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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday Friday 22nd December
Liberty Media secures DirecTV stake
Telcos win in FCC video ruling
Piracy still rules with video downloads
Ofcom still keen on PSP
APAC IPTV growth fuelled by broadband and interactive services demand
EC probes funding of Amsterdam broadband network
News Corp ups NatGeo stakes
Spanish broadcasters admit poor DTT content
MTV branded mobile content subscription service
Golden Telecom enters digital TV
Service and product revenues to approach $300b annually
MTG launches new sport channels
Eutelsat selects Alcatel for W7 satellite
Motorola expands IPTV with Tut deal
Liberty Media secures DirecTV stakeThe much-awaited confirmation of one of 2006’s most significant media deals finally came at the start of the final trading day before Christmas, when
Liberty Media Corporation (Liberty) announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with News Corporation (News) to exchange Liberty's 16.3 per cent stake – valued at $11 billion - in News, for News's 38.5 per cent stake in DirecTV Group, Inc), regional sports networks in Denver, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, and cash.The deal ends two years of negotiations between long-time associates Murdoch and Liberty Media Chairman John Malone, who once helped rescue Murdoch from near bankruptcy. Malone had gradually acquired close to a 20 per cent voting stake in News Corp., a move that unsettled Murdoch, who enacted an emergency ‘poison pill’ provision to block a potential hostile takeover.
"We are happy to become the largest shareholder in the world's largest satellite television provider. Chase Carey and the DirecTV team have done a fantastic job, and we look forward to the strategic benefits of them joining the Liberty family," said Liberty President and CEO Greg Maffei who added, "During 2006 we converted many passive investments into strategic operating businesses, but this transaction is the largest and most important. DirecTV and the regional sports networks represent a critical step in our efforts to transform Liberty Media into a well-positioned, focused operating company."
"We are extremely pleased with the successful, tax-efficient conversion of our News holding. Our investment in DirecTV will create financial, operating, and strategic flexibility," said Liberty Chairman John Malone. "Liberty's ownership of News has created tremendous value for our shareholders, and we are grateful to Rupert Murdoch and News management."
DirecTV President and CEO Chase Carey stated, "We are very excited about welcoming Liberty to DirecTV. They bring a wealth of expertise in media and technology that will be invaluable. I have known both John Malone and Greg Maffei for over 10 years which gives me great confidence this transition will be smooth, and we will move forward without missing a beat. I also want to take advantage of this opportunity to thank Rupert Murdoch and News for their contributions to DirecTV’s success over the last three years."
It is expected that Chase Carey will continue to serve as DirecTV’s President and CEO, and Liberty will appoint directors to fill the board seats currently held by News representatives.
Under the agreement, pursuant to Section 355 of the IRC, Liberty will transfer to News 188,000,000 NWS shares and 324,637,067 NWS.A shares, and News will transfer to Liberty the stock of a subsidiary that holds 470,420,752 shares of DirecTV common stock, the Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, Northwest and Pittsburgh regional sports networks, and $550 million in cash.
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of News and Liberty, is expected to close in mid-2007, and is subject to regulatory and News Corp shareholder approvals and the receipt of a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service.
Liberty Media shares rose 3.2 per cent before the opening bell on Friday 22. In early electronic composite trading, shares of Liberty Media were at $96.65, up from a close of $93.64 on the Nasdaq on Thursday. DirecTV shares edged up 2.6 per cent to $25.66 on the news, from a close of $25 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Telcos win in FCC video rulingThe FCC has granted telcos a major victory and what amounts to an FCC version of the sweeping video franchise reform legislation that failed to pass Congress over the issue of network neutrality.
In a 3-2 vote, the Commission's Republican majority approved an order that would put a time limit on local franchise negotiations, limit build-out requirements and franchise conditions, and cap public and government access channel investments, changes telegraphed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.Cable does not necessarily get the same break. The FCC said it would look into applying the same regime to incumbents, and suggested it would favour it. But it also said cable incumbents shouldn't get that same deal until their current franchise deals expire, which in some cases is years. That did not sit well with the cable industry, which could take the decision to court.
Susanne Guyer, Verizon senior vice president for federal regulatory affairs, said that the action would "fast-forward the delivery of new choices, lower prices and better services to consumers. The FCC is standing up for consumers who are tired of skyrocketing cable bills and want greater choice in service providers and programming. Verizon has an aggressive schedule to deploy FiOS TV. This order will enable us to reach agreements with local franchise authorities more quickly so we can deliver the benefits of competition to consumers faster. The FCC has taken strong steps to increase consumer choice and spur investment in broadband and video deployment."
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Piracy still rules with video downloadsA study by the NPD Group shows peer-to-peer digital video downloads reign supreme in the US, outpacing legal alternatives such as the iTunes Store by five to one.
In US households with members regularly using the Internet, approximately eight per cent - six million households, - downloaded at least one digital video file 10MB or bigger from a peer-to-peer service for free in the third quarter of 2006.
By comparison, about 1.2 million US households - approximately two per cent of those households that regularly use the Internet - paid for a video download from an on-line store. The iTunes Store was the most popular source for legal video downloads - 90 per cent overall. Vongo, Movielink and CinemaNow trailed iTunes.
Of the pirated content downloaded through peer-to-peer services, the study says about 60 per cent was adult film content, while 20 per cent was TV show content and five per cent was mainstream movie content.
Comparatively, legal downloaded content consisted about 62 per cent of TV programme content, 24 per cent of music video content and six percent of movie content, according to the report.
Russ Crupnick, vice president and senior industry analyst for the NPD Group, says that on-line video piracy is less pervasive than it is for music, but he called it a "crucial issue" for the film industry.
"Even though right now the majority of downloaded video content is adult-film content, the amount of intellectual property stolen from mainstream movie studios, networks, and record labels will continue to rise, unless strong and sustained action is taken to prevent piracy," predicted Crupnick.
"Paid usage could double or triple within the next year as more content comes on-line, consumers acquire more video-enabled players and movies are offered that consumers can actually burn to DVD," he added.
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Ofcom still keen on PSPEd Richards, the newly-appointed CEO of UK comms regulator Ofcom, has revived the idea of creating a 'public service publisher' (PSP) - a new digital operator - to maintain competition with the BBC and Channel 4 in the online age. The idea was first raised in 2004, but has seen little progress since. Ofcom mooted the creation of a new organisation, funded annually with some £300 million (E447 million).
In a series of briefings with British national media, Richards told The Guardian "Where was MySpace when we did that? Where was Google Video?"
"The personal crusade that I do have is that the existing model for public service broadcasting is ending and it will have eroded dramatically by the time the analogue signal is switched off," he told The Times.
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APAC IPTV growth fuelled by broadband and interactive services demand
Dwindling wireline revenues, consumer demand for greater control over viewing preferences, and the explosion of broadband in various high growth markets across Asia-Pacific represent the impetus for the development of in the region, according to research from global consultancy Frost & Sullivan. While service providers across Asia-Pacific have invested heavily in the network infrastructure required to offer such services, the key success factor for IPTV lies in the gamut of content that service providers are able to provide consumers.
The report, Asia Pacific IPTV Market, reveals that revenues in this market - covering 12 major Asia-Pacific countries ex-Japan - is estimated to increase from US$353.4 million in 2006 to US$512.4 million in 2007. Growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 37.5 per cent (2006-2013), the region’s IPTV market is forecast to be worth US$3.3 billion by end-2013.
"IPTV is the next notable wave in the consumer telecom space and service providers are planning to leverage this new technology to offer high quality interactive services to customers," noted Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Aravind Venkatesh. "While revenues from fixed-line services continue to decline, IPTV is likely to reduce churn, increase ARPU (average revenue per user) levels, and generate revenue streams in the long term."
IPTV is presently available in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, and is expected to be introduced in India and the Philippines in 2007. Countries like China, India and Australia are expected to be high growth markets by 2009. China, in particular, holds immense potential as it has the largest broadband subscriber base in Asia-Pacific, according to the report. Residential subscribers constitute approximately 70 per cent of China’s 47.8 million broadband subscriber base. China together with Hong Kong, which is said to be one of the most sophisticated IPTV markets in the world, is expected to account for nearly 60 per cent of the region’s IPTV revenues by end-2013.
"The lack of sufficient bandwidth and highly skewed broadband distribution are major inhibitors for the growth of IPTV in Asia-Pacific," added Venkatesh. "While Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Japan are mature markets for broadband, developing markets like China, India and Malaysia have dismally low broadband penetration."
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EC probes funding of Amsterdam broadband network
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under EC Treaty state aid rules into the investment by the city of Amsterdam in a fibre-optic telecommunications network. This investigation will enable the Commission to determine whether the participation by the city, alongside private investors, constitutes state aid and, if so, whether such aid could be found compatible with the EC state aid rules.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes commented: "There would be no distortion of competition if the city of Amsterdam participates in this project like a private investor. However, at this stage, the Dutch authorities have not provided sufficient proof that this is the case. To ensure fair competition between all operators on the very competitive Dutch market, we have to look carefully into the conditions of this investment".
Together with private shareholders, Amsterdam is investing in an undertaking which will build a fibre access network connecting 37,000 households in Amsterdam. The project is a first step towards bringing fibre to the home (FTTH) all over Amsterdam (400,000 households). Retail operators can use this network to provide TV, broadband and telephony services. The services offered via the new network will compete with existing offers by cable and telecommunications companies such as KPN and UPC. UPC and VECAI (an association of cable operators) have filed complaints with the Commission.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has purchased NBC Universal's 25 per cent stake in two joint ventures that own and distribute the National Geographic Channel in various markets.
News Corp. acquired NBCU's stake in NGC International LLC and NGC Network in the U.K. The transaction boosts News Corp.'s stake in NGC International to 75 per cent, and its stake in NGC U.K. to 25 per cent.
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Spanish broadcasters admit poor DTT content
From David del Valle in MadridSpanish broadcasters have publicly owned up to offering poor DTT content, following recent accusations by the Government that this was a way of delaying the development of the DTT market.
"The obsession concerning coverage has lowered the quality of programmes", said Giorgio Sbampato, director of development at Antena 3 TV. "It is proven that when there are good content, like sports events, the consumption of DTT increases", added Fernando de Miguel, director of Resources at La Sexta.
Eladio Gutierrez, director of RTVE Digital, claimed that the existence of many DTT channels "is not compatible with the quality of High Definition". He urged the Government to proceed gradually with the analogue switch-off.
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MTV branded mobile content subscription serviceMTV has launched ‘Bananas’ -the first MTV branded mobile content subscription service. MTV's ‘Bananas’ is a cross- carrier, direct-to-consumer offering that features exclusive content from MTV, MTV2 and mtvU including material from shows such as "Laguna Beach" and "The Real World." The technology behind ‘Bananas’ is being provided by Motricity, a global provider of mobile marketplace management solutions.
‘Bananas’ offers two tiers of service, each delivering an array of content from MTV programming as well as music ringtones from major record labels. Subscribers can download music-related content as well as soundbites, cast photos, graphics, ringtones and wallpapers.
"'Bananas' gives us an opportunity to share MTV content and MTV programmed tones with our technology-savvy audience to give them a broader opportunity to interact with our brand on their mobile device," said Greg Clayman, Senior Vice President of MTVN Mobile Media Group.
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Golden Telecom enters digital TVGolden Telecom, a facilities-based provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services throughout Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, is to buy a 65 per cent interest in Fortland Limited.
Fortland holds licences for digital television in a some of the largest cities in Russia. These licenses will be used to provide customers with a greater number of digital television channels, higher quality picture and the opportunity for pay-per-view programming, using the DVB in MPEG-4 coding. In the future, the Company expects to add additional services.
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Motorola expands IPTV with Tut deal
Motorola and Tut Systems have signed a definitive merger agreement, under which Motorola will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Tut Systems common stock for $1.15 per share in cash, equating to a deal of some $39 million.
Tut Systems provides carrier-class end-to-end digital video encoding, processing and distribution products. Their solutions support MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC video compression, local ad insertion, forward error correction, and real-time conditioning of video and audio. Today, more than 160 service providers worldwide deliver IPTV powered by Tut Systems digital video distribution technology.
The integration of Tut Systems’ solutions with Motorola’s digital video delivery solutions will expand Motorola’s ability to help service providers deploy advanced video services over IP, ATM, or RF-based network architectures. Motorola currently has deployed 2060 digital video networks and over 50 million digital video set tops worldwide.
Sal D'Auria, President and CEO of Tut Systems, said that Motorola’s financial resources and customer relationships would enable the company to address larger customer opportunities that were challenging as a smaller company. Upon completion of the transaction, Tut Systems will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola and will be integrated into the Motorola Connected Home Solutions business.
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Service and product revenues to approach $300b annuallyRapid consumer adoption of Internet and mobile services will boost US. spending in digital living services and products to nearly $300 billion by 2010, according to Parks Associates' ‘Digital Living 2006 Forecasts.’ This study, which features forecasts and analyses on more than 50 digital lifestyle categories, reports a steady rise in US household spending for these advanced products and services over the next five years, fuelled by adoption of broadband and communications services, which will account for $229 billion in 2010.
The study reveals that revenues for digital entertainment services - including gaming, music, and on-demand video – will be among the strongest-growing categories over the next five years. The influx of these services will in turn drive the sale of media centralisation and distribution solutions in U.S. households. Between 2006 and 2010, revenues from media servers will grow 140 per cent, and the number of connected entertainment solutions will increase substantially during the same time period. By 2010, more than 30 million households will have a network that bridges numerous products and extends the entertainment experience to multiple rooms in the home.
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MTG launches new sport channelsModern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment-broadcasting group, is launching two new sports channels in co-operation with Danish commercial broadcaster TV 2. The new ‘TV 2 Sport’ channels will provide Danish viewers with high quality local, national and international sports entertainment, scheduled to be launched in the first half of 2007.
TV 2 Sport will be available through the Viasat Pay-TV package to subscribers via Viasat’s DTH satellite platform, through IPTV, and through third-party cable networks. The new channel will replace Viasat Sport 1 in Denmark and feature a mixture of Viasat and TV 2 sports content, such as football, tennis, cycling, boxing and motor sports and will feature up to 2,000 hours a year of live broadcasting, as well as sports editorials.
The launch of the new channel will not affect sports broadcasting on TV3+. However, the Danish premier league - ‘SAS-ligaen’, will get increased exposure through TV 2 Sport.
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Eutelsat selects Alcatel for W7 satelliteEutelsat Communications and Alcatel Alenia Space have signed a contract under which Alcatel Alenia Space will manufacture and deliver Eutelsat's W7 communications satellite.
To be launched in second quarter 2009 to Eutelsat's 36 degrees East location, W7 will double the capacity currently available at a key neighbourhood in the Group's fleet of geostationary satellites. Through a configuration of high-performance fixed and steerable beams, W7 will also boost coverage and flexibility for addressing growing markets, notably in central Asia and Africa.
W7's mission comprises up to 70 Ku-band transponders that can be connected to six beams serving Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. To be co-positioned with Eutelsat's W4 satellite, which already serves anchor pay-TV operators in Russia, the Ukraine and sub-Saharan Africa, W7 will enable Eutelsat to almost double bandwidth for digital video services in these regions. It will also replace all capacity on Eutelsat's SESAT 1 satellite which serves Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia, and bring fresh capacity to South Africa through a high-power fixed beam, and also to central Asia through a spotbeam which can be oriented in orbit.
Thursday 21st December
Ericsson to buy Redback Networks
First interactive mobile TV trial in Spain
Technicolor scoops ITV deal
China's IPTV market developing slowly but surely
BBC moves to file-sharing sites
Disney and Rogers ink on-demand deal
Sky Italia ordered to license set-box software to rivals
CSA to consult on HD DTT
UK: digital TV households near 75%
MTG secures golf rights and launches channel
BigBand trials modular CMTs
BigString launches video search engine
Sonic enables DVD burning for Beyond TV
UPC Pan European Television Survey 2006
Ericsson to buy Redback NetworksTelecommunications equipment maker Ericsson is to buy data networking equipment vendor Redback Networks for $2.1 billion.
Once complete, the transaction would give Ericsson Redback's expertise in data-routing technology that aids service providers in delivering broadband, telephone, television and services over networks using standard Internet infrastructure.
Ericsson said Redback would help telecommunications carriers lower costs and upgrade their networks. Redback will keep its current management team and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson.
The total market for IP edge routing, the market in which Redback principally competes, is forecast to top $5 billion by 2009, according to market research firm Yankee Group.
Ericsson and Redback said they believe there is an opportunity to upgrade more than 2 billion wired and wireless users globally over the next 10 years to IP-based broadband networks and infrastructures.
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First interactive mobile TV trial in Spain
From David del Valle in MadridTelefónica Móviles, Telefónica's mobile division, has launched an interactive mobile TV trial in the city of Alcazar de San Juan.
It is the first DVB-H-based experience in Spain to test interactive services through mobile TV. 35 people, equipped with Motorola phones, will enjoy several interactive mobile TV services which include live participation in quiz shows, chatting through the Net while watching mobile TV or choosing mobile TV content.
Telecom Castilla-La Mancha will provide the infrastructure to carry the signals and Telefónica Móviles the service and the interactive platform. Research amongst Telefonica Móviles clients has revealed that more than 55 per cent would be willing to pay for mobile TV services. 71 per cent said that they have already watched digital TV through their mobile phones between 15 and 20 minutes and 17 per cent more than 25 minutes.
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Thomson Technicolor Network Services business in the UK has been awarded a long-term contract by ITV to handle the broadcast and transmission operations for its six existing channels, including ITV1.
Thomson assumes control of ITV’s northern and southern transmission centres in the UK. Technicolor Network Services will manage a significant investment in new technology to provide ITV with a scaleable platform from which to evolve its business, supported by a range of services including content preparation, media management, network management, transmission services, and disaster recovery capabilities. Current ITV playout operations include channels ITV1, 2, 3 and 4, Men and Motors, CiTv and ITV Play. In addition, ITV1 has 25 regional feeds that are supported with unique advertising insertions and programming announcements.
John Cresswell, Chief Operating Officer, ITV, said the deal would allow the broadcaster to launch new channels quickly and flexibly and add new services, including video-on-demand and high definition programming.
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China's IPTV market developing slowly but surely
China's IPTV market will go through a gradual but solid increase from 2006 to 2010, according to high-tech market research firm In-Stat. The industry environment for IPTV has improved, but the outlook is still not completely positive. Two more IPTV licences have been issued in China, and licence holders have achieved some progress with more local telcos. However, the government agency SARFT maintains tight control over content supervision and is using government policies to level the competition between IPTV and digital cable TV.
"China's IPTV ecosystem is still shaping itself," suggested Rebecca Tan, In-Stat analyst. "The ecosystem participants, centralised around telcos, are trying to find an effective model for co-operation. Telcos currently have to rely on content providers for programming while trying to gain content licences of their own, while content providers, represented by Shanghai Media Group, are managing to control end-users through IPTV."
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BBC moves to file-sharing sitesHundreds of episodes of BBC programmes are to be made available on a file-sharing network for the first time. The move follows a deal between the commercial arm of the organisation, BBC Worldwide, and technology firm Azureus.
The agreement means that users of Azureus' Zudeo software in the US can download titles such as Little Britain and Red Dwarf. The titles will be protected by digital rights management software to prevent the programmes being traded illegally on the Internet.
Until now, most BBC programmes found on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks have been illegal copies. Beth Clearfield, vice president of programme management and digital media at BBC Worldwide, said that the agreement was part of a drive to reach the largest audience possible.
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Disney and Rogers ink on-demand dealBuena Vista International Television (BVITV), the international TV distribution division of The Walt Disney Company, has concluded a multi-year video on demand movie rental agreement with Rogers Cable in Canada. For the first time, Rogers Personal TV customers with a digital box will be able to watch Disney live action and animated movies, on Rogers On Demand through their digital set top boxes in
Ontario.This is The Walt Disney Company's first video on demand agreement in Canada and is in line with the Company's focus on the application of technology to enhance its content and expand its distribution.
Orest Olijnyk, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Canada for BVITV, said the company would be working with Rogers to bring a wide selection of hit movie content to their customers in flexible, and importantly legitimate and
secure, new ways.
Sky Italia ordered to license set-box software to rivals
Italy's communications authority has ordered News Corp's satellite pay-TV unit Sky Italia to license its set-top box encryption software to rival set-top suppliers, authority sources said.
The authority decided Sky was in breach of an Italian code on electronic communications requiring its networks to be open not just to content providers, but also to other set-top suppliers.
"The authority said that Sky must take notice of the code so that other manufacturers of decoders can license the software and their set-top boxes can carry Sky," an authority source said.
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French regulator the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) is launching a public consultation prior to calling for applicants to broadcast high definition services via digital terrestrial television (DTT).
The CSA noted that HD, already present on other broadcast platforms such as satellite, ADSL and cable) represents a significant technical improvement which must find its place on DTT, insofar as it could, in the long term, become the standard format of television.
A bill relating to future television and broadcast platforms, which will be focus of an enquiry by the French National Assembly at the beginning of 2007, already makes provision for such broadcasts, but the CSA wants to be able to invite applications as soon as the law is enacted.
The consultation is aimed at establishing the views of players in the audio-visual sector, the services and content produced for HD, as well the economic model for such broadcast.The CSA is seeking comments by February 15, 2007. It also confirmed that it would be setting up a further public consultation during January 2007 prior to launching a call for potential applicants to provide personal mobile television.
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UK: digital TV households near 75%UK comms regulator Ofcom’s ‘Communications Market: Digital Television Progress Report’ for the third quarter of 2006 shows that by the end of September 2006, almost three out of every four UK television households, or 73.3 per cent, viewed digital television on their main set. This represents growth of around 800,000 households over the three month period to September, around 600,000 of which were households watching digital terrestrial television (DTT or Freeview) for the first time.
The report shows that an increasing number of households are watching digital television on second or third TV sets (for example, in a spare bedroom or the kitchen) in addition to their main set. As of September 2006, there were almost eight million second sets connected to some form of digital reception device (either a set-top-box or an integrated digital tuner), up from four million in the same period last year.
Sales of DTT equipment during the quarter approached 1.4 million (835,000 set-top-boxes and 556,000 televisions with integrated digital tuners), marking the fifth consecutive quarter with sales over the million mark. Sales in the three months to September 2006 were up 36 per cent on the same period last year.
Digital satellite television remains the most popular digital television platform on primary television sets in UK households. As of September 2006, 33.9 of UK television homes (8.5m) either subscribed to BSkyB’s television services or received free-to-view satellite services, up 128,000 since June 2006. By September 2006, 1.7 million satellite subscribers had signed up to BSkyB’s Personal Video Recorder service, Sky+, up from 1.55 million in June 2006. One in five BSkyB customers now subscribe to Sky+.
There are now over 3.3 million cable television households (13.1 per cent of all television households). In addition, 6 per cent of the UK’s 60 million television sets are now connected to a cable television service.
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MTG secures golf rights and launches channel
Modern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment-broadcasting outfit, has revealed that Viasat Broadcasting has extended its exclusive live broadcasting rights for up to 40 European Tour tournaments, in addition to the Ryder Cup, the World Golf Championships and the Seve Trophy, for Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, until the end of 2009.In addition, Viasat has acquired several new golf broadcasting rights. In order to fully accommodate the broad range of golf content, Viasat will launch ‘Viasat Golf’ – a new pay-TV channel which will be available through the Viasat pay-TV package to subscribers via Viasat’s DTH satellite platform, Viasat’s IPTV offerings and to third-party cable networks, on a pan-Nordic basis.
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BigBand trials modular CMTsBigBand Networks, provider of network platforms for video, voice and data services, has confirmed that that multiple European cable operators, including Multikabel in the Netherlands and Austria’s LiWest Kabelmedien GmbH, are evaluating the BigBand modular cable modem termination system (M-CMTS).
BigBand has provided its M-CMTS platform to operators in North America, Europe and Asia as part of an early access programme (EAP) designed to speed the availability of M-CMTS benefits such as quadrupled downstream delivery capacity and convergence of video, data and voice traffic.
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BigString launches video search engine
BigString has launched its beta version of FindItAll.com - a video and photo search engine. In conjunction with the Pixsy Media Search platform, the search engine provides Internet users a search facility for online viral videos, TV programmes, music videos, movies, news events, movie trailers and other similar media.
Sonic enables DVD burning for Beyond TV
Digital media software provider Sonic Solutions has confirmed that SnapStream, developer of digital home products, is to use Sonic's authoring, encoding, and formatting engine, AuthorScript to bring DVD burning capabilities to Beyond TV, the company's PC Digital Video Recorder (DVR) application.
The optional DVD-burning plug-in enables Beyond TV owners to author DVDs of saved TV shows for playback on a broad range of set-top DVD players. This latest agreement reinforces the versatility of AuthorScript, which was also selected recently to enable DVD recording features in Windows Vista and high-quality DVD playback in a future version of Nintendo's Wii gaming console.
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UPC Pan European Television Survey 2006The UPC Pan European survey has been published, taking into account the opinions of 6,000 viewers across 13 countries.
The pan-European broadcaster’s survey revealed the football World Cup 2006 as the most popular TV event of the year; Football was most popular European TV sport; 69 per cent of European television viewers never send a text message to TV programmes and commercial channels most remained most popular to viewers.
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Wednesday 20th December
MySpace mobile initiative
Ofcom sets out Digital Dividend
IPTV doubles in the year to Q2 2006 Review
TV switch scheme 'to cost £600m'
France Telecom ramps up FTTH roll-out
Spain: DTT migration plan in 2007
ITV: ad revenue down, digital channels up
SKY and Vodafone NZ launch SKY Mobile TV
ITV expands local online TV
Paris set for Internet over powerline
JumpTV Signs Partnership With SPORTFIVE
Mobile TV popular in bed
TF1 plans to strengthen presence in digital TV
E! scores APAC success
MySpace mobile initiativeMySpace.com, the world's leading lifestyle portal, and wireless carrier Cingular Wireless, are partnering to offer enhanced MySpace functionality to Cingular customers via their mobile phones.
The deal marks MySpace's largest-scale mobile partnership and gives Cingular's customers exclusive access to MySpace Mobile's tool set including the ability to edit MySpace profiles, view and add friends, post photos and blogs, send and receive MySpace messages, and more.
"Not only are we excited about the ability for customers to stay connected to their MySpace community while they're on the go, we think this will open up a new world of interaction and content for them to share via MySpace," said Marc Lefar, chief marketing officer, Cingular Wireless. "The photo upload feature of MySpace Mobile means Cingular customers will now have the ability to capture, record and share their world as it happens via their MySpace profile."
Ofcom sets out Digital Dividend ReviewUK media regulator Ofcom has published its Digital Dividend Review for public consultation, setting out proposals for the most effective use of the radio spectrum released by the switch to all-digital television broadcasting between 2008 and 2012.
The spectrum that will be released by digital switchover is in the sought-after UHF band in the frequencies 470-862 MHz. Transmissions in these bands cover large geographical areas with relatively few base stations, offering national network rollout at lower costs when compared to services delivered at higher frequencies which offer greater bandwidth but at shorter range.
According to Ofcom, there are many possible uses – or combinations of uses – of the spectrum. Those currently identified include: local digital terrestrial television channels; additional national digital terrestrial television channels, in either standard definition or high definition; television services for mobile phones and other types of mobile video and multimedia; mobile communications, such as voice calls and data; broadband wireless applications; wireless microphones for theatres, television and radio production and live music events; low-power wireless applications, such as WiFi in the home; and public safety services, such as wireless communications for the emergency services. Additional new uses are likely to emerge in the future as rapid innovation continues across the wireless sector, said Ofcom.
The amount of spectrum released through digital switchover will be one of the largest in the UK for many years, potentially supporting a range of new and innovative services of benefit to millions of people every day.
Ofcom estimates that the benefit to the economy from the use of this spectrum (as opposed to revenues raised for the Government from the auction of the spectrum) is likely to be around £5bn to 10bn in total over 20 years.
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IPTV doubles in the year to Q2 2006New analysis from Point Topic shows that IPTV subscriber numbers doubled during the 12 months to 30 June 2006. The total number of people worldwide paying for TV services supplied via Internet Protocol increased from just under 1.5 million to almost 3 million.
Europe is the most important region for IPTV, with the strongest growth in subscriber numbers during the period. There have also been a large number of service launches. This growth reflects the developed and competitive pay-TV market in many European countries.
Hong Kong’s PCCW remains the largest IPTV operator, with 444,000 paying IPTV subscribers, and a total of 654,000 TV connections (not all TV services require a paying subscription). France Telecom had over 300,000 paying customers, whilst Telefónica in Spain grew strongly to 267,000 TV subscribers.
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TV switch scheme 'to cost £600m'UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has told MPs that £600 million of the BBC’s forthcoming licence fee settlement would be "ring-fenced" to help elderly and disabled people switch from analogue to digital TV. Analogue TV is due to be switched off by 2012. The Digital Switchover Bill is currently going through Parliament. "More details will be given as part of the announcement on the level of the licence fee which I will make in the New Year," said Jowell.
The money will be spent providing support to install and use equipment in households with one person aged 75 and over or someone with a significant disability. Some households will be assisted free of charge, while others will pay a subsidised fee of £40. Jowell added: "The public have told us that the BBC should be at the forefront of digital broadcasting, helping people adapt to new technologies. That's why we set it the task of building a digital Britain and ensuring no-one is left behind in the switch to digital television. This money will enable it to deliver this. It reflects the BBC duty to ensure its services are received by as many people in the UK as possible. And the BBC itself will benefit from switchover, which will end the costly need to broadcast both analogue and digital signals."
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France Telecom ramps up FTTH roll-out
France Telecom (FT) has unveiled the second phase of its Fibre To The Home (FTTH) plan, with the early stage deployment of very high speed broadband in France. Didier Lombard, the Group's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said that after a pilot phase in 2006, the Group was "stepping up a gear", increasing the range of very high speed broadband services available with Orange, as well as expanding the regional coverage of its network for the future.
He said the new phase would pave the way for the broader deployment of fibre to the home, which FT foresaw in 2009 and beyond, "when there will be content and services available which would justify such capacity for many of our customers".
The range of services available from 2007 onwards will include Internet access with symmetrical speeds of up to 100 Mbps, several high-definition TV and PC channels, and unlimited calls. They will be launched in March 2007 in Paris and several neighbouring regions, before being rolled out from June 2007 to a dozen large and medium-sized cities, with the first to include Lille, Lyon, Marseilles, Poitiers and Toulouse. This phase will enable Orange to further improve its customer experience outside of the Paris region.
Orange aims to have 150,000 to 200,000 customers connected out of a total addressable client base of more than 1 million by the end of 2008. The total investment over the two years is estimated at E270 million in line with the telco’s NExT strategy in terms of the ratio of CAPEX to consolidated revenues.
FT believes that the development of a very high speed broadband for the mass market is going to require certain adaptations by equipment suppliers, operators and content and service providers. FT suggests that it will take at least two years before this adaptation process is complete, thereby permitting very high speed broadband to become available to the mass market.
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Spain: DTT migration plan in 2007
From David del Valle in MadridThe Government is to approve a detailed DTT migration plan by mid-2007, paving the way for the analogue switch-off in April 2010.
The State Secretary of Telecommunications, Francisco Ros, announced that the plan will be available in May and will lay down the timing and the different phases towards the complete digital migration of the country in 2010. The cities of Soria and Alcazar de San Juan will be the first to migrate to digital to test their pilot experiences.
Ros put the blame for the delay in the development of DTT on broadcasters by accusing them of broadcasting poor DTT content which fail to attract viewers. "We do not see any difference as for contents go between analogue and digital TV", he underlined and added: "The DTT aim is to offer higher quality in more services".
Ros also said that the technology confusion at the time of acquiring a set-top-box or a TV set is also to blame for the delay of DTT. To remedy the situation, he revealed that the Ministry of Industry would sign an agreement with electronic manufacturers whereby these latter will undertake to include integrated DTT boxes in high range TV sets from next Summer.
Ross also announced that "within one or two months" the Ministry of Industry would release a new plan for digital mobile TV.
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ITV: ad revenue down, digital channels upITV has issued a 12-month trading update, stating Net Advertising Revenue (NAR) for ITV1 down 12.5 per cent year-on-year, NAR for GMTV down 3 per cent and NAR for ITV digital channels up 40 percent.
ITV commented: "ITV1 remains the UK's most popular channel in peak time with an average peak time share so far this year for adults of 27.3 per cent. Digital channels continue to show good growth with the aggregate all time share of adult viewing in multichannel homes for year to date up 17.8 per cent at 4.3 per cent".
Interim chief executive John Cresswell says: "Trading remains in line with current market expectations and, whilst the airtime sales environment remains challenging, our digital channels continue to perform strongly."
SKY and Vodafone NZ launch SKY Mobile TV
SKY Television and Vodafone have confirmed the launch of a new TV service, SKY Mobile TV, in New Zealand. The service will be available from early 2007 and will comprise a bundle of at least eight channels for a $2.50 per week subscription. As an introductory offer, early subscribers will receive the first three weeks free.
SKY Mobile TV will deliver a variety of entertainment and information channels, including an exclusive made-for-mobile news channel (Sky News) plus sport and documentary programmes. Some channels will be broadcast as live and others will be edited for mobile.
SKY will also broadcast live sports events including Rugby, International Cricket and European football. These will be available to Vodafone’s SKY Mobile TV subscribers on a pay-per-view basis
Russell Stanners, Vodafone CEO said that multi channel mobile TV was an important element of the cellco’s content strategy. "The mobile broadcast of live sport events is an area where mobile TV has taken off internationally and is one that we feel certain sports fans in New Zealand will embrace."
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ITV expands local online TVIPTV platform specialist Narrowstep has signed an agreement with ITV to expand the broadcaster’s local online TV service following the successful year-long trial of www.ITVlocal.tv.
ITVLocal will begin rolling out to the rest of the UK, region by region, in early 2007 with an updated look, new functionality and a broad range of content.
www.ITVLocal.tv has seen its audience grow through special programming such as documentaries produced by local university students, movies by local filmmakers, news events caught on mobile phones, new advertisers, a showcase for local bands, plus partnerships with Scoot, Friends Reunited and Teachers.tv.
Mike Fegan, Commercial Director, ITV Consumer said: "ITV Local has been a huge success in the Meridian region during the trial phase, and we are preparing to launch the service in London and Central in early 2007.
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Paris set for Internet over powerline
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisADSL and cable platforms in France are to face a new competitor. After successful testing in two Paris suburbs, the Sipperec (the utilities procurement body for towns around Paris) is preparing to deploy broadband access over the electricity network in 2007. It is now aiming to recruit companies interested in retailing powerline broadband and VoIP services in the zone, reaching 1.5 million homes.
The selected companies will have exclusive rights to market the service during the deployment period, two years starting September 2007, plus a further year. The minimum lot for retailers is 2,000 outlets for the two test towns and 50,000 outlets for the whole zone covered.
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The results of the tender will be published on 9 February 2007.
JumpTV Signs Partnership With SPORTFIVEJumpTV, broadcaster of ethnic television over the Internet, has entered into a four year partnership with SPORTFIVE, the European sports rights marketing outfit, to exploit their sporting properties via www.JumpTV.com and JumpTV's dedicated Hispanic sports portal, www.SportsYa.com.
The partnership provides JumpTV the rights to market Internet broadcasts for almost 200 qualifying matches for UEFA's Euro2008 football tournament. For approximately half of the matches, JumpTV will be the exclusive marketing partner for Internet broadcasting.
Subscribers will be able to buy each game live on a pay-per-view basis. The Euro2008 qualifier matches will begin streaming through JumpTV and SportsYa portals in March,2007.
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Mobile TV popular in bedPeople primarily watch TV via their mobiles in the home, preferably with their morning coffee in the kitchen or in bed. This was the conclusion of mobile TV consumer testing that Telia conducted in Stockholm during the autumn.
Two-thirds of total mobile TV watching takes place in the home, followed by on the way to work, school, practice or when waiting for someone. The majority of users mainly watch mobile TV in the morning between 7:00 and 8:00AM and in the evening between 5:00PM and 10:00PM. On average, users watch 30 minutes at a time.
"The test shows that there is considerable interest in and demand for mobile TV," said Indra Åsander, head of the private consumer market in TeliaSonera Sweden. "The test users have really appreciated the freedom that comes with having full control over a personal TV. With mobile TV, you no longer need to stress about getting home in time to watch a specific programme."
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TF1 plans to strengthen presence in digital TVTelevision Francaise (TF1) is preparing to offer a satellite TV service and will expand exclusive programming in 2007 to reinforce its presence in digital broadcasting, vice president Etienne Mougeotte has revealed.
Mougette said that, following TF1's acquisition of 33.5 per cent of broadcaster Groupe AB, the company aims to build the group's TMC channel into one of the leading digital channels.
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E! scores APAC successE! Networks has inked a number of licensing deals for fourth quarter 2006 in the Asia Pacific region, totalling over 800 hours of entertainment and lifestyle themed content for TV, VOD, Mobile and S-DMB, revealed Christine Fellowes, managing director of Asia Pacific E! Networks.
Further expanding on its E! Everywhere initiative, the company also announced a VOD deal with Hanaromedia, a subsidiary of Korean telco Hanaro, a mobile deal with Sky New Zealand, and a S-DMB deal with TU Media Corp in Korea.
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Tuesday 19th December
Skype men turn to TV
PSP video service
Tiscali UK division for sale
Gates admits DRM too complex
MTV mobile division
iSporty TV launches
YouTube media rival on
Loral buys Telesat Canada
Broadcast equipment 40% profit growth
China piracy crackdown with MPAA
Trial of BBC Archive early next year
Comcast DVD on demand
Cisco acquire Tivella
Hauppauge triple tuner hybrid TV card
Skype men turn to TVThe founders of Skype are to launch a global broadband television service. Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, who sold their online telephony business to Ebay for $2.6bn last year, have set up the service codenamed The Venice Project. It will apparently offer 'near high-definition', supported by advertising, with tools for users to personalise their channels or discuss programmes with others.
Friis said peer-to-peer technology would make it possible to serve 'tens of millions of users' while overcoming content owners’ security concerns. Programmes would not require digital rights management protection, said Fredrik de Wahl, the project’s chief executive, because "the bits and bytes being collected on your computer are fragments of a stream".
Friis said he hoped to provide outlets for traditional broadcasters, independent producers, and national broadcasters wanting to reach expatriate audiences. Unlike YouTube or video-on-demand services, The Venice Project will offer conventionally programmed channels. YouTube and similar video sharing websites "are not TV", Friis said. "The best of TV is about high-quality and full-screen video, but it’s also about channels."
The service will take a cut of the advertising on its channels, with the amount varying according to whether the content owner sells the advertising or whether it is booked by The Venice Project’s own sales team.
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PSP video serviceSony is to attack the market in video handheld devices early next year when it launches a service for the PlayStation Portable. It will allow PSP owners to download a film from the internet to a PC and then to transfer a single, legal version of the film to a Sony device.
Sony, which has sold more than 20m PSPs worldwide, expects to launch the service in the first quarter of 2007 after tying up deals with online video providers. Crucially, the service will not require the launch of a new PSP or for consumers to buy new hardware.
The new PSP service has been developed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and will use the Sony’s memory stick technology to store the video content. Sony is distributing a 4Gb memory stick capable of storing 10 feature films. Amazon.com and film download sites such as Movielink and CinemaNow are in talks with Sony about signing up to the service. But the PSP service will not be compatible with Apple’s iTunes store, the dominant film download platform. Only iPod devices can download content from iTunes.
Only Walt Disney has made its films available on iTunes. Hollywood’s other studios have been reluctant to join Disney because of concerns about piracy: unlimited numbers of iPods can download copies of films that have been bought on iTunes and then downloaded to a PC.
Global revenue from online video sales will be $298m this year, says Strategic Analytics. It expects the market to grow to $1.5bn in annual revenues by the end of 2007 and to $5.9bn by 2010.
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Italian ISP Tiscali has put its UK division up for sale with a price tag of up to £600m (E869m). The company, that recently ‘acquired’ the Homechoice broadband TV service, has 1.4 million broadband and 50,000 pay-TV customers in Britain.
Among those requesting the prospectus are BSkyB, Orange, Carphone Warehouse, NTL and BT all looking to consolidate their positions in a very competitive market.
It is believed Tiscali decided that it does not have the scale to compete with the likes of BT and BSkyB. Turnover in the UK for the three months to the end of October was E113.5m, a rise of 67 per cent on the corresponding period for the previous year.
Tiscali recently sold its Dutch division for E255m, and also said it planned to withdraw from Germany and the Czech Republic in order to focus on the UK and Italy. But it now looks as if the company has decided to quit Britain as well.
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Gates admits DRM too complexMicrosoft boss Bill Gates has told bloggers that copy protection for digital music and video is too complex for consumers. "DRM is not where it should be," said Gates, "in the end of the day incentive systems (for artists) make a difference, but we don't have the right thing here in terms of simplicity or interoperability."
Blogger Michael Arrington, of Techcrunch.com, said Bill Gates' short-term advice for people wanting to transfer songs from one system to another was to "buy a CD and rip it". Most CDs do not have any copy protection and can be copied to a PC and to an MP3 player easily and, in the United States at least, legally.
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MTV mobile division
MTV Networks has created a new centralised group for the mobile phone business. The Mobile Media Group will be responsible for developing ringtones, games, videos and other content from its various brands for supply to mobile phone carriers. It will co-ordinate the mobile activities within MTV Networks’ various cable channels and among its domestic and international operations.
MTV has deals in place with all the big carriers and claims to be the leading supplier of video content to mobile phone carriers – publishing more than 600 clips and 30 hours per month in the US.
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iSporty TV launchesiSporty TV will include news on local, national and international clubs and events. The first online TV sports channel, www.isporty.com, which has been operating as a test site, will feature footage of anything from Premiership press conferences to reports on the progress of community sports teams.
Users will be invited to upload films about their own clubs or successes to share with other sports fans. David Maher-Roberts, head of online at Future, the magazine publisher is to join isporty.com as director of new media. England assistant manager Terry Venables and Sky Media's digital sports agency, Aura Sports, also support the venture.
It looks as though NBC Universal, News Corporation, Viacom and possibly CBS, are close to announcing their joint web service featuring their television programming in an attempt to build a business for distributing video to rival YouTube.
Executives from the companies have been in intense negotiations over the ownership and management structure of the new entity — which is as yet unnamed- reports the NY Times.
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Loral buys Telesat CanadaLoral Space & Communications announced that it and its Canadian partner, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), are to acquire 100 per cent of Telesat Canada from BCE for approximately US $2.8 billion.
Loral will transfer the fixed satellite services and network services assets of Loral Skynet to a new Canadian company, to be known as Telesat, based in Ottawa formed by Loral and PSP. This new company will be one of the world's largest operators of telecommunications satellites, with a combined fleet of 11 satellites and four additional satellites to be launched over the next three years.
The new company will feature a management team to be drawn from both Telesat and Loral Skynet and Daniel Goldberg will continue to serve as chief executive officer.
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Broadcast equipment 40% profit growthBroadcast and media technology suppliers in Europe and North America are experiencing a 40 per cent year on year profit growth according to the Q3 Industry Index published by the IABM, with European manufacturers revealing better return on sales figures than their North American counterparts over the period.
The group of more than 50 broadcast technology suppliers tracked in the Index represent more than $6bn of sales over the last year. Companies based in North America account for 58 per cent of this figure and companies registered in Europe 42 per cent. Whilst North American companies can claim a greater portion of global turnover, market profitability for European manufacturers is improving at a much higher rate year on year than their North American counterparts. Overall the broadcast and media technology supply industry is experiencing a healthy 14 per cent year on year sales increase.
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China piracy crackdown with MPAA
China has agreed with the Motion Picture Association of America and other groups to do more to tackle copyright piracy on the Internet.
China's National Copyright Administration said the country would investigate and punish those suspected of online intellectual property abuses by the MPAA as well as other groups such as the Association of American Publishers.The Chinese and foreign sides would also keep in close touch with each other and exchange information. The Business Software Alliance and Britain's Publishers Association also signed the agreement.
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Trial of BBC Archive early next year
A limited consumer trial of the BBC Archive is set to begin early next year, and is expected to last up to six months. The BBC Archive is the BBC's proposed service that would make parts of its repository of previously broadcast TV and radio content – an estimated one million hours of TV and radio programmes - available, on a public service basis, to licence fee payers on-demand via its website.
The trial will make available 1,000 hours of content drawn from a mix of genres to a closed user environment of 20,000 triallists.
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Comcast DVD on demandIn an attempt to bolster consumer interest in paid video on demand, US cableco Comcast has introduced an experimental program to release films on demand simultaneously with their release on DVDs. The experiment, which will run on Comcast systems in Pittsburgh and Denver, would let customers pay $4 to see a movie the same day they could purchase it in stores.
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Cisco acquire TivellaCisco is to acquire the privately held company, Tivella - provider of digital signage software and systems. "We feel there is enormous potential for digital signage to be integrated into our existing enterprise streaming and live video broadcasting platform," said Marthin De Beer, Senior Vice President of Cisco's Emerging Market Technologies Group. "This will allow Cisco to provide live video, video-on-demand, and other rich media content to desktops and digital signage displays using IP for applications such as targeted communications, advertising, and training."
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Hauppauge triple tuner hybrid TV cardPC TV technology outfit Hauppauge Digital has released its triple tuner TV card. The WinTV HVR-3000 means owners can receive any free-to-air TV, including digital terrestrial (Freeview), digital satellite or analogue TV (including cable) on their PC.
The card plugs into a free PCI slot in a desktop PC to convert it into a digital TV. The supplied software allows users to schedule and record programmes for later viewing. Recorded video can also be burned to DVD for long-term storage.
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Monday 18th December
RAI to be split in reform?
BSkyB buys 365 Media
Nokia delays Siemens merge
CBS Records to reduce TV costs
Ofcom to regulate participation TV
AFDESI and IAB Europe promote interactive digital TV
Aussie broadband take-up takes off
ICTV for PCCW
Personalised adverts on mobile TV
Falcon secures with Verimatrix
Hanaro deploys Teleste solution
RAI to be split in reform?
From Branislav Pekic in RomeRAI will be divided up into two distinct companies, splitting its broadcasting and other activities, according to the proposal for the reform of Italy’s public broadcaster from Communications Minister, Paolo Gentiloni. The proposal will be made in a White Paper in January and would see the new RAI broadcasting three channels – one commercial service and two public service channels.
In an interview with Rome-based daily "La Repubblica", Gentiloni stressed that the three main goals of the reform are to create a RAI with a strong identity (different to that of commercial rivals); to develop a high quality public service particularly through digital services and to guarantee an editorial independence from politics.
Meanwhile, RAI is reviewing its DTT activities, both in terms of infrastructure and programming. The broadcaster is evaluating the feasibility of creating a single DTT network operator that would manage the transmitters, broadcasting sites and frequencies of RAI (RaiWay), Mediaset (Elettronica Industriale) and Telecom Italia (Telecom Italia Media Broadcasting). The new company would also be able to sell transmission capacity to third parties, in line with the Broadcasting White Paper. On the content front, RAI is preparing a digital package that could include an all-news channel, sports and kids channels, in order to try and compete with commercial rivals.
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BSkyB buys 365 MediaBSkyB has agreed to buy provider of sports websites and online gaming company 365 Media in a £103 million (E154 million) deal. The 68 pence per share offer represents a premium of approximately 23 per cent. to the Closing Price of 55.5 pence for each 365 Media Share on 4 October 2006, the last dealing day prior to the commencement of the offer period.
According to Sky, the acquisition of 365 Media enhances its existing online strategy, adding to its portfolio of online assets and increasing its exposure to high growth revenue streams. It is anticipated that the acquisition will bring Sky, among other things, an extensive portfolio of websites, including TEAMtalk.com, SportingLife.com, Planet-Rugby.com, PlanetF1.com, Football365.com, Golf365.com, Rivals.net and Cricket365.com; a strong community element which Sky believes represents an area of significant opportunity; mobile distribution deals for content which support Sky’s multi-platform approach to delivery and a broader platform to promote Sky's gaming and betting activities as well as Sky's other sports related offerings.
Sky's Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Darroch, said the acquisition would contribute to Sky's aim of being a leading provider of online sports and gaming services and moved forward its strategy of serving customers with high quality content and services across multiple platforms.
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Nokia is delaying its E20bn telecoms equipment joint venture with Siemens, as the growing corruption scandal at the German group has its first impact on its business. Completion is now subject to agreement on a compliance review at Siemens into the E420m bribery scandal at its telecoms division. The deal is now expected to close in the first quarter of 2007 instead of January as previously announced.
Siemens said it did not see the delay as a problem: "It is just a time-out to relax and take care of the systems in order to make sure the parts going into the joint venture are alright." Officials said concerns from some investors that the terms of the contract could be rewritten in Nokia’s favour were overblown.
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CBS Records to reduce TV costsCBS is launching a new music label whose main purpose will be to supply its television shows with less expensive music. At the same time, the television programmes would promote the new acts signed by the label, which will revive the name CBS Records.
Music-license fees have been climbing at a rate of about 20 per cent a year, studio executives say, in large part because studios now routinely license music for Internet distribution. The label also inked a deal with the iTunes online music service to sell the label's music. It will also sell comventional CDs through partnerships with outside companies.
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Ofcom to regulate participation TV
Ofcom has outlined its next steps potential tightening of the rules around participation television channels and programmes. Ofcom’s issues paper sets out, and asks for views on, the areas that Ofcom proposes to address in its full public consultation in the new year.
Ofcom is also seeking views on the broader question of how the content of these services should be regulated. Specifically, should these services be considered as editorial – subject to the Ofcom Broadcasting Code – or advertising – subject to the Advertising Code enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
AFDESI and IAB Europe promote interactive digital TVAFDESI, (the French professional organisation for Interactive Television),
has joined forces with IAB Europe (Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe) to promote and increase awareness of all forms of advertising via interactive television. The taskforce will deliver these objectives through industry research, standards, best practice development and stakeholder education.The first output of this unique will come from a survey on the interactive advertising market in Europe, best practices and return of experience, which will be presented during IAB Directors Board meeting in January. An action plan will then be prepared for further actions.
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Aussie broadband take-up takes offBroadband take-up by Australian households is rising rapidly, with the number of connections almost doubling in the year to June 2006, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. As at June, just under half of all households with an Internet connection had broadband.
Of the 3.2 million households that lacked Internet access, 24 per cent said they had no use for the Internet, 23 per cent cited lack of interest in Internet and 19 per cent said costs were too high.
ICTV for PCCWHong Kong-based PCCW has chosen ICTV’s ActiveVideo Distribution Network (AVDN) to enable interactive channels for its NOW TV subscribers. The first ActiveVideo channel offered by NOW TV is the completely interactive Movie Trailer Channel, which PCCW has launched in partnership with United Artists, one of the leading cinema groups in Hong Kong.
The Movie Trailer Channel allows subscribers to preview movies, choose cinema locations, check programme times, request seat locations and buy tickets using their standard remote controls. The channel is the first in a series of ActiveVideo channels and applications that will deliver more interactive services to NOW TV’s 654,000 subscribers.
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Personalised adverts on mobile TV
Mobile TV viewers in Norway will be served personalised adverts as part of a two-month trial. Banner adverts will be sent to mobile phones and tailored to the individual user under the trial by broadcaster NRK, a mobile TV pioneer. Two TV channels and four radio stations are taking part in the trial.
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Falcon secures with VerimatrixContent secuirity outfit Verimatrix has announced that Falcon Broadband has selected its Video Content Authority System (VCAS) to provide digital video content security over the carrier’s IP network. Falcon plans on launching the new IPTV service in Q2 2007 when it has completed its dedicated fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) IP network in the Colorado market place
Hanaro deploys Teleste solution
The Teleste 100 Mbit/s EttH solution has been deployed in the network for trial customers at Hanaro Telecom of South Korea.
Teleste’s Korean partner Cableway Communications, which is responsible for the marketing and the localisation of the EttH products in Korea, has entered into a frame agreement with Hanaro Telecom to supply the 100 Mbit/s EttH products throughout the Hanaro Telecom networks. Teleste has received an initial order of E4.5 million from Cableway Communications for deliveries during the first quarter of 2007.
