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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday
Friday 18th January
32 candidates for 13 mobile TV frequencies
China struggles with piracy
DVB-SH passes 3G+ test
Sardinia kick-starts Italy switchover
Court to rule on French football rights
France TV tax
PT Multimedia's acquires TVTEL
BT strikes Disney deal
FOX tops Sky Italia ratings
Arqiva bingo channel
32 candidates for 13 mobile TV frequencies
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisThe French broadcasting regulator CSA received 32 candidates for the 13 mobile TV DVB-H frequencies by the closing time for applications. Many of the proposals come from existing channels broadcast on traditional platforms (DTT, cable, satellite, IPTV). In addition there were some created specifically for the mobile platform; whether mobile phone or pocket TV. Under the rules no candidate can be attributed more than three frequencies.
Among the candidates from the major broadcasting groups were TF1 with three channels (TF1, LCI, Eurosport), Canal+ also with three channels (Canal+, i-Tele, Infosport) and M6 with three channels (M6, W9 and Teva). The new broadcasters who have come into the sector with the launch of DTT were also present: Bolloré (Direct 8 Mobile), Lagardere Active with six projects (Elle TMP, Canal JMP, Gulli, Virgin 17, MTP1 and MCM Top), NRJ (with NRJ 12), Groupe AB (with NT1 Remix) and NextRadioTV with three projects (BFM TV News, Business 24/7 and RMC sport).
Orange one of the main MNOs also filed an application as a content provider with O'TV and Orange Sport TV, the latter channel already being present on its mobile network. The press was also present: L'Equipe with its L'Equipe TV sports channel, while the financial daily Les Echos and the horseracing channel Equidia joined forces in a project called E3TV. Alain Weill, who is buying the financial daily La Tribune, has a project called Business 24/7.
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China struggles with piracyChina is struggling to contain online piracy and needs tougher punishments, a senior official said this week. The number of cases dealt with last year was more than double the previous two years combined, and with technology developing rapidly, it was becoming harder to crack down, said Yan Xiaohong, deputy head of the National Copyright Administration.
"Although our rectification campaigns have had obvious initial results, we must clearly recognise that there has been no sea change for the better in our nation's Internet copyright protection environment," he told a news conference.
Fines and sentences meted out against offenders to date had perhaps not been strong enough, he said. "As the situation is so serious we ought to give out heavier fines under the legal framework," Yan said.
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DVB-SH passes 3G+ testA DVB-SH pilot jointly performed by SFR and Alcatel-Lucent from July to December 2007, has enabled both companies to validate the fundamental assumptions for the deployment of a DVB-SH network co-localised, for its terrestrial part, with an existing commercial 3G+ network.
The tests proved that it is possible to reuse the 3G+ sites, towers and antennas in order to deploy a DVB-SH Mobile TV broadcast network in the frequency bands adjacent to UMTS (i.e. in the S band at 2.2 GHz, currently available all over Europe).
Furthermore, tests performed in the city of Pau (Southwest of France), both outdoors and inside buildings, validated several fundamental assumptions on the performances of a DVB-SH network, notably the coverage, continuity and quality of service.
In particular, the tests confirmed that it only requires that portions of the 3G+ sites are equipped with DVB-SH repeaters to allow Mobile TV coverage inside buildings identical to the 3G+ coverage. According to Alcatel-Lucent, this validates the economical efficiency of the deployment of a DVB-SH terrestrial network for Mobile TV broadcast with a very high coverage quality.
Sardinia kick-starts Italy switchover
Italy's communications authority said a deal has been reached between all TV operators in the Sardinia region on how to switchover to DTT. Sardinia is the first of Italy's 20 regions to organise a switchover and the authority said it hopes Sardinia will set an example for the switch from analogue, due to be completed by end-2012.
'It is an important result for all the country because it is the first time that Italy has reached an agreement shared by all the operators on frequency planning,' said authority president Corrado Calabro.
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Court to rule on French football rightsA French civil court will rule on a request by pay-TV group Canal Plus to suspend a tender for the rights to broadcast France's top flight football matches over the next four seasons. Canal Plus had already filed a first request with the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) to suspend the auction held by France's professional football league. But because the TGI's decision was slated for Feb. 19, after the Jan. 31 closing date for the auction, Canal Plus has asked the TGI to suspend the auction pending that ruling.
Last week, France's State Council rejected an attempt by Canal Plus to challenge the league's right to exclusively produce the images the broadcasters can transmit under the auction, saying it lacked jurisdiction.
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France TV taxThe French government is reportedly planning to impose an additional tax on the purchase of TVs, computers and mobile phones in a bid to help state broadcasters recover some of the shortfall - up to E1 billion - caused by the ban on advertising on public TV and radio mooted last week by President Sarkovsky. Electronics industry federation Simavelec's director Bernard Heger warned taxes would have a major impact on prices, with a 1 per cent or 2 per cent tax on the average E775 LCD television adding E15-30 to the price.
PT Multimedia's acquires TVTEL
PT Multimedia has acquired a 20 per cent stake in Potugese cable TV company TVTEL and will acquire the remaining 80 per cent from investment bank Caixa BI, subject to the approval of competition authorities.
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BT strikes Disney dealBT Vision has signed with Disney-ABC to give its customers more than 650 episodes of popular television shows, such as LOST and Ugly Betty, on a pay-per-view basis from 29p (E0.39) each . Customers can also get unlimited access to the shows as part of the firm's £6 per month TV Pack subscription or the £14 Value Pack subscription.
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FOX tops Sky Italia ratingsFOX Channels has released its 2007 year-end ratings results for Italy, a market that saw continued growth in pay TV last year. FOX’s 12-channel strong entertainment and factual bouquet continued to be one of Sky Italia’s key drivers. The group topped all other comparable networks with its growth contribution reaching 36 per cent of Sky’s overall ratings increase. Three of FOX’s entertainment brands (FOX, FOX Life and FOX Crime) landed 3 of the top 5 most watched slots on Sky, with FOX Crime, continuing to be the most watched channel on the platform.
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Arqiva bingo channelArqiva has inked a three-year contract with Gala Limited to provide uplinking services for live interactive bingo channel, Gala TV. Available on the Sky digital platform, Gala TV is available 24/7. When it launched in 2006 the interactive and video channel, fronted by bingo callers from its UK clubs network, was a first for the industry.
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Thursday 17th January
Apple revamps TV as Jobs admits disappointment
FCC says wireless auction may be muted
Broadcasters align to expand French mobile TV
TV on demand audiences rise
Oprah TV
Overlay.TV contextual advertising
blinkx adds multiple content deals
Jupiter subscriptions up
Swisscon selects Eutelsat’s Tooway
Netflix offers unlimited access
Viasat choose Pace for Nordic HD PVR
Technetix self install order
ONDAS Radio to Nissan Europe
Arcor chooses NDS VideoGuard
Apple revamps TV as Jobs admits disappointmentApple overhauled key elements of its online video strategy following an admission by Steve Jobs that the company’s early efforts had been a disappointment. He confirmed earlier reports of a new online rental service for movies and a revamp of the Apple TV set-top box so that viewers can stream movies direct from the internet, without the need for a computer.
Jobs conceded that customers had not taken to watching online video the way Apple had expected. His comments came at the MacWorld show in San Francisco. The company’s initial plan had involved selling movies on its iTunes store that customers could download to their computers, then use the Apple TV box to watch them on their TV sets. So far the company had sold seven million movies. Jobs said: "That’s more than everyone else put together, but it did not meet our expectations. Rather than buying movies, viewers would prefer to rent them."Under the new plan, movies will be released to rental 30 days after their DVD release, with new titles renting for $3.99 (E2.73) each and older movies for $2.99. Once downloaded the movies remain on the hard drive for 30 days or for 24hours after a viewing has started.
Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, called the rental service a "defining moment. This is really going to take things to the next level."
Backing from competing studios across Hollywood was vital. "All the studios are supporting this which will make it a success."
Jobs also admitted that its plan for letting viewers stream video from their computers to their TVs had failed. Apple will offer a free software upgrade for existing boxes so that they can access video direct from the internet, he said, while the price of the Apple TV will fall from $299 to $229.
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FCC says wireless auction may be mutedThe head of the Federal Communications Commission expressed concern that the credit crunch could hinder bidders in an upcoming government auction of wireless airwaves. Chairman Kevin Martin said that he was "concerned that the overall economic conditions could end up impacting the auction."
Martin's comments came less than a week after a key potential bidder called Frontline Wireless dropped out of the wireless spectrum auction. The auction is scheduled to begin on January 24 and has been expected to raise at least $10 billion for the US government from airwaves being returned by television broadcasters as they move to digital from analogue signals in early 2009. Martin said the auction must go forward since Congress has ordered the FCC to begin the auction by January 28. "We're required by law to conduct the auction at this time, so we'll go forward with it no matter what."
Potential bidders in the auction include US wireless providers AT&T and Verizon Wireless, as well as Internet company Google, ventures involving EchoStar, Cablevision Systems, Qualcomm and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
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Broadcasters align to expand French mobile TV
French broadcasters Canal Plus Group, TF1 and M6 have entered into an alliance with a number of other French TV firms in an attempt to expand the country’s mobile TV market. The trio have signed a mobile TV charter along with AB Groups, Bollore, LagardereActive, NextRadioTV and NRJ Groupe.
The alliance’s remit calls for the expansion of mobile TV networks in France and ‘the opening up of access to networks to commercial distributors.’ It is understood the signatories will also support a plan to jointly promote mobile TV in France, possibly via a pay- TV business model.
The group’s demands indicate the current poor state of the French mobile TV sector where all three incumbent s – Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom – have offered the service for a number of years.
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TV on demand audiences riseMore than a third of British viewers regularly watch programmes on-demand instead of relying on traditional TV schedules, according to research. The report from Tiscali shows that 37 per cent, twice last year's figure of 17 per cent, are now used to creating their own TV schedules.
More than three-quarters (79 per cent) of British consumers predict that TV schedules will have disappeared by 2018, according to the report. Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) now say traditional TV schedules are too restrictive on their viewing.
Of those who do view on-demand content, most favour doing so through the traditional medium of a TV set. Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) are watching on-demand on their TV, while the remaining 38 per cent use a computer.
The main reasons for using on-demand include catching up on a missed programme (58 per cent), overcoming schedule clashes (39 per cent) and flexibility (49 per cent).
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Oprah Winfrey will soon be getting her own television network. Winfrey and Discovery Communications said that they would jointly create OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a cable television channel to make its debut in 2009 on what is now the Discovery Health Channel. Discovery Health is available in more than 70 million homes.
The new channel will not initially carry "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the top-rated syndicated daytime talk show featuring Ms. Winfrey as host. But Ms. Winfrey said that she had the option to end that show in 2010 or 2011 and could move the talk show to the new channel then.
The venture will be half owned by Discovery, of Silver Spring. Winfrey will serve as chairwoman of the network, will have full editorial control over the joint venture and will be responsible for its "programming, branding and creative vision," the companies said.
Overlay.TV contextual advertisingOverlay.TV has completed a $4.6 million financing round and will be launching its Internet video-advertising platform in February. The funding comes from Celtic House Venture Partners, EdgeStone Capital Partners and Tech Capital Partners.
The Overlay.TV platform allows viewers to interact with online video, and enables content owners and distributors to monetize their video assets. As video streams from its original location, such as leading video sharing sites, viewers are able to opt-in to receive "overlays" which provide contextual information about the content being viewed. The overlay technology allows any image in a video to be 'hyper-enabled' and allows a viewer to click on the image, right in the video, and take any number of desired actions that are directly associated with the context of the image being viewed.
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blinkx adds multiple content dealsVideo seearch engine blinkx has partnered with 13 additional independent content providers. Calon TV, ChannelFlip.com, Channel X, Foothill Entertainment, Future Shorts, jeko.tv, Journeyman Pictures, Looking Glass International, MoMedia, Monster Distributes, Reelport, Wysiwyg Films and YoungCuts will offer their content though the site.
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Jupiter subscriptions upJupiter Telecommunications (J:COM) has announced that the total subscribing households as of December 31, 2007 served by J:COM’s managed franchises reached 2.77 million, up 150,500, or 5.7 per cent since December 31, 2006. Combined revenue generating units (RGUs) for cable television, high-speed Internet access and telephony services reached 4.90 million, up 381,400 or 8.4 per cent since December 31, 2006.
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Swisscon selects Eutelsat’s Tooway
Eutelsat Communications has inked a major contract for its new Tooway satellite broadband Ka-band service with Swisscom, Switzerland's leading telecommunications company.
According to the agreement with Swisscom, Eutelsat's Tooway service is the satellite component of a far-reaching universal broadband programme for all Swiss homes. Swisscom won a tender from the Swiss Ministry for Telecommunications to make broadband connectivity available as from January 2008 to all residential Swiss customers irrespective of their location successfully deploy its innovative solution.
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Netflix offers unlimited accessVideo rental company Netflix is now offering subscribers unlimited access to movies and television shows to watch via the Web on their personal computers. The feature will be open to all subscribers already on one of their unlimited monthly video rental plans, with no extra charge.
Until now, Netflix had limited the number of hours of video accessed via the Web that it made available to subscribers under a regular subscription plan. Netflix currently offers about 6,000 movie and television titles to watch over the Web.
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Viasat choose Pace for Nordic HD PVRPace Micro Technology has been selected by Viasat Broadcasting, the leading digital satellite payTV broadcaster in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, to be the launch partner for its HD PVR service. Viasat will be deploying the Pace TDS850NV HD PVR to households across the Nordic countries.
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Technetix self install order
Technetix Group have signed an agreement with a major European telecom PTT for the supply of self install kits. The supply agreement starts in January 2008 and will be for a minimum annual quantity of 10,000 kits. The kits will be used to interconnect their IPTV system within the home.Technetix says it has been and is at the forefront of self install kit supply in Europe, and is now the supplier of choice to many major communication providers for a variety of applications. The aim of the Technetix ranges of self install kits it to help communication providers to enable their customers to carry out their own installation by supplying the right products with clear, easy to follow instructions.
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ONDAS Media, the satellite radio company for Europe, has entered into a commercial volume agreement to install Satellite Radio Receivers in Nissan and Infiniti vehicles across Europe. As a result of the agreement, Nissan buyers will be among the first European car buyers to be able to receive the programming that ONDAS will create and distribute.
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Arcor chooses NDS VideoGuardNDS has revealed that Arcor, the second largest telecommunications provider in Germany, has selected NDS VideoGuard content protection to secure its new IPTV service. Arcor-Digital TV will initially be available in 51 German cities and communities offering digital TV and advanced entertainment services such as VOD.
Wednesday 16th January
3.5m downloads for iPlayer
Viasat goes HD
MTV Adria for sale, CME interested
Samsung in bribery probe
Sky boosts Anytime
Toshiba slashes prices to shore up HD DVD
F.O. on YouTube
IFC VOD on cable
Astra2Connect expands to France and Italy
WorldTV arrives in Canada
Discovery HD for PCCW
Disney promotes Gilby
Nuts TV to Sky
MultiChoice licenses onHandTV from S3
Over 3.5 million programmes were streamed or downloaded on demand via the BBC iPlayer within a fortnight of its marketing launch on Christmas Day. The BBC reveals that an average of a quarter of a million programmes have been downloaded or streamed each day since December 25th. Users, on average, watch each streamed programme for just under 25 minutes, while the number of users choosing to stream content currently outnumbers downloading by a factor of eight to one.
Whilst the top ten most popular programmes account for just under a quarter of all those consumed via the BBC iPlayer, programmes that are ranked outside the top 50 make up almost half of the total consumption.
While a success for the BBC, these figures will not alleviate ISPs fears that the iPlayer P2P platform will begin to affect some subscribers download speeds.
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Viasat goes HDModern Times Group has confirmed that Viasat Broadcasting has launched its HDTV offering on its Nordic Satellite pay-TV platform, including two Viasat-branded premium HDTV channels – TV1000 HD and Viasat Sport HD.
The initial line up of Viasat’s HDTV channels consists of TV1000 HD and National Geographic Channel HD in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland and Viasat Sport HD in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Viasat’s Danish subscribers will have access to TV2 Sport HD channel which is produced by the MTG and TV2 Denmark joint venture. Viasat will continue to expand its HDTV offering moving forward and add new premium HD channels to the platform.
In order to view the Viasat HDTV channels, subscribers will also have to upgrade to an HD set-top box. At launch, two HD-ready set top boxes will be made available – a Viasat Plus HD PVR box from Pace, and a standard Viasat HD box made by Samsung. Both set-top boxes support the high definition 720p and 1080i formats and use NDS middleware and content security.
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MTV Adria for sale, CME interested
From Branislav Pekic in RomeUS media group CME has emerged as the frontrunner for the acquisition of regional music channel MTV Adria, according to local media reports. CME already owns MTV Romania, as well as commercial broadcasters in Croatia (Nova TV), Slovenia (Pop TV, Kanal A), Romania (Pro TV, Acasa TV, Sport.ro), Slovakia (Markiza, Galaxie Sport), Czech Republic (TV Nova, Galaxie Sport) and in the Ukraine (Studio 1+1, Kino, Citi).
The director of MTV Adria, Marko Benda, did not want to confirm the sale to CME, but admitted that the music channel is up for sale. There is no information so far regarding the asking price. During 2006, MTV Adria registered a loss of E1.35 million. Benda claims that, despite a negative business result, the viewership is growing and that the channel should be in the black during 2009. MTV Adria started broadcasting on 1 September 2005 to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. The channel is distributed regionally via cable as well as on the satellite platforms Digi TV and Total TV.
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Samsung in bribery probeSamsung, the world’s biggest memory chip maker, has reported a fall in 2007 profit as lower chip prices overshadowed the strong performance of the flat panel display and telecoms businesses.
The results were announced as a team of special investigators raided the headquarters of Samsung Group as part of an independent probe into bribery allegations. It followed a raid of the offices of Lee Kun-hee, Samsung’s chairman, and the homes of some executives.
Net profit at Samsung Electronics fell 6 per cent to Won7,425bn last year although sales increased 7 per cent to Won63,176bn. Fourth-quarter profit also fell 6.6 per cent to Won2,212bn. But the results were better than analysts had predicted, and the company gave an optimistic outlook for this year, betting that memory chip prices would rebound in the second half.
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Sky boosts AnytimeSky is to launch its first TV ad promoting Sky Anytime on-demand service as part of a multimillion-pound campaign for Sky Movies. The TV ad for the Sky Anytime PC service, which uses the tagline "Nobody likes watching the clock", features the Billie Holiday song Any Old Time.
BSkyB has created a series of three commercials, one by ad agency WCRS and two by Sky's in-house creative team, which form part of a TV, outdoor, press, cinema and online advertising campaign for Sky Movies.
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Toshiba slashes prices to shore up HD DVDToshiba announced an aggressive campaign to bolster its HD DVD movie disc format against Sony-backed Blu-ray technology, cutting prices on players to as low as $149.99. The HD DVD camp suffered a serious blow when Warner Bros. Entertainment said it would stop publishing movies on HD DVD in May, to focus on Blu-ray and regular DVD.
That leaves only two major studios, Paramount and Universal, still supporting HD DVD, while five support Blu-ray. HD DVD players have been cheaper than Blu-ray players for a while, and sales of standalone players have been strong. But Blu-ray has benefited from Sony's reputation among video enthusiasts, as well as the ability of the PlayStation 3 game console to play Blu-ray discs.
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F.O. on YouTubeThe Foreign Office is to launch a public relations offensive targeted at British and foreign youth, with the help of its own YouTube video channel. The Foreign Office channel has been functioning experimentally since September, broadcasting the off-the-cuff thoughts of the foreign secretary, David Miliband, observations from ambassadors and junior staffers alike and vivid travel advisories for would-be tourists.
"We're basically relaunching the website in March-April," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "There will be a total revamp of the web presence and that includes a presence on YouTube because of the particular segment of the market YouTube is targeted at, the 18-25s."
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IFC VOD on cableThe Independent Film Channel is launching a new video-on-demand platform for independent films on some major cable systems. Festival Direct will be an on-demand service on Cablevision Systems, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Charter Communications.
Viewers will get to choose from films that have premiered at film festivals around the world, including Cannes, Toronto, Venice and Telluride. Each film will cost $5.99 apiece, or about what you would pay for a matinee performance at the local multiplex, except that most don't screen the films IFC will be offering.
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Astra2Connect expands to France and ItalySES Astra has signed further contracts to rollout its satellite broadband service Astra2Connect also in France and Italy. SES Astra has now closed distribution agreements in seven European countries. The future revenue secured by these contracts amounts to E165 million with more than 200,000 consumer terminals to be installed in total within three to five years.
SES Astra had already signed contracts for Astra2Connect in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Poland. Additional contracts in several other European countries are under negotiation.
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WorldTV arrives in CanadaWorldTV, GlobeCast’s multicultural television platform, has taken its first step over the Canadian border, with the launch of its popular international bouquet on the NeuLion IPTV platform. This comes only months after its successful roll out across Europe. The service is initially offering five TV and radio channels.
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Discovery HD for PCCWDiscovery Networks Asia has confirmed the launch of Discovery HD, the company’s international high-definition network, on PCCW’s now TV platform in Hong Kong effective January 31. The launch of Discovery HD in Hong Kong extends the service to 15 international markets including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Germany, Austria, Ireland, the UK, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Singapore.
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Disney promotes GilbyDisney Channel UK managing director Rob Gilby has been promoted to head the broadcaster's operations across Asia-Pacific. Gilby takes the new role of senior vice president and managing director for the region for Disney-ABC International Television as part of a restructure.
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Nuts TV to SkyTurner Broadcasting System will increase distribution for its men’s entertainment channel, Nuts TV, when it is made available on the digital satellite platform with access via the Sky Guide from next week. The channel will extend its hours on the platform with programming starting at 19.00 and running until 03.00 each night.
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MultiChoice licenses onHandTV from S3Silicon & Software Systems (S3) have announced that South African Pay-TV operator MultiChoice has licensed S3’s onHandTV Software Development Kit (SDK) for DVB-H to further develop their interactive Mobile Broadcast TV services. S3 is bringing their detailed product expertise and market knowledge to bear in this close collaboration with MultiChoice.
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Tuesday 15th January
BSkyB appeal extension on ITV
EU consultation on state funding
Western Europe and Asia dominate IPTV
Spain's DTT reaches 10m
PVR growth slowing
Belgacom complaint on cable TV deal
No football deal for Canal Plus
Narrowstep up 49%
EchoStar appoints Olmstead
SecureMedia protects Caribbean IPTV
BSkyB appeal extension on ITVBSkyB has been granted an extension of the time it can apply to the Competition Appeal Tribunal over a forced sale of its stake in rival broadcaster ITV.
Originally BSkyB was meant to decide on an appeal by January 16th but has been granted permission to wait and hear the view of the secretary of state for business John Hutton, who will announce his verdict on January 29th.
Analysts have warned that there is no obvious buyer for a stake of more than 10 per cent in ITV, saying it could take BSkyB months to offload the shares, further depressing the price. BSkyB has not yet decided whether to launch an appeal but has criticised the commission's findings as "unprecedented".
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EU consultation on state fundingThe European Commission has launched a public consultation on the future framework that will apply to state funding of public service broadcasting, amending EU laws set out in 2001.
The commission said key issue for discussion are the public service remit in the new media environment. Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "The present broadcasting framework provides valuable guidance to media companies, public broadcasters and member states alike, but there may be ways it can usefully be improved to increase transparency and legal certainty."
The consultation is open until March 10, then a revised proposal will be prepared in consultation with member state competition authorities, for final adoption in the first half of 2009.
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Western Europe and Asia dominate IPTVTelco IPTV subscribers grew to 7.6 million in the third quarter of 2007, according to a Dittberner’s report ‘Global Broadband Subscriber Survey.’ The report states that though the Western Europe still leads the IPTV market, Asia now rivals it in size. A year ago, Western Europe had 68 per cent of the global market. The report predicts that Asia’s IPTV market share will continue to grow and may overtake Western Europe in 2008.
The Dittberner report also shows France Telecom leading the top ten service providers by Telco IPTV subscribers, and is up 16 per cent in Q3 surpassing one million subscribers. In second, PCCW grew three per cent this quarter while Free grew 24 per cent. Five Asia-based companies are in the top ten service providers.
Though France is the country with the most subscribers, the country has the second highest penetration level after Hong Kong. The report forecasts that China and Korea may see their IPTV subscriber base grow rapidly both due to the high number of broadband subscribers and the high bandwidth each are capable of receiving. Japan currently has over 10 Million FTTH and FTTB/VDSL subscribers.
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Spain's DTT reaches 10m
From David Del Valle in Madrid
One out of every four households in Spain are already connected to DTT, reaching a total of 10 million viewers. However, only 4.6 million people daily watch DTT in the country, representing an average share of 9.5 per cent, according to the latest figures released by the Pro DTT Association, Impulsa TDT.
Following a Christmas campaign, the number of DTT boxes sold in the market has surpassed eight million. In November, more than 415,000 DTT tuners were sold, of which more than 52 per cent are integrated DTT TV sets. Madrid is the Spanish region with a highest DTT penetration reaching 16.2 per cent with one million people watching DTT every day.
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The PVR market is starting to show signs of maturation, reports In-Stat signs include expanding geographic availability of PVR products, particularly into Europe and Asia, and a levelling out of both PVR unit shipments and product revenues. In 2008, PVR product unit shipments are forecasted to surpass 22.6 million, up from 19.6 million in 2007.
"Long-term prospects for the market remain bright, as strong demand from pay-TV service providers for PVR-enabled digital set top box products will sustain growth," says Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst.
Recent research by In-Stat found: The worldwide installed base of PVR products is on track to reach 44.6 million at year-end 2007, up from 33.9 million at the end of 2006. TiVo remains the top PVR service provider, measured by total service subscribers. The rest of the top five PVR service providers are EchoStar, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and BSkyB. By 2011, annual worldwide PVR product unit shipments are projected to reach 31.6 million.
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Belgacom complaint on cable TV deal
Belgian telco Belgacom has filed a complaint with an Antwerp court against the four Flemish cable television companies which have signed a preliminary agreement with cable operator Telenet for the sale of their television activities.
The agreement, signed by Telenet, Interelectra, Integan, and Interkabel in November, would transfer the companies 800,000 Flemish customers -- one third of the market there -- to Telenet for E300 million.
Belgacom's complaint centres around the fact that the deal is between a private company and the municipally-owned cable operators, and should therefore be dealt with via a public auction process.
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No football deal for Canal PlusFrance's State Council has rejected an attempt by pay-TV group Canal Plus to scrap a controversial condition set by the country's professional football league in a tender for football rights. Canal Plus challenged the League's right to exclusively produce the images that broadcasters transmit over the next four seasons,.
France's highest court ruled that the matter did not come under its jurisdiction. The League said the court ruling put an end to "the first step of a legal marathon decided by Canal Plus alone, with the sole purpose of preventing or delaying as much as possible the regular tender process for the football rights."
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Narrowstep up 49%Narrowstep, the internet tv provider, says revenues for the three months ended November 30, 2007 increased by $571,571, or 49 per cent. The company says the increase in quarter-to-date and year-to-date revenue resulted primarily from the addition of new customers while focusing on retaining its larger and more profitable customers.
Operating costs for the quarter decreased by 19 per cent to $4,555,117 compared to $5,594,024 for the previous quarter. The Company had $6,558,875 in cash."Now that the investment phase in our platform is behind us, we will continue to focus on driving revenue," said David C. McCourt, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited about our pipeline of deals headed into 2008 and look forward to communicating the addition of new enterprise customers that fit our new strategic focus."
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EchoStar appoints OlmsteadStaellite provider EchoStar has appointed Dean Olmstead as President of Satellite Services. Until recently, Olmstead served as an advisor to Loral Space Communications on strategic and growth opportunities for Loral's satellite service businesses.
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SecureMedia protects Caribbean IPTVSecureMedia has announced that Bonairean telecom operator Telefonia Bonairiano (Telbo) has launched ‘mitv’, its new Digital TV over ADSL 2+ network protected by the Encryptonite ONE System. Telbo, Savant Communications and Manycast Consultancy are currently developing a proposition towards the other operators in the Caribbean wanting to offer Digital TV services by expansion of and full access to the Telbo multiple services platform. Further rollouts in these territories are expected in early 2008.
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Monday 14th January
No superfast for BT
Sky expands direct retail
Writers' strike benefits YouTube
BT won’t be forced to invest billions in a national, superfast network, UK ministers have said, as the telco outlines its own tentative acceleration plans. Since recent government criticsim investors had feared BT would be forced to spend £15 billion (E21.4bn) on a fibre network.
The Department for Business confirmed: "It is not for government to tell business how much and where to invest in next-generation broadband. However, it is right that we discuss with industry, and with the regulator, how the right environment can be created that will persuade them that such investments are timely and efficient."The department underlined how a patchwork of superfast broadband networks might emerge, supplied by several companies. BT revealed a scheme to offer broadband about 20 times faster than average at a housing development in t, Kent, which from August will enjoy download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second over a BT fibre-optic network. The average broadband speed last year was 4.6 mbps.
The company said 10,000 homes would become a test bed for whether consumers would be willing to pay a premium for superfast broadband, which would make music downloads almost instant. It would enable people to watch two or more films on high-definition quality television sets simultaneously.
BT is considering installing fibre to all homes on greenfield sites, noting that the government is planning to build 3m houses by 2020. However, BT maintains that there is no economic case to justify the huge costs of taking fibre to all existing homes. BT is planning to offer download speeds of up to 24 mbps over the copper wires that run to most existing homes from this spring.
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Sky expands direct retailBSkyB is expanding its retail presence to up to 250 outlets after reaching an agreement with the commercial landlord Land Securities. The company already operates a network of 59 kiosks that came with the 2006 acquisition of You Me TV.
The number of outlets is expected to reach 250 in 2008. The ‘points of presence’ are now Sky’s third highest driver of new subscriptions behind TV and the Internet.
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Writers' strike benefits YouTubeVideo-sharing websites such as YouTube have seen dramatic increases in popularity in the US as the writers' strike has led to TV shows being pulled and a host of reruns hitting the schedules.
The biggest winner, according to figures from Nielsen Online, has been YouTube, which showed an 18 per cent traffic surge in the two months since the writers' strike began in November, compared to September and October.
