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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 13th January 2006
Japan looks to liberalise comms and media
The Japanese government says there needs to be reform of outdated business practices and updating of telecoms and media regulation if Japan is to regain its advantage in these markets.
Heizo Takenaka, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications and the minister behind the controversial privatisation of Japan’s postal system, told the FT reform and deregulation could unleash a five-fold expansion in the media and telco sectors annual sales. "The media market is about $35bn, the telecoms market is $140bn…there is an opportunity to grow it to $280bn or even $1,200bn," Takenaka said. "Time Warner’s revenues alone are more than $35bn, so the whole Japanese media industry is smaller than that despite having such a large presence in Japanese society. I think the potential is huge for both media and telecoms."
"Apple’s iPod provides a pointer to future possibilities as well as a lesson. Unfortunately, the concept of distributing music over the net did not take off in Japan, so it was Apple rather than Sony that developed the iPod", he said.
Takenaka has now asked a special taskforce to develop recommendations on reforming business practices and regulation by the end of June. He believes outmoded practices and regulatory obstacles are preventing the full development of goods and services that take advantage of new technology and the internet. He said a review of the two sectors could lead to a reorganisation of ministries, with the consolidation of responsibilities for these sectors under one roof.
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Springer gives up station to save dealAxel Springer has offered to sell a TV channel in order to ease competition concerns over its takeover of broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. Germany's media watchdog has already rejected Springer's E2.5bn euros bid for ProSiebenSat.1. The Cartel Office will give its verdict later this month.
The two regulators have indicated that they will only allow the deal if Springer sells either its Bild newspaper operations or breaks up ProSiebenSat.1. The company has warned that it could end up looking abroad for acquisition opportunities.
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Movio pilot shows demand for mobile TVResults from BT’s pilot of its broadcast digital TV to mobile service, BT Movio – formerly known as BT Livetime - have demonstrated clear consumer demand for broadcast digital TV and radio to mobile phones. The pilot revealed that two thirds of customers would be prepared to pay up to £8/month (E11.5) for the BT Movio service on their current mobile network, creating new revenue streams for mobile operators.
Set for commercial launch later this year, BT Movio intends to be the first wholesale mobile broadcast entertainment service to launch in the UK and will enable operators to offer consumers a simple to use and reliable digital TV and radio service. It is broadcast using the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) network and is navigated through the world’s first implementation of DAB delivered electronic programme guide (EPG) on a mobile TV phone. Unlike other mobile TV services, BT Movio’s use of a broadcast platform allows multiple users to access services at the same time without a reduction in quality.
Over the past four months BT Movio, together with its mobile operator partner for the pilot, Virgin Mobile, has been broadcasting digital TV and digital radio via a DAB-IP enabled smartphone to 1000 users. 73 per cent of participants stated that they would be prepared to pay for the service on their current network if the service was priced competitively. 38% were prepared to switch networks to receive this service.
Over three quarters of the pilot users tuned into digital TV and radio on their mobile on a weekly basis or more often, with the average length of TV viewing being more than one hour per week. A large proportion of pilot users stated that they want up to five types of mobile TV channels including a combination of news, sport, comedy, sitcoms and music.
Digital radio also proved to be extremely popular with pilot users tuning in on average for over one and a half hours every week. By introducing listeners to new digital radio channels on their mobile, more users have been encouraged to listen to digital radio in their car and at home which will prove a boost for the UK’s digital radio industry.
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UPC and Noos harmonise
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisThe French cable operator UPC-Noos (Liberty Global group), formed by the merger of UPC and Noos, is continuing the integration of the two networks with the harmonization of its TV offering. This now comprises three packages: Essentiel, Sensations and Infinity, replacing the existing packages (bouquets 1 and 2 on UPC and Decouverte and Magic on Noos). The new offer is available immediately on the Noos networks and from 15 February on the UPC networks, when all of the services (broadband, telephony and digital television) will be harmonized on the two networks.
The "Noos TV Essentiel" package comprises 85 channels and costs E26.90 per month (including rental of the digital set top box), which is 30 channels more than the former Decouverte package on Noos (E19.90) and 22 channels more than UPC's Bouquet 1 (E25.50). Noos TV Sensations contains more than 115 channels for E32.90 a month (including STB), 17 channels more than the old Noos Magic (E29.90) and 41 more than UPC Bouquet 2 (E35.50). Finally, the Infinity package contains 140 channels for E71.90 (including STB), including a range of options that are charged separately for subscribers to the other packages.
The broadband packages have also been harmonized, notably for the 10Mb/s service at E34.90 a month. Likewise the telephony service, at E7 a month basic, E20 a month including unlimited calls to landlines (or E10 a month if taken together with another service).
UPC-Noos has pointed out that existing subscribers will be able to choose between keeping their current package or migrating to one of the new packages. The launch of the harmonized services will be coupled with some promotional tariffs.
The outlook for 2006 on UPC-Noos includes the launch of VOD push, traditional VOD, TVHD, and broadband at 20 Mb/s.
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By Rose Major in Melbourne
Australian IPTV hopeful ReelTime is reportedly set to announce a content deal with 20th Century Fox, whose News Corp parent also has a stake in Aussie pay-TV platform Foxtel.
ReelTime, whose service is due to launch in Adelaide in March, already has content deals with companies including Sony Pictures Entertainment (which is a
ReelTime investor), Palace Films and Granada International.But the Fox deal would give ReelTime access to TV shows and movies from the studio at the same time as video and DVD stores, according to The Australian
newspaper - around three months ahead of Foxtel's pay-per-view window.ReelTime's service will offer customers of various ISPs (starting with one Adelaide provider, Adam Internet) the chance to download movies to a PVR set-top box and watch them on TV. The company is majority-owned by Movies Online.
E! Networks is launching The Vine @ E! Online, a new broadband channel that will debut in conjunction with E!’s Live From the Red Carpet: Golden Globe Awards pre-show telecast on Monday, January 16, it was announced today by Ted Harbert, President and CEO, E! Networks.
"As the leader in celebrity news and information, E! is in the perfect position to serve as an industry pacesetter for the explosion in delivery options," Harbert said. "Our programming style and presentation are a natural fit in terms of attaching the E! brand to the new media platforms that seem to swell in number by the week. We’re already a leading destination for wireless users, and with The Vine @ E! Online, we further cement our status as an emerging force for disseminating online and digital content."
France Telecom slid almost nine per cent this week after it posted a sales warning and warned of a tough year ahead. The telco warned on Wednesday that tough market conditions which upset its revenue predictions in 2005 would continue in 2006 and announced plans to bring forward new investments, hitting its margins. It predicted lower than expected like for like revenue growth of 2 percent in 2006 and adjusted its already-lowered revenue growth for 2005 to 2-3 percent from "nearly" 3 percent.
Finance Director Michel Combes cited problems such as lower text-message revenue imposed by regulators in France and the steady shift of domestic phone traffic from the fixed-line network to the Internet.
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Harmonic Inc. announced the FLXLink iCPE Commercial Services Gateway, an addressable device that facilitates the introduction and provisioning of value-added network access and managed services. Harmonic say the iCPE is ideal for hotels, schools, small and mid-size businesses, multiple dwelling units (MDU) and other applications requiring numerous independent outputs that are compatible with the existing CAT5 wiring at the user's premises.
This new intelligent gateway device extends and works in conjunction with Harmonic's FLXLink family of scalable coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) transport solutions.
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Donald Lawrie, 45, has joined EuroNews as Director of Worldwide Distribution. In this newly created role Donald’s mission will be to manage and grow EuroNews’s international distribution on all platforms including terrestrial, satellite, cable, ADSL, broadband, mobile and all other new media formats. Prior to joining EuroNews Donald held senior roles with France Telecom/ Wanadoo, BSkyB and Telewest Broadband.
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Thursday 12th January 2006
AOL buys video search company
Regional regulator denies Springer
63m China broadband by 2008
IPGs will become 'PEGs'
SKY Italia selects Pace Micro
Entone for Consolidated
C-COR for Multikabel
Widevine European offices
AOL buys video search companyAOL has bought Truveo Inc., a video search company and although financial terms were not provided it is said to be the second largest purchase by AOL after the $435 million acquisition of Advertising.com in 2004. Truveo will provide better video search features on AOL.com, which recently launched a video service offering thousands of vintage television episodes.
News of the deal (which closed in December) follows Google's announcement last week of new video service with programming from CBS Corp. and the National Basketball Association. Also News Corp is set to bring forward its video search plans.
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Regional regulator denies SpringerA media committee of Germany's states turned down the planned E4.2bn Springer acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1 arguing that the combination of Bild, the top-selling tabloid, and four TV channels would give Springer sway over public opinion.
Springer refused to comment but pointed out that the media committee ruling could be overturned if three-quarters of state governments rejected it. "New concessions" were possible in order to secure such a reversal, Springer said. However, it has also threatened to pull out of the deal – a move that would force Sat.1 to look for a foreign buyer – something the regulators would also not relish, as the only other domestic candidate is Bertelsmann which would have more competition problems than Springer.
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63m China broadband by 2008UBS Securities has estimated that the broadband subscriber base of China Telecom and China Netcom will rise to 63 million with an annual growth rate of 28% from 2005 to 2008. Among them, the medium- and high-end users with an annual income of $12,000 are predicted to exceed 20 million.
China may see its IPTV user base exceed 500,000 by 2007, says the company. ZTE, a leading telecom equipment maker and wireless solution provider in the country, has taken the biggest share in China's fledging IPTV market.
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IPGs will become 'PEGs'According to the Diffusion Group, today's relatively static TV search guide - will soon be replaced by a more dynamic, personalised entertainment guide that will serve not only the TV viewing experience, but Internet and mobile video consumption as well. The number of consumers using a 'personal entertainment guide' or PEG will surge to almost 800 million and create more than $1.4bn in global licensing revenue by 2010.
"Given the pending shift by both viewers and content providers away from predetermined and static TV subscriptions and toward time-and place-shifting content consumption, the IPG must respond in kind," said Colin Dixon, author of the white paper and senior analyst with The Diffusion Group. "What will emerge is a 'personal entertainment guide' or PEG that capitalises on many of the techniques pioneered on the web in the areas of search, behaviour prediction, and distributed computing and thus be more attuned to the viewer's preferences and capable of spanning a multitude of consumer devices, both stationary and portable."
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SKY Italia selects Pace MicroPace Micro Technology has been selected by SKY Italia as the launch partner to provide personal video recorder (PVR) set-top boxes for its new 'MySKY' service.
The MySKY PVR features a 160Gb hard disk drive, which will enable MySKY subscribers to record up to 60 hours of digital quality programming. The PVR also incorporates integrated twin tuners, which allow one programme to be recorded while watching another, or two programmes to be recorded at the same time while watching a previously recorded programme.
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Entone for ConsolidatedEntone Technologies announced that Consolidated Communications is deploying Entone's Hydra IP video gateway to support the telco's IPTV service launch.
Consolidated is the 15th largest telephone company in the US, with approximately 245,000 access lines throughout Illinois and Texas. The company has provided telecommunications services to its communities for more than 100 years and is now offering a triple-play service bundle of voice, video, and data.
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C-COR for MultikabelC-COR Incorporated announced that Multikabel, the Netherlands cable operator, has selected C-COR's CHP Max5000 platform and components as part of the MSO's network upgrade to increase available bandwidth in support of current subscriber services (HSD, VoIP, and digital television) and future VOD offerings. Multikabel delivers communications services over the HFC network to over 340,000 residential and commercial customers. The MSO expects to deploy C-COR's CHP Max5000 this month.
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Widevine European officesWidevine Technologies announced it has opened two European offices in Lisbon, Portugal, and Cambridge, England. The Lisbon office is headquarters for Widevine's European customer engineering teams responsible for implementation and technical support capacities. The Cambridge office will headquarter its European sales and marketing teams.
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Wednesday 11th January 2006
Sky By Broadband and Sky By Mobile launch
Spain: pay-TV tax break
Sky Networks chief predicts wider FTA gap
Murdoch's video plans for myspace
Ofcom seeks indie rights compromise
Liberty buys into Mobilestreams
Matsushita $1.6bn on flat screens
TI sells Sensors and Controls
Appear integrates Latens
Sky By Broadband and Sky By Mobile launchBSkyB has staked out more convergence territory with the official launch of Sky By Broadband and Sky By Mobile.
Both services are positioned as value-adds and are available free of charge to customers already subscribing to two or more premium channels. The ‘by broadband' service is accessed via the main site and is limited to one PC per Sky account number. A player is downloaded and the customer then has access on a VOD basis to all the movies currently within the Sky Movies contract window. At launch this equates to about 200 but Sky says new deals will see this quickly grow to 1,000.
Choosing from an A-Z menu, downloads at 2MB will on average take about one hour. Once on the hard drive it can be played as often as the customer wants within 30 days before its automatically deleted. Content is not copyable and cannot be loaded to other devices at this stage. The service uses Windows Media 10 format and is not available for Macs. Future plans include the incorporation of Windows Media Player (as announced by Bill Gates at CES) and eventually the Intel Viiv home entertainment platform.
Sky believes that with 47% of Sky homes on broadband (against 38% nationally) the service will prove popular and says it already has 38,000 pre-registrations.
In addition to movies the service also offers sports and news clips – changing at the rate of 2-300 a week - and Sky News Live. This is the only part of the service that is streamed live (and therefore buffers) with all other content fed over a legal P2P network, which Sky believes will keep queuing and slow speeds to a minimum. There is no Sky One content partly because of rights issues and also Sky One will launch its own online entertainment service later this year.
Sky By Mobile is an extension of Sky's current Mobile TV offering, which is available exclusively through Vodafone until April. Sky By Mobile is available on all networks and presents a user menu that mimics the Sky+ menu to access news and sport clips and previews and reviews from Sky One and movies. It has live score boards, personal settings to follow teams of your choice and the facility to check the latest odds and place a bet with Sky Bet. Upcoming services include the ability to schedule your Sky + remotely.
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Spain: pay-TV tax break
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Government has given a boost to the pay-TV market by reducing from 16 per cent to 7 per cent the VAT applied to pay-TV. The measure -devised by the Government to foster productivity- will affect all pay-TV players; digital DTH platform, Digital Plus, cable operators and IPTV services like Telefonica's Imagenio.
The operators have welcomed the decision as a way to boost subscriptions at a time when the pay-TV market is stagnating. In parallel, Sogecable-owned Digital Plus has reshuffled its programming line-up, with new TV packages, in an attempt to capture as many subscribers as possible.
The tax reduction excludes the FTA DTT market whose main operators are begging the Government for a grants to help them develop the business.
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Sky Networks chief predicts wider FTA gap
From Colin Mann in LondonThe gap between free-to-air and pay-TV offerings will widen in coming months, according to Dawn Airey, managing director, Sky Networks. Airey, responsible for all of Sky's non-sports programming told UK media journalists that three key elements would define 2006: the widening gap – alluding to the fact that Sky subscribers will be able to access premium content via mobile and broadband; an accelerated pace of change; and the assertion that Sky was best placed to meet customers' changing needs in the new pay-TV environment.
Anticipating the launch of dominant UK telco BT's IPTV service during 2006, she suggested that the video-on-demand service was "a value-added" element for pay-TV customers. Nevertheless she admitted that "we don't underestimate competition." She confirmed that the set-top box for Sky's HD service – scheduled for launch in 2006 - would be broadband capable.
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Murdoch's video plans for myspaceNews Corporation will start offering video downloads on myspace.com says chief executive, Rupert Murdoch. He described the potential for News Corp's online businesses as "enormous", predicting revenues of $350-$400m by 2007. "There will be millions of downloads a day probably."
He said myspace, which has around 47 million users and is growing at an estimated 1m a week, would form the kernel of News Corp's online activity, but added it would not necessarily develop in the same vein as Yahoo! or MSN, arguing that existing portals didn't reach enough under-25-year-olds.
Meanwhile, Murdoch says DirecTV is close to deciding a strategy on how to enter the wireless high-speed internet market, with a plan due within two months. Murdoch, said the group could invest about $1bn in a deal to provide internet access, a two-way service which cannot be directly offered via satellite links.
Cable and telecom competitors do offer high-speed internet access and Murdoch has identified providing a similar bundle of services as a priority in light of the rapid spread of broadband use. DirecTV has said it is in talks about entering the wireless market, possibly through a deal involving WiMax technology.
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Ofcom seeks indie rights compromiseOfcom has outlined a new approach to new media rights which it hopes will defuse a row between broadcasters and producers. It is suggesting two main rights 'windows', the first - 'primary window' - would see rights acquired by a public service broadcaster such as the BBC or Channel 4 and apply across any distribution platform. In the second window - a "holdback" period - the broadcaster would be able to apply a restriction on the exploitation of rights by the producer. The regulator did not specify how long these windows should last. It said it was looking for industry consensus on the issue by the end of a consultation period on March 21.
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Liberty buys into MobilestreamsLiberty Media has invested £5m (E7.25m) in mobile media provider Mobilestreams in a prelude to its IPO. The stake implies a valuation of about £27m for the seven-year-old company. Mobile Streams said it intended to raise about £6m through a placing on AIM.
As part of the alliance with Liberty, Mobile Streams will also take over the management of ConnectID, a subsidiary of Liberty's wireless technology division, True Position. The business specialises in "location aware content" such as directions or advice about local services.
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Matsushita $1.6bn on flat screensMatsushita Electric said it will invest about $1.6 billion to build the world's largest plasma display factory, raising the stakes on its rivals in the fast-growing and cut-throat market for flat TVs.
Matsushita said the factory would be built next to an existing plant in Amagasaki in western Japan and start operations next July. The factory, will hit full capacity by March 2009, when it will be able to churn out the equivalent of 500,000 42-inch panels a month, or 6 million per year.
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TI sells Sensors and ControlsTI has sold its Sensors & Controls business to Bain Capital, the private equity company, for $3bn in cash. Analysts have described S&C as lower-growth and non-core, while private equity has been growing more interested in tech businesses that generate strong, steady cash flow.
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Appear integrates LatensAppearTV, a leader in video distribution systems and Latens announce that they have integrated AppearTV's DC1000 professional receiver with the Latens CAS family of broadband conditional access products. This is the first integration of the DC1000 with a non-Common Interface Conditional Access (CA) system, enabling a single DC1000 unit to descramble and prepare a group of encrypted IPTV channels or streams for onward transmission to legacy cable networks.
"The integration of the AppearTV DC1000 professional receiver with Latens CAS means that any operator protecting its IPTV service with Latens software systems can now make its content seamlessly available for distribution over analogue cable networks," says Carl Walter Holst, CEO, AppearTV. "This is particularly attractive to cable operators wishing to carry out a staged transition of their network to IP distribution, effortlessly protecting their investment in existing infrastructure."
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Tuesday 10th January 2006
Springer may back out of Sat1 bid
Jazztel launches IPTV in Spain
Yahoo mobile service
Google confirms online TV
Music stations on Voda
CASBAA clamps down in Manila
DirecWAY 275K subscribers
Kreatel for FastTV
Tektronix for TVN
Streaming21 new VP
Springer may back out of Sat1 bidAxel Springer is considering dropping its E3bn bid to buy ProSiebenSat.1, reports the German business daily Handelsblatt. It said Springer was considering walking away from the deal, unveiled in August, after the country's cartel office rejected its latest concessions.
Handelsblatt said Springer was considering whether to wait for a final ruling from the cartel office or appeal to the government. The cartel office is expected to give its final decision on the deal, which also needs approval from German media watchdog KEK, on January 20.
The cartel office has demanded the sale of either Bild (Germany’s biggest newspaper) or one of the two biggest TV stations owned by ProSieben. Springer recently pledged it was prepared to sell a number of its titles, including widely read TV guides, to help appease regulatory concerns.
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Jazztel launches IPTV in Spain
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish broadband operator Jazztel has launched its ADSL-based pay-TV service, called Jazztelia TV, initially in Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid) and Zaragoza with plans to extend it to other Spanish cities over the next months.
Jazztelia TV offers 30 TV channels, broadband Internet access at a speed of up to 20 megabytes, local phone calls at a monthly fee of E14.98 plus one euro for the TV service until May 31. (By way of comparison, Telefónica’s Imagenio is offering the triple play for E20 with a TV offer of 48 TV channels). From June the basic TV package will be marketed at E3 per month.
Jazztelia will also launch a video on demand service, called Videoclub, and some other interactive services, as well it will offer a DTT box with access to 22 DTT channels.
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Yahoo mobile serviceYahoo unveiled a new service that will make using its Web, media and personal services as easy to use on mobile phones and TVs as on computers. Chief Executive Terry Semel said products marketed under the new Yahoo Go brand reflected consumer demands to easily access information wherever they like and to customise the way in which they view it.
"Connecting the Internet to any device you might imagine" is the next stage of the Web, he said. The company's new products include Yahoo Go Mobile and Yahoo Go TV. A third product, Yahoo Go Desktop, will tie the phone and TV services to the personal computer, the most common way of using Yahoo services.
The phone service is an extension of Yahoo's efforts to become a standard channel on mobile phone screens instead of being available only on special phones via Web browsers. The Yahoo Go service will be embedded on millions of Nokia phones sold worldwide. Yahoo is also working with U.S. phone partners AT&T Inc. and Cingular Wireless.
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Google confirms online TVGoogle is to start selling video online, offering a way for people to search for and buy TV shows through its site. The co-founder Larry Page announced the service at the Consumer Electronics Show. US network CBS is making shows like CSI and Star Trek available to buy online.
Google has been offering video for free over the internet for about a year. But this is the first time it will enable its users to pay for premium content. "It lets anyone sell video," said Page announcing the Google Video Store. "The content producers can decide what to charge." Some 3,000 items will be available to rent or download and watch in Google's new desktop video player.
As part of the service, the search giant has done a deal with CBS to offer some its big blockbuster hits such like CSI and Survivor for $1.99 in the US. CBS is also making available its archive of programs, among them Star Trek and I Love Lucy.
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Music stations on VodaVodafone Group is to launch a new music service that will allow customers to access music using cell-phones. It has formed an alliance with Sony NetServices for the Vodafone Radio DJ service that will offer personalised radio channels streamed to customers' 3G mobile phones and computers.
"Customers have access to hundreds of thousands of songs, both current popular hits and back catalogue, from the world's largest record companies, and many smaller independent labels," Vodafone said. It said a key feature of the new service was its personalization system, which would allow customers to customise radio channels to their personal tastes by pressing a button to indicate "like" or "dislike" while listening to a song. If a customer presses dislike, the music skips to the next song, and Sony's classification will ensure that subsequent radio channels would avoid songs similar to those rejected.
Vodafone, which plans to launch the service in six European countries in the coming months, said it would charge customers a monthly subscription for unlimited listening to music on both mobile phone and computer.
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CASBAA clamps down in ManilaThe Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) announced that it has filed 12 new copyright infringement actions at the Department of Justice in Manila against Maguindanao Skycable, a cable TV operator based in Cotabato City.
Maguindanao Skycable is one of several cable operators raided in September 2005 by the National Bureau of Investigation - Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) for illegally acquiring and transmitting copyrighted programming from major broadcasting organisations.
According to CASBAA, despite the NBI-led raids last September, the Cotabato-based cable operator has continued to air numerous cable channels without the necessary authorisation from the owners. CASBAA filed the complaints based on evidence gathered by the NBI-IPRD after intensive surveillance and the raid of the Maguindanao Skycable office and head-end. Satellite TV receivers, decoder boxes, smart cards and other equipment used to make the illegal transmissions were seized by the NBI-IPRD operatives during the raid in September.
"With the filing of criminal charges the legitimate cable TV industry is demonstrating full commitment to following through on enforcement actions. Pay-TV signal theft must be penalised as an unlawful practice," said CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies.
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DirecWAY 275K subscribersHughes Network Systems said the number of DirecWAY small business and residential subscribers passed the 275,000 mark in December. HNS said that in 2005 DirecWAY saw 24 percent growth in its subscriber base. Customer satisfaction rates have improved significantly, resulting in a lower churn rate in 2005, when compared to 2004, the company said.
"The performance of DirecWAY continues to demonstrate HNS' leadership in providing high-quality Internet access solutions to small business and residential users across America, particularly in areas underserved by DSL or cable," said Mike Cook, senior vice president at HNS.
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Kreatel for FastTVKreatel Communications announced the agreement with Bonnier-owned FastTV to supply set-top boxes for FastTV’s Scandinavian IPTV service. Deliveries of Kreatel IP-STB 1510 and Kreatel TV Software have already started.
In co-operation with city and regional networks and Swedish Space Corporation for the infrastructure and playout, FastTV offers broadband television services including more than 50 digital TV channels, video on demand, email, and EPG to a large number of households in cities across Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Lars Bengtsson, CEO at Kreatel says "Securing content rights is often a crucial part of a successful IPTV project. By partnering with FastTV, Scandinavian broadband operators secure both premium content rights and a complete system solution at once and can focus on bringing value to their customers."
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Tektronix for TVNTektronix, the test and measurement company, announced that TVN, a leading German television production company, has extended its HD and SD measurement capabilities by installing Tektronix technology in its newest HD Outside Broadcast (OB) truck.
The new truck will be equipped with Tektronix WVR7100 SD/HD Rasterizers, WFM700A Waveform Monitors and TG700A Multi-format Signal Generators. WVR7100 Rasterizers will also be used within TVN's expanding corporate TV studio operations.
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Streaming21 new VPStreaming21, Inc., a leader in broadcast-quality media streaming solutions, announced the new appointment of Henry Chen as the vice president of professional services. In his new role, Chen will be in charge of Streaming21’s professional services and project management teams in all regions. His primary focus is to drive Streaming21’s strategic direction of global professional services, lead a team of highly skilful professionals to deliver unique IPTV offerings for Telco and broadband service providers, and further strengthen Streaming21’s leadership position in worldwide IPTV service deployment.
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Monday 9th January 2006
Intel's Viiv for entertainment
AT&T targets Echostar?
Telcos want to charge ISPs
BSkyB VOD deal with Microsoft
Sony sticks with entertainment and technology
DiectTV will preview Fox shows
Verizon debuts music downlaods
Springer will sell to close Sat 1 deal
Germany wants lighter EC touch
TI chip for mobile TV
China sees big screen boom
Panasonic claims screen record
mTouche, Cellcast agreement
Vidanti, Connexant Entertainment-over-Broadband
Intel's Viiv for entertainmentChip giant Intel is pitching to be at the heart of digital entertainment with its new Viiv prosessor.
Viiv effectively converts PCs into home entertainment hubs and makes it easier to play video, music and other content on a variety of devices. At the CES Intel unveiled deals to provide content for new Viiv PCs including one with Google that will allow people to watch video stored on the search giant's video service. "Both companies believe open standards are critical to provide rapid growth in digital entertainment," said Susan Wojcicki, Google's vice president for product management.
Viiv PCs will be based on Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition. They are aimed at providing a one-stop shop for digital entertainment, replacing the usual boxes that surround the TV, such as a DVD player or set-top box.
In order to provide content for the new machines, Intel has put together dozens of deals. It has reached an arrangement with US network NBC to provide high-definition clips from the Winter Olympics in Turin next month. The chips for the new Viiv platform are designed to enable high-definition video and surround-sound. Digital home devices have lacked the power, ease of use and content that would appeal to mainstream consumers. The announcement of content partners signalled the PC chipmaker was seeking to cover every base to succeed in its multi-billion dollar gamble to gain market share in consumer electronics. The emphasis is on on-demand delivery of movies, TV, music, games and photos to the home with partners such as AOL, DirecTV, NBC Universal, Turner Broadcasting's GameTap gaming service and the ESPN sports channel. Grupo Televisa, the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world, Eros, an Indian film distributor and Shanghai Media of China were named as international partners.
Intel boss Paul Otellini also used his speech at CES to launch the company's new Core Duo chips. Intel says they will be able to deliver more power while offering longer battery life on laptops and be quieter and cooler; important for an entertainment centre. "With our new platforms, we're not only boosting wireless computing, but also advancing digital entertainment a few steps closer to effortless." The Core Duo would be at the centre of Intel's Centrino Duo processor. Intel's processors power an estimated 90% of the world's personal computers.
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AT&T targets Echostar?Among the glitzy launches at CES in Las Vegas rumours are circulating that AT&T may be weighing a $13 billion bid to expand its television services and ratchet up competition for cable with a potential purchase of EchoStar Communications Corp. AT&T already has a reseller agreement for Echostar's DISH satellite service selling packages including broadband access on AT&T networks.
The new AT&T, created by the recent purchase of AT&T Inc. by SBC Communications Inc., declined to comment. Anakysts said EchoStar would give AT&T a quick fix while it still pursued other efforts to offer video services to customers. DISH Network provides more than 500 channels, including sports, audio, entertainment and international programming.
Edward Whitacre, chairman and chief executive of the new AT&T, had considered buying a different satellite television operator while at the helm of SBC. In 2003, SBC was among several bidders for DirecTV Group but walked away due to the complicated structure of the deal.
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Telcos want to charge ISPsPhone companies hope to start charging the likes of Google and other ISPs for the high-quality delivery of music, movies and other media content over their networks, reports the WSJ.
BellSouth said it is in early talks with internet movie companies and at least one gaming company with the aim of striking agreements on fees to guarantee fast content delivery. Movielink, a joint-venture of five major movie studios that offers movies to consumers over the internet, said it has discussed the issue with BellSouth. AT&T expressed support for charging companies to ensure that their content gets priority delivery, and Verizon Communications Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg said he might favour reaching deals with companies to do the same. "We have to make sure they don't sit on our network and chew up our capacity."
The phone companies envision a system whereby Internet companies would agree to pay a fee for their content to receive priority treatment as it moves across increasingly crowded networks. Those that don't pay the fee would find their transactions with users -- for games, movies and software downloads, for example -- moving across networks at the normal but comparatively slower pace. Consumers could benefit through faster access to content from companies that agree to pay the fees.
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BSkyB VOD deal with MicrosoftBSKYB's deal with Microsoft announced at CES will see it launch a video-on-demand service on broadband next week. BSkyB subscribers who have Microsoft's Media Centre software, will be able to access video-on-demand features through the recently revealed Sky By Broadband service. The service will be available to BSkyB's premium movies and sports subscribers.
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Sony sticks with entertainment and technologySir Howard Stringer, Sony's chairman and CEO, set out a plan to integrate the company's video and music content more deeply into its technology, as he outlined four entertainment "pillars" on which the group would focus. He strongly defended Sony's ownership of both content and the technology used to capture, store and distribute it. "No other content company has such a complete understanding of technology and no other technology company has Sony's insight into content," he said.
Sir Howard said Sony would concentrate on four categories in pursuing the changing consumer entertainment market: high definition video and audio technology; digital cinema; video gaming and "e-entertainment". He defined e-entertainment as products reflecting consumers' desire for more choice and convenience in how they access entertainment. "Content is no longer pushed at consumers, it is pulled by them," he said.
He expressed strong backing for Blu-ray, the Sony-backed high-definition DVD format competing with HD-DVD, backed by Toshiba. In spite of fears of a format war, Sir Howard insisted: "Blu-ray has momentum and it is happening now." He said the advent of "higher definition" screens could be more profound than the shift from black and white to colour television, and said Sony was best placed to benefit from consumers upgrading their technology.
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DiectTV will preview Fox showsSubscribers of DirecTV will be able to pay to download some Fox programmes to their DVRs up to two days before they appear on television. In addition, several series from Fox's broadcast network, including "24" and "Prison Break," will be made available for up to a week after national broadcast at a cost of 99 cents.
The on-demand programming will be available starting in March, the companies said, and will be offered as part of DirecTV's video-on-demand service. Fox and DirecTV are both controlled by the News Corporation.
Meanwhile, DIRECTV and Intel Corporation at CES announced a joint effort to enable remote viewing of DIRECTV's entertainment services and programming to PC screens, laptops, portable media players and set-top boxes through Intel's Viiv technology later in 2006. The companies also plan an extensive joint marketing campaign that educates consumers about the benefits of DIRECTV's entertainment experience and Intel's digital home efforts.
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Verizon debuts music downlaodsVerizon Wireless said it was launching its long-awaited music-download service, teaming with Microsoft as it attempts to take on Apple's iTunes service. Last year, Verizon Wireless's two biggest cellular competitors, Cingular Wireless and Sprint Nextel, started selling services allowing consumers to download full-length songs onto their cellphones.
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Springer will sell to close Sat 1 dealGerman publisher Axel Springer is prepared to sell its five television guides if it would persuade the authorities to approve its takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 say German newspapers.
The publisher of Europe's top-selling newspaper Bild has been trying to convince the authorities to approve the merger, but media watchdog KEK is worried that should Springer take over the country's biggest broadcaster, it would dominate public opinion.
Springer's five German-language television guides have a combined readership of about 10 million people. Springer has already offered to sell television advertising separately from its newspapers.
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Germany wants lighter EC touchThe German government has warned that EU telecoms regulation is in danger of becoming heavy handed and has called upon its European partners to restrict Brussels's broad powers in the area. This is another twist in a long-running row between Berlin and Brussels about rules on access and prices in national telecoms markets.
"Bureaucratic practices must be avoided [and] policy options of member states should not be inadmissibly curtailed," Germany's economics ministry argued in a submission for a review of EU telecoms rules due to be published in May. EU states have been bound by pan-European rules on telecoms competition since 2002, but the German government recently called this regime into question by pledging to grant Deutsche Telekom exemption from regulation on ultra-fast internet lines so it could recoup its E3bn investment.
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TI chip for mobile TVBroadcast digital TV can now be delivered into millions of cell phones at low cost,
with long battery life and attractive phone size says Texas Instruments as it announced that its Hollywood DTV single-chip solutions for mobile phones are now being delivered to customers who manufacture handsets worldwide.TI's Hollywood chips are the first to integrate the mobile TV tuner and demodulator intoone piece of silicon using standard 90 nanometer digital process.
Consumers should expect to find the first mobile phones with TI's Hollywood chips
inside on the market in late 2006.
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China sees big screen boomTwo of China's top four television makers - Changhong and Konka - are planning major export drives in 2006. Konka, which specialises in OEM , is targeting a 60% rise in exports to $400m. Changhong, the second largest, which both makes TVs for other firms and sells under its own name, wants exports to hit $500m this year.
During the first three quarters of last year, Chinese factories produced nearly four million next generation LCV and plasma flat TVs. Changhong is hoping the new export drive will help turn around its fortunes after a business dispute last year with key US buyer Apex Digital helped cost it $500m in lost exports.
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Panasonic claims screen recordMatsushita Electric Industrial, the maker of Panasonic products, says it has developed a prototype of a 103-inch plasma display panel, the world's largest such screen. The prototype puts Matsushita slightly ahead of Samsung Electronics for bragging rightist came up with 101 inched last year.
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mTouche, Cellcast agreementmTouche Technology Berhad has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Cellcast plc, the interactive digital broadcaster listed on the AIM. They will develop interactive television services for broadcasters in Malaysia and Singapore using Cellcast's iTV (interactive television) formats and solutions, and mTouche's intelligent Short Messaging Platform, mTouche Interactive TV Platform for premium SMS and premium IVR services. At the same time, Cellcast will assist mTouche in the provision of mobile messaging services in Europe.
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Vidanti, Connexant Entertainment-over-BroadbandVidanti the ‘white label' IPTV Entertainment Gateway provider announced the launch of their first product for Entertainment-over-Broadband market. Utilizing media and voice processing chipsets from Conexant Systems, the BBTV4000 IP Entertainment Gateway (IPEG) set top box offers many features for triple play IPTV.
Paul Walsh, Vidanti CEO, said: "We believe that the BBTV4000 launch is a very important event for the nascent IPTV market. It provides IP-based voice, data and High Definition video applications using the integrated BBTVsoft software suite. Although highly-featured, it is a very low-cost solution."
"The breadth of our product portfolio allows customers such as Vidanti to use a single vendor for new convergence products," said Manjit Gill, Division Director for Conexant's Broadband Media Processing business. "We are pleased that they have chosen to use both our set-top box and broadband access semiconductor solutions for their innovative new IPTV gateway."
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