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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 28th April
Microsoft buys video game ad company
Pay-TV nets Aussie soccer
Viacom buys Xfire
White House wants Martin to stay at FCC
One million for Telstra, rivals offer help
Canadian pay-TV up six per cent
ABC, unions reach deal on mobile TV
SATLYNX acquires Spaceline from HP
SES Launches Internet Blucom
EuroCableLabs signs Cisco, Motorola, Siemens, and BigBand
Digital Rum and Sky to Provide Interactive TV
TiVo boxes will record two shows at once
Arqiva secures HD contract with Sky Sports
Harmonic supports Dolby
Microsoft buys video game ad company
Microsoft Corp is to pay $200 million to $400 million for Massive Inc., a private two-year-old company that places ads in video games. Clients of Massive, which uses always-on Internet connections to place real-time ads in games, include Coca-Cola Co. and Honda. There are high expectations for in-game advertising, because it offers the promise to again connect advertisers with the desirable young male audience, which has been abandoning television and other traditional media in favour of the Internet and video games.
The new generation of in-game ads offered by Massive allow advertisers to run campaigns for specific periods of time, rather than buying a slot that is hard-coded into a game. That means billboards and storefronts in games can change over time to more closely resemble the real world that some games attempt to recreate.
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Pay-TV nets Aussie soccer
From Rose Major in Melbourne
Australian pay-TV channel Fox Sports has won the rights to all of the matches played by national team the Socceroos in a seven-year, A$120 million-plus deal, winning out over public broadcaster SBS.
SBS has for years been considered the home of television football, but has lost out to Fox Sports in a number of deals over the last two years, including the English Premier League, and the newly-formed domestic A-League competition. Under the new deal, from 2007 Fox Sports will also screen all Socceroos home matches, including the 2007 & 2011 Asian Cup tournaments, Asian Cup qualifiers, and World Cup qualifiers.
SBS still has rights to the next three World Cups, the first of which, in June, the Socceroos have qualified for, as well as this year’s Asian Cup qualifiers.
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Viacom buys Xfire
Viacom has acquired Xfire, a Silicon Valley company that makes an instant message system used by video game players. The company will pay $102 million in cash. Xfire makes a program similar to other instant message systems in that it lets users communicate with each other while they are online. Its system, however, is designed for people who play game software on their computers. Users can see which games their friends are playing and can automatically link to join them in playing games online.
Xfire has some aspects in common with social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, another area in which Viacom hopes to expand. Xfire has attracted four million users since it was introduced in 2004. Of those, one million are active and spend 91 hours each month using the service.
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]White House wants Martin to stay at FCC
The White House has re-nominated Kevin Martin, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, for another term. The re-appointment request would keep Martin at the FCC for another five-year term, his current term expires July 1.
At the moment, there are four commissioners at the FCC. Martin and Republican Deborah Taylor Tate work alongside Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. In a statement, Martin thanked President Bush "for the privilege to continue to serve in his administration."
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One million for Telstra, rivals offer help
From Rose Major in Melbourne
Telstra, Australia’s incumbent telco, may have announced it now has a million broadband customers, but it is under increasing pressure to upgrade its network to offer new services such as IPTV. The telco today said broadband internet service BigPond had doubled its subscriber base in under a year to reach the milestone. But last week, seven of its rivals offered to help Telstra fund an upgrade to its countrywide broadband network that would enable services including IPTV.
Telstra’s network is currently only capable of low-speed broadband to homes more than 1.5 kilometre from an exchange, precluding many services which require fast connections, including IPTV. But Optus, Macquarie Telecom, PowerTel, Primus, Internode, Soul and TransACT last week said they would help fund the A$3 billion upgrade, which would also mean the network extending into rural areas, as well as major cities. But Telstra rejected the offer.
Last year, the company said it would go ahead with the fibre-to-the-node upgrade, but only if the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) agreed to a level of protection against competition on the network. That, according to the companies that made the offer, would damage consumers. Michael Simmons, chief executive of Soul, last week said: "Telstra has offered Australia a false choice: a high speed broadband network owned by a monopoly provider; or preservation of the existing market structure involving several competitors, but with no increase in broadband speeds."
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Canadian pay-TV up six per cent
From Gail Chiasson in Montreal
Revenues of Canadian specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services reached more than $1.5 billion (Cdn$2.2 billion) in 2005, an increase of 6.3% from 2004, according to a new report by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The increase was in part due to increases in the number of subscribers and reporting units, and continues a growth trend. On average, from 2001 to 2005, revenues for these services increased by 10% per year, and their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), by 19.4%. EBIT for specialty, pay and pay-per view services rose significantly over 04, posting an increase of 31.5%. They climbed from $297.1 million (Cdn$418.2 million) in 2004 to $390.7 ($549.9 million) in 2005.
Revenues from cable distribution services grew by 4.7% in '05 over '04, and for direct-to-home satellite distribution services increased by 6.2%. National advertising revenues rose by 8.7%, increasing to $533.9 million (Cdn$751.3 million).
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ABC, unions reach deal on mobile TV
Walt Disney Co. has reached a deal with the Hollywood unions that will put the long-delayed "mobisode" spinoff of hit ABC series "Lost" back on track. "Lost Video Diaries," has been on hold since being announced in November. Production is expected to resume concurrent with production on the third season of "Lost," with distribution through Disney's mobile partner, Verizon, by year's end. "Diaries" is expected to end up on other platforms as well.
The Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America all hailed the unprecedented agreement for establishing a template covering compensation for future programing on new digital platforms. For the guilds, the agreement calls for residual payments once the mobisode has been available on cell phones for more than 13 weeks.
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SATLYNX acquires Spaceline from HP
Satlynx announced the acquisition of Spaceline, the satellite communications division of HP, for an undisclosed amount. Following the acquisition by Satlynx of Xantic accounts in 2005, the purchase of the Spaceline business creates a growing focus within Satlynx SCPC business. The acquisition brings together two of the industry's strongest European players in this sector, especially in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa.
"The consolidation of the two businesses under the Satlynx banner will far outweigh our individual approaches to the market," said Paul Heinerscheid, President and Chief Executive Officer of Satlynx. "Satlynx and Spaceline are well matched; there is a significant complement in both service portfolios and sales synergies can be realised with immediate effect."
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SES Launches Internet Blucom
From Nick Snow in Las Vegas
SES ASTRA announced the international launch of its new interactive mobile phone service Blucom at NAB in Las Vegas.
The tool for enhanced and interactive television will be offered to broadcasters across Europe, Middle East and Africa and is based on Bluetooth technology. It enables the wireless transfer of broadcast data from the Internet or a Bluetooth-enabled TV receiver to the mobile phone, using text messages as a return path. Blucom has been developed by SES ASTRA`s German subsidiary ASTRA Platform Services (APS) and is already used by several German TV operators.
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EuroCableLabs signs Cisco, Motorola, Siemens, and BigBand
EuroCableLabs announced that Motorola, Cisco, Siemens and BigBand Networks have become Associate Supporters of EuroCableLabs, the technology competence centre for the cable industry in Europe. This will allow these companies to contribute towards the development of future broadband cable technologies and to exchange knowledge within the cable industry. EuroCableLabs membership includes all the leading cable operators in Europe, servicing TV, broadband Internet, and telephony services to over 55 million customers.
EuroCableLabs successfully launched its Associate Supporter Program to suppliers of software and equipment to the cable industry at the end of 2005. Today, a total of nine major supporter companies have signed on: Cisco, Motorola, Siemens, BigBand Networks, Scientific Atlanta Europe, Arris, C-COR Broadband Europe, Gallery IP Telephony, and Teleste.
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Digital Rum and Sky to Provide Interactive TV
Digital Rum announced a strategic partnership with Sky that will allow Sky subscribers to purchase goods and services through Sky Net, its new interactive TV based e-business portal. As part of the deal, Digital Rum will also facilitate the acquisition of retail, travel, content and entertainment partners to provide these services.
The Sky Net portal is designed as a mechanism by which consumers can easily access and use popular internet content and e-business services through interactive TV. With Digital Rum's experience in providing portal transactional services with retailers such as Littlewoods Shop Direct and Argos, Sky chose to partner with Digital Rum so that it can easily add this secure purchasing capability to any service deployed. It allows payment for goods or services to take place entirely through the mobile or interactive TV.
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TiVo boxes will record two shows at once
TiVo said it will start to sell digital video recorders with dual tuners that allow users to record two television programmes simultaneously. TiVo said its new digital video recorder will be available starting May 1 and priced at $99.99 for 80 hours of recorded programs, after rebate and service activation.
In the coming months, TiVo said it will introduce features that allow users to program their box to record TV shows directly from some Verizon cell phones.
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Arqiva secures HD contract with Sky Sports
Broadcast transmission specialist Arqiva has secured a three-year contract with Sky Sports to provide high-definition outside broadcast facilities. The deal will see Arqiva migrating from the standard definition format it currently provides for Sky Sports' coverage of the Football League competitions, to HD in time for the 2006-07 football season. Arqiva's OB facilities will be used to provide HD coverage of the Coca Cola Leagues - Championship, League One and League Two - and the Carling Cup knock-out competition. Sky Sports has already started to produce Barclays Premiership football and Guinness Premiership Rugby in HD and will produce England's Test and One-Day internationals and county cricket in HD in summer 2006.
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Harmonic supports Dolby
From Nick Snow in Las Vegas
Dolby Laboratories announced that Harmonic plans to support Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby's next-generation audio technology for high-definition programming, in Harmonic's future products. Harmonic and Dolby are closely collaborating on integrated solutions that would streamline the audio/video service provider‚s delivery architecture with several key advanced audio features.
"Our industry leading DiviCom HD and SD encoders, the most widely deployed in their categories, set the benchmark for innovation, integration, performance, and video quality," said Arnaud Perrier, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Advanced and HD Encoding at Harmonic Inc. "As we look at the needs of the broadcast industry, and particularly considering the move to an all-HD world, audio plays an important role in the overall TV experience. Dolby Digital Plus is a key audio technology that can improve the viewer‚s listening experience while helping to reduce overall bandwidth utilization. As a result, we are planning to integrate Dolby Digital Plus into our future high-definition products."
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Thursday 27th April
Silex Media Set to Leverage SGI’s Media Assets in Europe
USDTV STB runs with Sigma
Harmonic extends mobile television solutions
Sony Ericsson backs US DVB-H
Amino unveils IPTV HD STB
Envivio and Medialive collaborate on mobile content protection
Channel 4 gets subsidy for switchover
Siemens Business Services support for UK HD TV trial
Kasenna announces global PVR deployments
Silex Media Set to Leverage SGI’s Media Assets in Europe
From Colin Mann in Las Vegas
Top executives from SGI's Broadcast Business Unit in Europe are to spin off from Silicon Graphics to form an independent company, Silex Media. This follows an earlier announcement today from SGI.
Silex Media will incorporate the existing Silicon Graphics Broadcast Europe team, with Stephan K Schindler, currently the unit's General Manager, as CEO. The move is being carried out with the 100 per cent financial backing of SGI Japan, a $200 million company in its own right, which executed a similar move four years ago, and recently received financial backing from Sony Corporation.
Silex Media, which will continue to work closely with SGI, aims to offer IT-based broadcast solutions and systems integration services to European media broadcasters seeking to exploit data-centric media workflows.
"We are a team of cross-media experts with deep broadcast knowledge," says Schindler. "We can deploy industry-leading capabilities on broadcast/IT convergence, HD, media asset management and content delivery." He added that Silex Media will be best placed to adopt a more flexible approach to designing ‘best of breed' solutions, while still being able to call on the full range of SGI products, especially its range of open and scalable server and storage solutions.
"Customers are looking for effective and efficient solutions which require a high degree of optimisation and integration," says Schindler. "Silex Media will be able to deploy technology developed in-house which is not available from other solutions providers. We combine an in-depth knowledge of advanced IT with profound understanding of broadcast specific business needs, workflows and technology."
The new company will have a presence in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands. The Silex Media team, as Silicon Graphics Broadcast Europe, has been responsible for more than 20 major broadcast installations in Europe, including Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), SWR, SR, CIRIS, Czech TV, France Télévisions Group and Red Bee Media (formerly BBC Broadcast). These will continue to be supported by SGI, working through Silex Media.
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USDTV STB runs with Sigma
From Nick Snow in Las VegasDigital media processing specialist Sigma Designs is to provide its advanced SMP8634 Chipset to power the MPEG-4 AVC set-top boxes (STB) utilised by US Digital Television for its low-cost cable alternative. Currently, USDTV is transitioning its network to an advanced video compression technology, MPEG-4 AVC. USDTV's next-generation STB will have integrated MPEG-4 AVC technology in order to provide enhanced services for its customers.
"The new USDTV receiver will provide consumers with enhanced video features including advanced digital reception, PVR functionality and VOD services," said Richard Johnson, Chief Operation Officer, USDTV.
USDTV’s second-generation set-top box will begin shipping to new customers in two phases starting in autumn 2006. The last phase will ship in the first quarter of 2007 and incorporate a 250-gigabyte hard drive, which will support a variety of storage based and in-home networking services.
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Harmonic extends mobile television solutions
From Colin Mann in Las VegasDigital networking specialist Harmonic has extended its solutions for the emerging mobile television market by introducing the DiviCom MV 60 mobile video encoder. This flexible platform, which complies with a broad range of network standards, including DVB-H, generates high-quality, ultra-low bit-rate video for the delivery of broadcast and on-demand services to cell phones and handhelds, or it can be utilised for high quality streaming video to the PC.
"More and more often, we see LCD screens playing video in cars, to the point where automakers are now offering them as a standard option," said Arnaud Perrier, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Advanced and HD Encoding at Harmonic Inc. "In addition, people are increasingly reliant on mobile devices, not only for telephony and data services, but also to consume and share rich media content such as photos, video and music."
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Sony Ericsson backs US DVB-H
From Colin Mann in Las VegasSony Ericsson has joined the Mobile DTV Alliance as a contributor member, adding to the momentum for DVB-H development in North America and aligning with other industry leaders in the wireless and entertainment markets. The move adds to the DVB-H ecosystem that the Alliance is building to support its mission to drive acceleration of DVB-H deployment in the North American market.
"The Mobile DTV Alliance believes that broad industry support for DVB-H will benefit the industry as well as consumers by enabling quick deployment of handsets and services at low costs for users. We are excited to add Sony Ericsson to our growing roster of leaders participating in the exciting mobile digital TV broadcast space," said Yoram Solomon, President of the Mobile DTV Alliance and Director of Strategic Marketing and Industry Relations for Mobile Connectivity Solutions, Texas Instruments.
"History shows that global standards are critical to the success of the mobile industry, and we strongly believe this will also be the case for broadcast mobile TV. We are very excited to join with other industry leaders in the Mobile DTV Alliance in an effort to increase alignment of North American DVB-H technology with the global DVB-H standard and ecosystem," said Scott Bloebaum, Deputy CTO, Sony Ericsson.
Sony Ericsson joins founding sponsor members Intel, Microsoft, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments, as well as Contributor and Associate members, including ATI Technologies, Axcera, Broadcom, DiBcom, Newport Media, PacketVideo, Penthera Technologies, RfStream, Roundbox, RRD and Terayon Communication Systems.
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Amino unveils IPTV HD STB
From Nick Snow in Las VegasIPTV set-top box supplier Amino has launched its new generation of customer premises equipment with the AmiNET130, which supports High Definition, H.264 (MPEG4/AVC) video streams and is modelled on the same design as previous AmiNET generations.
The AmiNET130 provides the service provider with a cost effective means to deliver end-to-end digital High Definition TV as multicast, on-demand video and multi-room IPTV services. Amino will use its established partnerships with leading technology providers to accelerate the growth and profitability of these evolving IPTV services. The company expects to announce the first customer deployment of the new unit in Q3 2006."A number of companies have announced High Definition H.264 products in the past but we have yet to see any evidence of deployment. We are confident that Amino will be the first company with actual commercial roll-out," commented Roy Kirsopp, Vice President and General Manager, Amino Communications. "In the IPTV industry today, interoperability and pre-integration of elements within the set-top box are critical in achieving seamless deployments with minimal time to market."
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Envivio and Medialive collaborate on mobile content protection
From Nick Snow in Las VegasTechnology provider Envivio and digital content protection company Medialive have agreed a technical collaboration to integrate Envivio Mobile Series of encoders with Medialive's content protection technology. The collaboration enables customers of both companies to benefit from the highest security features protecting both digital content and rights holders.
"We are collaborating with Medialive because of the high quality of their DRM technology and the unique approach they've adopted to resolve one of the key problems associated with mobile TV - protecting the content," said Julien Signes, President of Envivio Inc.
"We wanted our customers to have the best mobile encoders along with the best digital content protection system. By combining the power of our technology with Envivio encoders, operators can now select a solution that's proven and secure," said Didier Lesteven, CEO of Medialive.
"The protection of content, whether it be the video image or the accompanying audio, is the single most important concern for the content providers," added Lesteven. "To address this concern, we are working with Tier 1 carriers to demonstrate that our combined Envivio/Medialive solution offers the highest quality encoding and security as well as greater flexibility for their business models."
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Channel 4 gets subsidy for switchover
UK public broadcaster Channel 4 is set to receive an indirect public subsidy worth up to £70m after the BBC offered to cover its digital switchover bill. The BBC will pay Channel 4's share of the cost of switching the 1,000 analogue TV transmitters still to be converted to digital.
The deal will save Channel 4 - which has been campaigning for a public subsidy to help it meet the challenges of the digital TV era - between £50m and £70m over five years. Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, said there had been a "shift in thinking" about Channel 4's role among opinion formers and government. The deal still has to be ratified by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, and the Treasury.
Duncan also revealed details of the channel's video-on-demand service, saying its launch would be his "biggest single priority in terms of new activity" this year. A Channel 4-branded service for PCs and TVs, it will feature a catch-up service, previews and a programme archive, and will also feature a tie-up with movie channel FilmFour, which will go free to air in the summer.
"If you jump ahead five or 10 years then a third or a half of viewing will be time-shifted on personal video recorders or VOD," said Duncan. Some of the content will be free but other parts, such as shows imported from the US, are expected to be paid-for, either for a one-off fee or via subscription.
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Siemens Business Services support for UK HD TV trial
Siemens Business Services is to provide the coding and multiplexing, and distribution infrastructure for the BBC's trial HDTV system, which will be used in its HD trials later in 2006.
As part of the range of infrastructure and services Siemens will provide during the trial, it has also secured a contract with Red Bee Media to provide project management assistance in implementation of its HD playout solution.
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Kasenna announces global PVR deployments
From Nick Snow in Las VegasIPTV specialist Kasenna has announced that its PortalTV suite is now powering network-based PVR services for hundreds of thousands of subscribers worldwide, with deployments in Tier 1 and Tier 2 IPTV service providers including Italy’s FastWeb, Spain’s JazzTel, and Switzerland’s TV Sierre.
"Personal video recording is one of the standard services that IPTV operators will need to deliver, and we have seen a strong increase in customer interest this year," said Mark Gray, chairman and CEO of Kasenna.
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Wednesday 26th April
BBC reveals Creative Future for on–demand world
Bertelsmann prepares for flotation
Media sector convergence tipped to drive further M&A
ioko powers ib.tv launch
Siemens certifies Widevine
Verimatrix enhances VCAS
Quative unveils next generation IPTV platform
Blackstone E2.7bn in DT
Toyota sponsors Fox mobisodes
SES partners with Aloha for WiFi
Half licence fee payers against BBC funding switch
Nokia and CommTel bring Soul Triple Play over DSL in Australia
BBC reveals Creative Future for on–demand world
The BBC has unveiled a new editorial blueprint designed to deliver more value to audiences over the next six years and turn the BBC's public purposes laid out in the recent Government White Paper into quality content for the on-demand world.
The plans build on opportunities created by new and emerging digital technologies and confront the challenges of seismic shifts in public expectations, lifestyle and behaviours and on building new relationships with audiences and individual households.
Key recommendations include: Relaunching the BBC's website to include more personalisation, richer audio-visual and user generated content; the creation of a new teen brand delivered via existing broadband, TV and radio services, including a new long-running drama and comedy, factual and music content; the creation of easy access points for audiences via broadband portals around key content areas such as Sport, Music, Knowledge Building, Health and Science and the commissioning of more 360 degree cross-platform content.
Commenting on the changes at the Royal Television Society's Fleming Memorial Lecture, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson admitted: "There's a big shock coming." He said that the second wave of digital will be far more disruptive than the first.
"The foundations of traditional media will be swept away, taking us beyond broadcasting. The BBC needs a creative response to the amazing, bewildering, exciting and inspiring changes in both technology and expectations. On-demand changes everything. It means we need to rethink the way we conceive, commission, produce, package and distribute our content. This isn't about new services it's about doing what we already do differently."
He added that the BBC should no longer think of itself as a broadcaster of TV and radio and some new media on the side. "We should aim to deliver public service content to our audiences in whatever media and on whatever device makes sense for them, whether they are at home or on the move. We can deliver much more public value when we think across all platforms and consider how audiences can find our best content, content that's more relevant, more useful and more valuable to them."
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Bertelsmann prepares for flotation
German media giant Bertelsmann, looks likely to be listed on the stock market after shareholder Albert Frere raised the issue at the annual general meeting of his Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which owns 25.1 per cent of Bertelsmann.
"Mindful of guaranteeing the liquidity of its investment, GBL has decided to exercise its right to request that Bertelsmann launch an initial public offering," Frere said, in remarks reported by Reuters.
"In accordance with our agreement, discussions with Bertelsmann on the IPO are expected to begin next month." GBL acquired its Bertelsmann shareholding in 2001 when it relinquished its stake in the pan-European TV group RTL, which is now 90 per cent-owned by the German group, and is the owner of the UK channel ‘5’.
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Media sector convergence tipped to drive further M&AThe surge in media industry M&A over the past twelve months is set to
continue according to a survey conducted by Mergermarket in association
with Grant Thornton and Denton Wilde Sapte.
Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of media business owners expect the level of cross-sector M&A in the industry to increase over the coming year, while a further 32% predict it will remain at current levels. The driving force behind this trend is industry consolidation, which almost all (94%) respondents expect to either increase or stay the same over the next twelve months.
David Ascott, partner at Grant Thornton Corporate Finance commented: "The media business model is currently being turned on its head. The growth of the Internet and the impact of new distribution channels are driving the migration of advertising spend from traditional print to online. This in turn, is driving M&A in the media sector as media owners seek to reshape their businesses via acquisition and disposal, to maximise their share of this new market. Although large scale transactions such as the merger of cable operators NTL and Telewest or BskyB's acquisition of broadband company Easynet are the highest profile examples of this consolidation, it is mid-market M&A that is at the forefront of this surge in deal activity."
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ioko powers ib.tv launch
ioko, a specialist in digital and on-demand media, is working with Richard Kilgarriff, former SVP & General Manager of Turner Broadcasting Entertainment Networks UK and Germany on the forthcoming launch of ib.tv, the first independent broadband television network to offer a secure ‘try before you buy’ platform over the Internet.The platform enables viewers to search and sample promotions from a range of independent content before downloading the feature or series at high resolution to their PC or broadband enabled media device.
"As traditional broadcasters battle with each other to maintain their share of airtime sales and distribution fees, we believe the time is right to bring this unique concept to market. With an estimated 70,000 new broadband connections every week in the UK alone, the stage is set for ib.tv to take the lead in independent broadband television," said Kilgarriff.
Positioned between existing broadcast television and Internet search-based services, ib.tv will offer viewers a range of content genres. These include documentaries, short form videos, podcasts, pop promos, comedy shows, comic strips, trailers, short drama, mobile video contributions ‘iballs’, community-based interaction, celebrity endorsed products and retail services.
Producers and rights owners who join the new network will be offered a sliding scale revenue share for their content on a territory by territory basis, with the freedom to distribute on other platforms such as digital terrestrial, cable and satellite television.
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Siemens Communications has reached a global agreement with Widevine Technologies making the content protection provider a certified content protection vendor for broadband carriers delivering IPTV services to viewers via the Siemens SURPASS Home Entertainment solution.
"Providing true choice and flexibility to IPTV service providers is a hallmark of the SURPASS Home Entertainment portfolio," said Chris Coles, CEO of Siemens Home Entertainment. "Through work with companies such as Widevine, Siemens meets today's market requirements with its capability to integrate industry-leading solutions. Based on the integration and interoperability between Siemens and Widevine, we are excited to extend this solution to our global market."
"The challenge is not only providing a broadband operator with a great IPTV solution, but also ensuring that a robust content protection system is tightly integrated with that solution," said Brian Baker, CEO of Widevine. "The agreement enables Widevine to continue to work with Siemens to provide a scalable and mature content protection system, critical for enabling operators to acquire premium broadcast and VOD content."
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Verimatrix enhances VCAS
From Nick Snow in Las Vegas
Network operators are set to benefit from the only theft of service prevention
solution available for IPTV following the unveiling of the next generation of the Verimatrix Content Authority System (VCAS) 2.0. VCAS 2.0 is an enhanced version that protects the network operator's revenue stream by providing patent-pending theft of service prevention, while offering a redistribution feature to increase the
value of the network and provide additional revenue opportunities.
The major objectives for VCAS 2.0, which were driven by customer input, included protection against theft of services, providing a reseller model for additional revenue, integrating analog copy protection and offering a single system to provide conditional access (CA) for the cable, satellite, and IPTV markets.
"Because of the maturing IPTV market and the availability of premium content, service providers are now asking, 'What's in it for me?'," said Steve Oetegenn, EVP of Global Sales and Marketing, Verimatrix. "Verimatrix not only provides content protection solutions approved by Hollywood studios and linear broadcasters, it now provides value-added security solutions for network providers to retain and enhance revenues." He added that Verimatrix was committed to providing leading-edge solutions that advance worldwide IPTV deployments and that focusing on the network provider would help that effort.
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Quative unveils next generation IPTV platform
From Colin Mann in Las VegasKudelski Group company Quative has launched Quative IPTV Service Platform (QSP), its next generation IPTV service delivery platform. As a service-oriented architecture, the new platform allows operators to provide a seamless IPTV service to subscribers' set-top boxes and other devices based on an open client software model. QSP enhances the service provider's ability to launch new IPTV services, enabling full control of the end user experience.
QSP comes pre-integrated with Nagravision Lysis content and DRM management
and Nagra IP content protection systems. The platform supports the industry's leading video servers and encoding systems. The integration of proven, state-of-the-art components into a seamless solution suite is designed to enable Nagravision IPTV customers to provide a flexible, expandable set of distinctive features while securing a stable, reliable platform with short time-to-market.
According to Pierre Roy, Kudelski Group Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Digital TV, the launch of the Quative IPTV Service Platform and its Reference Application Suite marks a significant step in the expansion of The Group’s IPTV solution suite. "Service providers seeking to offer triple or quad play applications want to jump directly to the next generation of IPTV solutions. To support them, Quative is working closely with partners to create, enhance, and integrate open end-to-end systems," said Sebastian Kramer, CEO Quative.In a separate deal, Kudelski confirmed that HanseNet, a subsidiary of Telecom Italia and one of the fastest growing telecom operators in Germany, has selected Nagravision to secure the Alice broadband Pay-TV bouquet and VOD offering.
NagraIP offers HanseNet a secure platform for its more than one hundred free digital television and premium Pay-TV channels to be broadcast to consumers over broadband DSL. Under its brand Alice, HanseNet will launch the service prior to the FIFA World Cup in June/July 2006.
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The German government has selected Blackstone to take a strategic stake in Deutsche Telekom. The US private equity group agreed to pay E2.68bn for a 4.5 per cent stake of the telecoms operator bought from KfW, the state-owned development bank. The government owns 15 per cent of Deutsche Telekom.
Blackstone is expected to take a seat on the supervisory board. "We are committed to being long-term investors in the company and our intention is to support the company and its management, particularly at supervisory board level - in executing a strategy of long-term value creation," said Stephen A Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone. Ron Sommer, the former DT chief executive, is a member of Blackstone’s European advisory board. However, because of the sensitivity of the transaction he is not thought to have taken an active role in the discussions.
The move is unusual for Blackstone, which typically makes equity investments where it has a controlling interest rather than building a minority holding. Along with many of the world’s largest private equity groups, it has been bidding for several European telecoms and cable assets, including, most recently, TDC of Denmark. Blackstone is also thought to be part of a consortium looking at Portugal Telecom.
Apax, KKR, Providence Equity, Cinven, Apollo Management and Silver Lake Partners are among the rival private equity groups also thought to have bid for the Deutsche Telekom stake.
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Toyota and Fox network have agreed a deal for the car maker to sponsor and be featured in a spin-off series for mobile phones of ‘Prison Break’. Toyota says it pursued the mobile series as a way to break free from the traditional 60-second TV spot and go after young consumers. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but analysts put it in the ballpark of $10 million.
In 2005, Fox trademarked the term ‘mobisode’, when it released a companion series to its hit show ‘24’ called ‘24: Conspiracy’. Other networks are rolling out content -- CBS Corp. is working on a soap opera for mobile phones -- along with some start ups such as Two Minute Television Inc.
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SES partners with Aloha for WiFiSES Global announced it is joining with a start-up company that controls a big swath of mobile broadcast spectrum across the U.S. The marketing alliance Aloha Partners is intended to demonstrate the business case and consumer appeal of beaming digital music and high-resolution video to cellphones and other consumer hand-held devices.
SES believes its long-term growth requires expanding outside the company's role as a wholesale supplier of space capacity to traditional television channels and broadcasters. SES seeks to carve out a niche in the wireless segment by using its satellites to beam music and television channels to wireless transmission facilities on the ground. The programming is then further tailored to local markets and distributed to cellphone users or subscribers of other wireless networks.A yearlong test is planned to begin this autumn in Las Vegas, though negotiations with programmers and leading cellular providers still have to be worked out. The plan is the most ambitious yet to test using fewer transmitters to simultaneously distribute as many as 40 higher-resolution video channels directly to handsets.
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Half licence fee payers against BBC funding switch
Almost half of all licence fee payers object to the UK government's plan to use it as a means of funding the switch to digital television for elderly people, according to research commissioned by the BBC.
A BRMB poll shows that 47 per cent oppose the idea of the licence fee being used to subsidise targeted help. The BBC has estimated that the switch to digital will cost £800m (E1.15bn) over the next 10 years, without factoring in the extra support.
The government plans to tell the corporation to use the licence fee to pay for free digital equipment and advice for those over 75, as well as other vulnerable groups.
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Nokia and CommTel bring Soul Triple Play over DSL in Australia
CommTel Network Solutions Australia, a value added re-seller of Nokia's network solutions, has signed an agreement for the supply and implementation of Nokia broadband DSL solutions and related services to the Soul group of companies all operating in Australia. Deliveries commenced in January 2006 and the system will
be up and running during April 2006.
"Soul maintains a strong position in the multimedia market, as we already offer the full suite of telecommunications and multimedia services including high speed broadband, broadcast video as well as mobile and fixed telephony services to over 500,000 customers across Australia," noted Rob Millner, Chairman of Soul. "Our relationship with CommTel and Nokia allows us to extend the delivery of multimedia services including VoIP to our existing customers as well as offering content to a wider converging customer base."
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Tuesday 25th April
Bundesliga cries foul on football deal
Sky drops Goldman
ITV looks set for football failure
Solutions in store for Siemens Business Services and BBC
Sky HD and Sony BRAVIA announce cashback offer
Spain: Catalonia to switch off analogue TV in 2009
Vodafone eyes Tiscali
MSN hires from IAC
WhiteBlox and Amino combine for content delivery
Omneon powers to front of storage grid
Neotion combines on MPEG-4
Bundesliga cries foul on football dealGermany’s top football league has said it is not happy with proposals that would see pay-TV broadcaster Premiere transmitting Bundesliga football games by satellite together with rights holder Deutsche Telekom, according to a local media reports.
Bundesliga president Werner Hickman told German daily Bald that such a situation is unacceptable. "This would mean you would not even have to be a Telekom customer to view the programmes," he said. Hackemann said contracts signed between the football league and Deutsche Telekom allows the telco to transmit Bundesliga games live and in full length via its online platform T-Online.
"But one thing is clear: we will not accept that our pay-TV partner Arena is weakened. In an extreme case, Telekom could lose its Internet rights," he suggested.
At he end of 2006, Deutsche Telekom won the rights to broadcast Bundesliga games on the Internet for the coming three seasons, starting this summer. Pay-TV rights were awarded to sports rights firm Arena - a severe blow to rival bidder Premiere, which has the exclusive rights for the current 2005/2006 season.
Reports suggest that Premiere and Deutsche Telekom are currently in talks to form a partnership under which Premiere would produce Bundesliga content for the telco, which could include transmission via satellite.
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Sky drops Goldman
BSkyB has dropped Goldman Sachs as its corporate broker, ending a relationship that dates back to BSkyB's stock market flotation in 1994. The move comes as the investment bank's relationships with corporate clients are under scrutiny following its participation in several private equity consortia that have tried to buy public companies. BSkyB would have been particularly sensitive to its part on the recent abortive bid for ITV.
BSkyB confirmed it has appointed Merrill Lynch in Goldman’s place, working alongside Deutsche Bank. The broadcaster said: "We’ve had a fruitful relationship and Goldman will continue to help us in an advisory capacity."
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ITV looks set for football failure
The ITV network seems increasingly unlikely to bid for the broadcast rights to English Premier League football, after talks with two prospective partners broke down. Reports suggest that the broadcaster held abortive talks with both telco BT and Irish pay-TV broadcaster Setanta, with a view to making a joint bid for the six individual packages being auctioned by the Premier League. The European Commission has forced the Premier League to separate broadcast rights for the 2007-2010 seasons into six packages with no single broadcaster allowed to win them all. The deadline for first round bids is April 28.ITV’s contends that the structure of the auction is biased in favour of current rights holder Sky as he thinks any one bidder should be able to buy no more than half the rights. Under the rules, one bidder can own up to five of the six packages. If ITV does not bid, it will leave Sky, cable operator NTL, and Setanta as the only credible bidders. It is believed that the BBC will not bid.
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Solutions in store for Siemens Business Services and BBC
From Colin Mann in Las Vegas
IT service provider Siemens Business Services today is partnering with HP to provide the BBC with an open, specialised, storage solution. The system, which is being rolled out across the corporation, has the capability of providing over 16 Peta bytes
of storage over the next ten years.
The MediaStorage solution, designed specifically for the broadcast and
media industries, will enable many groups to share, transport and store
digital content freely and efficiently, and ultimately, provide them with
higher throughput and faster turnaround on programming output
Siemens will integrate HP’s MediaStorage solution in to the BBC’s ‘Digital
Fabric’ interoperability layer, which will allow all production teams to
access the same storage solution. In addition, Siemens will provide
ongoing support for all users.
"Our collaboration with Siemens around HP Media Storage is a milestone in
HP’s overall strategy to help leading media and entertainment companies
streamline production, re-purpose content and, ultimately, unlock the
value of their digitised assets," said Peggy Dau, worldwide director,
Broadband and Media Solutions, Network and Service Provider Business, HP.
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Sky HD and Sony BRAVIA announce cashback offer
As part of a major marketing agreement to promote the benefits of High
Definition (HD) television, Sky and Sony United Kingdom Limited have
released details of an exclusive offer available now to new Sky HD
subscribers.
From Wednesday 26 April, Sky HD customers will be eligible for £100 (E140) cash
back on Sony BRAVIA TVs. To be eligible for the cashback, customers need to
purchase a Sky HD box and subscribe to Sky HD before the 10th of July and
purchase their Sony Bravia TV 26" or above (excludes U-series TVs) between
the 26th April and 10th of July.
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Spain: Catalonia to switch off analogue TV in 2009
From David del Valle in Madrid
Catalonia, in the north east of Spain, will be the first Spanish region to switch off its analogue TV transmissions.
The Regional Administration's plans forecast that the migration to digital will be fully
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Mobile phone company Vodafone sees the UK arm of Italian Internet services provider Tiscali as a potential takeover target, according to reports in the Sunday Telegraph.
Acquiring Tiscali UK would enable Vodafone as to offering broadband Internet services to its mobile customers. Such a package would compete with an expected service from rival operator Orange and France Telecom subsidiary to offer a similar bundled package in partnership with sister company Wanadoo.
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Microsoft is expected to announce that Steve Berkowitz is joining Microsoft as the vice president in charge of MSN, the Internet portal and search businesses. Berkowitz currently serves as chief executive of IAC's search business.
Berkowitz will replace Microsoft Senior Vice President David Cole, who Microsoft announced last month will take a leave of absence from the company. He will report to Kevin Johnson co-President of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division, which houses MSN and the Windows product groups. Berkowitz came to IAC/InterActiveCorp last year when it acquired the search engine Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion. He was credited with turning around the No. 5 search engine over the last year.
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WhiteBlox and Amino combine for content delivery
From Nick Snow in Las VegasBroadcast network solutions provider WhiteBlox and set-top box specialist Amino are to combine the technologies of both companies to deliver dynamic content over set-top boxes (STBs). In a joint venture, they will develop an interactive video conferencing programme for B2B enterprise applications.
"Amino is pleased to be working with WhiteBlox to help develop applications that will further enable the IPTV market and bring additional revenue opportunities to our end customers," said Roy Kirsopp, VP and General Manager of Amino Communications.
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Omneon powers to front of storage grid
From Colin Mann in Las Vegas
Media server solutions specialist Omneon has unveiled its MediaGrid active storage system, designed specifically for the demands of working with large digital
media files within broadcast and video production facilities. The new system is designed to enhance the efficiency of digital media access for users and applications across the entire broadcast workflow. The MediaGrid system provides
centralised shared storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth, and
media processing power.
Geoff Stedman, vice president of marketing for Omneon, said that storage was no longer just a passive repository of data. "We've made MediaGrid an active
part of the workflow by utilizing the integrated processing power of each
component to perform media processing functions on stored content."
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Neotion combines on MPEG-4Pay-TV conditional access specialist Vices and Neotion, have agreed to integrate their technologies. The pair are about to launch the Pocket dTV digital receiver. The MPEG-4 decoder shaped in a PCMCIA module will integrate the Viaccess CAS technology.
"The MPEG-4 technology designed by Neotion meets increasing interest among digital television players. Viaccess therefore meets market expectations, in particular regarding the development of DTT," said Mathias Hautefort, Viaccess CEO. "This partnership agreement with Viaccess is the best way to illustrate our new strategy now mainly targeting the Operator Market," added Jean-Yves Le Roux, Chairman and Founder of Neotion.
A similar deal will see Neotion integrate Irdeto’s content security into Neotion’s MPEG-4 silicon and modules, enabling DTH, DTT and IP operators to maximise their revenues. The MPEG-4 module can be integrated in a MPEG-2 TV, which increases the available bandwidth, allowing a wider range of services and programs. The Irdeto CA integrated module will pave the way towards MPEG-4 and hybrid IP capabilities without the use of an STB.
Meanwhile, content management and delivery specialist GlobeCast is to offer turnkey MPEG-4 AVC satellite distribution platforms using Neotion’s patented MPEG-4 Pocket Decoder Technology, tailored to address the issue of viewers with legacy equipment.
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Monday 24th April
Casema ready to trade
Vivendi defends twin strategy
Setanta to bid for Premier League
HDTV tests on DTT later this year
UKTV broadband subs service
BBC warned on licence
MTG acquires Swedish football rights
NAB appoints new Washington man
UTStarcom Contract For China's Largest IPTV
Hansenet pick suppliers
beXam new decoders
Casema ready to trade
Casema, the Dutch cable operator is to be sold by Carlyle and Providence, the private equity groups, for up to E2bn. Carlyle has mandated Goldman Sachs to conduct an auction that is expected to attract both trade and financial bidders. Liberty Global, an under bidder when Casema was sold last time, is likely to be interested.
Warburg Pincus, which owns Multikabel, a rival Dutch operator, is also expected to bid as is the combination of Cinven, the private equity firm, and Altice, the French cable operator. The two jointly own UPC France acquired last year. Another bidder could be Essent Kabelcom, the second-largest cable company in the Netherlands which has 1.8m cable subscribers.
Carlyle and Providence jointly acquired Casema from France Télécom in January 2003 for E665m. They each own 46 per cent, while GMT Communications Partners, an independent investment firm, owns eight per cent.
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Vivendi defends twin strategyJean-Bernard Lévy, chief executive of Vivendi Universal has denied the French media and telecommunications group would be better off concentrating on just one sector. Vivendi owns Universal Music, the world’s biggest record label, and Canal Plus, the pay television business. It also controls SFR, the number-two mobile telephone operator in France, and Maroc Telecom, a Moroccan telecoms group.
There has been speculation as to whether the emergence of the Sebastian Holdings fund on Vivendi’s shareholder register might put pressure on the group to focus on either media or telecoms and sell the other business. The fund played a leading role in unseating Alain de Pouzilhac, former head of Havas, a French marketing services group, last year. However, at Vivendi’s annual shareholder meeting, Lévy said that the increasing demand for services such as television on mobile telephones was a powerful argument for maintaining a presence in both media and telecoms. He also said the scale that came from having a presence in two sectors enabled Vivendi to make large, long-term investments, citing the way Canal Plus won rights to televise leading French football matches by paying E600m a year.
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Setanta to bid for Premier League
Setanta, the Irish pay-TV broadcaster, is planning to bid for two packages in the Premier League rights auction next week. If successful it is expected to broadcast a new football channel on BSkyB's satellite platform and on cable.
Setanta is 40%-owned by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital and is expanding aggressively as a provider of premium sports content, with the Scottish Premier League and the Gaelic Athletic Association among its biggest franchises. The league has set a deadline of April 27 for first-round bids for UK broadcasting rights. Companies such as Setanta have a strong chance of emerging with at least one package because the franchise must be split between at least two broadcasters under an agreement between the Premier League and the European commission.
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HDTV tests on DTT later this year
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisThe CSA, the French broadcasting regulator, has decided to issue a call for HDTV trials on DTT. These tests are to be free to air in MPEG4 in Paris, Lyons and Marseilles, but the CSA may issue authorizations for tests in other areas if the technical conditions (availability of frequency, interference) allow it. One frequency will be made available in each of the zones selected.
The CSA is inviting channels to present joint projects to use these frequencies. The programmes to be broadcast will be drawn from existing free programming on DTT, whether on free channels or the free windows of pay channels. Emphasis will be put on sports events and French and European drama. The authorizations for these tests will be issued for a maximum of nine months. Declarations of interest must be made to the CSA by 28 April.
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UKTV is to launch a broadband subscription service to transmit programmes live, before they are transmitted on the pay-TV operator's television channels. The broadcaster's sport subsidiary has struck a deal with the digital rights company Premium TV to create a broadband subscription website, www.uktvslam.tv, to stream live coverage of Euroleague Basketball games twice a week. Basketball fans will be able to sign up for £3.99 (E5.7) a month.
Premium TV will be responsible for ensuring that the broadcasts can only be watched by broadband users in the UK and Ireland. It will also provide video-on-demand technology to enable basketball fans to watch video highlights of all Euroleague Basketball matches played each week as well as news and features.
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BBC warned on licenceThe BBC is not likely to get the full increase which it wants in the TV licence fee, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has warned. The BBC has proposed raising the licence fee by 2.35% above inflation, taking it to £180 (E260) by 2013. "I certainly expect the figure to come in lower than the BBC's proposition," she said.
Jowell said the government was running opinion polls to assess public willingness to pay the licence fee and how people valued BBC services. "I think it's important that we expose the BBC's calculations and assumptions to other broadcasters. One of the questions I think we need to interrogate is the extent to which the costs of other broadcasters are led by the costs of the BBC. " she argued.
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MTG acquires Swedish football rights
Modern Times Group announced that Viasat Broadcasting has signed an agreement with Kentaro AG to secure the exclusive broadcasting rights to all of the senior and youth Swedish national football teams' home fixtures up until the end of 2010.
For the first time, Viasat has also acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast the Swedish national home fixtures over the internet, including live video streaming. Viasat has also acquired the joint internet broadcasting rights to show up to the minute highlights from all Swedish Premier League, First Division and Swedish Cup games, as well as the Swedish national women's team's home fixtures.
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NAB appoints new Washington man
New National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr has picked Douglas Wiley as executive VP of government relations the association's new point person in Washington. It is a key post as broadcasters work to secure multicast-must carry legislation and work out the issues surrounding the transition to digital.
""Doug has spent more than 20 years in Washington as an outstanding advocate for the communications industry," said Rehr. "His experience working with Congress and Administrations from both parties will be invaluable to our public policy work promoting radio and television broadcasting." Wiley comes from high-tech trade group, the Electronic Industries Alliance, where he was senior VP of government relations.
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UTStarcom Contract For China's Largest IPTV
UTStarcom announced that China Netcom has signed a
contract for the deployment of UTStarcom's RollingStreamTM end-to-end
IPTV solution in Harbin in northeast China.
This deal is UTStarcom's fourth IPTV contract in China and is the single
largest IPTV capacity deployment in China to date."We believe that UTStarcom's IPTV technology and service epitomizes the evolution of network and service convergence," said Paris-based TStarcom EMEA Vice President Youssef Kassissia.
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Hansenet pick suppliersHanseNet, a subsidiary of Telecom Italia and one of the fastest growing telecom operators in Germany, has selected Nagravision to secure the Alice broadband Pay-TV bouquet and VOD offering. Meanwhile ADB has won a contract to supply its ADB-3800TW, High Definition (HD) ready, set-top boxes for the launch.
HanseNet will launch the service prior to the FIFA World Cup in June/July 2006.
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beXam new decodersbeXam unveiled their new series of video encoders that fully support the emerging
Mpeg-4 AVC / H.264 and AAC coding standards in live IP and SDI/ASI broadcast environments. Ton de Wit, commercial director at beXam Digital Media, says, "With our new Mpeg-4 AVC / H.264 Live Encoder, we will be able to deliver our customers, next to our existing encoders for VC-1 and Windows Media, an extra, industry wide,
standard streaming solution, that fully integrates with our other beXam Streaming
Media NetworX components.
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