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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 9th June
News Corp cuts Phoenix share
Cablevision claims ‘fair use’ for DVR
Spain's to inject money into DTT
Report: Mobile TV unprofitable
CableLabs and EuroCableLabs Extend Relationship
Sky News reverses revamp
C4 and Pact agree
Cox's Esser Takes on Telcos
Jetix revenues up 21 per cent
Optibase for IPTV
Digiturk selects Irdeto
First IP VOD HD
Triple play for Verizon
News Corp is set to sell more than half its shares in Phoenix Satellite Television, its Hong Kong-based Chinese television joint venture, in a move that would reduce its influence in its most successful effort to break into China’s media market. News Corp, which currently owns a 38 per cent stake in Phoenix, will sell just under 20 per cent of the company to China Mobile, the state telco. China Mobile is expected to pay over HK$1bn ($128m) for the shares and will become the second-largest shareholder in Phoenix.
It is thought Phoenix has not facilitated News Corp’s own expansion into China to the degree News had hoped. The company has in recent years become China’s leading commercial broadcaster, while regulators have restricted the reach of News Corp’s own Star TV unit to upscale hotels and apartments and the southern province of Guangdong.
Alongside the share deal China Mobile, News Corporation and STAR Group announced a broad strategic partnership to explore wireless media business opportunities. By leveraging the content assets and interactive services of News Corporation and STAR, the partners will combine their strengths to develop wireless media services based on China Mobile’s mobile platform, through which China Mobile serves over 260 million subscribers.The cooperation will explore wireless media business opportunities on a global basis. Key areas of the cooperation will include development, production, aggregation and distribution of a wide array of wireless services ranging from music, broadband interactivity, and social networking to multimedia value-added products.
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Cablevision claims ‘fair use’ for DVR
Cablevision Systems Corp claims its planned network-based digital video recorder is protected by "fair use" legal precedents established in the famous Sony Betamax video case. In an 18-page counterclaim filed in U.S. District Court in New York, the company defended itself against a lawsuit filed by four Hollywood movie studios and five cable television networks that charged the service would violate U.S. copyright laws if launched.
The company claimed its network DVR would allow users to engage in "'fair use" which gives consumers limited use of copyrighted material, such as making personal copies of purchased music or movies, without requiring permission from the rights holders such as record or movie companies.
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Spain's to inject money into DTT
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish government and the Pro DTT Association, formed by all TV networks and Abertis, have signed an agreement to jointly finance the development of DTT in the country. As a result of the deal, around E18 million will be invested to promote DTT in Spain, with the Government paying half of it and TV networks the other half.
Both parties have undertaken to launch joint initiatives to promote DTT and to develop plans for digital switchover, including analogue switch-off pilots and trials of new digital services. The Government plans to set partial deadlines for digital switchover in order to make it step by step. Thus, by July 31, 2007 85 per cent of Spain's territory should be covered by digital TV; 88 per cent one year later, in 2008; 93 per cent in 2009 and complete digital coverage in summer 2010 a few months after the analogue switch-off scheduled for April that year.
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Report: Mobile TV unprofitable
Only a small number of broadcasting technology options will be financially viable, according to a new report from Sound Partners Research. As consumer demand for mobile TV and radio increases and broadcasting services begin to emerge during 2006, there will be strong competitive pressures on mobile operators to respond.
However, according to report co-author, Dr Alastair Brydon: "There is a strong
chance that mobile users will not spend a substantial amount on mobile TV and radio services, and this will be shared by video-on-demand and broadcasting services." Mobile operators have to choose among several broadcasting technologies, including DAB-IP, T-DMB, DVB-H and TDtv, or significantly enhance their 3G networks. Operators that choose a broadcasting technology must decide whether to build their own networks or to share the cost and risk with others.
Financial modelling presented in the report reveals that small operators will have a very limited choice of viable options. According to Alastair Brydon, "Sharing a broadcasting network with a number of other mobile operators will be essential. With a shared network, either DAB-IP or DVB-H could yield attractive returns."
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CableLabs and EuroCableLabs Extend Relationship
CableLabs and EuroCableLabs have signed an agreement to further align the development of cable technology in the US and Europe. The agreement provides EuroCableLabs access to CableLabs’ DOCSIS and PacketCable specifications and test plans, thereby assuring greater consistency across cable technologies developed for the North American and European markets.
The agreement assures EuroCableLabs will have access to draft specifications for
DOCSIS and PacketCable, including proposed engineering changes to these
specifications, to allow for European adaptations to be included in the specifications while they are being developed. In addition, EuroCableLabs will have access to CableLabs’ acceptance and compliance test plans which are used as part of the certification and qualification testing process.
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Sky News has axed James Rubin's struggling World News Tonight programme and ditched much of its re-launch. The new schedule marks a U-turn on last autumn's relaunch, which was intended to introduce more "appointment to view" programmes.
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C4 and Pact agreeChannel 4 and Pact have come to an agreement on new media rights, with the broadcaster winning the battle for a 30-day exclusive window in which to exploit its programmes via all platforms. The Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, welcomed the deal. "This deal is of major importance to Channel 4 in securing us the exclusive 30-day window we need to launch a full on-demand service in the autumn and protection for the Channel 4 brand."
The BBC agreed its new media rights deal with Pact last week and an agreement with ITV and Channel Five is also "not far off".
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Cox's Esser Takes on Telcos
The lone cable representative speaking before GlobalComm called for an even regulatory playing field when it comes to telcos developing video services. Patrick Esser, president of Cox Communications, said the MSO is "ready to duke it out" with telco video for customers. And he said the cable business supports a less-cumbersome franchise process as long as it puts cable on the same level as telco video. He criticized telco efforts to gain legislative and regulatory relief for their video services at the expense of incumbent competitors.
Essen called telco promises to deliver competition to cable "laughable." He added, "We have faced competition since DirecTV launched."
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Jetix revenues up 21 per cent
Jetix revenues are up 21 per cent to E84.5 million with EBITDA increased by 32 per cent to E35.4 million and operating profit up by 115 per cent to E12.6 million. Channel subscribers grew by 3.0 million to 44.8 million households.
Paul Taylor, Chief Executive Officer said: "I am pleased to be announcing strong operating results, with growth across all of our business segments. Following the significant changes we have implemented in recent years I believe that we are starting to see the results of building a solid foundation for our ongoing business."
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Optibase for IPTV
At Globalcomm 2006, Optibase announced that it is working with IPTV system and set-top box vendor UTStarcom to bring true Picture-in-Picture (PIP) capabilities to IPTV services, giving subscribers seamless flexibility and control over channel selection while reducing or eliminating the need for additional hardware at the Telco headend.
With the evolution of set-top boxes to handle high definition with advanced codecs and increased processing power, the Optibase and UTStarcom PiP solution is designed to function on the client side to give subscribers the power to watch two or more channels at once, choosing the channels they want to see and how they want to see them.
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Digiturk selects Irdeto
Irdeto announced that Digiturk has selected the Irdeto Digital TV PVR & Push VOD solution for launch to its customers starting Q1 2007. The Irdeto solution will allow Digiturk to offer its customers an advanced personal video recorder that supports secure encrypted storage of recorded content as well as the ability to push pre-encrypted premium video on demand content to the hard drive. Digiturk will be able to use Irdeto’s advanced DRM functionality to sell that stored content to customers in a variety of different ways, including both subscription, pay per view and rental models.
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First IP VOD HDSeaChange International customer OnDemand TV, is launching the world_s first IPTV on-demand service to offer high-definition programming encoded in the H.264 video compression standard. Beginning next month, FTTH-connected subscribers around Tokyo and Osaka will have access to on-demand libraries of high-definition movies, sports and other programming.
The H.264 standard enables television operators to deliver demanding high-definition video streams in less than half the bandwidth required by MPEG-2 and other standards over a wide variety of network environments including DSL and wireless. H.264 empowers OnDemand TV to slash bandwidth usage to 8mbps for high-definition on-demand assets.
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Verizon and DIRECTV announced an agreement that will enable Verizon wholesale customers to sell a package of voice, DSL and DIRECTV services that they say is designed to offer a superior and more value-oriented alternative to cable "triple play" offers. Under the agreement, telecom service providers that utilize Verizon's popular Wholesale Advantage voice service and selected high-speed data services can also receive DIRECTV service and sell all three services to consumers.
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Thursday 8th June
DT concedes Bundesliga cabsat rights
TelcoTV tipped to capture significant market share
Liberty Global set to close French cable sale and exit Sweden
Freeview overtakes analogue television
France OK’s terrestrial HD trials
NTT Expands IPTV rollout with Tandberg Television
Winner Channel shows poker face
Sebastian Holdings drops Vivendi pursuit
mPhase opts for integrated software-based CA
Telefónica boosts Imagenio with new channels
India proposes cable law revisions
DT concedes Bundesliga cabsat rightsDeutsche Telekom (DT) has agreed to give up its right to broadcast Bundesliga football games via cable and satellite TV as part of a deal struck with German football body DFL.
DT, which acquired the rights to show season 2006/7 Bundesliga games over the Internet, noted that DFL accepted that its Internet rights also permit transmissions of football games via satellite-TV and cable. However, DT said it had decided not to show games via satellite and cable and instead agreed with DFL to cut the fee it had paid for its Internet rights.
As part of the deal, Telekom said it will also be named premium partner for the Bundesliga's 2006/2007 season. In addition, the firm was granted the option to be a sponsor of the Bundesliga for the 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons and beyond.
"This agreement fulfils everything Deutsche Telekom aimed to achieve with the negotiations," said Walter Raizner, member of DT’s Board of Management.
Deutsche Telekom's activities for the games of the first and second soccer leagues in future will be focused on live transmissions and post-match reporting via T-Com's high-speed network. The deal tidies up the dispute over the Bundesliga broadcasting rights between DT, DFL and Arena, the cable TV-owned company that holds the pay-TV rights for the coming three Bundesliga seasons, but .Pay-TV broadcaster Premiere AG, which previously held the rights, failed to secure any in the current round. Premiere is understood to have hoped it could strike a deal with Telekom to show Bundesliga games to its customers via cable and satellite. The pair have already teamed up to show Bundesliga matches via IPTV
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TelcoTV tipped to capture significant market shareNew TelcoTV services could take as much as 25 per cent of pay-TV subscribers in markets in which such services are introduced, just in the first few years, according to recent research.
The report, ‘Receptivity to TelcoTV among pay-TV Subscribers - Primary Research and Analysis’, suggests that there are a sufficient number of ambivalent or dissatisfied cable and DBS subscribers that a competitive offering with even slight cost advantages could be disruptive to the market balance.
"Some 84 per cent of US households now subscribe to some form of pay-TV service, be it cable or satellite," said Dale Gilliam of The Diffusion Group (TDG). "However, 15 per cent of these subscribers are dissatisfied with the quality of their current pay-TV service, and 22 per cent are likely to switch from their current service to a TelcoTV service given some level of cost discount."
"The US pay-TV market has evolved to a level of maturity where penetration is stable and growth is contingent upon increasing per-subscriber revenue," said Michael Greeson, CEO of TDG and co-author of the report. "There seems to be tacit consent among cable and DBS operators that current average prices are sustainable, as are price increases for basic services. This is a perfect environment for a new player, in this case TelcoTV, to enter the fray."
According to TDG, as US telcos construct responses to cable's 'triple-play' threat, they have realised that the lynch-pin service is video - it is by far the most sticky and churn-resistant service of the bundle, a reality of which US telcos are more than aware.
The report features the results of an April 2006 study of more than 1,500 US households regarding awareness of and interest in TV and bundled services offered from their 'local telephone provider’.
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Liberty Global set to close French cable sale and exit Sweden
Liberty Global has reached a definitive agreement with Altice and Cinven for the sale of 100 per cent of its French cable business ("UPC France").The agreement follows a previously announced, non-binding letter of intent. Liberty Global will sell UPC France for E1.25 billion (US$ 1.60 billion, based on exchange rate as of June 6, 2006) in cash, assuming zero net debt and subject to closing adjustments. The previously announced price and terms remain substantially unchanged.
Separately, Liberty Global has received approval by the EU competition authorities to sell its Swedish cable business ("UPC Sweden") to a consortium comprising The Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners.
Liberty Global will sell UPC Sweden for cash consideration of approximately SEK3,012 million (E327 million, and the assumption by the Buyer of capital lease obligations with an aggregate balance of approximately SEK257 million (E28 million).
The transaction is expected to close within the next 30 days.
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Freeview overtakes analogue television
Figures released by UK communications regulator Ofcom for the first quarter of 2006 (January-March) reveal that that digital television was viewed by 72.5 per cent (18.2 million) of UK television households - up from 69.5 per cent at the end of 2005.
Take-up of digital television is growing faster than expected. Ofcom’s previous Digital Progress Report forecast that an extra 1.7 million homes would take-up digital television in 2006. By the end of March almost 800,000 extra households had already done so.
The number of free-to-view digital households (Freeview plus free-to-view satellite) is estimated to have grown by 9.7 per cent from January to March to over 7.7 million.
DTT platform Freeview has for the first time overtaken traditional analogue television on primary sets in the home. Almost 7.1 million households have Freeview on the primary television set compared to around 6.4 million who are yet to take-up digital television. Freeview sales for January to March were up 40 per cent on the same period in 2005 at over 1.2 million, making this the third successive quarter in which sales have exceeded the 1 million mark.
Digital satellite remains the UK’s most popular digital television platform viewed by 8.3 million, or 30 per cent of homes of which almost 7.7 million subscribe to BSkyB pay services and 645,000 receive free-to-view satellite services. Just under 1 million BSkyB households view pay television on more than one television set through BSkyB’s Multiroom subscription service.
The number of cable television households increased slightly over the quarter and is currently just over 3.3 million. Over 70,000 digital cable subscribers were added during the quarter, mainly as a result of analogue subscribers transferring to digital services.
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France OK’s terrestrial HD trials
France’s audiovisual regulator , the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), following a period of industry consultation, has decided to permit digital terrestrial trial of high definition television, allowing them to take place between May 28 and July 17, 2006 and has adopted a resource sharing project. It also decided that further trials could take place in the autumn of 2006.
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NTT Expands IPTV rollout with Tandberg Television
On Demand TV - a joint venture of NTT West (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corp.) and Itochu - will expand its deployment of Tandberg Television's Mediaplex-20-based video headends to support MPEG-4 AVC technology for its nationwide IPTV rollout in Japan. On Demand TV is planning to deploy Tandberg Television MPEG-4 AVC transcoding in its Mediaplex-based headends in Tokyo (East) and Osaka (West).
"We're getting ready to expand our IPTV offering beyond our fibre networks and make it available to the rest of our subscribers over our ADSL networks, and Tandberg Television's MPEG-4 advanced compression and transcoding technology enables us to deliver high-quality content regardless of bandwidth constraints or content format", said Yasuyuki Taniguchi, chief manager of engineering for On Demand TV. "The Mediaplex video headend's efficient migration path to MPEG-4 will make it easy for us to upgrade our headends with a minimal amount of resources expended."
"Now that carriers of all sizes - from the smallest rural telcos to the world's largest providers, like NTT - are successfully delivering IPTV, service providers no longer see video as an option, but as an essential part of their service offerings," said Jim Olson, executive vice president, Tandberg Television.
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Winner Channel shows poker faceIn a deal with PokerZone Television, Two Way TV and Zone4Play’s betting brand, The Winner Channel, is launching a play-along TV poker show Face Up Hold ‘Em. The two hour play-along show will be broadcast daily on the Sky digital satellite platform on the PokerZone TV channel.
During the show, produced by Two Way TV, a Texas Hold ‘Em poker game is played live with every hand revealed to viewers at home. Viewers can play-along by predicting which player will win at the start of every round. At every step of the game viewers get to see the mathematical strength of each players’ hand to help make their predictions. The show features live expert commentary from PokerZone TV’s pundits.
Interaction is via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and home players can play for fun, or can bet on the outcome of each game for real money. The minimum stake is £1 (E1.45). The betting component of the show is run under Two Way TV’s bookmaking licence and adds another betting platform to Two Way’s portfolio of betting products. These include mobile, on-line, red button and IVR-based betting.
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Sebastian Holdings drops Vivendi pursuit
Vivendi minority investor Sebastian Holdings has confirmed that it was no longer in talks with the group about a possible takeover that could have led to breaking up the company. Vivendi had previously rejected an informal bid of more than E40 billion from Sebastian Holdings and criticised the approach as poorly defined.
Sebastian has claimed to own 4 per cent of Vivendi, while Vivendi claims the stake is only about 1.2 per cent.
Vivendi Chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou has not ruled out a potential takeover of the group and said he would take an offer more seriously if it was backed by large private-equity firms.
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mPhase opts for integrated software-based CA
Next-generation network solutions provider mPhase Technologies has confirmed the general availability of an integrated conditional access feature to its flagship IPTV platform, the mPhase TV+ System , incorporating content and revenue protection software from rights management and conditional access solutions provider Latens, whose latest generation dynamic Conditional Access System (CAS) is a pure software security solution that protects operators’ content and revenues."Conditional access in an all-software form is a cost-efficient and time saving feature for service providers," said Phil Thompson, mPhase Technologies executive vice president- Product Management. "The open architecture of the TV+ System is specifically designed to incorporate value-added capabilities like Latens CAS as part of our carrier-class turnkey offer to telecommunications operators looking to improve their return on investment in broadband technology with IPTV services."
"With digital piracy an ever present threat to popular commercial media, it is critical that we and our affiliates deploy only the most effective systems to protect and track content distributed across our networks," said Dom Stasi, TVN Chief Technology Officer.
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Telefónica boosts Imagenio with new channels
From David del Valle in Madrid
Spanish telco Telefónica has strengthened its IPTV service Imagenio adding 17 new channels (among others, Fox, TCM, National Geographic Channel), bringing its total number of channels to 66, including 12 DTT channels.
The move gas been made in response arrival of new IPTV operators, such as Wanadoo TV and Jazztelia, and the threat from cable company ONO.
The company has reached an output deal with Paramount to distribute some of its recently-released cinema titles. This deal comes soon after Telefónica reached a similar deal with Warner. Telefonica has also reached an agreement with terrestrial channel Tele 5 to offer on VoD some of its most successful series such as Hospital Central, Los Serrano or Aida.
In an effort to attract more subscriptions, Imagenio is launching a new promotion offering the triple play of Internet, telephony and TV services at half price. Imagenio currently has more than 250,000 subscribers and hopes to reach 1 million in 2008.
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India proposes cable law revisions
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed making changes to existing cable TV legislation, as well as to existing telecom licences, so as to facilitate growth of IPTV services in the country.
TRAI has released the proposed amendments to the Cable Television Networks Act, as also other material as part of an industry consultation exercise.
Television broadcasters have been demanding that IPTV be considered within the ambit of cable TV laws, but, TRAI contends that IPTV services cannot come under such laws, as this would violate some of the provisions of the existing Cable Television Networks Act.
TRAI's amendments, if applied, will mean that cable operators are no more responsible for IPTV content, while access service providers will have to ensure compliance with programming and advertising codes.
TRAI’s finalised draft of the proposed amendments proposes that a licensee can broadcast programmes through cable TV, but cannot transmit video services offered by a ‘Unified Access Service Licence’ holder. It also suggests that access service providers can offer broadband services including the triple play, of voice, video, and data.
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Wednesday 7th June
Advertisers reject DVR viewers
Report Predicts Strong Future for Mobile TV
Vonage to be sued
Carphone snares 340,000 ‘free’ broadband
Measurement firms get together
ReelTime goes wireless
Juniper joins with Microsoft TV
The Times TV
Blu-ray delay
ANT specified for Alice IPTV
MPEG 4 IP from Envivio
Stratacache Push VOD
Advertisers reject DVR viewers
In the annual round of negotiation between US networks and big advertisers the big stumbling block is an argument over how to value viewers who watch TV shows on digital video recorders. Most of the networks, led by ABC, wanted to price their commercial time to include a premium for the estimated number of viewers who watched with a DVR. But the networks are being forced to back off.
ABC implicitly acknowledged its DVR retreat in a statement, noting that "the majority of the advertising community has reached a consensus" on the DVR issue "and has concluded that commercials seen during a DVR-recorded programming have no value." ABC added that it "continues to believe strongly" in the worth of such viewers and "will continue its efforts to include this audience." It isn't a fight that the networks can afford to abandon, by the end of this year 16 per cent of US households with TVs will have DVRs, estimates Interpublic Group.
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Report Predicts Strong Future for Mobile TV
A new report from Portio Research, the result of an extensive survey of European mobile phone users in early 2006, gives a boost for mobile TV. Significantly over 50 per cent of those interviewed were interested in mobile TV and were prepared to pay for it, at an average price of E10 per month.
Also, video calling whilst still in its infancy, holds an attraction for many users particularly the teen market 85 per cent of whom expressed a desire to use video calling in the future. Interestingly, pre-paid subscribers were willing to pay more than post paid subscribers per call. Once again the research indicates a very attractive market with the potential for perhaps as many as 400 million Europeans using the service.
One of the most interesting findings of the survey is consumer attitudes to mobile advertising, with over 65 per cent of those questioned expressing zero tolerance to what many consider to be an unwelcome intrusion into their mobile world. As well as being likened to e-mail spam, advertising was considered particularly unacceptable if it intruded on paid for time watching mobile TV.
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Vonage to be suedVonage Holdings, the VOIP company whose shares have fallen 30 per cent since their market debut 10 days ago, has been accused in a class-action lawsuit of violating US securities laws.
The suit accuses the company of "publishing a materially false and misleading" information when it pre-sold 13.5 per cent $531m of its initial public offering to customers. The complaint claims that Vonage’s investors were motivated to push for an IPO because the company had been losing money and the investors were desperate for an exit strategy.
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Carphone snares 340,000 ‘free’ broadband
Europe’s largest mobile phone retailer says it has signed up 340,000 customers for its free broadband offering, twice as many as it was expecting two months after launch, as it reported underlying pre-tax profits up by 35.5 per cent to £136.1m (E197m).
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Measurement firms get together
From Gail Chiasson in Montreal
Measurement companies BBM Canada and Nielsen Media Research have reached a final agreement on terms for the joint venture TV ratings service under discussion since 2004. BBMNielsen Media Research is expected to begin supplying audience data in time for the 2006/07 TV season.
Canada has been one of the few countries using two TV ratings firms, which has led to duplicate and contradictory audience data. Media buyers, who say that the market is too small to justify the cost of supporting two measurement services, have been pushing for a resolution to the dual measurement system. They argue that cost savings created from use of a single measurement system could be used for additional qualitative measurement into how people are watching TV, and for converting diary markets into electronically metered markets.
The merged BBMNielsen Media Research will supply only audience data, while the individual ratings services will continue to offer proprietary analytic tools - for example, Nielsen's Spotwatch and BBM's InfoSys. All products will use the merged data.
Under the agreement, Nielsen people meters will be used in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, the Ontario region and nationally, while BBM will provide all data about Quebec. Two additional markets may be added.
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ReelTime goes wireless
From Rose Major in Melbourne
Australian IPTV company ReelTime will launch its first service by the end of October, following a revenue-share deal with wireless broadband ISP Unwired.
ReelTime will offer current-release movies to Unwired customers who purchase a set-top box for their television or software for their computer. ReelTime, which is also known as Movies Online, has deals with studios including Fox, Sony and MGM. Unwired and ReelTime will share sales revenues and collaborate on packaging and marketing.
While the deal initially just covers Unwired’s 50,000 subscribers in Sydney and Melbourne, the ISP is planning a national wireless broadband network which will move to the wireless broadband standard Mobile WiMAX, during 2007 and 2008.
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Juniper joins with Microsoft TV
Juniper Networks,and Microsoft Corp. announced a global agreement to deliver high-performance security solutions that enhance protection for Internet Protocol (IP) networks, services and applications. The companies are collaborating to provide end-to-end security with superior levels of quality and reliability to address the current and emerging needs of their service provider customers. With this agreement, Juniper can offer IPTV network security solutions to customers of Microsoft TV IPTV Edition.
The companies say the Juniper Firewall and Firewall IDP (Intrusion Detection and Prevention) product platforms complement the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition content security mechanisms to help protect the infrastructure from malicious traffic and attacks such as worms, trojans, spyware and application layer threats. In addition, Juniper will offer various security consulting services that assist operators to assess service infrastructure vulnerabilities and design network security solutions.
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THE TIMES of London is to launch an Internet television service this week, with the aim of boosting its online audience by supplying video news clips.
The service, called Times TV, will initially consist of news clips from third-party providers, but the newspaper plans to expand the service by encouraging its readers to contribute their own material, so long as it is newsworthy.
The initiative was announced as part of a plan to triple page impressions in the next few years for Times Online.
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Blu-ray delay
Pioneer Corp has said on it will postpone the North American launch of next-generation DVD players using Blu-ray technology to this autumn from its previous launch schedule of June, citing a delay in the development process.
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ANT specified for Alice IPTV
ANT plc the leading provider of software and solutions for the IPTV, hybrid TV and consumer electronics industries, announces that ANT Fresco has been selected for German telecommunications operator HanseNet's DTT and IPTV hybrid deployment in Germany. The Fresco TV browser will be integrated into Advanced Digital
Broadcast's ("ADB") ADB-3800TW High Definition-ready H.264 hybrid set-top
box and ADB has licensed Fresco and Alcatel's OMC software from ANT for this
purpose.
Simon Woodward, President and CEO of ANT, said, "This hybrid DTT and IPTV
deployment represents the next step for convergence of all forms of
television delivery. We are delighted to be a part of this important IPTV
rollout in Germany and to build upon our success in numerous IPTV systems
worldwide."
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MPEG 4 IP from Envivio
Envivio is showcasing its MPEG-4 IP video systems working on a Sigma Designs based H.264 consumer set-top box. The Envivio systems enable service providers
to deliver quarter common intermediate format (QCIF), common intermediate
format (CIF), standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) IP video and video on demand (VOD) to all devices - from a mobile video phone, to a PC, and to SD and HD television sets - within a complete MPEG-4 environment.
The video over IP systems can interface with any OSS billing and open standards based VoIP systems, making them an ideal solution for offering Quad Play where bandwidth is limited and operators wish to provide the latest in competitive services to their subscribers.
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Stratacache has announced OmniCast for Push VOD, a new, software-based solution for IPTV and on-demand video providers who want to achieve maximum scale, performance, and efficiency with their existing network equipment and servers while ensuring fast and reliable access to content for their subscribers.
Many existing service provider content distribution mechanisms rely on FTP-based transfers, which extend the time and bandwidth requirements for replicating media to hundreds of thousands of endpoints. OmniCast for Push VOD leverages Stratacache’s patented multicast distribution technology to enable simultaneous media distribution to tens of thousands of endpoints such as regional servers or subscriber set-top boxes.
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Tuesday 6th June
Five: two new UK channels
EC: there should be spectrum trade
Pirate Island straight back
Homechoice cuts price
Cogeco buys Cabovisao
UK and Korea show viability of DAB for Mobile TV
C4 close to producer deal
The Mobile DTV Alliance Grows
YouTube upgrade
C4 goes after radio
Ericsson launches IPTV solution
NDS: Synamedia IPTV
Five: two new UK channels
Channel Five is to the launch two new digital channels, Five US and Five Life. Five US will showcase imported Five hits such as CSI and Law and Order, while Five Life will be aimed at women, with soaps and lifestyle strands as well as an extended children’s package.
Both channels initially will be available on Freeview on bandwidth bought from pay-TV operator Top Up TV, Five took a stake in Top Up last November. Five said it has plans to also make them available on satellite and cable.
The extra capacity has become available as part of a restructure by Top Up TV that will see some of its current channels switch to a video on demand, download-only service called Anytime. Premiership rights holder Setanta is expected to launch at least one new channel on some of the other spare capacity.
"This is tremendously exciting and the most important development in Five's history since our launch nine years ago," said the Channel Five chief executive, Jane Lighting.
The new digital launches important for Five. While ITV and Channel 4 have boosted audiences with the likes of ITV2 and E4 respectively, Five has seen its audience share decline over the last 12 months, down 10 per cent to 5.9 per cent in the first five months of 2006 compared with 6.5 per cent in the same period last year.
Top Up TV launched in March 2004 and is being repositioned as a PVR type service provider with many of its 11 existing channels switching to a download-only basis. By phasing out the linear streams of channels including Discovery, Cartoon Network and UKTV Gold, it will free up bandwidth for extra channels.
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EC: there should be spectrum trade
Mobile companies, television groups and broadband providers may have to compete against rivals across Europe for access to airwaves under plans to shake up the European Union's spectrum regime. Viviane Reding, the EU media commissioner, wants to promote a pan-European market through which companies can buy and sell cross-border access to the finite spectrum.
Spectrum is usually managed by national authorities, and the suggestion that the resource be "traded" across borders could encounter stiff opposition from member states keen to retain control over their airwaves and lucrative spectrum auctions. Reding will apparently outline her plan on June 28 as part of a sweeping review of the legal framework governing EU telecoms and communications markets. She believes that reform could speed innovation by overcoming a fragmented approach in which bands of spectrum are reserved for one service only, such as television or mobile telephones. Reding's move could require countries to harmonise the band they allocate for certain services so that technology works in all member states. This could prove a boon to manufacturers, which might need to produce fewer varities of each product for the EU market.
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Pirate Island straight backThe website accused of directing users to pirated films, music and software has reopened days after Swedish authorities shut it down. One of those operating the Pirate Bay site, Fredrik Neij, told the AFP news agency that it had reopened using servers in the Netherlands. Swedish police targeted the site last week seizing 200 servers.
Hundreds of people protested in Stockholm on Saturday against the police raids on Pirate Bay. ThePirateBay.org has described itself as the largest search index for BitTorrent, a system used for sharing large files over the internet. The entertainment industry argue it is a major source of music and film piracy.
Sweden last year passed legislation banning the sharing of copyrighted material on the internet without royalty payment with file sharing now carries a maximum two-year jail term.
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UK’s Video Networks Ltd looks set to reduce its sale price after receiving offers of interest significantly below its ambitions. The company behind Homechoice, had hoped to secure up to £200 million (E289m) for the business. But The Times reports potential buyers are pitching significantly less — around the £50 million mark.
Home Choice, whose largest shareholder is Chris Larson, a co-founder of Microsoft, offers more than 90 television channels over broadband and an extensive on-demand service with a catalogue of films and music.
The group, which claims 45,000 customers in the London and Stevenage areas, now faces intense competition from other large-scale operators like BT and Sky. In 2004 Video Networks reported a loss of £46.5 million, compared to a loss of £1.5 million in the previous year. Despite Deloitte & Touche, the auditor, drawing attention to "uncertainties around the availability of future funding", the group said last year that it was confident of receiving further cash to fund the business.
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Cogeco Cable Inc., the fourth largest operator in Canada, has agreed with the owners of Cabovisao (Cable Satisfaction International Inc, Catalyst Fund Limited Partnership I and Cabovisao-Televisao por Cabo) to purchase the second largest cable operator in Portugal at a cost of E464.9 million.
The price includes the purchase of senior debt and reimbursement of certain other liabilities of Cabovisao. The purchase price for the shares and senior debt corresponds to a multiple of 10.6 of operating income before amortization for the first quarter ended March 2006 (annualized)."Cabovisao is well positioned in the high-growth cable telecommunications market in Portugal, including the Aveiro, the Lisboa-Palmela, the Caldas and the Alentejo regions. Cogeco Cable is pleased with its growth potential and expects to make attractive additions to the services already provided to its customers thanks to its modern distribution infrastructure. In addition, Cogeco Cable will share with Cabovisao its knowledge of the cable distribution industry which it has developed over the last 35 years and which will also foster stability in the ownership and management of that company," said Louis Audet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco Cable.
Cogeco Cable will finance the acquisition through an underwritten credit facility of C$900 million over five years committed by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
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UK and Korea show viability of DAB for Mobile TV
UK and Korea are coming together to demonstrate benefits of DAB to support both public service and commercial multimedia applications. Partners from both countries have joined forces to announce details of the trial that will show how two enhancements of the DAB platform can be used to broadcast television and other multimedia applications to mobile devices using existing spectrum.
The technical trial is particularly timely ahead of the expected release of Band III spectrum later this year and L-Band spectrum in early 2007. The companies say using DAB in Band III for multimedia broadcasting can be cost effective as it can use existing infrastructure and, with some spectrum already allocated, services can be launched straight away.
The trial will demonstrate the multimedia capabilities of DAB including Enhanced Radio, Mobile TV and other multimedia applications, and how these can co-exist with the already popular DAB audio radio services here in the UK.
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Channel 4 is understood to be close to a deal with independent producers' trade body Pact over new media rights, following months of deadlock. The BBC agreed its new media rights deal with Pact last week.
Ofcom had set a May 31 deadline for all the four main terrestrial broadcasters - the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Channel Five - to agree new media rights deals with Pact. It is understood that Channel 4's deal with Pact will be on different terms to the BBC agreement, which will allow the corporation to offer an on demand catch-up service via its iPlayer while a show is still on air, but after that give producers considerable freedom to exploit new media rights.
Channel 4 is said to be looking for a longer exclusive window before new media rights to shows it commissions are sold on to other media organisations.
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The Mobile Digital TV Alliance (MDTV Alliance) announced the addition of six new Contributor level members: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Harris Corporation, Mediaphy Corporation, MobiTV, Royal Philips Electronics, and Silicon & Software Systems (S3). LSI Logic Corporation also joins, at the Associate level.
"The alliance's rapid growth is a testament to the global momentum of DVB-H and the overall interest in seeing open standards and interoperability when it comes to digital TV on mobile handsets and other handhelds," said Yoram Solomon, president of the Mobile DTV Alliance, and Director of Strategic Marketing and Industry Relations for Mobile Connectivity Solutions, Texas Instruments. "Joining other key industry players in the alliance, these latest members add a new perspective and credibility to our focus on accelerating the adoption of DVB-H in North America."
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YouTube has unveiled a major upgrade of its Web site that will transform how millions of fans find videos by encouraging them to subscribe to channels that focus on the latest work of favorite artists or topical themes. The changes allow users to create playlists that can be shared with similar-minded fans. YouTube said that it aims to move beyond depending on the latest hit videos, which spread like wild fire across the Internet via e-mail. Instead, it wants to create a personalized programming experience akin to TV viewers surfing channels with a remote control.
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UK’s Channel 4 will launch a challenge to the BBC's dominance in radio broadcasting by unveiling a portfolio of online audio brands and detailing plans to bid for a digital radio licence. The "4radio" initiative is expected to include plans for at least one full digital radio channel as well as more downloads and podcasts of individual programmes and new services for people to receive broadcasts on their mobile phones. The push into radio will be seen by former BBC radio boss Jim Moir.
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Ericsson launches IPTV solution
Ericsson announced an end-to-end IPTV solution. The offering will make possible a complete range of IPTV services, such as broadcast TV (both standard and high-definition quality), video on-demand, network personal video recording and electronic programming guides.
Ericsson says its solution provides telecom-grade performance, meets scalability requirements and involves complete life-cycle management. It also includes guidelines for integration with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) functions, such as charging and end-user authentication, which is unique on the market. It combines its portfolio with key products from world-leading partners.
Claes Ödman, Vice President, Multimedia Solutions, Ericsson, says: "IPTV is much more than traditional TV broadcast over the IP network - it is about integrating media with communications services to deliver personalized, interactive television no matter where the viewer is."
Ericsson's vision of personalized IPTV services delivered over broadband is based on open standards, including the combination of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) technologies, for digital entertainment, with the IMS standard for delivering enriched communications services. Ericsson is committed to working with appropriate standardization bodies to achieve economies of scale and inter-operability in IPTV reference architecture and interfaces.
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NDS at Globalcomm 2006 announced Synamedi Metro, a complete IPTV middleware solution for telcos and broadband operators. The company says Synamedia Metro IPTV middleware allows IPTV operators to offer attractive Electronic Program Guides (EPG), interactive TV applications (iTV), Video on Demand (VOD), digital video recorder (DVR) or network DVR capabilities and interactive games, in either standard (SD) or high definition (HD) all of which are built using the NDS MediaHighway middleware application development tools. Synamedia Metro also protects premium content and revenue streams through NDS VideoGuard, the most widely deployed encryption technology for content protection, revenue protection and rights management.
Nigel Smith, vice president NDS Broadband Internet Group said: "Telco operators can benefit from the experience that NDS has gained in delivering middleware solutions to over 38 million subscribers and be sure that they can launch advanced TV applications at least comparable with their competitors – while also taking advantage of the two-way nature of IPTV. "
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Monday 5th June
Ofcom warns on EC media rules
Cellcast hit by Sky EPG shuffle
La Sexta and Cuatro deal over World Cup
AOL wants out of Euro ISP business
Sky News on blinx
Lagadere doesn’t want Canal Plus
Ideal buys arts and crafts
Eutelsat in DTT HD tests
Ofcom warns on EC media rulesUK’s Ofcom has warned the European parliament that attempts to extend broadcast regulation to new media would be "dangerous" and would stifle competition. It said that services such as MySpace.com would be damaged by the European Commission proposals that two tiers of regulation be introduced in a change to the existing Television Without Frontiers Directive.
This would divide traditional linear media from non-linear media meaning such as on demand videos and other content that users "pull" from a network would be subject to separate rules. Ofcom's partner responsible for regulation of content and standards, Tim Suter, told a parliamentary hearing the proposed changes would bring thousands of people who create user-generated content, many of them teenagers, within the scope of the new regulation. The regulator claimed that this would affect people downloading clips and uploading to sites such as YouTube and MySpace.
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Cellcast hit by Sky EPG shuffleCellcast PLC, the interactive digital broadcaster, has issued a trading update, saying recent changes to the listings of its channels on Sky Digital’s EPG, and revenue delays from international investments, "had a negative impact on the company’s performance." The board says market forecasts for the year will not be met. Turnover is expected to be below market expectations and the company will show a pre-tax loss.
The update says "turnover in the UK is robust and is significantly ahead of the same period last year but profitability has been impacted by the EPG reorganisation which has created scheduling inefficiencies and has made navigation difficult for the regular viewers of the Company's programmes." Cellcast floated on AIM in September 2005.
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La Sexta and Cuatro deal over World Cup
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spanish commercial networks, La Sexta and Sogecable-owned Cuatro, have reached an agreement to share TV rights to the forthcoming World Cup. It allows Cuatro to broadcast all the Spanish squad's matches, as well as the opening, semi-finals and final of the tournament. The deal between the broadcasters was presaged following fierce criticism of rights holder La Sexta for its lack of a nation wide coverage. It now claims to reach 80 per cent of the population.
La Sexta paid E90 million for the exclusive rights to all the World Cup matches while Sogecable paid La Sexta E20 million for the rights to simultaneously broadcast the main matches and those where the Spanish national team plays.
The other commercial channels Antena 3 TV and Tele 5 have announced that they will take the case (the agreement between La Sexta and Cuatro) to court alleging unfair competition as Sogecable will also have the rights to offer the World Cup through its pay-TV platform, Digital Plus.
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AOL wants out of Euro ISP business
AOL has put its UK ISP operation up for sale, joining a process already under way in France and Germany. AOL has 2.2 million customers in Britain, of whom 1.3 million use broadband. After BT and the merged cable companies NTL and Telewest, it is the UK's third-largest internet service provider. The company, in Britain since 1996, has about 500 staff with a further 800 at a call centre in Ireland.
As part of its strategic review of AOL's European operations, Citigroup is understood to have approached players in the communications industry about buying AOL UK's access business or going into a partnership with it. As the ISP market becomes more commoditised it is looking to get out of it in Europe and develop its content and advertising business in partnership with Google, which took a 5 per cent stake in the AOL for $1bn earlier this year.
This week Orange, which has merged with the former Freeserve business Wanadoo, announced its "free" broadband package for mobile customers who spend more than £30 (E43) a month. This summer BSkyB is expected to offer "free" broadband to satellite customers while BT plans bundled TV and internet by the autumn.
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Blinkx has struck a partnership with Sky News, to make breaking and archive news clips available on its video search engine. Under the agreement, blinkx will automatically index and transcribe Sky News’ content improving users’ ability to search and navigate.
"We are delighted that blinkx is showcasing our brand and range of exciting content. It’s increasingly important for Sky News to be represented in the non-linear environment," said Steve Bennedik, editor of Sky News Networked Media.
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Lagadere doesn’t want Canal Plus
French group Lagardere does not plan to take ownership of Canal Plus which is majority-owned by Vivendi. "We do not have the ambition, the intention, to acquire the entirety of Canal Plus", said a spokesman to a meeting with investors.
Lagardere is often rumoured as possible buyer of Canal Plus, in which it has a 20 per cent stake, amid speculation about a possible break-up of Vivendi.
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Ideal buys arts and crafts
A growing market for arts and crafts has seen home shopping channel Ideal Shopping Direct to make its first acquisition. The group, which operates channels on Sky, Freeview and cable, has agreed to buy Superstore TV, a craft sourcing and wholesale business, for £1.5m (E2.17m).
Superstore sources items for hobbies including card making, stamping and scrapbooking from China. Although it was loss-making in 2005, it is expected to make a profit this year. Andrew Fryatt, chief executive of Ideal Shopping Direct, said: "The total craft market is worth around £2bn and card and paper is about a quarter of that."
The television home shopping market is thought to be worth around £800m, with QVC taking the biggest slice. Sit-Up TV, now part of Telewest, is the second-biggest player and operates channels including Screenshop and Price Drop TV. Ideal Shopping Direct is the third largest.
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Eutelsat in DTT HD tests
Eutelsat is partnering with TDF to transmit a sequence of programmes in HDTV MPEG4 to Digital Terrestrial Television transmitters in France’s three largest cities. The satellite channel provided by Eutelsat will deliver HDTV programmes supplied by leading French channels including France Télévisions, TF1, M6 and Canal Plus to DTT transmitters in Paris, Marseilles and Lyon.The objective of the six-week test, coordinated by the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), is to validate the full HD broadcasting chain to DTT homes from encoding, transport and broadcasting, through to reception. The capacity provided by Eutelsat is on ATLANTIC BIRD 3 which is also the satellite already used to deliver all five DTT multiplexes to over-the-air transmitters in France since the full commercial launch of DTT in March 2005.
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