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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 16th June
Nielsen multi platform measurement
Linux for mobile
News Corp eyes net advertising firms
First HD tests on DTT
Google: social networks around TV shows
55,000 HDTV homes for Free
NZ digital plans
MSOs declaim rural broadband
BT has unbundled 500,000
ITV opens Asian office
1m lines for Cedar Point
Microtel for Gamma
Nielsen multi platform measurement
TV audience measurement specialist Nielsen Media Research has unveiled wide-ranging plans to expand its coverage to the Internet, mobile phones and other devices.
The move by Nielsen and sister company Netratings, could bring major changes to the TV industry as people increasingly watch shows outside the home or on computer, mobile devices and cell phones.The new testing, which also looks at viewing in restaurants, pubs ad clubs, and expands the use of electronic metering to smaller TV markets, could significantly change the way viewing figures are calculated and might result in major shifts in the way advertising budgets are spent.
The new proposition is called Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement, or A2/M2. It will roll out over the next several years, starting with test this summer. "A2/M2 is the result of extensive consultation with clients, who told us clearly that we should 'follow the video' and deliver integrated measurement of all television-like content regardless of (the delivery) platform," Nielsen Media Research chief executive Susan Whiting said. Nielsen says it also continues to work on techniques for measuring viewing on new portable devices such as cell phones and video iPods. It expects to create a 400-person panel of iPod users by the end of 2006.
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Linux for mobile
A group of mobile operators and handset makers are to join together to develop an open-source Linux-based operating system that could to be used in phones by the end of 2007.Vodafone, NTT, Motorola, Samsung, NEC and Panasonic, said they would form an independent not-for-profit group to share the costs and speed up mobile software and handsets and cut the number of operating platforms on the market.
"We expect this initiative to speed time to market for new products and also enable us to create more personalized products and applications for consumers," said Vodafone's Global Director of Terminals, Jens Schulte-Bockum. Linux software currently occupies only a tiny proportion of the mobile market, mainly in China, while market leaders Symbian and Microsoft dominate the space.
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News Corp eyes net advertising firmsIn an effort to increase its ability to sell advertising on its internet properties, News Corp is considering acquiring companies with technology that could help place ads online. Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer said that the company was focused on various ad-serving technologies because it needs to find a way to monetise its traffic. "Display advertising, which is only a small part of the rapidly growing internet advertising business, could grow to be worth $600m to $800m within a few years," Chernin said. The vast majority of online advertising budgets is spent on search advertising, dominated by Google.
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First HD tests on DTT
From David Del Valle in MadridRegional TV company CARTV, network operator Abertis and TV producer Mediapro have joined forces to carry out the first HD trials on DTT in Spain. The tests are taking place in the city of Zaragoza within the framework of the International Festival of HD and Digital Cinema. A DTT channel, owned by CARTV, is being used to make the first HD demonstrations that will last until next June 18th.
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Google: social networks around TV showsGoogle has developed an application that can identify TV programmes by "listening", then deliver related advertising, monitor viewing audiences and build social communities around viewers who are watching the same show while online, says The Guardian.
The product has four key applications that come under the banner of the concept of "mass personalisation", which aims to combine the passive viewing of TV with a personalised web-based experience.
Google has identified four services that can be aimed at web users after identifying shows by their audio signature: the delivery of additional relevant content and advertising; the creation of immediate social communities based around TV shows as they air; a real-time TV programme and advertisement ratings system; and a video library. Google envisages that companies would bid for specific relevant television segments in a similar way to how the current bidding system works for sponsored keyword-related advertising.
Furthermore, if friends of the viewer are watching the same show, the application could automatically create an online community of these "buddies" allowing them to comment in real-time like a chatroom. The community could be automatically changed by changing channel.
Google's researchers believe the third application, a real-time ratings system, could be "more valuable than ratings achieved by the Nielsen system". Because it doesn't require the hardware installation and co-operation of viewers, Google believes its system could be easily adopted.
The video library system that could potentially be built up by allowing viewers to press a button and "bookmark" a show. It could then be possible to retrieve the programme later.
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55,000 HDTV homes for Free
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisFrench triple play operator Free (part of the Iliad group) have announced that 55,000 homes had watched the Roland Garros French Tennis Open in HDTV via its ADSL IPTV service.
Free began to distribute its V5 decoder to new subscribers last month. Existing subscribers must pay a migration fee depending on how long they have subscribed. The use of IPTV technology enables Free to know precisely how many decoders are switched to a channel at every moment, in particular channel 66, which is HDTV only. Free therefore claims to have the largest installed base of HDTV homes. Free encodes the HDTV signal in MPEG 4 in partnership with ATEME, producing a data stream of 5.2 Mbit/s IP, compared to 12 Mbit/s used by its competitors. The HDTV signal is therefore available to a greater proportion of its subscribers.Roland Garros was the first major sports event to be distributed in HDTV in France. We can now await the figures for the World Cup, but the lacklustre performance of the French team does not augurs well.
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State-owned broadcasters Television New Zealand and Radio New Zealand alongside TVWorks, a unit of CanWest Mediaworks, expect to start digital broadcasts next year, Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey said. The government will invest NZ$25 million over the next five years, he said.
Digital television is ``essential to securing the future viability of free-to-air broadcasting,'' Maharey said. Without it, free-to-air broadcasters' audience share may fall to 50 per cent or less from 80 per cent currently. Television New Zealand and TVWorks want to compete with Sky Network Television the nation's largest pay-television company, which already has a digital service. The introduction of free-to-air digital TV will slow revenue growth at Sky, according to a report by Spectrum Strategy Consultants prepared for the government.
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MSOs declaim rural broadband
A US federal programmme designed to speed the expansion of high-speed Internet services to rural areas is coming under criticism from cable operators that say the aid is unfairly subsidizing competitors. The Broadband Access Program, administered by the Agriculture Department, has provided more than $871 million in loans since 2003 to broadband companies serving communities with populations of less than 20,000. The department says those funds will provide high-speed Internet access to 380,000 homes and businesses.
Cable operators contend that they already have spent tens of millions of dollars to offer service in many of those areas and that the programme is putting those investments at risk by enabling competitors to offer rival services at lower costs. "It's poor administration and misuse of the taxpayers' money," says Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association.
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BT has unbundled 500,000
Openreach, BT’s arms-length broadband wholesaler, announced that its Local Loop Unbundling product has achieved half a million unbundled lines in the UK.
Openreach says the number of unbundled lines demonstrates that the LLU market is quickly gathering pace. On average, Openreach is currently fulfilling more than 20,000 LLU orders per week. With nearly twenty operators providing unbundled services from almost 1,000 local exchanges across the UK today, LLU is firmly established as a critical component of the highly competitive broadband market.
It says the progress in LLU is the direct result of ongoing collaboration between Openreach, industry and the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator.
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ITV opens Asian officeITV is to open its first Asian office to capitalise on 20 per cent growth in the region for selling programmes to broadcasters and content to mobile and internet platforms.
The broadcaster - which distributes outside the UK using the Granada International brand within its ITV Worldwide operation - aims to build its Asia-Pacific presence to cash in on a surge in sales. There has been a 20 per cent increase in the value of UK TV exports to Asia, from £39m (E56m) in 2004 to £47m in 2005, according to independent producers' alliance Pact.
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1m lines for Cedar PointCedar Point Communications, a leader in integrated packet-based voice switching technologies for the cable industry, announced a major milestone with a deployment with Charter Communications that represents the shipment of Cedar Point_s one millionth telephony line.
"As one of the first cable operators to announce deployment of SAFARI C, Charter has been a longstanding and valued partner," said Andy Paff, President and CEO of Cedar Point Communications. "We’re grateful for their role in helping us reach the one million lines mark, and look forward to working with them as the industry moves toward the deployment of SIP based services and the IP Multimedia Subsystem architectures that will enable the next generation of cable telephony services.
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Microtel for GammaMicrotel Ltd, the systems integration business arm of Kenton Research has been selected by Gamma Telecom to provide an end-user equipment solution to support the new Communicator product. The Microtel solution will provide business users with a proven way of linking to the Gamma network and its VoIP services.
Microtel has assembled an equipment package for Communicator, to complete the loop between Gamma’s Network and DSL provision, and the SME end-users. The package includes ADSL routers, Ethernet switches, gateways, and dedicated IP telephones, as well as an optional National installation service for Gamma’s channel partners.
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Thursday 15th June
Consumers "prefer local telco for triple-play"
BBC interactive World Cup scores early success
Broadband subs set to double
New MVNO Ten for mobile Internet
Toya protects with Conax AS
TV Vlaanderen launches DTH on Astra
Telecom Bill faces Senate revisions
BBC Worldwide names Digital Media Director
EC says ‘play on’ to Premier League
Consumers "prefer local telco for triple-play"
A study of more than 1,500 US pay-TV households regarding interest in TV and bundled services offered from their ‘local’ telephone provider has revealed that telcos are ahead of cable operators when it comes to a preferred bundled service provide.
While cable companies remain the favoured provider of stand-alone pay-TV services, telephone companies top the list when it comes to a triple-play package of pay-TV, telephone, and high-speed Internet service. According to ‘Receptivity to TelcoTV among pay-TV Subscribers - Primary Research and Analysis’, a new report from The Diffusion Group, 33 per cent of US pay-TV subscribers would prefer to receive triple-play services from their local telephone company, compared to 29 per cent who favour the cable company, and 30 per cent than have no preference at all.
"There are sufficient numbers of ambivalent or dissatisfied cable and DBS subscribers that a competitive telco triple-play offering even slight cost advantages could be disruptive to the market balance," said Dale Gilliam III, an analyst with The Diffusion Group. "This is good news to telcos looking to offer their own video services and triple-play packages."
"What is most interesting about this new data is not only that telcos topped cable in triple-play preference, but that another one-third of pay-TV subscribers could care less which company provided their video, Internet, and telephone services," said Michael Greeson, CEO of The Diffusion Group and co-author of the report. "Loyalty to current pay-TV service providers is unlikely to be much of a barrier for telcos entering the pay-TV and triple-play space."
Greeson suggests that this is due in part to the sustained competitive presence of DBS providers who have already shaken consumer loyalty among cable subscribers such that new market entrants don’t have to focus as much energy and resources on dislodging existing customers – which he suggests is "great news" for telcos set on offering video services.
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BBC interactive World Cup scores early success
Almost two million viewers are reported to have accessed interactive satellite options watching BBC’s World Cup coverage on the Sky digital satellite platform over the first three days of the World Cup.
The BBC’s red button service, which features alternative audio (either from the BBC’s ‘Five Live’ radio commentary team or stadium sound’ option), extra video streams and news updates, was accessed by 1.8 million viewers from Friday to Sunday.
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Broadband subs set to doubleAccording to recent research, worldwide broadband subscriptions will nearly double in five years, expanding from a little more than 205 million in 2005 to nearly 400 million in 2010. Increased end-user choice, monthly price cuts, and the proliferation of broadband-enabled applications and services are a few of the factors driving broadband growth according to consulting form IDC.
"Consumer demand for broadband remains strong, with three out of four global online households connecting to the Internet via broadband in 2010," said Amy Harris Lind, programme manager, Consumer Broadband Markets. "However, as competition intensifies and new subscriber growth begins to lag, providers will need to focus on bundling, tiering, and promoting applications that take advantage of broadband’s faster speeds to differentiate their broadband offerings, increase average revenue per user, and reduce customer churn."
Other findings suggest that worldwide broadband services revenue will reach $122.4 billion in 2010; DSL remains the leading installed broadband technology globally, accounting for 67 per cent of subscriptions in 201 and that in 2005, broadband finally surpassed narrowband as the primary method online households utilised to connect to the Internet.
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New MVNO Ten for mobile Internet
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisThe new French MVNO service Ten ( ironically the eleventh to launch in France) has launched, using the Orange network and has also concluded a deal with MSN. Subscribers will have unlimited access to MSN instant messaging or e-mail (the first 2k of each message) for E6 a month or E8 for both services. Ten is heavily subsidising suitable terminals – for example, a Qtek 9100 PDA for E49 or the Sony Ericsson K750i dedicated MSN Messenger phone for E39. These are coupled to basic telephone subscriptions from E20 a month.
Ten CEO Jean-Louis Constanza, former head of Tele2 in France, explained that these services were supplied ready to use and did not need complicated set-up procedures. In addition, the user accesses his normal e-mail accounts (up to three simultaneous accounts) without needing to redirect e-mails or use a different account, unlike some competing push services.
Constanza added that the various MVNOs that have sprung up in France are aimed at various niche markets but the mobile Internet sector has been left behind. He believes that there is a massive demand for e-mail and instant messaging on the move and expects an explosion in their uptake in the next two years. These applications were his priority, but he expects to launch other services in the near future. The service is targeting three groups: the young, young actives and professionals.
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Toya protects with Conax ASPolish CATV operator Toya has signed a deal with digital TV conditional access technology specialist Conax for the delivery of its Conax CAS7 system for Toya’s digital Pay-TV platform.
Toya, in the top five Polish cable MSOs will also use set-top-boxes from Global Technologies, incorporating Iwedia Technologies middleware. The installation of the system is planned to take place in July of 2006. Toya intends to launch between 40 and 50 digital channels in September 2006.
"Eastern Europe and Poland are important high-growth markets, where Conax has a strong presence serving a number of clients with robust security technology, enabling them to maximise their revenues," noted Geir Bjørndal, COO and VP Sales and Marketing, Conax.
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TV Vlaanderen launches DTH on AstraSES Astra has released further capacity on at its prime orbital position 19.2° East to accommodate the official launch of Belgium’s first direct-to-home (DTH) bouquet. In addition to the channels of Flemish public broadcaster VRT, the bouquet of TV Vlaanderen now consists of all Flemish private channels including VTM, Kanaal2, JIM, VT4, VIJFtv, Vitaya, and KanaalZ.
Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES Astra, said that by signing-up both the Flemish public and private channels, TV Vlaanderen had a strong base for further growth. "We are confident that Flemish viewers will appreciate the benefits of the ASTRA satellite system as the most attractive reception mode for digital TV."
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Telecom Bill faces Senate revisions
The US Senate Commerce Committee is planning to vote June 20 on legislation designed to streamline cable franchising to allow new telco entrants to begin facilities construction after 90 days. Cableco incumbents would also be able to participate in the new licensing regime when existing agreements expire or when there are new arrivals in their existing markets."I think we are ready to start working on the final draft," declared Republican Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens (Alaska) after the last hearing on the Bill on Tuesday 13 June.
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BBC Worldwide names Digital Media DirectorBBC Worldwide has appointed Simon Danker to the role of Director, Digital Media. Reporting into David Moody, BBC Worldwide’s Managing Director of Digital Media and Director of Strategy, Danker will lead the team looking at widening the availability of programmes on new technology platforms such as the Internet and mobile phones. This will include the development of BBC Worldwide’s iPlayer, a commercial version of the BBC’s proposed iPlayer, which would allow people to download television and radio programmes via the Internet.
His portfolio will also cover music, determining new commercial opportunities for BBC Worldwide’s music rights and working closely with record labels. Developing partnerships with music and new media industry players both domestically and internationally will be a key part of his role.
Danker said that new distribution platforms would give audiences what they really want: "access on-demand to an unprecedented choice of programming." He suggested that the quality and breadth of BBC Worldwide’s catalogue, and its global reputation as a distributor, meant that it was well positioned to work with platform owners and producers to generate new income streams in this space.
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EC says ‘play on’ to Premier League
The English Premier League's auction of live football broadcasting rights has been deemed was fair and not in breach of any competition undertakings, the European Commission has confirmed.
The Commission was concerned that pay-TV operator BSkyB had long held exclusive rights, resulting in a stand-off between European between European competition watchdogs and the Premier League that was resolved in March, when the Premier League undertook to ensure that rights were separated between at least two broadcasters.
An auction in May 2006 saw the Premier League award BSkyB four television rights packages, with the two remaining packages going to Irish pay-TV broadcaster Setanta.
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Wednesday 14th June 2006
Fuzzy picture on big screens
glowria content for Cegetel IPTV
Imagenio to reshuffle pay-TV offer
BBC’s signs first IP VoD deal in South Korea
Cinema Now gets Fox shows
Mattel deal for CTN
Testers team upSony has said it is seeking a new supplier of LCD panels for TV screens to make up for a possible shortage. But LG.Philips, the world's top maker of large LCD panels, cut its forecast amid tough competition and tepid World Cup-related sales.
Sony said panel supplies from S-LCD, its venture with South Korea’s Samsung, would not be enough to meet its plan to sell six million LCD televisions this business year to March. Sony’s Bravia brand LCD TVs have been selling well since their launch, and the company is now the world’s fourth-biggest LCD television maker when measured in units, and the world’s top LCD TV maker when measured in revenue -- due to the higher average selling prices of its sets.
The LG.Philips news came after Taiwan's AU Optronics, the world's number-three flat panel maker, said that it was trimming its second-quarter growth target for liquid crystal display (LCD) TV and PC monitor shipments amid faster-than-expected price declines.
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glowria content for Cegetel IPTV
glowria, Europe’s leading online DVD renter, announced an agreement with Neuf Cegetel, the largest alternative telco in France, to provide a VoD service to Neuf Cegetel’s subscribers via TV over DSL and PC.
Since its inception in 2002, glowria has developed extensive partnerships with all the major movie studios and a vast majority of independent video distributors, through its online DVD rental service. As a result, the company has the broadest catalogue in France and a solid experience in on-demand entertainment. “glowria’s strategy is to reinforce its position in the on-demand entertainment market and to provide services on any format, for any device, whether it be through the television or the PC,” explains Mihai Crasneanu, CEO of glowria. The company is able to provide Video on Demand either directly through its Web site, or through ISPs and cable operators. Following glowria’s recent acquisition of German on-line DVD rental companies, inVDeo and DiViDi, this offering will extend to Germany and, potentially, to other European markets in the near future.
Neuf Cegetel provides Internet, TV, telephony and mobile services to more than three million French households, of which 1.3 million are broadband subscribers, it was the first company in France to offer digital television on broadband back in 2005. The glowria Video on Demand service will be available via Neuf Cegetel’s set top box direct to television from September 2006.
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Imagenio to reshuffle pay-TV offer
From David Del Valle in MadridTelefonica's IPTV service, Imagenio, will reshuffle its programming line-up in September in an attempt to boost subscriptions (currently it has more than 250,000 subscribers) and counteract the increasing competition from other pay-TV operators.
Imagenio will increase the number of channels available, with plans to reach up to 200 channels in 2007, and will launch new packages including thematic channels and channels a la carte. The company has just reached several deals with content providers, like Warner or Paramount, and is increasingly maintaining close ties with Sogecable to distribute its own TV catalogue. Likewise, Imagenio will triple the speed of its Internet access service, from 1 to 3 Megabytes, offering subscribers the option to enjoy the triple play.
Finally, it will offer three kinds of DTT-ready set-top-boxes allowing subscribers either to hire them (E6.5 a month) or acquire them (around E270).
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BBC’s signs first IP VoD deal in South Korea
BBC Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial arm, has signed an agreement with Hanarotelecom, one of South Korea’s largest telephone landline and broadband service providers, to supply Internet Protocol Video on Demand content for its new TV Portal platform, Hanaromedia.
The new service, which launches in July 2006, will allow Hanarotelecom’s existing 3.6million broadband subscribers to purchase over 120 hours of BBC children’s, drama, natural history and lifestyle programming, including titles such as Fimbles, Pride and Prejudice, and Tom Jones. For between US$1-2 per month, subscribers can view their chosen BBC programme as often as they like within a 72-hour rental period. In order for Video on Demand and Internet traffic to be carried to a living room TV, all that’s needed is a DSL modem, a Hanarotelecom tariff, and an Internet Protocol Set Top Box.
The Hanarotelecom 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 T-Online in Germany, Versatel in Holland, HOT Vision in Israel, Ebismedia in Italy and Telefonica in Spain.Meantime, BBC Worldwide has appointed Simon Danker to the role of Director, Digital Media. Reporting into David Moody, BBC Worldwide's Managing Director of Digital Media & Director of Strategy, Danker will lead the team looking at widening the availability of programmes on new technology platforms such as the Internet and mobile phones.
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Cinema Now gets Fox shows
Online movie service CinemaNow will begin selling selected films and television shows from Fox Entertainment, including movies and the television library of Twentieth Century Fox. The new content follows recent agreements CinemaNow reached with Warner Bros., for its films and TV shows, and with The Walt Disney Co. for its movies.
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Mattel deal for CTN
Mattel announced a global licensing deal to make games, puzzles and other toys based on children's shows on Cartoon Network. Under the multiyear deal, the world's largest toy maker will become the master toy licensee for the recently formed Cartoon Network Enterprises, the consumer-products arm of the children's cable network. The deal covers nearly all original Cartoon Network programming for children ages 6 to 11, as well as the rights to create Cartoon Network-branded merchandise.
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Minacom, a leading VoIP test solution provider for Cable MSOs, and Tollgrade, a leading supplier of network service assurance products, announced a strategic alliance to deliver advanced, integrated testing solutions for VoIP over cable networks. Tollgrade’s widely deployed DOCSIS-based Status Monitoring Cheetah Transponders and recently-released End-of-Line (EOL) probes will now feature embedded Minacom VoIP testing technology, allowing the units to act as responders for test calls placed by Minacom PowerProbe 6000 test probes. Using Minacom’s Patent-Pending softswitch integration, tests are conducted over actual PacketCable Dynamic Quality of Service (DQoS) voice channels, providing true user-perceived VoIP service quality testing throughout the hybrid fibre / coax (HFC) network.
An industry first, the integrated remote-testing solution can significantly reduce the time required to identify, isolate and diagnose VoIP service issues, while also providing proactive, real-time monitoring to detect service level degradation before quality issues affect subscribers. Test automation, results analysis, service level classification, fault management and reporting are controlled by Minacom’s DirectQuality R7 web-based OSS, already deployed by over 70 service providers worldwide.
The strategic alliance between Minacom and Tollgrade will focus on further developing and co-marketing integrated triple-play, service level test solutions for Cable MSOs and Telcos, helping them to provide the best possible VoIP, digital Video, and Internet services to their subscribers.
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Tuesday June 13th 2006
News Corp and Liberty approach deal?
RTÉ, BT and RadioScape team up for live mobile TV
Sat rivals contract with WidBlue
Spain's region by region approach to switch off
Report: Event and Theme TV will drive mobile
AOL UK buyers line up
Extreme Sports joins Sky basic
Conexant and Amstrad for HD in Italy
News Corp and Liberty approach deal?
Rupert Murdoch’s negotiations with Liberty’s John Malone over buying back an 18 per cent voting stake in News Corporation are reaching a decisive stage. US regulators are set to approve a long-standing request for ownership changes to News Corp television stations that could open the way towards fresh talks between the media moguls. Murdoch, whose family controls 30 per cent of News Corp’s voting shares, has wanted to buy out Malone since he accumulated the shares without Murdoch’s knowledge in November 2004.
News Corp introduced “poison pill” measures to ensure Malone could not increase its $10bn stake. Several institutional shareholders have persuaded News Corp to allow them to vote on the poison pill in October. Malone has said that Liberty Media would vote against the measures. “We have had discussions with News Corp about them selling an asset to Liberty [in exchange for News Corp shares], which is more attractive for Liberty following the recent rise in News Corp’s share price,” Greg Maffei, chief executive of Liberty Media, told the Financial Times. “There are no guarantees a deal will get done this time, but there appears to be a confluence of events which could make it happen.”
The Federal Communications Commision is expected to approve in the coming weeks News Corp’s request to take control of 35 US television stations currently licensed to Murdoch. Some of the television stations could be exchanged for a part of Liberty’s News Corp stake to allow the deal to be tax-free. The television stations were licensed to Murdoch personally because he has US citizenship. When the stations were acquired, News Corp was an Australian entity. Now that News Corp is domiciled in the US – a switch that allowed Malone to buy the voting shares after Australian investors reduced their stake in the group – it can own the licences directly.
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RTÉ, BT and RadioScape team up for live mobile TVRTÉ, BT and RadioScape have teamed up to bring live digital TV signals to mobile phone users, with a technical trial of DAB-IP in the Greater Dublin and North-East areas. They are testing a limited service with two live TV channels (RTÉ One and RTÉ Two) and two live radio channels (RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2fm) on air via DAB-IP. The trial uses BT Movio, a BT service soon to be available in the UK, to bring live digital TV, DAB digital radio and TV & radio listings to mobile handsets.
In January 2006, RTÉ began technical trials of DAB digital radio. DAB-IP is a development of this platform that allows delivery of TV as well as radio. As a ‘one-to-many’ broadcast system, DAB-IP is proven as a very efficient means of broadcasting live TV and digital radio content to mobile users. It eliminates the network congestion issues associated with some existing mobile TV services and allows an unlimited number of users at any one time to access live digital TV and digital radio via mobile devices.
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Sat rivals contract with WidBlue
After years of stumbling efforts on their own to provide high-speed Internet services, Echostar and DirecTV have signed separate agreements with fledgling satellite firm WildBlue Communications to jump into the same segment. The WildBlue service relies entirely on satellites for uploading and downloading data and is as much as 30 times faster than basic dial-up. But many customers would have to install an additional satellite antenna to use the service.
DirecTV and EchoStar are playing catch-up to rivals such as AT&T Inc., which is manoeuvring to offer comparable services in the same arena. AT&T last month announced its own deal with WildBlue to use satellite and fixed wireless technology to provide Internet connections to rural households that can't get them over phone lines.
For EchoStar, of Englewood, Colo. -- which previously bankrolled a WildBlue project for 10s of millions of dollars but then abandoned it as a money loser -- the move is a U turn. Last year, EchoStar Chairman Charles Ergen reiterated his reluctance to make a big investment in such efforts because he predicted "a narrower niche" for the service "than I would have thought three years" before.
David Leonard, chief executive of WildBlue, of Greenwood Village, Colo., said the latest partnerships "are a turning point for WildBlue," which was resurrected from the brink of bankruptcy by some big-name media players including John Malone's Liberty Media Corp. Also backed by a rural telecommunications cooperative and satellite operator Intelsat Ltd., WildBlue has invested some $500 million to establish a market for so-called Internet-in-the-sky services.
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Spain's region by region approach to switch off
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spain will make the digital migration region by region, city by city in order to gradually switch-off analogue TV until April 2010, the Government-imposed deadline to complete the whole digital process. To this end, the Government will oblige all TV networks to submit plans for how they will implement the digital transition and the analogue switch-off region by region and city by city.
Meantime, the Government will oblige cable operators to pay broadcasters for distributing their DTT channels through their networks. Currently, most of cable companies are distributing all existing 20 DTT channels without paying a fee. Cable companies are against a fee as they think that the service is a must-carry obligation that should be exempted.
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Report: Event and Theme TV will drive mobile
Focusing services around specific events or themes will play an influential role in users embracing mobile data services, according to IDC research. "Major sporting events will provide the mobile community with the opportunity to promote mobile data services," said Paolo Pescatore, EMEA research manager, Consumer European Wireless and Mobile Communications. "In Western Europe, the 2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup will be a great showcase to show users the power of mobile and will set an example for future sporting events."
Some of the other areas of opportunity include: Off-portal activity where IDC expects an array of content being offered. The need and demand for user-generated content allowing users to personalise and share has proven to be a great driver over the fixed Internet. The mobile community needs to find ways of making this as seamless as possible over mobile. In particular, blogging, networking, and mobile searches will be the main uses. Also, adult content, which has traditionally always generated significant revenues. Players will aim to cash in and place a premium on content. The premium will be of a higher nature for content relating to videos and mobile TV services than for pictures and images, for example.
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BSkyB and BT are expected to emerge as frontrunners for the ISP arm of AOL after a preliminary bid round. After BT and the merged cable companies NTL and Telewest, AOL is the third-largest internet service provider in the UK with 2.2 million customers, some 1.3 million of whom use broadband.
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Extreme Sports joins Sky basic
Liberty Global-owned Extreme Sports Channel is consolidating its relationship with BSkyB by joining the entertainment provider’s News & Events Mix of basic retail channels next month. Extreme will be available as an encrypted channel in the News & Events Mix on Sky digital with immediate effect. Extreme, which will retain its current position of 419 in the EPG, will be offered in the retail package alongside channels such as British Eurosport, Sky Sports News, Motors TV, Sky News and Fox News.
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Conexant and Amstrad for HD in Italy
Conexant Systems a leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband communications announced that its complete DVB-S2/MPEG-4 satellite set-top box (STB) solution has been chosen by Amstrad PLC for its new high-definition television (HDTV) satellite receiver. Amstrad's DRX700i STB is based exclusively on Conexant's semiconductor solutions, and will be deployed by Italian satellite broadcast operator Sky Italia this summer.
"Amstrad established its reputation as an industry leader by making advanced technology accessible to the mass market," said Lewis Brewster, executive vice president and general manager of Conexant's Broadband Media Processing business. "Amstrad has commenced shipments of the DRX700i," said Sir Alan Sugar, chairman of Amstrad PLC. "We chose to work with Conexant because their award-winning, complete HDTV satellite set-top box solution allowed us to bring our high-performance DRX700i receiver to market more quickly, and capitalize on this new market opportunity."
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Tangerine Global, the leader in high-definition television (HDTV) for luxury hoteliers worldwide, announced the expansion of its first-of-its-kind HDTV service with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Under the terms of the new deal, Tangerine Global will provide its HDTV programming to the hotel’s five-star properties in Tokyo, San Francisco and Miami.
In another first for Tangerine Global, the media company will offer a comprehensive HDTV service delivered entirely via internet protocol.
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Monday 12th June
US moves towards national video franchises
UK Broadcasters join forces in DTT HD trial
Auna improves ONO's financial results
Club Internet TV for France
Sirius signs for fourth bird
Microsoft IPTV: we’re doing OK
BSkyB to launch Sky Sports 4
BBC retains soccer highlights
Viaccess for Sagem mobile
US moves towards national video franchises
US lawmakers have approved a bill that makes it easier for phone companies to get into the cable-television business. The measure, which passed on a Congress vote 321-101, establishes a national video franchise that would allow phone companies including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to bypass local governments when seeking to offer pay TV service. It extends similar rights to cable companies. It also authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to enforce "net neutrality" principles, which require Internet providers to allow consumers to use the Internet as they choose.
The bill would encourage video competition and "strike the right balance between ensuring that the public Internet remains an open, vibrant marketplace and ensuring that Congress does not hand the FCC a blank check to regulate Internet services," said Rep. Joe Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which crafted the bill.
However the bill still has a way to go to become law. The legislative calendar is shorter than normal this election year and the Senate committee in charge of the telecom rewrite hasn't settled on a draft bill yet. The measure's video-competition provisions have bipartisan support, but Republicans and Democrats remain deeply divided about regulations concerning the Internet. The White House expressed support for the bill last night.
Lawmakers are responding to complaints by the Bells, which say they have had delays entering the cable-television business because some local governments have withheld permission until the companies paid for local improvements like street lamps and playground equipment.
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UK Broadcasters join forces in DTT HD trial
BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five have joined forces to launch the UK's first high definition DTT trial broadcasts. A specially selected 450-strong audience sample are now collecting their trial HD set top boxes for the closed technical digital terrestrial television (DTT) technical trial which is due to last six months.
The trial will offer participating broadcasters and their technical partners valuable lessons about delivering HD broadcasts on a digital terrestrial network and also research how the audience enjoys this new format.
The trial is being conducted under an Ofcom licence which strictly limits the number of receivers and forbids reception of the trial stream by general members of the public. Humax and ADB (Advanced Digital Broadcast) have supplied the HD set top boxes for the trial. The DTT HD trial consists of low power transmissions from Crystal Palace in London on frequencies that are not suitable for high power broadcasting. National Grid Wireless is transmitting the BBC's HD stream, which went on air last month, and Red Bee Media provides play-out services.
Arqiva is transmitting the multiplex shared by ITV, Channel 4 and Five. with Grass Valley providing broadcast playout and video encoding equipment.
Siemens Business Services is providing technical support for the BBC's HD trial. The test broadcasts will use MPEG4 video coding, 8K carriers and 64QAM modulation at launch - different parameters may be tested during the trial period.
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Auna improves ONO's financial results
From David Del Valle in Madrid
ONO, the largest cable operator in Spain, has announced a 143.2 per cent hike in EBITDA year-on-year for the first quarter of 2006, on the back of its acquisition of Auna Telecomunicaciones. ONO posted EBITDA of E133 million as revenues rose 193.8 per cent to E422 million. Net loss for the period was E20 million, narrowing from E25 million twelve months earlier.
The takeover of Auna was evident in the 109 per cent rise in net debt, which increased to E2.889 billion. ONO ended March with 1.46 million residential telephony customers, 888,000 residential broadband customers and a total of 115,000 corporate clients; the bulk of its users took services via the company’s cable network, with 97,000 customers taking unspecified services via unbundled local loops.
In July 2005 ONO purchased Auna for approximately E2.25 billion. The deal was completed in November 2005 and ONO immediately began integrating Auna's operations into its own. The acquisition near-doubled ONO's telephony and broadband customer bases, and the consolidated company is now the country's largest cable operator by far.
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Club Internet, in alliance with Microsoft, announced its new triple-play offering, the first in France to be based on the Microsoft TV software platform. Part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, Club Internet, which created TV on the web in 2002, will be among the first in the world to launch a triple-play offering that will be powered by the Microsoft TV Edition software platform.
Club Internet’s triple-play service will provide a complete digital television service together with voice and data services that soon will be supported by a set-top box with integrated hard disk from Linksys. The offering is high-definition (HD)-ready and digital terrestrial television (DTT)-ready and will include a vast range of on-demand programming, broadcast channels and advanced digital video recording (DVR) functionality, enabling consumers to control when and how they watch live and recorded TV."We are delighted with our alliance with Microsoft TV. Equipped with 1,000 VOD and SVOD programmes and 150 TV programmes, Club Internet television service will provide the consumer with real added value thanks to its user-friendly interface. With this new generation of digital television, Club Internet is revolutionising IPTV and inventing television on demand," said Marie-Christine Levet, president of Club Internet/T-Online France.
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Sirius signs for fourth bird
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. has signed a deal with Loral Space & Communications Ltd. to build a new satellite for its pay-radio service. The cost of designing, building, launching and insuring the satellite will be $260 million, Sirius said. The satellite would support the company's three other satellites and help improve customers reception of the service. Loral has agreed to provide a $100 million vendor financing facility. Sirius said it has no current plans to draw on the facility.
Construction of the satellite is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2008, and it will be launched via an agreement with International Launch Services.
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Microsoft IPTV: we’re doing OK
Microsoft's IPTV product is right where it wants to be - and expected to be - in its current point of development, Ed Graczyk, head of TV marketing said during GlobalComm.
He claimed things are going smoothly for the company's IPTV platform, pointing out that at the end of 2005 AT&T began testing video service using the first version of Microsoft's product, and since then there have been small deployments of the service. "We are starting small and we will scale up (with the platform)," Graczyk said.
Microsoft is targeting three dozen Tier I operators worldwide with its IPTV product. Already, 15 operators around the globe have picked up the company's video software, Graczyk said. Alcatel will package Microsoft services with its products for sale to Tier II and Tier III operators.
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BSkyB to launch Sky Sports 4
UK Media regulator Ofcom has awarded Sky a new TV licence, under the name Sky Sports 4, for a cable and satellite-only service. The broadcaster already operates Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 and Sky Sports Xtra for live sports coverage as well as rolling news service Sky Sports News.
Sky has amassed the rights to so much sport it is said to be struggling with its existing four channels and was recently forced to broadcast a high-profile darts tournament on Sky Sports News. As well as Premiership football rights, Sky's live sports coverage includes cricket, rugby, golf and boxing.
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BBC retains soccer highlightsThe BBC has retained Match of the Day Premier League highlights rights, but has paid £70m (E101m) more than for its last three-year deal, paying £171.6m for its new three-year contract. The deal covers the Saturday night highlights, a repeat on Sunday mornings, and a Match of the Day show "on other evenings when fixtures justify".
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Viaccess announced today that it has signed an agreement with Sagem Communication, covering the native integration of its purple-safe technology into Sagem mobile handsets from the end of 2006.Purple-safe is a digital rights management software embedded in the handsets which safeguards all types of files downloaded by mobile phone users. As part of this agreement, Viaccess will provide Sagem Communication with its "multi-DRM OMA DRM 1.0 and 2.0" digital rights management software.
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