All of the BBC News content will be available for free to Yahoo! users supported by an advertising-funded model.
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ITV buys online Enable directoryITV has paid approximately £3m for privately-owned Enable Media, an online directory business which trades under the name of Scoot, to expand its local broadband TV service – intended to launch nationwide.
ITV said that it would launch ITV Local in the London and Central regions in the first quarter of next year following a successful 12-month trial in the Meridian region.
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Yahoo! and Reuters camera phone news serviceYahoo! and Reuters are introducing a new effort to showcase photographs and video of news events submitted by the public from their digital cameras on mobile phones.
Photos and videos submitted will be placed throughout Reuters and Yahoo News. Reuters said that it would also start to distribute some of the submissions next year to the thousands of print, online and broadcast media outlets that subscribe to its news service. Reuters said it hoped to develop a service devoted entirely to user-submitted photographs and video.
Users will not be paid for images displayed on the ‘You Witness’ service, but people whose photos or videos are selected for distribution to Reuters clients will receive a paymentThe arrangement with Yahoo is one of several initiatives by Reuters to use the Internet to bring new sources to its news report. It has invested $7 million in Pluck, a company that distributes content from blogs to newspapers and other traditional media outlets.
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First interactive DTT services launch in Sardinia
From Branislav Pekic in RomeThe first interactive digital terrestrial TV applications are being launched in Sardinia - one of the two Italian regions (the other being Valle D’Aosta) that have been selected as "test beds" for the introduction of the new broadcast technology.
The Consorzio Sardegna Digitale was officially presented on December 4 and sees the participation of all the leading national and local broadcasters with the goal of realising public utility interactive services on Digital Terrestrial Television. Also taking part in the project is Italian news agency Ansa, which will supply a series of information services (news and photos that will be divided up by thematic channels) directly from its regional news bureau. According to Emilio Balletto, the consortium’s director, Sardinia is moving towards the transition from analogue to digital in view of the March 2008 deadline established for the two regions.
Meanwhile, Sky Italia has launched a special offer for users on the island (one out of five Sardinians subscribes to pay-TV) which includes six months of reception of the ‘Mondo Sky’ package, ownership of the decoder, installation of the dish and the activation of the smart card for E99. Announcing the new initiative, the head of Communications and External Relations of Sky Italia, Tullio Camiglieri, said that "it is necessary that all technological platforms available in Italy need to do their best to promote the switchover to digital". He suggested that the market and the capacity of each one would then determine the success of the various digital offerings.
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Ensequence interacts with Jetix UK and UKTVInteractive TV authoring software and services provider Ensequence has secured interactive TV customer deals with UK digital channel providers Jetix UK and UKTV.
Jetix UK is using Ensequence software to develop and deploy a series of interactive TV games for Sky viewers, such as Galactik Football, Oban Star Racers and Power Rangers. Dalen Harrison, Ensequence CEO, said that interactive games provided Jetix with an opportunity to leverage its content while keeping viewers engaged.
UKTV launched a new interactive feature called ‘The Story So Far’, based on Ensequence software, which enables viewers of the UKTV Drama channel on the BSkyB digital satellite platform to know exactly what’s happening in their favourite programme, no matter when they start watching. ‘The Story So Far’ offers viewers a text synopsis of the current programme’s content—depending on when they tune in. It also has a "Who’s Who" function that reminds viewers who the key characters are and who plays them."We are always looking for interactivity that has a very clear and simple benefit for the viewer, and this is a great example," said Richard Kingsbury, UKTV Drama’s channel head.
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Digital pay-TV technology solutions specialist NDS has bought Jungo, a residential gateway software provider, in a $107.5 million deal.
Jungo will continue to operate as a separate unit within NDS, under the leadership of the current management team. It will focus its activities on the residential gateway software market while closely collaborating with other NDS business groups to forge stronger relationships with broadband customers and to offer end-to-end solutions.
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Bollywood goes HDHigh definition platform developer New Medium Enterprises (NME) has concluded content distribution deals with six of India’s largest film content distributors. Bollywood titles will now be available in high-definition (HD) through NME’s HD VMD format. The titles will go on sale in January 2007 together with the HD VMD player - a bundled solution of 10 Bollywood titles and a player will be available for US $299.
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EMI E-mail Service trialMusic company EMI is to pilot a new e-mail service offering free trial plays of music in an attempt to increase digital revenue as piracy erodes sales of compact discs.
EListeningPost provides artists with a secure version of their track and video that can be e- mailed to fans. Fans can listen to a track up to five times, before it automatically deletes, with the option of buying it if it appeals to them.
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NTL says Sky overcharges
News interested in Fastweb?
MySpace for China?
YouTube tries to buy out rights troubles
KDG revenue up in first six months
Ofcom plan for 100% broadband
UK slow to take up VoIP and Internet TV
ITV buys Enable
BBC NewsPlayer with ads
Mobile TV pilot in India
Regulator challenges Telstra on criticisms
Sling hires MTV execs
Pioneer Online trials Firstscience.TV
NTL says Sky overchargesStephen Burch, the chief executive of NTL, opened a new front against rival BSkyB, as he complained that the satellite broadcaster charged too much for its content. The new complaint could form part of NTL’s planned submission to the Office of Fair Trading concerning Sky’s seizure of a 18 per cent stake in ITV. Burch said that Sky charged NTL "retail prices" to transmit its channels, adding that, "we don’t think this is equitable".
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News interested in Fastweb?Italian broadband service provider Fastweb said there were no talks with Sky Italia regarding a takeover after Fastweb shares surged on a report of bid talks. Italian newspaper Finanza & Mercati reported Murdoch was ready to spend up to E4 billion to buy Fastweb, adding that private equity fund Blackstone's reported interest had revived Murdoch's own plans for a possible takeover.
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News Corp.'s MySpace.com is in talks to bring the site to China with Boston technology trade publisher International Data Group's Chinese venture arm and former China Netcom Chief Executive Edward Tian, the WSJ reported. It also said that News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, is likely to join the board of MySpace China.
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YouTube tries to buy out rights troublesYouTube and owner Google are offering nine-figure sums to major programming and network players in licensing fees, according to Business Week. The report also claims that in reaction to Google’s offers – which would mean welcome windfalls but also lock in YouTube as the web TV destination – media companies have been talking about cooperating on an alternative platform with exclusive content.
"The theory is that if you were to aggregate enough exclusive content in one place, you could actually change viewing patterns," the magazine reports an executive familiar with the cross-company talks.
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KDG revenue up in first six months
From Dieter Brockmeyer in FrankfurtFor the first six months of its 2006/07 business year German cable operator Kabel Deutschland reports a rise in its top line revenues of 7.8 percent to E539.9 million. This was in spite of a small decline in connected homes 9.53 million. However, KDG reports a rapid growth in its new digital services. For its Kabel Digital Home offer the subscriber figures more than doubled within the last 12 months from 317,000 to 638,000.
Rapid growth was also reported for cable phone and internet connections which have risen from 12,000 subscribers a year ago to 241,000 today. Over 70 percent of this subscribers choose the bundle of internet and phone service.
Losses narrowed to E 24.5 million, in its previous year KDG reported a loss of E768 million.
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Media regulator Ofcom is considering a proposal that BT should make broadband available to every home in Britain. Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, said that once 75 per cent of all UK homes had taken up broadband: "In such a world, a case for a broadband universal service obligation might be made," but he added that there were "questions about the level of obligation and, crucially, how it would be funded".
BT operates under a universal service obligation, meaning that it must provide a phone line to anybody who asks for it, even if providing the connection would be uneconomic. The obligation is estimated to cost the company between £57 million (E81.4m) and £74 million a year.
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UK slow to take up VoIP and Internet TVThe UK has been slow to adopt new services such as VoIP and IPTV compared to other countries, research from Ofcom reveals. Only 0.4 per cent of UK consumers subscribe to either internet TV or VoIP, making them among the slowest to catch on to the new telecoms services compared to other industrialised countries.
More than three-quarters of Chinese broadband users have watched downloadable or streaming music video clips and 70 per cent watch TV over broadband, despite only 12 per cent of Chinese homes having broadband. Japan came second with 45 per cent of people having watched TV over broadband, compared with 37 per cent in Italy and the US.
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ITV plc has paid about £5m ((E7.14m) for privately-owned Enable Media, an online directory business which trades under the name of Scoot, to expand its local broadband TV service that it is rolling out nationwide. ITV said that it would launch ITV Local in the London and Central regions in the first quarter of next year following a successful 12-month trial in the Meridian area.
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BBC NewsPlayer with adsThe BBC is planning to launch an international version of its NewsPlayer, the sister download service to its iPlayer, in the New Year which will carry ads from April. From January visitors to bbcnews.com will be able to view reports from the BBC World international news channel via the NewsPlayer.
The plan is for the NewsPlayer to deliver 15-second "pre-roll" ads to international users that will have to be viewed before video-on-demand content is watched. No ads will run during the downloadable programming. Users will be given the option to view programming without ads at lower quality narrowband speeds, or with ads at broadband quality speed.
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Mobile TV pilot in IndiaNokia and national broadcaster Doordarshan are set to launch a pilot project in India for mobile TV. The technology will be based on open standard-based DVB-H solution. The Nokia mobile broadcast solution will be delivered to Doordarshan via SHAF Broadcast in early 2007.
During the trial, Doordarshan will test the reception quality of the broadcast coverage and explore the options of supporting different service schemes such as advertising and interactive services. The pilot project will also enable Doordarshan to gauge consumer expectations.
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Regulator challenges Telstra on criticisms
From Rose Major in MelbourneHead of Australia’s competition regulator Graeme Samuel has urged incumbent telco Telstra to "stop using the now overplayed excuse of regulatory constraints as a subterfuge" for its poor high-speed broadband services. It should instead improve its high-speed provision and lay its nascent plans for fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) open to public scrutiny, Samuel said.
The call came as a survey was released in which Bigpond, Telstra’s Internet service provider, was slammed by its own customers. Half of the 1600 Bigpond users surveyed by PC Authority magazine said they would not recommend the ISP to a friend.
Samuel, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, told the Broadband Australia conference in Sydney that he "nearly choked on my cornflakes" when he read that Telstra had claimed that residents of a West Australian town wouldn’t receive ADSL2+ because the ACCC might decide to give it away to competitors at below cost. "It’s not even a regulated service," said Samuel.
ADSL2+ is only available in 364 exchanges covering 46 per cent of the population, while ADSL is available to 91 per cent of the population.
Telstra’s chief executive Sol Trujillo agreed that Australia’s high-speed broadband provision, and attendant services, are poor. He agreed with Rupert Murdoch’s recent assertion that it was a "disgrace". "We’re being left behind and will pay for it," Trujillo said. But his remedy is different to Samuel’s. Trujillo said that other countries such as the US, Canada and Germany either had, or were planning to, provide regulatory relief for infrastructure investment.
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Sling Media has hired two former MTV Networks executives to head a new interactive programming division. It has hired former chief digital officer at MTV Networks Jason Hirschhorn, and former vice president of MTV digital media Ben White. Hirschhorn and White helped launch MTV Overdrive, a broadband TV network.
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Pioneer Online trials Firstscience.TVInternet TV specialist, Pioneer Online, has re-vamped its science website Firstscience.com, which will also be used as a platform to trial its download TV service, Firstscience.tv, is due for launch in 2007. It is an online distribution channel developed by Pioneer Online to address the delivery of factual TV programming online with the aim to enable indies to realise the value of their long tail science and technology content.
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