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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday Ofcom names new CEO
Sirius gaining on XM
Ogilvy, Intel launch IPTV brand TV
Online ads will overtake TV
Global broadband growth slows
ioko, Sun and Vignette combine on delivery platform
Fios foreigners from Globecast
Fame TV launches user-generated channel
Two Way TV and Yomego get interactive
Sale of The Century sold to mobile phones
Ofcom names new CEOUK regulator Ofcom announced the appointment of Ed Richards, its COO, as Chief
Executive Officer with immediate effect.Preceding his appointment to Ofcom, Richards was the Prime Minister’s Senior Policy Advisor on Media, Telecoms, Internet and e-Government. Prior to this he was
Controller of Corporate Strategy at the BBC. Richards said: "This is a fascinating job in a fascinating and fast changing area. We have a strong organisation, committed people and a track record that we intend to build on. I am thoroughly looking forward to the challenges."Richards had become the frontrunner despite doubts among the many commercial companies Ofcom will regulate about his lack of private sector experience and his close political ties.
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Sirius gaining on XM
US subscription radio satcaster Sirius Satellite said it added 441,101 net new subscribers in the third quarter, up 23 per cent from the same period a year ago, helping it narrow the gap with its larger rival XM Satellite Radio. Sirius said it now had about 5.1 million total subscribers.
XM Satellite, with nearly 7.2 million subscribers, said it added 285,000 new net subscribers during the third quarter, less than half the number of subscribers it added this time last year.
Both companies also reaffirmed previously announced forecasts for year-end subscribers. XM said it expects to end the year with between 7.7 million and 8.2 million subscribers, and Sirius expects to reach 6.3 million subscribers by the end of the year.
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Ogilvy, Intel launch IPTV brand TV
From Colin Mann in LondonBrand communications agency Ogilvy Group UK has joined up with Ether Digital Ltd., utilising the latter’s IPTV software tool ‘Miomni’ to create branded content using Intel Viiv technology. Ogilvy will have first-mover’ advantage for its clients – who include, amongst others, American Express, Ford, Avis, Unilever and easyJet.
The system, which requires no consumer subscription to access, will allow brands to control their own TV channels to create a dialogue with their consumers. Ogilvy suggests that the cost of entry will significantly challenge traditional brand channel models which are UK-restricted.
Intel Viiv technology is the chip manufacturer’s premium brand for in-home, media-optimised PCs designed to enhance how consumers manage, share and enjoy a broad and growing assortment of movies, TV programmes, music, games and more. The technology, which enables the delivery of rich entertainment content from the Internet to the TV, provides a new route for interactive and highly targeted advertising into the living room.
Ogilvy Group UK chairman Gary Leih said that while the 30-second TV ad would always have its place, this traditional method of delivering brand messages was coming under increasing pressure with the advent of personal video recorders (PVRs) and channel proliferation. "It is therefore up to creative agencies like us to provide our clients with alternative engaging routes to the consumer."
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Online advertising in UK is expected to overtake the television market by the end of the decade, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau. Guy Phillipson, the IAB’s chief executive, said that by the end of this year the internet advertising market will be worth £2 billion (E2.89bn) and is expected to overtake national press advertising.
The industry body said that internet marketing grew by more than 40 per cent in the first half of 2006 to £917 million, compared with the same period a year ago. Online now accounts for more than 10 per cent of advertising spend, up from 7.2 per cent a year ago. Internet advertising spend is now half that of the television advertising market, which had a 22.7 per cent market share, down from 23.3 per cent in the first half of 2005.
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Worldwide broadband growth has fallen to its lowest level, dropping to 7.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2006, according to a report by researcher Point Topic.
The slowdown from 8.5 per cent growth at the start of the year indicates many markets are reaching saturation point, but there should be more growth later in the year, says Point Topic analyst Vincent Chook.
The report also shows that, despite a slight drop in Asian broadband growth, China garnered 5.1 million new lines, more than any other country.
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ioko, Sun and Vignette combine on delivery platformioko, Sun Microsystems and Vignette have announced a partnership agreement to provide a collective solution enabling telco operators, internet service providers and media and entertainment companies in Northern Europe to benefit from digital convergence across a number of channels, via a single comprehensive delivery platform.
The partnership trio will allow the transformation of multimedia content so that it can be distributed via multiple channels and devices such as PC, digital set-top boxes, mobile phones and other portable devices.The consolidated platform will help reduce content delivery costs and it will also make it much easier for companies to identify consumer demands and trends through reporting and analytical tools.
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Fios foreigners from Globecast
Strengthening its multicultural offering, Verizon Communications has signed with GlobeCast World TV to supply the telco’s FiOS TV and broadband platforms with an array of international channels. Under the agreement Verizon will receive signal-transport and licensing rights from GlobeCast WorldTV to 37 international channels in 18 languages from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
In addition to making the programming available on linear television, FiOS will also be able to present the product to its customers on a video-on-demand basis, according to the companies. The deal also calls for GlobeCast WorldTV to provide FiOS with another 40 channels next year.
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Fame TV launches user-generated channel
UK based media company Fame TV Ltd is launching the UK's first user generated TV channel. The channel will be fully interactive and rely entirely on members of the public for its programming content.
The channel will allow viewers to create their own moments of fame by uploading video clips, pictures and texts via mobile phones and the Internet. Broadcasting will take place all year round, 24/7, and be available to Sky subscribers in the UK and Ireland.
Fame TV aims to broadcast all video submissions live on air within 15 minutes of the user submitting the content. The public will have full control over what they see on screen and can vote via SMS for the clips they want to view. If a piece they don’t like is playing, they can vote it off screen and choose the next clip to air.
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Two Way TV and Yomego get interactive
Yomego, the entertainment division of DA Group, has teamed with Two Way TV to enable TV viewers to create personalised animated avatars and have them broadcast, play games and chat on TV.The platform, created by the two companies, is targeted at broadcasters who want to create strong interactive communities around their brands and programmes. Online, viewers can create their own personal ‘digital identity’ in the form of an animated 3D avatar. This can be downloaded to a PC or their mobile. The tie up with Two Way TV’s Simcast system enables viewers to put their avatars on screen to chat in real-time or play games.
The companies anticipate their offering will open up a range of creative possibilities in the broadcast community.
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Sale of The Century sold to mobile phones
Mobile media company Player X has teamed up FremantleMedia, to publish a mobile game based on the classic TV gameshow, Sale Of the Century.
While the game has been designed especially for a mobile screen, it also replicates the format of the TV original by allowing contestants to play along to the original gameshow rules. Player X will be distributing the game across all key European territories and Australia.
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Thursday 5th October
EchoStar gains TiVo injunction block
BT Movio tunes in to RadioScape
Aggregator launches Russian service
Orange inks Fox deal
UK digital TV tops 70%
Hot Bird 8 goes Live
UBC Media set for radio downloads
Thomson to supply Powerboxes for TV Cabo
NDS in Romanian DTH win
Trai to bring IPTV back under Cable TV act
Signal problems loom for DTT, says ABC
GoTV brings comedy to the small screen
EchoStar gains TiVo injunction blockEchoStar Communications has won a court ruling in the TiVo Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corp. lawsuit that allows the company to continue selling digital video recorders while it appeals rival TiVo Inc.'s victory in a patent case.
"We are pleased the Federal Court found that EchoStar has a 'substantial case on the merits' and blocked the Texas decision for the duration of the appeal. This action by the Federal Court reinforces our belief that the Texas court made significant errors during the trial process and we look forward to complete vindication of our position," read a statement from the company.
"As a result of the Court action, our customers will not be disrupted and all of our DVR models will continue to be available through the EchoStar distribution system."
TiVo won a trial in Texas, where it accused EchoStar of infringing a patent on so-called ‘time-warp’ technology that lets users record one programme while watching another.
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BT Movio tunes in to RadioScape
Digital multimedia head-end and receiver technology RadioScape has upgraded the Arqiva DAB multiplex that handles BT Movio’s recently-launched wholesale Mobile TV service. The upgrade is to the latest version of RadioScape’s DAB Professional Broadcast System Version 5.1 and enables multiplexes to handle mobile TV broadcasting. The upgrade is part of an agreement that will enable Arqiva to begin upgrading its inventory of 47 DAB digital radio multiplexes in the UK, which forms the world’s largest DAB installation and is used to provide virtually all of the UK’s commercial DAB broadcasts.
John Hall, RadioScape’s CEO, said that the company’s end-to-end DAB technology gave it "a huge advantage" in developing mobile TV solutions which are based on DAB. "Our mobile TV platform uses DAB spectrum that is already available in many countries so that working, reliable mobile TV can be deployed now." Paul Eaton, Head of Radio at Arqiva, added that the move into mobile TV was strategically important for Arqiva and for those using its infrastructure.RadioScape provided the mobile TV broadcast system technology for a range of trials, including he BT Movio trial in the UK in 2005; a recent joint trial by RTÉ, BT Ireland and RadioScape in Dublin; the Centre of Excellence for Digital Broadcasting (CoEfDB) trial in the Netherlands and the DMB/DAB-IP Mobile TV trial in the UK announced in June 2006. Trials in China have resulted in commercial broadcasts covering all the major conurbations such as Beijing.
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Aggregator launches Russian serviceBroadband TV programming specialist Aggregator Limited has launched its first TV-over-Broadband (TVoBB) service, a Russian language portal aimed at changing the TV viewing habits of over half a million Russians living in the UK. MoëTV will go live later in October 2006 and will provide a vast collection of on-demand entertainment, drama, current affairs, films, documentaries, music and children’s programming. The service will offer around 400 hours of programming at launch, growing to an average of 1000 hours, refreshed monthly.
At launch, Aggregator has secured licences for programming from over 20 content suppliers. MoëTV has no mandatory subscription charges, meaning consumers can choose to obtain content on a per-view basis of £0.99 (E1.47) to £2.99 per programme or to view unlimited content for a £15.99 monthly payment. All the viewer needs to receive MoëTV is a broadband connection from any ISP and a PC or laptop. Programming can be viewed on the PC or on the TV using a media extender.
"The launch of this service will provide broadcast-quality television services to the 500,000 Russian speakers in the UK," said Aggregator’s co-founder and Director of Programming, Chris Griffin.
MoëTV is the first in a series of planned service launches targeted at niche audiences from Aggregator. Aggregator’s TVoBB services will create a new UK pay-TV platform, an on-demand broadband service that will deliver high-quality content to ethnic and special interest communities that Aggregator suggests are currently underserved by the television market.
"In order to be successful and provide consumers with exciting services they are prepared to pay for, new TV delivery platforms such as IPTV and TVoBB need differentiated content," said Aggregator’s co-founder and CEO Martin Goswami. "It seems that many operators currently planning IPTV services are targeting audiences who are already well-served on existing platforms. We’ve looked at that model and rejected it. What we’ve done instead is to develop packages of the best content available for specialist audiences who are not part of the mainstream pay-TV franchise."
"Ultimately we are designing a smart, TV-over-broadband platform that drives new routes to the consumer and opens up new revenue streams for content owners," added Griffin.
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France Telecom’s Orange has entered into a multi-year video-on-demand agreement with Twentieth Century Fox to provide the operator with access to over 75 new release and library feature films each year.
Subscribers to Orange's digital television by DSL or broadband Internet services in France will be able to access new films distributed by Twentieth Century Fox such as ‘In Her Shoes’, ‘New York Taxi’ and ‘The Family Stone’ plus popular classic library films such as ‘Alien’, ‘Chariots of Fire’, ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’.
Subscribers to ‘24/ 24 vidéo’ will be able to watch films on either their TV or PC. For between E2 and E5, a film can be rented for unlimited viewing within a 24 hour period, with the ability to pause, rewind and fast-forward in dubbed or subtitled versions.
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UK digital TV tops 70%The proportion of households in the UK which received digital television services on their primary TV set increased slightly during the three months to June 2006, to reach 70.2 per cent, according to data released by UK comms regulator Ofcom, which derived the figure using a new calculation methodology.
According to Ofcom, sales data can no longer be relied on to produce the most accurate estimates of new DTT-only homes. Now that DTT has become a mass-market product, Ofcom believes that the best way to gain a clear view on how take-up trends are changing is to use survey-based research. The research data used in the latest quarterly report was provided to Ofcom by research agency GfK, which surveys 18,000 homes per quarter in relation to take-up and usage of digital and multi-channel television.
The report indicates that there were over 1.2 million sales of digital terrestrial television (DTT) equipment and 100,000 net subscriber additions to digital pay television services during the quarter, illustrating that a growing number of households are converting secondary television sets. With a further 1.8 per cent of households subscribing to analogue cable services in Q2 2006, the total number of homes receiving some form of multi-channel television stood at 72.0 per cent.
Key developments in the second quarter of 2006 included: the number of households with digital TV equipment rising by over 168,000 to reach almost 17.7 million. Digital terrestrial television-only households grew from 6,387,000 to 6,402,000 over the quarter (using Ofcom’s new methodology), an increase of 15,000.
On satellite, the number of BSkyB UK subscribers rose by 57,000 to 7.7 million. When free-to-view satellite viewers are included, the total number of satellite homes exceeded 8.4 million. Cable subscribers decreased modestly during the quarter to stand at just over 3.3 million. Analogue cable subscriptions fell by 72,000 while digital cable increased by almost 50,000. Digital cable subscribers now account for over 2.8 million, or 86 per cent, of all cable subscribers.
Latest estimates suggest that there are also around 700,000 free-to-view digital satellite homes. This figure includes viewers who use satellite equipment to receive the free-to-view channels. In total there are now around 7.1 million free-to-view digital households (DTT and free-to-view satellite).
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Hot Bird 8 goes LiveEutelsat Communications’ Hot Bird 8 broadcast has entered commercial service at 13 degrees East. The craft is the largest and most powerful broadcast satellite serving Europe. The satellite has 64 Ku-band transponders which span the entire range of frequencies used at Eutelsat's Hot Bird neighbourhood for broadcasting more than 950 television channels and 550 radio stations to over 113 million homes. The size and configuration of Hot Bird 8 enables Eutelsat to increase in-orbit redundancy at its premium video neighbourhood and releases Hot Bird 3 for its new mission at 10 degrees East.
Giuliano Berretta, CEO of Eutelsat, said the entry into service of Hot Bird 8 and the redeployment of Hot Bird 3 illustrated the operator’s strategic approach to consolidating its premium video neighbourhoods and developing new positions to support the commercial dynamic of digital broadcasting in Europe and in emerging markets. "The close proximity of our 13 and 10 degrees East orbital locations brings us additional resources and enables our clients to benefit from fresh opportunities for developing their service offering and their audience through a single receive antenna equipped with a dual feed."
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UBC Media set for radio downloadsUBC Media Group is to launch a digital radio music download service in November 2006 following a successful trial in the UK city of Birmingham. Digital radio listeners will be able to download tunes from their receiver as soon as they hear them, as part of a tie-up between UBC Media and Virgin.
It is expected that the full-scale launch will be unveiled with UBC's interim results, scheduled for November 27. UPC is confident that buying music direct from the radio will generate new revenue streams for commercial radio stations.
The trial results revealed strong consumer interest in DAB mobile handsets with 83 per cent of trialists keen to use the handsets in the future. Trialists purchased an average of seven tracks per week, priced at £1.25 (E1.85), a significantly greater quantity than UBC’s original estimates.
Digital radio music downloading differs from 3G mobile music download services as it offers the ability to interact directly with radio broadcasts, rather than having to search and download tracks proactively.
Simon Cole, Chief Executive of UBC Media was cautious about reading too much commercially into a restricted trial, but suggested that the appetite for impulse purchase from radio was clearly there. "As we expected, the group who found the service most attractive were those currently untapped by online music downloading."
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Thomson to supply Powerboxes for TV Cabo
From Branislav Pekic in RomePortuguese cable operator TV Cabo, owned by PT Multimédia, has selected Thomson as the supplier of its new high definition ‘Powerbox’ that should be launched on the market in the first half of 2007.
According to TV Cabo president, Zeinal Bava, the selection of Thomson will permit the introduction of Portugal’s first high definition digital TV service in 2007. The new contract forms part of TV Cabo’s strategy to extend the offer of ‘Powerbox’ models, giving clients the possibility of choosing the one which best satisfies their needs.
The new set-top-box will include a PVR, voice system and wireless functions. Besides interactive services such as video-on-demand, it will also make easier interoperability with PCs in wireless networks such as Wi-Fi, as well as Ethernet for Internet access and two connections for telephony services’.
Existing supplier Novabase has confirmed it will continue supplying ‘Powerbox’ equipment to TV Cabo.
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Digital pay-TV technology solutions provider NDS has been selected by Romtelecom, Romania’s leading telco, to deploy a full end-to-end system including NDS VideoGuard conditional access, MediaHighway middleware and EPG on the company’s new DTH satellite TV platform.
David Nabozny, NDS Vice President and General Manager Europe, said that the deal was an important one for NDS, as Romtelecom was the leading telco in Romania and represented its second customer in the country, "which has a large population, high TV viewing rates and good growth potential. It also underlines the continued expansion of NDS’s footprint in Eastern Europe."
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Trai to bring IPTV back under Cable TV actThe Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is to bring IPTV back under the Cable TV Act, in a forthcoming consultation paper on the subject. An earlier paper had suggested that the regulator would bring IPTV under telecom regulations.
Trai chairman Nripendra Misra admitted the body would have to factor-in the technological changes and the legal angles of the functioning of IPTV in the re-worked consultation paper.
"Carving out IPTV from the purview of cable services would give undue advantage to IPTV as the cable companies opting for IPTV will attract 49 per cent FDI, while those with telecom provider will be subject to 74 per cent FDI," Zee group said in its response sent to Trai.
Cable consortium MSO Alliance stated if IPTV was kept outside the cable laws, cable operators could not upgrade their IPTV services to digital IPTV without a unified licence. The stakeholders urged Trai to amend the Act to include voice, video and data.
"The standardisation of IPTV equipment will only be applicable if the services are under the cable laws. This will provide a level-playing field," cable services and data provider Hathway said.
Signal problems loom for DTT, says ABC
From Rose Major in MelbourneAustralia’s public broadcaster the ABC has told the Senate inquiry into the media bill that it advised the government not to use available DTT spectrum for new services, but instead use it to boost transmission.
DTT signals in some parts of the country, particularly rural areas, are affected by already-congested spectrum, and allocation of the available spectrum for new services will not help to solve the problems, a new submission by the broadcaster says.
There are two problems affecting signals: first, with signals using digital UHF signals in areas where the analogue signals are VHF and second, where Single Frequency Networks are used to alleviate channel scarcity but then create signal interference.
The issues can be resolved by using additional transmitters and/or additional spectrum, and the ABC points out that they will need to be solved "if digital services are to provide equivalent coverage to existing analogue services, as required by the television transition arrangements set out in the Broadcasting Services Act."
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GoTV brings comedy to the small screenMobile content innovator GoTV Networks has unveiled Laugh Riot, a new comedy channel developed and produced solely for on-demand mobile television. It is offered first or exclusively to Sprint customers in the US. Laugh Riot offers a variety of exclusive original and licensed content programmed specifically for mobile phones, ranging from mobile versions of the most popular Web-based comedies, to original series created by GoTV's comedy writers and producers.
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MBK closes in on China Network Systems
Disney to optimise mobile service
Australian government to revise media ownership
California gets video franchise reform
China embrace digital set-top boxes
Sony Blu-ray technology set for Japan
CANALSAT to broadcast NASN
Technetix purchase M-TEC
MBK closes in on China Network SystemsMBK Partners, the private equity fund, has reportedly edged ahead of TPG/Newbridge Capital in the bidding war for China Network Systems that has helped drive valuations in Taiwan’s cable TV sector to unprecedented levels.
Local press said that MBK, a buy-out fund set up by Michael Kim, a former senior executive of Carlyle Group in Asia, was in pole position for a deal that would value CNS at approximately $1.6bn.
Other potential buyers, which had included Macquarie Bank, Goldman Sachs and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, dropped out of the race last month as their offers did not match those presented by TPG/Newbridge and MBK.
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Disney to optimise mobile service
Disney will spend approximately $30 million to shut down its Mobile ESPN wireless telephone services, but remains "excited" about its family-oriented Disney Mobile phone service.
Tom Staggs, Disney Chief Financial Officer, told analysts on a conference call that Disney would write down the ESPN termination costs mainly in fiscal 2007.Disney announced last week it would shut down its Mobile ESPN phone operation and license the brand to existing mobile providers. The company launched Disney Mobile, a similar service aimed at families, in June in the US.
Disney Mobile allows parents to regulate when, how long and to whom their children talk on cell phones and features a built-in satellite tracking feature to locate the phone.
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Australian government to revise media ownership
The Australian government has indicated that it is likely to amend its planned overhaul of the country’s media ownership rules to ensure support from lawmakers concerned about media diversity in regional areas.The media legislation, a core aspect in the government’s industry deregulation efforts, is being reviewed by an inquiry committee of the Senate, the upper house, which will soon submit its recommendations ahead of a parliamentary vote.
Under the government’s proposals the limits restricting overseas investors from owning more than 25 per cent of a metropolitan newspaper publisher and a 15 per cent stake in a television network would be abolished. One company would also be able to own three forms of media - newspapers, television and radio - in each major city, up from the current limit of one.
Concerns have centred on whether the looser ownership rules would allow media companies to create regional monopolies.
Accordingly, some of Australia’s largest media groups, which stand to benefit from the overhaul as it would make it easier for them to snap up smaller rivals, have attacked other aspects of the government’s plans during the Senate hearings, notably the proposed award of two new digital television licences. The government recently said it would auction the two licences next year.
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California gets video franchise reform
California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act, the video franchise reform bill that goes into effect across the Golden State on January 1st 2007.
The bill declares that the nation's most-populous state will replace the city-by-city video franchising model with a streamlined, state-issued authorisation. Local mandates that remain intact include local franchise fees and rights-of-way management.
With the law in place, AT&T California President Ken McNeely said the company will spend $1 billion to upgrade its network in the state.
"This is the first time California will see real competition in the TV/video marketplace," McNeely said. "This law replaces outdated, 43-year-old legislation that hasn't kept pace with technology, or consumers' desire for choice. The new law brings with it private investment, new jobs, and most importantly, gives Californians something they've never had: a real choice to cable TV."Verizon West Region President Tim McCallion said the new law "unlocks the vast potential of Verizon's all-fiber network and enables us to more rapidly offer a new alternative to cable - FiOS TV - in dozens of communities where we have already built our 100-percent fiber-optic network."
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China embrace digital set-top boxes
Digital set-top box revenues from the Chinese market increased by an estimated 77 per cent in 2005, according to a new report published by IMS Research. The digital set-top box revenues (excluding export revenues) were estimated at approximately $234 million. The revenues are forecast to grow strongly and to reach about $893 million in 2010. This growth is primarily attributed to the digital cable set-top box market in China. In 2005, revenues from this segment were estimated to achieve a 180 per cent growth over 2004.
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Sony Blu-ray technology set for JapanSony has announced it will launch its Blu-ray high-definition optical disc recorder in Japan in December, with an expected price tag of around $2,550 for a model with a 500-gigabyte hard disk drive.
Panasonic-brand electronics maker Matsushita said last month it would start selling two Blu-ray DVD recorders in Japan on Nov. 15.
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CANALSAT to broadcast NASN
The North American Sports Network (NASN) has confirmed that it will launch in France on CANALSAT’s digital platform. The 24-hour sports network will be available on the basic platform package, CANALSAT LIBREMENT, which reaches 2.6 million homes across the country. This deal extends NASN’s European footprint to 4 million households.NASN is the only network in Europe to be completely dedicated to North American sports, airing over 800 live and as live sports events each year.
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Technetix purchase M-TEC
Technetix has announced the agreement to purchase the assets of M-TEC
Broadband. The new Belgian company will incorporate the entire assets of more than thirty years of market experience by M-TEC Broadband in the engineering of Broadband Cable Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) Network Elements.
Technetix will retain the former building and facilities in Mechelen and M-TEC Broadband’s former staff.
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Tuesday 3rd October
UPC and Chellomedia expect Red Button breakthrough
BT makes music with Sony BMG
Mediaset signs transponder deal with Eutelsat
Viasat to launch broadband IPTV in Denmark
Laughs are on Kamera and Zodiak
NDS plays games with ITE
Servecast does deal with Fox International Channels (UK)
Campaign set to boost Spain's DTT
Tandberg for Norwegian DTT
FreeBe TV to showcase new talent
UPC and Chellomedia expect Red Button breakthroughCable company UPC Netherlands and content and services company Chellomedia expect the breakthrough of the ‘Red Button’ for interactive digital TV (iTV) in the Netherlands.
With itV applications already developed for broadcasters VPRO, Sport1 and EuroNews, UPC has unveiled a new co-operation with MTV Networks in the Netherlands. This will enable interactive TV applications such as Red Button voting for favourite artists at the forthcoming TMF Awards 2006, a very popular Dutch MTV channel.
Shane O’Neill, Chief Strategy Officer of Liberty Global, UPC’s parent company, and President of Chellomedia, said that Red Button popularity was growing fast, with interactive TV games having been played one million times since launch. "Already 30 per cent of our digital customers regularly use our TV Info-tainment portal and 47 per cent of subscribers used the interactive Sport1 mosaic during the World Cup."
Jochem de Jong, Vice President Distribution and Public Affairs MTV Networks Benelux said that the interactive application for the Dutch TMF Awards 2006 was the start for further development of interactive TV with UPC. "In the near future we will develop interactive applications for all MTV brands (MTV, TMF, The Box, Nickelodeon) in co-operation with UPC and Chellomedia."
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BT makes music with Sony BMGBT has signed a deal with global recorded-music business Sony BMG that will enable a wide range of music videos to be accessed on-demand from BT’s IPTV service, BT Vision, scheduled for an autumn 2006 launch.
The videos will also be available from November 2006 through BT Vision Download Store, which offers film, television and music download-to-PC and Microsoft-compatible portable devices.
The deal builds on BT Vision’s existing music agreements with Warner Music, VPL, i-concerts, NBD and Eagle Rock and with some of the world’s biggest entertainment companies, including BBC Worldwide, NBC Universal, Paramount, National Geographic Channel, HIT Entertainment, Nelvana and Turner Broadcasting, as well as with the FA Premier League for ‘near-live’ matches for three years from the 2007/08 season.
Dan Marks, CEO BT Television Services, said the deal was an important one for BT Vision allowing it to offer customers access to a broad range of music videos, many of which would be exclusive to BT Vision for a period of time from their release. Clive Rich at SVP Futures Division, Sony BMG Music Entertainment(UK), said the demand for music video was "higher than ever".
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Mediaset signs transponder deal with Eutelsat
From Branislav Pekic in RomeItalian private broadcaster Mediaset has signed an agreement with satellite operator Eutelsat that foresees the use of three transponders (for a total capacity of 120 Mbits) to supply the signal to around 2,000 ground sites responsible for functioning of the digital terrestrial TV network and to launch new DVB-H mobile TV services.
The signals will be sent from Mediaset’s uplink at Cologno Monzese near Milan to Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 3 satellite that re-transmits them to the broadcasting sites that, in turn, are responsible for the conversion and transmission of TV channels. Network operator Elettronica Industriale, which manages Mediaset’s network, has selected the Atlantic Bird 3 satellite located at 5° West. The agreement covers three out of the satellite’s 27 transponders, out of which two are reserved for DTT channels, while the third is exclusively dedicated for transmissions to the DVB-H network sites that have been operative since spring of this year.
Meanwhile, Mediaset president Fedele Confalonieri, has said that the arrival of DTT has helped increase, during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, the turnover of the TV rights of the Italian Serie A by 25 per cent, adding that the figure will grow by another 25 per cent in the next three-year period thanks to investments made by Mediaset.
Speaking during a Parliamentary hearing, Confalonieri underlined that the total turnover of the Serie A amounted to around E400 million and that another E100 million was added thanks to Mediaset. He also pointed out that Mediaset currently has a 10 per cent share of the Italian pay-TV market, with Sky Italia, responsible for the rest.
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Viasat to launch broadband IPTV in DenmarkInternational entertainment broadcasting group Modern Times Group has confirmed that its Viasat Broadcasting unit will launch an IPTV service in Denmark. Viasat has signed an agreement with Danish broadband network operator Dansk Bredband to enable customers to receive the Viasat premium pay-TV channel package via their broadband connection. Service launch is scheduled for 1 November 20
The agreement reflects Viasat’s strategy to make its TV channels available on multiple distribution platforms, and follows the successful launch of similar IPTV offerings in Sweden and Norway in 2004 and 2005. Dansk Bredband subscribers will be offered the opportunity to subscribe to the new service for DKK299 (E 40.1) per month and will then receive a new set-top box to be plugged directly into the customer’s broadband socket. This offer is being made available both to Dansk Bredband’s own fibre-connected household customers, as well as to the customers of the electricity utility companies whose fibre networks are operated by Dansk Bredband.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, noted that the delivery of content via broadband was expected to grow rapidly moving forward, and he confirmed that MTG was committed to making its channels broadly available through as many technologies and platforms as possible.
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Laughs are on Kamera and Zodiak
Online content specialist Kamera and Swedish production company Zodiak have struck a deal to launch Vidiots, a mobile and online TV channel featuring funny home videos. The channel has already been picked up for distribution via Tele2 and Orange.
Vidiots is based on Zodiak’s extensive archive of more than 6,000 funny home video clips, capturing ordinary people in comical situations. The best clips have been selected and packaged into a mobile comedy TV channel which is available either as a clip service, offering 2 new programs per week with 4-5 bloopers, or as a live streamed channel, depending on individual operators’ requirements.
"Many operators ask for content that allow their customers to kill some time. Funny home videos are a proven success from broadcast television and the format is ideal for mobile consumption," says Henrik Eklund, CEO of Kamera.
"Real life produces the most comical situations and there are no geographical limitations for this kind of content. We look forward to amusing mobile users worldwide," says Oscar Höglund, Head of Mobile at Zodiak.
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Digital TV technology company NDS is to acquire Danish game design and publication company ITE. ITE publishes games on a wide range of gaming platforms including the Sony Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gameboy, as well as providing technology solutions to broadcasters that enable viewers to interact directly with programmes through various devices in order to drive channel loyalty and ratings.
ITE also has an extensive library of proven game titles for consoles, mobiles and PCs and a range of new interactive television technology.
NDS Denmark Managing Director, Jesper Knutsson said the acquisition further enhanced the ability of NDS to offer its existing portfolio of leading content owners and multinational broadcasters world leading interactive games solutions across a wider range of platforms, as well as opening up new opportunities in other, high growth interactive gaming markets."
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Servecast does deal with Fox International Channels (UK)
Broadband video solutions provider Servecast has been chosen by Fox International Channels (UK) to stream one 60 minute episode of the new FX drama series ‘Brotherhood’ over its website. The episode will be available as ‘Free to Air’. This forms part of a central strategy to extend the FX brand to the internet with interactive, online video content that goes beyond TV to allow the viewer a more in-depth personal experience with their favourite characters and shows.As part of the service, Servecast will develop a registration interface, login page and a branded video player. To ensure only legitimate consumers can access the webcast of the ‘Brotherhood’ episode, Servecast will provide the necessary tools to provide security for all online video content including digital rights management and geo-targeting. To analyse the success of the online streaming of the show, FX will have access to viewing reports.
This is the second deal this year for Servecast with a large TV network. In May 2006, Servecast was selected by Flextech Television to build and manage a broadband video on demand delivery platform for its multiple TV channels.
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Campaign set to boost Spain's DTT
From David del Valle in MadridThe Pro DTT Association, formed by the major Spanish TV operators, has launched a massive advertising campaign to foster the development of DTT in the country.
With an investment of E4 million, the ad campaign is being aired by all analogue TV networks, highlighting the advantages of DTT (greater choice, better quality, interactive services, free-of-charge channels) and explaining how to have access to DTT (through a set-top-box).
The ad campaign will run until the end of the year and will use all mass media, including the Internet, to get its message across. "We want to stress that DTT is a reality and that is very easy to have more free-to-air channels", said Joan Majo, president of the Association.
According to official figures, there are currently 3.5 million homes (more than 10 million individuals) which already enjoy DTT. Another 2.5 million homes (representing more than seven million people) would be ready to have access to DTT if they had a set-top-box.
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Tandberg Television’s MPEG-4 AVC video compression and IP is to play a prominent role in digitalisation of Norway’s terrestrial TV network following its selection by Telenor Broadcast Holding AS to provide technology and expertise that will support the historical move to digital terrestrial TV (DTT).
Torkel Aamodt Thoresen, Technical Product Manager at Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, said the technology choice would enable Telenor build a DTT network with a flexible digital television infrastructure that could support the introduction of increased channels and new video services. Telenor Satellite Broadcasting will be building and operating the encoding and multiplexing part of the Norwegian digital terrestrial network.
Telenor has a one-third ownership of Norges Televisjon (NTV) which holds the DTT licence in Norway. The other partners in NTV include the broadcasters NRK and TV2. Trials of both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) digital television will start in January next year. The commercial roll-out of the SD service will commence in September 2007.
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FreeBe TV to showcase new talent
Mass-market 2.5G GPRS multi-channel mobile TV service, FreeBe TV, has issued an invitation to independent record labels and bands to submit their music videos for inclusion on its new You-Made-It channel.
Since its recent launch, FreeBe TV has already received more than 100,000 hits on its website www.freebe.tv and more than 2,500 people are now enjoying free mobile TV worldwide.
"We'll be compatible with 100 major handsets by the end of the year" said Bruce Renny of FreeBe TV, "but what's really exciting is that people are already viralling the news that free mobile TV exists to their friends, so uptake is growing exponentially day by day."
FreeBe TV has 10 channels at present including Monkey News Network - real live news read by monkeys - and will be launching it's newest channel called You-Made-It this weekend.
"You-Made-It is a mobile version of YouTube whereby people can send us their own clips, comedies, animations short films and music videos and we'll post the best onto the channel so people the world over can enjoy them on their mobiles." added Renny.
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Monday 2nd October
BBC and Microsoft sign agreement
Artists and companies agree digital download deal
Nokia and VTC Multimedia boost live DVB-H mobile TV
Morpheus ruled illegal
Countdown to platform ‘n’
Mobile ESPN to end sports service
Yahoo on Hewlett Packard products
BBC and Microsoft sign agreementThe BBC and Microsoft have signed a "memorandum of understanding" for developing the next generation of the corporation's internet-based services.
The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, and the director of new media, Ashley Highfield, agreed the non-exclusive deal with Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, in Seattle.
A BBC statement said: "The memorandum of understanding will define the framework within which the companies can explore opportunities for the delivery and consumption of BBC content and the evolution of next-generation broadcasting.
"This includes plans for its online archive, for a radically reinvented website in the web 2.0 world - a second generation of internet-based services - and for ways to share its online content in the future."
Areas of potential collaboration include search and navigation, distribution and content enablement.
Highfield commented: "Microsoft is a key gateway to audiences that the BBC needs to reach through web services it runs like MSN and Windows Live Messenger, and hardware such as Xbox and the Windows Media Center."The BBC needs to work with all players in this space to make sure our programmes and content are enjoyed by the widest possible audience, without always having to come to bbc.co.uk to find it."
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Artists and companies agree digital download deal
A row between record companies and the writers and publishers of hit records that threatened to derail the growth of digital download services has been resolved at the eleventh hour.
Several of the parties involved in the case have announced a partial settlement that resolved the key dispute between the record labels and the publishing companies.
The BPI, the British record industry trade body, the MCPS-PRS Alliance that represents songwriters, composers and publishers, Apple's iTunes music store and UK mobile network operators O2, Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile agreed to a three-year deal.
Writers and publishers had wanted to redraft their royalty deals with record labels to reflect the changing digital environment but the labels were concerned about giving away an increased percentage while trying to boost sales with more competitive pricing.
The deal sets a gross revenue rate of 8% for composers, songwriters and publishers when their music is offered as a download and 6.5% when it is "streamed" live. While lower than the figure they had sought, they have also secured important clauses on minimum payments.
The UK download market is the biggest in Europe, with more than 34m units sold already this year.
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Nokia and VTC Multimedia boost live DVB-H mobile TV
Mobile TV services will be rolled out in Vietnam by the end of this year. Working with Nokia, Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) will use Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) technology to deliver the service.
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be the two cities selected to receive commercial mobile broadcast TV. The agreement is Nokia's first commercial mobile TV service rollout in Asia-Pacific at a time when the company is rolling out other systems worldwide, and is supervising trials elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America.
VTC, a Vietnamese national broadcaster and operator in digital broadcasting, will ensure that subscribers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will enjoy seven digital TV channels as well as a video-on-demand service from a catalogue of selected titles offered by VTC. The service is to be available on Nokia's Nseries DVB-H enabled multimedia devices. Under the agreement, Nokia and VTC are committed to jointly propel the consumer adoption of mobile entertainment services in Vietnam. After making mobile TV services commercial in the two cities in 2006, VTC plans to extend coverage to a national level over a two-year period.
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A judge in the US has ruled that Morpheus file-sharing software encourages illegal sharing of copyrighted music and video. The popular file sharing program Morpheus encourages users to download and share music, movies and other copyrighted material without permission, according to a federal judge. Due to alleged copyright infringement, The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued StreamCast Networks, the distributor of Morpheus, in 2001.
The RIAA had a part in shutting down the first popular P2P file sharing program Napster in 1998. The RIAA has also sued the operators of Kazaa and Grokster - both companies ultimately settled out of court.
Describing the court’s decision as "disappointing", Morpheus distributor StreamCast Networks said it would appeal.
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Poland’s new generation DTH platform ‘n’ will officially make its debut on October 12. Operated by the ITI Group and with start up costs of over PLN500 million (125.8 million), its programme offer will initially consist of 55 channels, including nine completely new to the Polish market, in seven thematic packages ranging in price from free to PLN16 a month.
HD services, also available for the first time in Poland, will be accessible with set-top boxes retailing for PLN99, while those enabling reception of VoD services will cost PLN449, satellite dishes adding a further PLN50 to the cost. Piotr Walter, the president of ITI Group’s TVN, has meanwhile announced that it plans to start distributing its proprietary channels via the Internet and mobile alongside the n platform.
Separately, the leading Polish regional cable operators Telewizja Kablowa Poznan, PUT Koma, RTK Elsat and ICP have jointly launched a triple play package known as Inea Pak.
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Mobile ESPN to end sports service
Unable to attract enough customers, Mobile ESPN has announced that it will shut its mobile phone service aimed at sports fans at the end of the year. The company said it would focus instead on selling its real-time scores and video to existing cellular providers.
The shift in strategy is a sign of the difficulty in attracting new cellular customers at a time when more than 70 per cent of consumers already have an existing plan. Despite carrying exclusive material, Mobile ESPN was unable to compete with Cingular Wireless and other national carriers that offer customers the option of paying as little as $10 a month to join family plans.
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Yahoo on Hewlett Packard products
Yahoo Inc. has agreed to a deal with Hewlett-Packard Co. to have Yahoo search and other services appear on HP personal computers sold in the United States and Europe.
The Internet media company said HP has agreed to feature a co-branded Yahoo/HP Internet toolbar on HP computers and to make Yahoo the default search service in Microsoft's upcoming Internet Explorer 7 on HP consumer desktop and notebook PCs.
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