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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 14th April
VDC offers Television On the Desktop
ITN goes live with 24/7 3G news
EchoStar dishes up money-back guarantee
Orb Releases DVR Everywhere for TiVo users
Land Rover powers into broadband
Vodafone scores with Dutch World Cup deal
Sony scores with HD stadium deal
GlobeVISION secures Korean VoD movie deal
Goldstone confirms IPTV launch
VDC offers Television On the Desktop
US media and technology services provider VDC Corporation has confirmed the nationwide availability of its vdc.com Television On the Desktop (TOD) service.
The service aims to transform Windows based PCs, laptops and mobile devices into personal cable television receivers, allowing individuals anywhere, anytime access to a range of live linear cable television channels without the need for a physical cable-box or special software.
"vdc.com clearly defines a new era for television viewing," claimed Robert L. Heymann Jr, Chairman of VDC Corporation. "Our goal is to deliver a familiar cable television-like experience by allowing people easy access to interesting and informative programming -- when they're on their computer."
vdc.com utilises IPTV technology and offers multiple cable channels live to consumers via the embedded Microsoft Media Player, without the need for additional boxes or software.
"The 50 billion dollar cable and linear broadcast market is ripe for a television over Internet service that doesn't require complex set-up technologies," said VDC President and CEO Michael Wolf. "VDC is capitalising on the huge market opportunity to be the first aggregator of live branded television delivered over the public IP network."
vdc.com television programming is available on a PC’s browser through VDC's proprietary ‘peel-and-stick’ viewer, or virtual television set, that can be placed anywhere on a users' desktop, allowing television to stream while surfing the net or using other computer programs. "With this move, we will be delivering the multi-channel media universe to anyone at work or at home," added Wolf.
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ITN goes live with 24/7 3G newsMobile and broadband platform content provider ITN Multimedia is launching its streamed 24-hour news channel service and the ITN Weather Channel on Vodafone mobile TV in the UK. This is in addition to the services ITN already provides on Vodafone including hot news, regular bulletins, entertainment news and soap updates.
ITN Multimedia has pioneered the delivery of video content that is specifically produced and packaged for mobile and multimedia platforms. This is a rapidly expanding part of ITN’s business and an increasingly significant revenue stream.
Nicholas Wheeler, managing director of ITN Multimedia, said that the company was convinced moving images on the move were going to be increasingly popular. "It is good that Vodafone can see the benefits of serious information content as well as the more traditional light entertainment areas and understand the medium enough to see the value of the made-for-mobile propositions."
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EchoStar dishes up money-back guarantee
EchoStar Communications and its DISH Network satellite TV service have launched a money-back guarantee that allows new customers to experience the benefits of DISH Network risk-free for 30 days.
Under the new promotion, customers who sign up for any of the qualifying package options can try DISH Network risk-free for the first 30 days; if they're not completely satisfied with their service, they can cancel their subscription and receive a refund. Customers will not receive refunds for equipment upgrade fees, special installation fees, Pay-Per-View or DISH On Demand purchases.
"We are the only satellite TV provider in the country that offers a money-back guarantee, which is a testament to the confidence we have in the quality of our product," said Jody Martin, senior vice president of Marketing for DISH Network.
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Orb Releases DVR Everywhere for TiVo users
Software provider Orb Networks has released its DVR Everywhere software for users of TiVo Series 2DVRs, enabling them to play and programme their television recordings for free anywhere in the world from a wide range of networked devices, including work PCs, WiFi-enabled laptops around the home, and mobile phones on any carrier network."A lot of times, my TiVo DVR records my favourite TV shows while I'm at the office or flying to another country," said Ian McCarthy, Vice President of Product Marketing at Orb Networks. "Now I have options for enjoying them whenever I want. I can play them at work, stream them to my Nokia phone on Cingular here in the US, or remotely initiate a TiVoToGo transfer to my laptop's TiVo Desktop to watch them on the flight back from Japan."
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Land Rover powers into broadband
TV over IP specialist Narrowstep has announced that motor manufacturer Land Rover is to launch a new 24/7 broadband TV channel using the company’s Television Operating System (telvOS). The ‘Land Rover Go Beyond’ channel will be dedicated to the spirit of adventure and features a range of Land Rover ‘VIPs’.
Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover, said, the service was "certainly not a motoring channel, although you can find out about our Land Rover range of vehicles - and many of the adventures will feature Land Rovers."
The channel will be launched initially in English, reflecting Land Rover’s strength in markets such as the USA, UK, Australia and South Africa, but other languages will be rolled out in due course. New content will be added every month, and in addition there will be live broadcasts (from, for example, motor shows) and updates from special events. The Go Beyond channel will be on show at Land Rover dealerships and major motor shows, although anyone can access it online via a Go Beyond link at www.landrover.com.
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Vodafone scores with Dutch World Cup deal
Vodafone Netherlands is claiming a new milestone in viewing television on the mobile phone, by offering television broadcasts of all 64 matches in the FIFA World Cup. Vodafone is the only operator in the Netherlands to offer its customers exclusive pictures on the mobile phone of the football world championship with goals, highlights, match round-ups, a daily World Cup news programme, archive pictures of the World Cup 2002 and statistics.
In the build-up to the World Cup, Dutch fans can also watch all the practice matches of the national team on their mobile phone. These matches will be broadcast live and in full on the Vodafone mobile. The video images of all the matches will be digitally recorded and specially edited for the mobile phone, so that the pictures can be viewed optimally on a mobile phone screen.
For non-Vodafone customers who don't have access to the Vodafone live! portal, Vodafone has come up with an alternative. After texting the word VOETBAL to the number 2006, non-Vodafone customers will receive a text message back with a link to a mobile Internet page that is specially made for them. Vodafone acquired the mobile broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup in February 2006.
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Sony scores with HD stadium deal
English Premier league football club Arsenal FC has appointed Sony as its technology supplier to equip its new Emirates Stadium in Islington, scheduled to open in August 2006. This will be the first ever High Definition (HD) capable stadium in Europe and by embracing HD, with Arsenal firmly placing High Definition functionality and networking capability at the heart of its communications network.
Paul Hennessy, Director Sony Professional Solutions UK said that Sony believed that HD quality should be enjoyed and experienced by everyone.
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GlobeVISION secures Korean VoD movie deal
North American IPTV service provider GlobeVISION has agreed a deal with CJ Entertainment, the top movie studio in Korea, to provide selected library titles for GlobeVISION's PIE Service, the first on-demand Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service for Asian-Americans and Asian-Canadians. The deal makes the titles available immediately for PIE Service subscribers during the current trial service period until the full service launch in June.
The agreement adds to other recently announced deals with Korea's two largest private broadcasters, MBC and SBS, as well as CJ Media, Korea's largest cable media group. It will also position GlobeVISIONS' PIE service as an Asian-content powerhouse when it launches in North America on July 1st.
"This is the first deal to distribute Korean movies via on-demand IPTV in North America and we are quite happy to have CJ Entertainment's library titles for GlobeVISION's PIE service," commented Edward Bach, Founder and CEO/President of GlobeVISION. "This will also help fuel the recent popularity of Korean cinema in North America, known as Hallyu in the Korean language."
GlobeVISION's PIE Service is delivered through the subscriber's broadband Internet connection to a self-installed rented or purchased set-top box that outputs directly to their television or home theatre.
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Goldstone confirms IPTV launch
ITeS group company Goldstone Technologies has announced the launch of IPTV services in association with Singapore-based SPL Innotech Pte Limited.
The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide end-to-end IPTV solutions worldwide with the server stationed at Singapore. This involves an initial investment of Rs 25 crore for which funds are being raised through internal accruals and external borrowings.
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Thursday 13th April
Intelsat service to boost IPTV
TiVo and DirecTV extend support deal
Brazil eyes Japanese digital TV standards
EC calls on Hungary to abolish cable TV restrictions
Astra’s high five for UPC Direct
Entone integrates Widevine
Alcatel to supply Slovakia IPTV solution
RTL in news with n-TV deal
Intelsat service to boost IPTV
Global communications provider Intelsat has unveiled Ampiage, a new satellite-based, open-architecture, content delivery and management service aimed at North American multiple system operators (MSOs) seeking to cost-effectively upgrade to MPEG-4 and telecommunications operators (telcos) looking to enter the IPTV market.
"Our goal is to offer services that help our customers reach their goals, and Ampiage will benefit phone companies and cable operators in two very different ways," said David McGlade, CEO of Intelsat. "This is a game-starter for phone companies looking to launch IPTV services for their subscribers and make a video play. Separately, it is also a cost-effective way for cable companies to upgrade to MPEG-4 without having to invest new capital in equipment."
Modelled on a ‘super head-end’ for content distribution, Ampiage will upgrade and convert video stream for MSOs from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4. The move to MPEG-4 is being driven by the desire for both higher transmission quality and efficient utilisation of bandwidth.
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TiVo and DirecTV extend support deal
TiVo Inc and DirecTV have confirmed that they are to extend their service and support agreement for three years, despite the satellite TV broadcaster’s revelation in August 2005 that it would no longer market TiVo's digital video recorders and would use its own system made by News Corp-controlled NDS Group.Although DirecTV still will not be marketing TiVo, the two companies have extended an existing deal under which customers can receive TiVo through DirecTV. Maintenance and support for the service will be provided by TiVo, which would have been under no obligation to service DirecTV customers without an extension to the agreement, due to expire in 2007.
Specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, by the companies, who nevertheless suggested that the recurring monthly economics of the agreement were similar to the economics for DirecTV receivers with TiVo service activated since 2003.
The companies also confirmed that they had agreed not to assert patent rights against the other. The agreement also extends the advertising relationship between the two companies. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said the agreement reflected TiVo's popularity among DirecTV subscribers and respected the value of TiVo’s intellectual property as well.
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Brazil eyes Japanese digital TV standards
Brazilian government ministers have expressed interest in adopting Japanese digital television standards rather than European. Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Luiz Fernando Furlan and Communications Minister Helio Costa told Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai that at present, Brazil views the Japanese standards as appropriate, with some technical adjustments.Nikai said if the country decides to introduce the Japanese format, Japan will help Brazilian electronics manufacturers by accepting their delegations to Japan, providing necessary information and encouraging Japanese makers to invest in the country.
Amorim visited Japan for digital television format talks with government ministers and Japanese makers such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., NEC Corp., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to finally decide on the format.
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EC calls on Hungary to abolish cable TV restrictions
The European Commission has formally requested Hungary to abolish the restriction imposed by the Hungarian Media Act on the provision of cable TV services in violation of EU competition rules. The Commission’s request takes the form of a ‘reasoned opinion’, the second stage of the infringement procedure under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If Hungary fails to comply within two months of receipt, the Commission may refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "Hungary is depriving cable operators of their right to provide broadcasting transmission services wherever they see fit. This restricts competition both among cable operators and between infrastructures to the detriment of consumer choice."
Commission Directive 2002/77/EC of 16 September 2002 on competition in the markets for electronic communications networks and services aims at ensuring that competitive market conditions prevail across the European Union. According to the Directive, Member States shall ensure that no restrictions are imposed or maintained on the provision of electronic communications services, including broadcasting transmission services.
The EC contends that the Hungarian Media Act limits the rights of cable operators to provide broadcasting transmission services in Hungary to a territory covering not more than one third of the population and is therefore in contravention of the Directive.
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Astra’s high five for UPC DirectSES Astra has extended its reach of digital satellite homes in Central Eastern Europe by 25 per cent with the news that it has signed a further capacity agreement with UPC Direct, the Direct-to-Home bouquet provider for the Central and Eastern European region. The agreement provides UPC Direct with a fifth digital transponder from Astra at the prime orbital position 19.2° East. UPC Direct will use this capacity to serve Central and Eastern European satellite homes with its programme offers and bouquets.
Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES Astra, said the deal demonstrated the growing attraction of Astra satellites for programme operators and customers across Central and Eastern Europe and underlined the dynamic growth that Astra was experiencing in this region."
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Entone integrates WidevineIPTV VOD solution provider Entone Technologies and IP content security solutions specialist Widevine Technologies have confirmed that Entone’s Hydra IP video gateway has been integrated with the Widevine Cypher Suite downloadable conditional access (DCAS) and digital rights management (DRM) solution.
Entone’s Hydra IP video gateway uses existing coaxial cabling to distribute video signals throughout the home. It allows service operators to deliver up to three simultaneous video streams without requiring separate set-top boxes.
Doug Light, VP of Business Development for Widevine, said that protection of Entone’s Hydra IP video gateway solution meant that operators would now have a more cost-effective and efficient method for delivering IP video.
Ian Jefferson, VP of Business Development for Entone Technologies, suggested that the open solution would allow video service operators to eliminate the need for set-top boxes to support multi-television IPTV services.
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Alcatel to supply Slovakia IPTV solutionDeutsche Telekom group member Slovak Telekom, which provides its products and services under the T-Com brand, has selected Alcatel to support its upcoming IPTV deployment, based on the combination of Alcatel's services integration solution and the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform.
The project will include broadcast TV and video on demand (VoD). The first phase of the contract, a market trial, is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2006. A full market deployment is expected by the end of 2006.
Herbert Müller, Senior Executive Vice-President/COO of Slovak Telekom, said that IPTV fitted into T-Com’s ongoing commitment to deliver a diverse mix of telephony and multimedia services over IP. "Slovak Telekom has a modern infrastructure capable of delivering high-speed Internet, voice over IP (VoIP), unified messaging and a range of integrated applications."
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RTL Group has acquired the remaining shareholding in the German news channel n-tv following the approval of the German Cartel Office. The broadcaster acquired the remaining 50 per cent in the service from existing shareholder CNN.
This takes RTL Group’s shareholding in n-tv to 100 per cent. The German Cartel Office approved the application presented in November 2005 without any conditions.
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Wednesday 12th April
Disney for free on Internet
Carphone Warehouse offers free broadband
16.7m IPTV subs forecast for Western Europe
SES takes control of Satlynx
Shanghai Media Group encodes IPTV with Envivio
Nine checks out BBC’s HD hotel drama
Nagravision realises grand ambition
The Walt Disney Co's ABC television network is to make some of its most popular shows, such as Desperate Housewives and Lost, freely available on the Internet in a two-month trial, the broadcaster revealed at a cable industry convention in Atlanta.
"It's really an opportunity for us to learn about a different model," Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC television group, told delegates at the NCTA National Show. "It's more importantly recognising that none of us can live in a world of just one business model."
The shows will be available on the Web at ABC.com in May and June, starting the day after they are first broadcast. Viewers will be able to pause and move between ‘chapters’ in an episode, but not skip ads that are technically embedded.
"The evolution of ABC.com is just one piece of our comprehensive, digital media multi-platform business initiative," added Sweeney. "This announcement highlights the momentum we've achieved both in launching new broadband services and working with strategic partners in the digital media space, to ensure that our high-quality, informative and entertaining content is available to consumers whenever and wherever they choose."
Advertising revenue will support the trial run on ABC.com, with 10 advertisers, including AT&T Inc, Ford Motor Co, Procter & Gamble and Universal Pictures already signed up. Some will insert video ads into the content while others will sponsor shows, with the idea of tailoring commercials to the Internet experience.
Disney also announced the April 17 launch of a high-speed Internet channel for soap opera fans, called Soapnetic for subscribers to Verizon Communications Corp's Internet services.
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Carphone Warehouse offers free broadbandTalkTalk, the telecommunications arm of mobile communications group The Carphone Warehouse has launched a ‘free broadband forever’ initiative, which it suggests could save users up to £400 a year, and could spark a price war among competing service providers and networks.
"For too long the British public has been charged costly fees for high-speed Internet access, or has had to use slow Internet connections. We are bringing this to an end," said Chief Executive, Charles Dunstone. "High speed Internet will now become a standard service in the home - just like radio or television. The change this represents for society is huge. This is the tipping point."
To qualify for the free broadband, users must sign up to the company's Talk 3 International calls package. For £9.99 (E14.39) per month, plus the usual £11 line rental cost, customers will get unlimited local and national calls to any landline in the UK; unlimited international landline calls to 28 countries (the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA). The free broadband offering covers up to 8Mb.
"First we launched free calls for our customers, today we're launching free broadband forever. Our focus will now be on processing all orders as quickly as possible. Demand is going to be enormous," predicted Dunstone.
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16.7m IPTV subs forecast for Western EuropeThe number of households subscribing to IPTV services offered by telecom carriers in Western Europe will reach 3.3 million this year and 16.7 million in 2010, according to recent research. Despite this growth, the report’s authors believe that IPTV will struggle over the next five years to become a mainstream revenue opportunity for telcos.
Competing against entrenched Pay TV and free-to-air terrestrial TV providers who deliver good quality programming for free, carriers will resort to low priced services and bundles to drive initial subscriber uptake. As a result, carriers' IPTV revenue in Western Europe during the period will grow from E336 million in 2006 to only E3 billion by 2010 suggests the report - Forecast: IPTV Subscribers and Service Revenue, Western Europe, 2004-2010.
"While the short to medium term profits from IPTV will be modest at best, carriers can't afford to delay in the deployment of the IPTV platform," said Susan Richardson, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Those who delay too long will risk undermining their ability to be long term key players in the consumer infotainment communications business. This is because IPTV is not a single service; it is a new distribution platform over which many services can be offered eventually. Investments now have to be seen in the context of seeding the ground for the future."
Gartner says France is currently well ahead of other markets in terms of IPTV adoption. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2006, almost half of Western Europe's IPTV subscribers will be based in France -- a total of 1.7 million generating revenues of E141 million. By 2010, Gartner expects that the number of subscribers in France will reach nearly five million, just under one third of all IPTV subscribers in Western Europe and generating E682 million in total revenue.
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SES takes control of SatlynxSatellite operator SES Astra has acquired all minority shareholdings in two-way satellite broadband communication services provider Satlynx, bringing its total shareholding from 77 per cent, announced in April 2005, to 100 per cent. Four years after the creation of Satlynx as a joint venture with the Israel-based satellite networking systems company, Gilat, and the satellite solutions and services company, Alcatel Alenia Space, the co-ownership has therefore ended by a mutual agreement.
"Satlynx is a leader in its market and an important asset in our strategy to offer satellite based solutions and services also to enterprises and institutions", said Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES Astra. "We remain very confident about the future of Satlynx and will continue to rely on it as a key element of our managed services capability."
Satlynx provides customised solutions directly to large enterprises and institutions and working with telecommunication operators and system integrators and via Europe’s largest network of specialist partners.
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Shanghai Media Group encodes IPTV with Envivio
Shanghai Media Group (SMG) has selected Envivio MPEG-4 IPTV video headends to encode digital video programming for some 80,000 subscribers in the Northern Province of Hei Long Jiang and the City of Shanghai. The IPTV services are delivered via China Netcom Company Limited and Shanghai Telecom Co., Ltd., respectively. SMG is currently the only company in China to receive an IPTV and mobile TV operation licence. Current subscriber packages include live broadcast television and video-on-demand content from SMG.
"As we take our content into a wide variety of media distribution outlets, preserving and protecting the quality is of the utmost importance for subscriber satisfaction and retention," said Minnie Huang, CTO of BestTV at Shanghai Media Group.
Julien Signès, President of Envivio, noted that the IPTV industry was exploding in China. "Envivio is committed to supporting efforts to expand the IPTV market in China and worldwide by offering well designed systems and solutions that provide the highest quality, reliability and robustness while reducing churn," he added.
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Nine checks out BBC’s HD hotel drama
From Rose Major in MelbourneAustralia’s Nine Network is screening the BBC series Hotel Babylon in high definition, despite UK viewers only seeing it in standard definition.
Although the BBC produced the series in high definition, HD broadcasts are yet to commence in the UK. Sky Digital will launch its HD service next month.
But Nine, which bought Hotel Babylon from the BBC to screen in Australia, is screening the series both in standard definition and on its HD channel on DTT. The show launched in Australia on Sunday night, averaging 1.2 million viewers.
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Nagravision realises grand ambition
Open conditional access systems supplier Nagravision has certified 1000 different models of set-top boxes from over 60 manufacturers. Under the company’s certification programme, set-top boxes are certified against specifications designed to preserve software integrity and prevent hardware tampering.Nagravision Chief Technology Officer Philippe Stransky said, "It is important to recognise that providing a secure conditional access system has many additional operational, logistical and support aspects far beyond securing the signal. Set-top box certification is critical to providing the level of service and support that pay TV operators expect."
Stransky added, "As the retail set-top box market opens for US cable and elsewhere, providing these ongoing certifications is a key factor giving our customers access to a wide choice of low cost secure set-top boxes. It enables the widespread adoption of subscriber owned boxes and a successful change in the market’s current business model."
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Tuesday 11th April
BBC Worldwide scoops T-Online deal
Mobile industry eyes advertising revenue stream
BT rocks with concert deal
Imagenio claims IPTV growth record
OpenTV and C-COR offer SDB solution
Servecast bullies off Ice Hockey streaming
IVisjon IPTV secure with Latens deal
Pace in Canadian STB win
BBC Worldwide scoops T-Online deal
BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial consumer arm, is to provide content to T-Online for its Video on Demand service. BBC Worldwide science, factual and arts programming will be available to subscribers via T-Online's Video on Demand portal. Additionally, a selection of the programming will be accessible in High Definition (HD) format.
For the introductory price of E1.95, subscribers can view their chosen programme as often as they like within the 24-hour rental period. Isabelle Helle, BBC Worldwide Head of German Speaking Territories, said that video on demand was revolutionising the way the world watches television, adding that the agreement "further emphasised BBC Worldwide's commitment to this new and important method of content provision."
The T-Online deal follows a number of other agreements which BBC Worldwide has secured to provide content for video on demand services to such international VoD providers as Versatel in Holland, HOT Vision in Israel, Ebismedia in Italy and Telefónica in Spain.
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Mobile industry eyes advertising revenue streamThe mobile entertainment industry is overwhelmingly enthusiastic about introducing advertising as another revenue stream for mobile content, with mobile TV/video deemed the most suitable content for ads, according to a survey of industry leaders.
81 per cent of executives feel advertising is a growth opportunity for the industry - only 19 per cent said it was disruptive, while none thought it was a threat that would decrease revenues. Ad-funded mobile entertainment was regarded as especially good news for content providers (including both traditional media owners and mobile content providers), whom the respondents expect to claim the largest share (42 per cent) of revenues from mobile advertising. Operators are expected to get 27 per cent.
The consultation – by the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) - was the first step in an initiative on ad-funded mobile entertainment, led by MEF members Alcatel, Fathom Partners and Upsteed. MEF Executive Director Rimma Perelmuter commented, "We are encouraged by the industry's enthusiasm for identifying ad-funded business models which will support the uptake of mobile entertainment. At the same time, the consultation highlights the clear need for cross-industry collaboration to tap into this new revenue stream."
"The advertising inventory that mobile entertainment has the potential to offer is extremely interesting to advertisers. With the right systems in place, consumers could be targeted very precisely and the mobile phone also provides a response path. We believe that these benefits will drive significant ad-spend in future - and that's good news for end-users since advertising will cut prices for mobile entertainment," noted Jessica Sandin, Head of Mobile Practice at Fathom Partners.
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BT rocks with concert dealBT has concluded deals which will allow its BT Vision IPTV service to offer more than 500 concerts and performances by some of the world’s biggest music artists. Deals with long-form music video content providers i-concerts and Eagle Rock cover a wide range of concerts and music documentaries on-demand. The concert programming covers a wide variety of genres including rock, pop, urban and ‘alternative’, to jazz and classical music.
Dan Marks, CEO, BT Television Services, said the deals would allow BT Vision to bring concerts that would otherwise be very difficult – or impossible – to find on broadcast television to a wide audience on attractive terms and with high quality picture and sound.
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Imagenio claims IPTV growth record
From David del Valle in MadridTelefónica’s ADSL-based IPTV service Imagenio has recorded the largest annual growth among IPTV operators in the world, according to the company.
In 2005, Imagenio won more than 200,000 subscribers in comparison with Hong Kong's PCCW's 140,000 clients, France Telecom's 130,000 and Free TV's 120,000 customers, among others.
Imagenio hopes to extend its coverage from the current 28 per cent of Spain (4.4 million homes) to 50 per cent (7.4 million homes) in 2008 when it plans to have 1 million subscribers. According to the company, around 34 per cent of its clients have acquired video on demand services making an average of three films per month. Around 21 per cent have acquired football services making an average of two football matches per month.
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OpenTV and C-COR offer SDB solution
OpenTV and C-COR are to integrate two of the companies’ technologies, resulting in the industry’s first open architecture switched digital video system. The open architecture switched digital video solution involves the integration of an interactive programme guide based on OpenTV Core 2.0 Middleware running on Motorola’s DCT-2000/2500 set-top boxes and C-COR’s nABLE Global Session and Resource Manager (GSRM) providing the session and edge resource management.
The solution offers cable operators the ability to employ Switched Digital Broadcast (SDB) on the Motorola box as well as any other set-top box on the market, freeing up bandwidth for other core competitive offerings such as high definition broadcasting and video-on-demand. Switched digital broadcasting enables instant bandwidth allocation for infrequently used channels, rather than the current means of allocating bandwidth to lesser used channels all the time.
Jim Chiddix, Chairman and CEO of OpenTV said the integration represented a way to offer cable operators new bandwidth without replacing legacy boxes, "an undertaking that can be extremely costly." Michael Pohl, president of C-COR Global Strategies group, added that operators would be able to offer virtually unlimited broadcast programming, regardless of the set-top box, while drastically reducing bandwidth requirements.
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Servecast bullies off Ice Hockey streaming
New media sportscasting specialist Servecast has enabled British Ice Hockey to be broadcast live over the Internet for the first time, in with Ice Media Productions.
Three games were streamed live on www.icehockeyleague.co.uk. Servecast designed and built the pay-per-view service including the set up of the payment interface and security systems. Servecast also set up a tailored revenue tracking system and subscriber database.According to Ice Media Productions, with broadband penetration exceeding cable TV penetration in all UK households, webcasting the matches live over the Internet, the potential to reach more ice hockey fans was far greater. In addition, it felt that with ice hockey attracting a niche following, it needed to be available through many media in order to reach the full potential fan base.
"It's our experience that a fan's relationship with their favourite sport is enriched by new media content. In particular for minority sports such as ice hockey, sports organisations can have a much wider reach and provide their fans with the availability to watch games in a more comprehensive and flexible way. Often minority sports will only be given a short broadcasting window on cable television," said Darach Deehan, CEO of Servecast.
Heath Rhodes of Ice Media Productions said that pay per view on the Internet and subscription based websites offering high quality media to watch and download was the future for most sport, he added that the company had a three year plan to ensure it delivered the best media whether it be moving or still image regardless of whether it’s delivered to a PC or mobile phone.
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IVisjon IPTV secure with Latens deal
Norwegian IPTV operator iVisjon has selected software-based content and revenue protection specialist Latens to secure its IPTV service. The Latens CA system will integrate with iVisjon’s existing IPTV infrastructure, including BitBand’s VOD servers, Kreatel set-top boxes and Dreampark middleware. Systems integrator Ella will manage the deployment of Latens CA to secure the iVisjon IPTV Pay-TV and VOD services.
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Pace in Canadian STB winThe Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CSCA) has reached agreement with digital set-top box specialist Pace Micro Technology on a Bulk Purchase Master Agreement. With a subscriber base of approximately one million, the CCSA represents the commercial interests of 94 independent member companies for group purchases of programming, equipment and services.
Tim O'Loughlin, Pace America's Vice President - Business Development, said that Pace would supply a range of boxes, including Daytona HD, Tahoe HD-DVR, Vegas SD-DVR, and the Boston eMTA for VoIP service.
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Monday 10th April
Sky plans cut price broadband
Murdoch bows on poison pill
Interest emerges in Aussie DTT
Motorola adds STB to mobile ability
Spain's Government confirms RTVE's job-cut plan
Vodafone for fixed line after all
2waytraffic for AIMKees
HDNet in space
Trio team for sat-based IPTV
Reports suggest Sky will be taking an aggressive approach to the broadband market later this year with low prices and free broadband to some of its top tier subscribers.
The market is quickly becoming more competitive with mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse considering a free three-month broadband trial followed by a rate of £4.99 (E7.25) a month, half the price of the current best offer available. BT has announced plans to offer broadband speeds of up to 8Mb - four times its current speed - at no extra cost.
Sky is keen to take advantage of increasing demand for internet-based services, especially among younger customers. They hope that Sky's premium content, movies and sports, will eventually prove popular among new broadband users. By the end of this year, Sky expects the Easynet network to extend to half of UK households, or 12.5m homes.
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Murdoch bows on poison pillNews Corp has settled a lawsuit brought by some of its largest shareholders over the controversial extension of a poison pill defence it adopted last year. As part of the settlement, News Corp will allow investors to vote at its annual meeting in October on whether or not the poison pill should be extended for an additional two years. If approved, the provision would also give shareholders the right to vote on any other poison pill proposed by management for the next 20 years.
The settlement came three weeks before the case was to go to trial, and on the eve of a scheduled deposition by Rupert Murdoch, whose family owns 30 per cent of News Corp’s voting shares. Stuart Grant, an attorney for the plaintiffs, framed the agreement as a victory for shareholder rights. "From day one, we have consistently said that this case was not about the poison pill, but was about securing the shareholders’ right to vote on the matter, as promised by News Corp."
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Interest emerges in Aussie DTT
From Rose Major in Melbourne
Fairfax Holdings, the Australian newspaper and online publisher, is likely to bid for at least one of the two digital-terrestrial channel licences which will be auctioned by the government in 2007. But chief executive David Kirk said there must be no content restrictions, or the company may alter its decision.
Fairfax won a datacasting licence for DTT in 2000, but content restrictions on what could be broadcast meant that the company did not launch a service. Kirk told a Sydney conference that regulation of the digital-television spectrum should be light and regulation of video on broadband non-existent.
Meanwhile, Australia's media regulator ACMA has received an expression of interest for the country's third local DTT channel. Darwin Digital Television Pty, a joint venture between local companies owned by Southern Cross and the Nine Network in the northern town of Darwin, now has until the end of the year to formally apply for the licence. If the channel is allocated, a service must launch by the end of 2007.
Two previous local licences were allocated to joint ventures between companies broadcasting in the regional Victorian town of Mildura, and Tasmania. Regulations allow companies to apply for a third licence if there are just two commercial DTT broadcasters in one area.
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Motorola adds STB to mobile abilityExpanding on its ‘Follow Me TV’ experience of room-to-room media sharing, Motorola has unveiled a new technology that can move recorded shows from a Motorola digital video recorder (DVR) set-top directly to a Motorola mobile device such as the next-generation RAZR V3x. This new ability to move content is designed to expand Motorola's existing whole-home video platform to meet the video needs of consumers anywhere and everywhere.
John Burke, corporate vice president and general manager of digital video solutions at Motorola, said that consumers would get the chance to enjoy seamless, mobile entertainment, and service providers would get the opportunity to extend their reach beyond the home.
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Spain's Government confirms RTVE's job-cut plan
From David del Valle in MadridRTVE's plan to cut more than 3,000 workers, around 40 per cent of its staff, has been given the go-ahead by the socialist Government. According to the vice president, Maria Teresa Fernandez, the reform is "urgent, unstoppable and inevitable".
The Government's support for the Plan came one day after the general strike at the state-owned group which obliged TVE's most popular lunchtime news programme to end transmission earlier than expected, as workers drowned out the presenter with their protests.
RTVE currently has an accumulated debt of E7.55 billion and each day the group is losing E1.7 million. On average, the group incurs in E600 million losses every year.
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Vodafone for fixed line after all
Vodafone has made a strategic U-turn, signalling a push into fixed-line services and redrawing its organisational chart just 18 months after the mobile operator’s last shake-up. The wide-ranging reorganisation will create three business units, including a division responsible for finding revenues from new "converged" services emerging from internet technology.
The news marks a radical shift away from Vodafone’s insistence that its focus was solely on wireless technology and brings it more into line with the strategies being pursued by rivals such as France Télécom, the owner of Orange. The reorganisation is also aimed at cutting costs in mature markets and driving growth in emerging markets.
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2waytraffic for AIMKees
Abrahams and Unico Glorie, who commissioned the first Big Brother when he was a board director of RTL, are floating 2waytraffic, an interactive media group based in the Netherlands, on the London AIM. The company, which develops ways for viewers to interact with TV shows through premium-rate phone calls and text messages, will list with a market capitalisation of more than £100 million (E170m).
Abrahams, the chief executive, says: "There is little growth in the traditional advertising model. New technologies which allow you to skip adverts have not helped. Commercial breaks will account for a tiny percentage of our revenues, with the majority coming from sponsored shows and interactivity."
"We plan to generate cash directly from viewers, rather than by selling an audience to advertisers. The revenues are then shared between 2waytraffic and the broadcaster."
HDNet in space
HDNet and HDNet Movies channels, and NASA took the wraps off a deal that will allow the high-def network carry live broadcast of Space Shuttle launches. HDNet said it will deliver the remaining shuttle launches and landings at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in HD format. Shuttle launches are set to end in 2010. Coverage is set to begin with the next shuttle launch in July.
HDNet also will provide the agency with a standard broadcast signal of launches for use by media. And, whenever possible, HDNet will air in high-def coverage of NASA's expendable rocket launches.
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Trio team for sat-based IPTVNagravision, PanAmSat and SkyWay Connect have teamed up to develop a satellite-based secure MPEG-4 IPTV solution for cable operators and emerging network distributors.
SkyWay Connect's IPTV system leverages the power of PanAmSat's Galaxy satellites and Nagravision’s Nagra IP conditional access system, to create a solution for operators wishing to deploy a low-cost, secure and effective IPTV platform. The system provides operators with access to programming content, including standard and high definition channels and VOD services, in a secure MPEG-4/AVC format. The trio will debut the solution at the forthcoming NCTA National Show in Atlanta.
"Regardless of the medium, IP protocol is clearly emerging as the preferred distribution method of digitally compressed video content. PanAmSat, Nagravision and Skyway Connect have demonstrated that by leveraging many of today’s technologies and networks, both programmers and distributors can access the advantages of secure IP video distribution," said Bruce Haymes, SVP Corporate Development and Strategy for PanAmSat.
"Technology advancements in compression, headends, conditional access, set-top boxes and other consumer devices are influencing the business models of operators as they deploy next generation delivery networks. The need for bulk encrypted and secured advanced video that can be delivered through DSL networks or DOCSIS based IP networks is growing," said Tom Wirth, Vice President for Nagravision Americas. "
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