|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 5th May
BBC chief looks to content-driven future
Make Mine IPTV, says KPN
Arqiva secures Astra capacity
3 Italia secure with Gemplus USIM cards
TV platforms told to pay for commercial networks
Intel and NDS collaborate on WiMAX Multicast
Telefónica and Warner Bros in VoD deal
ATI and Nokia partner on mobile multimedia experiences
UK DAB digital radio sales top 3m
French iTV group calls for platform interoperability
Sprint delivers Spanish-language mobile TV
BBC chief looks to content-driven future
From Colin Mann in LondonBBC Director General Mark Thompson has said the corporation is adjusting to changes in television viewing habits by re-assessing how content is made available in the future. Referring to the BBC’s "content-led strategy", Thompson told a group of broadcast industry journalists that broadcasting was moving from a moment where "if people were there to see it or hear it – great, to a moment where pretty much everything we do can be there forever." According to Thompson, the BBC needed to ask: ‘What can we build that will be there in ten, twenty years from now?’"
He added that BBC video search engine was being developed to be a way of helping people who own the BBC to find things more effectively; and to pull content together in a way that was convenient and they could get used to. Confirming that the BBC iPlayer ‘catch-up’ service would enable programmes to be accessed up to seven days after transmission, he suggested that thereafter they would be available for monetisation.
He also confirmed that the BBC was still assessing the possibility of launching a ‘Freesat’ digital direct-to-home satellite service which would benefit viewers who were unable to access digital services via other means, or were unwilling to sign up to BSkyB’s own free service. "I would have thought that by the end of summer we will be clear on what’s going to happen and if we go ahead, I’d have thought we were talking about next June." He also noted that this year and next year there would be "a lot of launches of boxes and services" that has expressed interest in carrying BBC services or the BBC was in discussions with.
Back to top
Make Mine IPTV, says KPNDutch telco KPN has launched its IPTV service under the brand name Mine. At launch, Mine subscribers will have over 48 TV and 60 radio channels to choose from, which will be further expanded to 60 TV and 70 radio channels before the summer.
Mine also includes ‘FilmDirect’, a video on demand service currently offering some 300 titles, soon to be expanded to 500, for which KPN has reached agreement with parties including Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and Blockbuster Entertainment Ltd.
The Mine package, offered via ADSL, will include as standard a personal recorder with space for up to a hundred hours of television. The ‘Missed Programme’ feature enables subscribers to see programmes they have missed on the three Dutch public channels up to 10 days after airing.
Ludolf Rasterhoff, KPN’s TV and Media director, said that Mine was "a whole new way of experiencing TV. It puts an end to the traditional, passive viewing experience which was essentially one-way traffic. Now, the individual viewer decides which programme he wants to see and when. With Mine, we aim to make watching TV more enjoyable, focusing on what viewers want."
The first people to sign up for Mine will be invited to participate in a customer platform. In exchange for their active participation and input, they will be not have to pay a subscription fee (E19.95 a month). KPN will be using their experiences to fine-tune the service to viewers’ wishes. This introductory offer runs until October 1, 2006. Until then, the theme packages and theme channels are also free, and subscribers can watch 20 movies a month for nothing. KPN expects to have some 10,000 customers for Mine by this time.
Mine is available immediately for people with a KPN Direct ADSL or Planet Internet ADSL subscription. From this summer, anyone can subscribe.
Back to top
Arqiva secures Astra capacityUK transmission service company Arqiva has signed a fourth transponder contract with SES Astra. The capacity subcontracted by SES Astra at the orbital position 28.2°/ 28.5° East will be used by Arqiva to help meet the demand from the rapidly growing number of UK channels launching on the Sky platform.
Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES Astra said the new contract further strengthened SES’s position in the UK and Ireland DTH satellite market. Nick Thompson, Arqiva's Managing Director for satellite media solutions said the agreement allowed Arqiva to further improve its offer and expand its business in an important and growing sector.
Back to top
3 Italia secure with Gemplus USIM cards
Secure card-based solutions provider Gemplus International has been selected as the exclusive USIM partner of Italian mobile media company, 3 Italia, for its forthcoming mobile TV service. Based on DVB-H technology, the service will be launched on 3 Italia’s network prior to the FIFA World Cup in June 2006.
GemXplore Generations cards host the end-user’s access rights and protect the access to the encrypted TV content. 3 Italia will also be able to upgrade the security and functionality levels of the CAS (Conditional Access System) applet located on the user’s USIM card once it is deployed in the field. The conditional access solution is provided by Gemplus’s partner Nagravision.
"We strongly believe in DVB-H and for this reason we have selected technologically advanced partners that believe, as we do, in this business and offer the highest levels of reliability," said Dina Ravera, Chief Operating Officer of 3 Italia.
"The arrival of multimedia technologies in the mobile space, combined with the launch of 3G networks, force mobile network operators to constantly offer more innovative services to their end-users," said Philippe Vallée, Chief Technology Officer, Gemplus. "In this context, SIM cards play a key role in establishing mobile operators’ brand across all communication channels while enabling the management and control of these new services".
Back to top
TV platforms told to pay for commercial networks
From Rose Major in MelbourneAll Australian television platforms carrying the country’s seven free-to-air channels must now pay to retransmit the networks following a ruling by the Copyright Tribunal.
Foxtel, Optus and Austar now all face either big bills or the decision to stop transmitting the channels. Previously, no fee was paid to free-to-air networks.
But the ruling also means that any new entrants to the market - for instance new IPTV platforms - will also have to pay 22.5 cents per subscriber per month if they wish to carry Seven, Nine, Ten, the ABC or SBS, plus the latter two broadcasters’ digital channels.
Whether platforms would have to pay for any future digital spin-off channels launched by the broadcasters has not yet been addressed by the tribunal. Decisions on that and other questions, such as whether to backdate the payments to the start of the dispute in 2001, are likely in a further ruling due in mid-June.
The fees will go to copyright owners of programmes broadcast on the networks, including independent production companies.
Back to top
Intel and NDS collaborate on WiMAX MulticastIntel Corporation and NDS are developing a trial system to demonstrate the TV and video services for fixed WiMAX technology. Using the WiMAX IEEE 802.16-2004 standard and the soon to be ratified IEEE 802.16e, Intel and NDS will also collaborate on industry and market development activities. The companies will engage in demonstrations to service providers and the industry to show how WiMAX can offer more than broadband access with pay-TV services.
The pre-WiMAX implementation takes place at Intel’s Wireless Competence Centre (IWCC) in Kista, Sweden and demonstrates the first system to show WiMAX TV services including live TV, VoD and integrated electronic programme guide (EPG) delivery to an Intel Centrino mobile technology based notebook over 802.16-2004 and 802.11.
According to Anders Huge, Director of Intel Wireless Competence Centre, demonstrating multicast TV to notebook computers articulates the way forward for mobile computing – extending the range of services offered by WiMAX to include broadband Internet access, VoIP and video.
Yossi Deutsch, Vice President Product Marketing, NDS said that partners were getting "a clear message out that it is not only about broadband access but rather a full range of lucrative services, enhancing the very model behind WiMAX future deployments."
Back to top
Telefónica and Warner Bros in VoD deal
From David del Valle in Madrid
Spanish telco Telefónica and Warner Bros International TV Distribution have signed an agreement to distribute Video on Demand content through ADSL-based pay-TV service Imagenio, with currently more than 250,000 clients.Imagenio will distribute via its VoD service the latest Warner Bros films, as well as a selection from Warner's back catalogue available on the section ‘Cine de Siempre’.
The deal is the first of its kind signed by Warner Bros in Spain. Imagenio currently distributes 49 TV channels and 15 audio services, as well as a video on demand service with more than 400 cinema titles and more than 1,000 hours of TV series, documentaries, music clips, and news.
Back to top
ATI and Nokia partner on mobile multimedia experiences
3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions ATI Technologies and Nokia have agreed a long-term strategic relationship to bring enhanced mobile multimedia experiences to Nokia customers. They will work closely together to drive high quality multimedia experiences such as music playback, 3D gaming, mobile TV, video and more for Nokia mobile device users worldwide.
"Working with ATI underscores the commitment that Nokia has in providing unparalleled mobile multimedia experiences to consumers," said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Multimedia Experiences, Nokia. "With the mobile device now at the centre of people's lives, we want people to have access to fantastic mobile content when and where they want. We are announcing our collaboration with ATI now, so that developers have the next twelve to eighteen months to be innovative and create world class mobile multimedia experiences."
ATI and Nokia are promoting open standards and providing integrated hardware, software and tools. In this way, developers need only create content once for consumers to enjoy on a range of devices. Specifically, ATI aims to provide a dedicated tools chain and software development kit (SDK) for developers in the fall of 2006."Our role is to enable all content, from ultra-high quality music playback to 3D gaming, and we'll jointly guide and support the members of the content development community as they focus on creating amazing user experiences," said Paul Dal Santo, Vice President and GM, Handheld Products, ATI. "With a shared vision of how multimedia impacts the mobile market, Nokia and ATI are providing much needed direction and a framework to move the whole industry forward."
Back to top
UK DAB digital radio sales top 3mThe Digital Radio Development Bureau has revealed that sales of DAB digital radio sets in the UK have topped three million. Figures supplied by industry tracking body GfK, show that the three million landmark was reached at the end of March, with 3.053 million cumulative sales reported.
DRDB chief executive, Ian Dickens noted that it took five years for DAB set sales to reach the first million. "It took just nine months to reach the second million, and five months to top three million."
The DRDB forecasts two million DAB digital radios could be sold in the 12 months to December 2006, putting cumulative sales at 4.7 million by the end of the year. The industry expects a significant uptake of DAB radios during the FIFA World Cup and throughout the summer, especially hand-held devices, with sport being a key driver to purchase.
Convergence of form factors is also proving popular with consumers as the first DAB/MP3 products enter the market this year. And the first DAB enabled mobile phones will appear this summer, with BT Movio broadcasting digital television and radio services on the Virgin Mobile network.
Dickens added that DAB digital radio sales were starting to overtake analogue in some categories, particularly the portable/kitchen radio market. "The average age of DAB set owners is now below the national average, the male/female split is closing, and repeat purchase is on the increase, all of which are key indicators that DAB digital radio is enjoying healthy growth and moving swiftly toward mass market status."
Back to top
French iTV group calls for platform interoperabilityFrench interactive television trade group AFDESI has called on audiovisual regulator the CSA (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel) to ensure that in assessing the intended merger of pay-TV offerings from CanalSatellite and TPS, it treats interoperability of platforms as a priority.
In an open letter to the CSA, AFDESI welcomes the merger of the respective platforms which will offer a single platform for some five million homes and will create the critical mass of homes capable of interactivity necessary for the development of innovative and value added services. It adds that developers of interactive services will be able to concentrate on a single interactive driver which will improve the economics of an industry born in France.
AFDESI suggests that the success of a single platform such as BSkyB in the UK is particularly encouraging, with interactivity now being the second highest source of revenue, ahead of advertising.
Access to the platform should be on fair and non-discriminatory terms for all developers, with such principles being enshrined in the terms of the merger.
Back to top
Sprint delivers Spanish-language mobile TV
US telco Sprint has launched Sprint TV En Vivo, the first live Spanish-language video and audio service for mobile phones in the US The high-speed service is available on select handsets equipped for the Sprint Power Vision network and offers a mix of Spanish- and English-language channels delivering breaking news, sports, entertainment, music videos, weather and other live programming that is specifically designed for the Hispanic community.
Additionally, for select multimedia handsets on the Sprint Vision network, the same content is available in a Java version branded MobiTV en Español. MobiTV assembled the channel line-up and designed much of the technology for both versions.
"This cutting-edge content line-up is specifically designed to meet the interests and needs of the Hispanic community, who now comprise 14 per cent of the US population. This collective offering addresses a very significant audience who are considered to be major drivers and early adopters of mobile entertainment, applications and services," said Paul Scanlan, COO and co-founder, MobiTV.
Back to top
Thursday 4th May
Sky subs additions slow
TW on the up
Verizon: FiOS doing well, but still selling satellite
Sirius approaches break even
Yahoo!7 wins first major rights deal
Lagardère war chest
Tele2 sinks on broadband costs
Intel and NDS partner for WiMax
Sky subs additions slowBskyB added 40,000 subscribers during the third quarter, a period in which it said it was focused on rolling out a new customer management system. The gain took the total to 8.1m but was at the lower end of analysts’ expectations and less than half the 95,000 subscribers added during the third quarter in 2005. The churn rate rose to 11.4 per cent but BSkyB said this was partly seasonal and reiterated its goal of 11 per cent for the entire year.
The news was much better for Sky + in a quarter in which 149,000 customers were added. The service is now taken by 18 per cent of Sky customers, compared with a target of 25 per cent by the end of 2010. "Clearly we're going to murder that in the next 12 to 18 months," CEO James Murdoch told analysts.
Revenues for the nine months to March 31 were £3.08bn, (E4.46bn) a nine per cent increase on the previous year while pre-tax profits were £609m, 12 per cent higher than in the same period in 2005. Operating margins continued to rise in the third quarter, to 21 per cent from 19.4 per cent.
Murdoch said: "Our focus during the quarter was to successfully implement our new customer management systems, complete the final preparations for the launch of Sky HD, and continue to ready the business for the launch of residential broadband services in the summer." Sky said it was on track for a May 22 roll-out of high definition TV.
Attention is now focused on BSkyB’s Premiership football live broadcasting rights. Last week, it won three of the six rights packages, and the Premier League has put up the remaining three packages for a second round of bidding.
Back to top
TW on the upTime Warner Inc. said quarterly earnings rose to $1.5 billion from $915 million, a year ago, with strong growth in cable television, high-speed Internet and digital phone subscribers. Revenue rose one percent to $10.5 billion.
The star performer was cable where revenue rose 15 percent to $2.6 billion. It added 82,000 basic video subscribers, its largest quarterly gain in six years. It added 241,000 digital video customers, 346,000 high-speed Internet subscribers. It also added 270,000 digital phone subscribers, its biggest gain ever.
Results were dragged down by a seven percent decline in AOL revenue as it lost 835,000 subscribers from the fourth quarter to high-speed Internet services. It lost 147,000 subscribers in Europe. AOL ended the quarter with 18.6 million U.S. subscribers. However, AOL saw ad sales rise 26 percent in the quarter.
Back to top
Verizon: FiOS doing well, but still selling satellite
Verizon told Wall Street that FiOS TV, eight months into operation, is making an impression in markets where it's available to consumers. It said that in the first quarter FiOS TV has hit significant penetration milestones in a number of key markets. In Keller, Texas, FiOS TV's launch market, the product has achieved 24 percent penetration. The company said FiOS TV penetration levels range from nine percent to 12 percent in its Texas and Virginia markets, halfway towards an internal goal of 20 percent to 25 percent penetration in five years. It said about 80 percent of FiOS video customers are "triple play" subscribers.
Meanwhile in broadband Verizon added 541,000 net new connections, represented by both DSL and FiOS data customers, during the first quarter. The company had 5.7 million broadband connections at the end of the three-month period, up 47.1 percent from first quarter 2005.
Verizon reported earnings of $1.6 billion for the first quarter, compared with $1.8 billion for first quarter 2005. First quarter revenues were $22.7 billion, a 25.1 percent increase compared to first quarter 2005.
Meantime, it also reported it now has 415,000 customers who receive a bundle that contains DirecTV. That represents a gain of 66,000 satellite TV subscribers for the first quarter, when compared to year-end 2005.
Back to top
Sirius approaches break even
Sirius is eyeing positive free cash flow as early as the fourth quarter and for all of 2007, said the satellite radio company's CEO, Mel Karmazin. Sirius said first quarter revenue grew to $126.7 million, up 193 percent from $43.2 million recorded for the same period in 2005. The company's net loss for the three-month period was $458.5 million, up from a net loss of $193.6 million reported for first quarter 2005.
The company ended the first quarter with 4.077 million customers, reflecting net subscriber additions of 761,187. Average monthly churn was 1.8 percent, in line with guidance. And subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) per gross addition were $113 for the first quarter, a 41 percent improvement when compared to the year-ago quarter.
Back to top
Yahoo!7 wins first major rights deal
From Rose Major in Melbourne
Yahoo!7, the internet joint venture between Yahoo and Australia's Seven Network, has won its first major deal - rights to internet coverage of the Australian soccer team during the forthcoming World Cup - and reportedly won't pay a cent upfront.
Yahoo!7 is reported to have signed a revenue-share deal with Football Federation Australia, on sales which will come in through advertising on the site. Content available will include match highlights and player interviews. With the World Cup taking place in Germany, matches will take place during Australia's nights, so internet coverage will get a boost as fans find out what happened while they slept.
Yahoo!7 launched at the end of January. Parent Yahoo! holds the global internet rights for the World Cup, understood to have helped Yahoo!7's case for the deal, over rival Ninemsn.
Mobile rights to the World Cup have yet to be decided in Australia, although Hutchison Telecom's 3 is reported to have offered about A$500,000.
Back to top
Lagardère war chest
Lagardère told investors that it had the capacity to spend as much as E4bn on acquisitions to continue its transformation into a company overwhelmingly focused on the media.
Lagardère – built up by the late Jean-Luc Lagardère – has its roots in the aerospace industry. However, under his son, Arnaud Lagardère, its press, publishing, television and radio assets are increasingly taking centre stage. However Arnaud Lagardère struck a note of caution regarding the growing willingness of the traditional media industry to make large investments in internet businesses, stressing that it was necessary to be "realistic" about the sector’s resurgence.
Back to top
Tele2 sinks on broadband costs
Shares in Tele2 fell more than eight per cent after the Swedish telecoms operator reported first-quarter results below expectations and warned that rising spending on marketing its broadband services would hit its earnings this year.
First-quarter revenues rose 16 per cent to SKr13.45bn (E1.44bn) from the same period last year, but a sharp increase in spending pushed earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down three per cent to SKr1.38bn. Capital expenditure more than doubled to SKr1.3bn from a year ago and the company warned investments would rise in the rest of the year, to about SKr1.4bn-1.5bn a quarter.
The company, which is controlled by Kristina Stenbeck, daughter of Jan Stenbeck, who founded the group in 1993, is one of the biggest alternative telecoms operators in Europe, with 31m customers across 23 countries in Europe.
Back to top
Intel and NDS partner for WiMax
Intel and NDS have announced a trial system to demonstrate the TV and video services for fixed WiMAX technology. Using the WiMAX IEEE 802.16-2004 standard and the soon to be ratified IEEE 802.16e, Intel and NDS will also collaborate on industry and market development activities. The companies will engage in demonstrations to service providers and the industry to show how WiMAX can offer more than broadband access with pay-TV services.
The pre-WiMAX implementation takes place at Intel’s Wireless Competence Center (IWCC) in Kista, Sweden and demonstrates the first system to show WiMAX TV services including live TV, VOD and integrated electronic program guide (EPG) delivery to an Intel Centrino mobile technology based notebook over 802.16-2004 and 802.11. The current demonstration uses fixed pre-WiMAX equipment to deliver content to the customer premises equipment (CPE) and then WiFi to send content to the notebook. Companies intend to enhance the system to support 802.16e standard in the future and to make sure that security requirements protect the interests of content providers in an aim to demonstrate pay TV services delivery over mobile WiMAX to Intel based PDA and notebook devices.
NDS VideoGuard conditional access protects the business and content of the service provider.
Back to top
Wednesday 3rd May
News buys more online
Three bid for TV3
The Cloud introduces new phone tariffs
HD for Sky Italia
US radio sport for mobile
Three combine for IPTV solution
News buys more online
News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media has purchased two small Internet companies aimed at letting users remix their own music and media on the Internet; Newroo and kSolo.com.
Newroo has created tools that enable users to scour the Internet for relevant information from Web sites and blogs that can be used on their own Web sites. kSolo's service lets users sing, record and share their own karaoke recordings by using a database of songs.
Fox Interactive Media was formed last year by Rupert Murdoch to plant a firm stake on the Internet as readers and viewers spend more time away from newspapers and television. News paid $580 million last year to buy MySpace.com.
Newroo and kSolo technologies will be deployed across Fox Interactive Media-controlled sites. Ross Levinsohn, President of Fox Interactive said: "Fox Interactive Media's acquisitions of Newroo and kSolo demonstrate our commitment to empowering users with interesting tools that they can use to further enhance their online experience and online identity."
Back to top
Three bid for TV3Three bidders are in the running to become ITV's partner in Irish broadcaster TV3. Ulster TV (UTV) and two private equity firms - Doughty Hanson and Veronis Suhler Stevenson - have made it to the final stage to buy out ITV's partner, CanWest, which put its 45% stake on the market earlier this year.
All three lodged bids at the end of March valuing the station at more than £180m (E261m) and a preferred bidder will be chosen this week. Under a shareholder agreement, CanWest must then give ITV the opportunity to match the bid. If ITV decides not to, it must exit the channel completely, effectively giving the new shareholder a chance to gain 90% of the channel.
ITV plc acquired the stake through Granada, which bought into the station five years ago, helping its prime time ratings rocket with household favourites such as Coronation Street and The X Factor.
Back to top
The Cloud introduces new phone tariffs
The UK wireless internet provider The Cloud announced a low-cost tariff for unlimited web access, making it easier for people to make free calls through the web from big cities, rather than use their mobile phones. The Cloud is Europe's biggest operator of wi-fi, and its network is used by companies including BT, O2 and Nintendo. It is offering an £11.99 (E17) a month "all you can eat" internet deal covering 7,000 hotspots in Britain in cities including London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.
George Polk, chief executive of The Cloud, said mobile operators ignored this growing market at their peril. "Mobile phone guys really need to decide whether to embrace it or reject it. If they are smart, they'll embrace this - and if they don't, then other people will do." Mobile wi-fi has already proved popular in France, where TV and internet company Iliad offers its customers the ability to access wi-fi while on the move through a handset which operates as a normal mobile phone everywhere else.
Back to top
SKY Italia has unveiled its planning for the launch this month in Italy of its new SKY HD package.
In order to support its expansion into HDTV, SKY Italia began leasing an additional HOT BIRD transponder taking its total capacity used across Eutelsat's HOT BIRD satellites to 18 transponders. The new service will launch on 17 May with live coverage of the European Champions League Cup Final. In June, SKY Italia will provide full coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Broadcasting in DVB S2 with MPEG4 compression, SKY Italia will be able to accommodate up to five HDTV channels in a single HOT BIRD transponder.
Following World Cup, SKY Italia will launch its HD bouquet, with channels dedicated to movies, sports and general entertainment. Access to the SKY HD package will cost E7 per month, in addition to the main subscription. Subscriptions will be available from 8 May.
Back to top
US radio sport for mobile
CBS and Clear Channel Communications have cut deals with mobile-phone content provider MSpot to get some of their biggest sports stations onto mobile phones. The stations will be available to Sprint subscribers with Mspot-compatible phones who pay an additional $5.95 per month for the MSpot sports package.
While Americans say they are spending less time each week listening to radio, they are spending more time with gadgets like iPods and mobile phones. Radio companies are working hard to make sure they are on those platforms, too.
Clear Channel has been collaborating with Motorola to deliver 75 stations to its iRadio service, expected to launch later this year. It also makes traffic information, news clips and the like available to mobile phones. CBS is a partner with Nokia. and Hewlett-Packard in their Visual Radio service for Nokia phones with FM tuners. It provides on-screen graphics synchronized with music heard on local stations. Both CBS and Clear Channel are active in making material available for podcasts.
Back to top
Three combine for IPTV solution
BitBand, Latens Systems and Minerva Networks announce that they have integrated technologies to provide Independent Telephone Companies (IOCs) and Service Providers with an advanced secure and feature-rich IPTV solution. The integrated solution comprises BitBand's Vision servers and Maestro video delivery Management Suite, Latens FCAS content and revenue protection and Minerva's iTVManager middleware.
The companies say the combined technological expertise and accumulated field experience brought to this partnership ensures fast time to market and minimized risk to IP Service Providers deploying the most innovative IPTV services. "IPTV operators face a difficult choice when choosing between single-vendor and multi vendor approaches. However, by integrating BitBand, Latens and Minerva technologies we offer the best of both approaches: a pre-integrated solution that is based on industry leading components that are feature-rich and fast to deploy,¨ says Dean Kashlan, GM and VP Americas, Latens.
Back to top
Monday 1st May
Premier football: Sky three up at half-time
Comcast Q1: record results
Viaccess, Sagem power HD over IP
AEPOC calls for Directive focus
Thomson Delivers next-generation HDTV STBs to DirecTV
Conax CAS in Indian DTH win
Premier football: Sky three up at half-timeThe English Premier League has awarded three of its six live TV rights packages to BSkyB, with a second round of bidding for the remaining three bundles of matches. To be held in due course. The deal gives BSkyB 69 live matches per season for three years from 2007-08, with the league having created six packages of 23 games each, following pressure from the European Commission.
"Following the submission of bids by interested parties, the FA Premier League is in a position to announce that it has awarded three out of the six packages to live rights to BSkyB. We will be proceeding to a second round of bidding for the remaining three packages in due course," announced the League.
"There will be no further comment on this from the Premier League until the conclusion of the second round of bidding. Bidders are also bound by similar confidentiality."
BSkyB is likely to bid for two more packages; the EC deal precludes any single bidder winning all six. The satellite broadcaster will be keen to maintain its exclusive coverage. Cable broadcaster NTL – in the throes of merging with Virgin mobile - is also understood to have lodged sizeable bids for at least half of the live rights packages.
Back to top
Comcast Q1: record resultsUS cable MSO Comcast has revealed record video, voice and high-speed Internet subscriber additions which have driven double-digit growth in consolidated revenue and operating cash flow. Nearly 1 million revenue generating units were added in the first quarter, which also saw the highest level of quarterly Revenue Generating (RGU) additions in Comcast history.
Brian L Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation said, "Our first quarter results set new records across the board. RGU additions accelerated in the first three months to the highest level in the Company's history. We posted record subscriber additions in digital, high-speed Internet and voice and added more basic subscribers this quarter than any first quarter in the last three years. This terrific performance reflects our success in delivering superior services and in forging broader relationships and stronger connections with our customers."The next several years will provide tremendous growth opportunities for Comcast. Comcast Digital Voice is available to more people every day, and by the end of this year we will be marketing our 'Triple Play' package of video, voice and data services to the majority of our customers. This will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and position us to deliver more value to our customers and shareholders."
Cable revenue increased 9 per cent to $5.6 billion in the first quarter of 2006 reflecting the addition of 965,000 new video, high-speed Internet and phone subscriptions. At the same time Comcast maintained stable to higher average revenue per subscriber, as well as modest growth in its advertising business.
Video revenue increased 6 per cent to $3.6 billion in the first quarter of 2006, reflecting a 1.3 million or 14 per cent increase in the number of digital customers from the first quarter of 2005. Comcast Cable ended the quarter with 10.1 million digital cable subscribers, a 47 per cent penetration rate of the Company's 21.5 million basic cable subscribers.
Growth in video revenue and digital cable subscribers also reflects increasing consumer demand for new digital features including ON DEMAND, digital video recorders (DVR) and HDTV programming. Driven by ON DEMAND movie and event purchases, pay-per-view revenues increased 29 per cent from the first quarter of 2005. Pay-per-view revenue showed strong growth with the rollout of ON DEMAND, increasing more than 20 per cent on average over the past two years.
Back to top
Viaccess, Sagem power HD over IP
France Telecom (FT) and Sagem Communication are to make High Definition TV programmes available the telco’s MaLigne IPTV service. FT will offer ‘MaLigne TV’ a High Definition channel during the Roland Garros French Tennis tournament (from May 28th to June 11th), and from June 1st, a complete offer of High Definition
programmes in partnership with pay-TV operator TPS.The new Sagem ITAD 81 HD is an IPTV MPEG-4 set-top box based on a single-chip video decoder. A hybrid digital unit, it includes a DVB-T adapter, that can receive High Definition TV.
"By providing our ‘MaLigne TV’ customers with HD quality using an exclusive
set-top box combining Sagem Communication technology and Viaccess security,
France Telecom is winning the High Definition challenge and proving its responsiveness and its capacity for innovation", said Patricia Langrand, Executive VP of France Telecom in charge of the Content Division, and Chairman of Viaccess.
AEPOC calls for Directive focus
The Board of Directors of AEPOC, the European Association for the Protection of Encrypted Works and Services have agreed to re-address major Conditional Access issues at the EU Commission, suggesting that Directives currently under review or in preparation must contain more precise and far-sighted provisions on audio-visual piracy. According to AEPOC, piracy continues to be the biggest inhibitor of digital growth limiting its beneficial aspects in view of the EU information society."Instead of considering other issues already covered by different Directives, the review of the Conditional Access Directive should put piracy and the overall fight against its negative effects for our societies into the focus of this legislation. Piracy is the number one enemy of the EU information society – threatening digital growth and convergence, while media, telecommunication and technology companies continuously present new and innovative multi-play consumer offerings across Europe", commented AEPOC President Jean Grenier. Currently the European Commission is starting the process for a possible review of the Conditional Access Directive (98/84/EC). AEPOC representatives will meet several national and European authorities, addressing the anti-piracy positions of AEPOC, in order to enable a sustainable development of the digital media sectors.
Back to top
Thomson Delivers next-generation HDTV STBs to DirecTVThomson has started to deliver next generation high-definition TV (HDTV) set-top boxes (STB) to DirecTV, the leading digital television service provider in the United States. The DirecTV H20 receiver represents a key milestone in the definitive agreement signed between Thomson and DirecTV in 2004 for the long-term development and supply of digital satellite set-top boxes.
"In the coming months, DirecTV will introduce the new Thomson HD receiver that will further our goal of continuing to enhance the viewing experience for our customers through the most technologically advanced set-top boxes." said Romulo Pontual, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, DirecTV, Inc. "We understand how important HD programming is for our customers and which combinations of set-top box features, functionality and pricing will help us deliver new and compelling HD services to them."
Koen Van Driel, Vice President for the Satellite, Terrestrial and Cable business of Thomson, suggested that 2006 looks set to be the year when these technologies finally make the global impact that they have been promising.
Norwegian pay-TV conditional access specialist Conax is supporting Essel Group's launch of Dish TV, India's first and fastest growing DTH satellite television service.At commissioning, Conax CAS5 was installed with the CAS core, pairing, one-way messaging and fingerprinting functionalities. Dish TV now employs Conax CAS7.
There are currently more than 10000 Dish TV dealers. With CAS scheduled to be implemented soon in the Indian subcontinent, Conax conditional access is going to be implemented for the digital roll out on the cable services.
"The Indian market represents a huge opportunity for Conax and reinforces our strong market position in the Asia Pacific region," commented Geir Bjorndal, COO and VP, Sales & Marketing. "We look forward to supporting Essel as they accelerate the growth of their digital television business in India and other countries in the region."
"Essel and Conax have worked together to develop the features required uniquely for the Indian Subcontinent, to have a secure method of distributing high quality premium content through our DTH service. With Conax, we have been able to aggressively work on economising the STB costs. With the secure conditional access solution for our distribution platforms, we are confident that Essel's and Conax's relationship will achieve more milestones as the roll out of digital cable happens in India," said Rajiv Khattar, President Projects.
Back to top
