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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday
Friday 1st February
DTG: HD proposals compromise DTT viability
China ups control on video sharing
ONO up for Q4
Sogecable launches Canal+HD
YouTube UK offers cash for content
Record quarter for DAB digital radio
74% of US consumers digitally confused
CSA calls for HD DTT bids
E4 Skins to debut online
Continental Airlines to offer DirecTV
DTG: HD proposals compromise DTT viabilityFiling its response on the deadline for the Ofcom consultation period for upgrading Freeview to HD, the Digital TV Group has said "the regulator’s current proposals could seriously compromise DTT’s long term viability."
Dermot Nolan, the new director general at the DTG, believes there should be a comprehensive national strategy for HDTV encompassing all TV platforms to ensure that the UK doesn’t end up with first and second class HDTV services. The DTG has concerns in the following areas among others:
Ofcom’s proposals only allow for a very restricted HDTV service on DTT (3-4 channels). Implementing those services is likely to compromise the picture quality and reach of the existing standard definition channel line up.
Ofcom’s proposals are entirely reliant on the reconfiguration of existing services on the existing multiplexes. That process is likely to require considerable investment and may be very difficult due to long-term contractual arrangements. Furthermore some services may be lost entirely to certain UK Nations.
Ofcom proposals call for a lower quality HDTV service – operating at approximately half the current transmission rate of established UK HDTV services now broadcasting on cable and satellite.
The 3-4 channel HDTV service proposed by Ofcom for the Freeview platform significantly undermines the Public Service Broadcasters’ ability to deliver a common, simultaneous sustaining HDTV service to each of the competing UK delivery platforms (cable, Freesat, Freeview, IPTV, and Sky). It removes the possibility of delivering the economies of scale that a common sustaining service would deliver and may compromise PSB’s competitive position in what is now a burgeoning international HDTV market.
In 2012, when the digital switchover is complete, Ofcom’s own modelling indicates Freeview holding a 50% share of the market. It is a platform that has been resoundingly endorsed by the consumer, as evidenced by their £15 billion + (E21bn) investment in digital equipment. That investment is seriously compromised if a ‘two tier’ system of public service broadcasting is created and is at odds with the implied Universal Service Obligation of Public Service Broadcasters.
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China ups control on video sharing
China will take new measures to further tighten control of the Internet when rules go into force limiting online video-sharing to state companies. But regulators, wary of hurting a fast-growing industry, are expected to let private operators work around the restrictions.
The rules are part of China’s censorship balancing act that tries to block Internet use to spread dissent while promoting it for business and education. Communist leaders are especially anxious about unflattering video showing up online ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.
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ONO up for Q4
Spanish cable operator ONO improved margins and costs in the last part of 2007, with fourth-quarter core earnings up 7.3 per cent to E162 million. Operating cash flow turned positive over the year thanks to more efficient management, ONO said, coming in at E106 million after an outflow of E32 million euros in 2006.
Average revenue per user, a closely watched measure of profitability, rose to E52.2 from E51.6 in 2006. ONO saw its overall client base rise 3.7 per cent to 1.86 million in 2007.
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Sogecable launches Canal+HD
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The largest Spanish pay-TV group, Sogecable, is the first company in the country to distribute nationwide a High Definition channel with the launch of Canal + HD, the HD version of its premium pay-TV service.
On trial since last December, the channel will offer a regular HD transmission to all those subscribers to Digital Plus, the Sogecable-owned DTH platform, equipped with an iPlus set-top-box, a HD ready or full HD TV set and with access to Canal Plus. In Spain, it is estimated that around 13 per cent of Spanish homes are ready to receive HD transmissions, representing 21 per cent of Digital Plus subs.
Initially, most of the present Canal Plus content (cinema, football, series, documentaries) will be also available on HD on Canal + HD, with plans to have a 100 per cent HD programming over the next few months. In addition, Sogecable has signed an agreement with Sony and Astra to boost the development of HD TV by launching campaigns through joint distribution networks.
YouTube UK offers cash for content
YouTube video posters will now be able to share in the profits that the video-sharing website makes from advertising, after the site extended a partnership scheme to the UK. The programme was launched in the US last year and Google claims some partners were earning several thousand dollars a month from videos on the site.
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Record quarter for DAB digital radioFollowing record sales figures for DAB digital radio sets in Q4, 2007, Rajar (Radio Joint Audience Research) has reported that more and more UK listeners are tuning in to DAB digital broadcasts. Rajar Q4 data shows that DAB digital radio is the digital platform of choice for the majority of the UK listening audience.
For the first time DAB digital radio listening hours have broken the 100 million barrier, now delivering 101 million hours of listening, up from 87 million in Q3. All digital radio now takes 16.6 per cent share. DAB is way out in front with a 10 per cent digital share (up from 8.6 per cent in Q3 07).
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74% of US consumers digitally confused
There is major confusion among US consumers about the looming transition to digital television (DTV), according to a new survey from Consumer Reports National Research Center. Seventy four per cent of respondents who said they were aware of the upcoming transition had serious misconceptions of its impact.
The survey also found that 36 per cent of Americans living in households with TVs are entirely unaware of the government-mandated transition to digital broadcasting slated for February 2009.
"Confusion about the digital television transition will cost consumers a lot of money for equipment they may not want or need," said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports. "Based on these survey results, it is now clear that the government and every media company that profits from people watching television must do whatever it takes to make sure consumers will keep getting broadcast TV without paying a dime more than necessary."
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CSA calls for HD DTT bidsFrance’s broadcasting regulator, the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), has issued a call for bids to broadcast a High Definition pay-TV service on one of the country’s digital terrestrial multiplexes.
The opportunity is available to all pay-TV services currently authorised on DTT who wish to replace their current Standard Definition broadcast with HD. Bids will be submitted by March 11 2008, with the CSA anticipating authorisation of the successful bidders in May 2008. The CSA wants broadcasts to commence as soon as possible thereafter.
E4 Skins to debut onlineE4 will launch the second series of its hit drama Skins online with the first episode played out on the channel’s website and on social network site MySpace in the week before its transmission on TV.
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Continental Airlines to offer DirecTVContinental Airlines contracted with LiveTV, allowing Continental to offer 36 channels of live, in-flight satellite-based television programming provided by DirecTV, at every seat on Continental's new generation aircraft. The service is expected to be available to customers on flights operating within the US beginning in January 2009.
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Thursday 31st January
BSkyB to appeal?
EU protects downloader privacy
Shipments of IP-enabled devices surpass 60m
University creates mobile HD platform
FCC to make stations show switch ads
Comtrend: "interoperability is key"
Sirius 4 satellite now operational
First targeted, addressable ad over IPTV
PT Multimedia now Zon Multimedia
Widevine partners with Digital Latin America
NDS, Kaon support ASTER
BSkyB to appeal?Sky has until February 25th to decide whether to appeal the Competition Commission's ruling that it must sell more than half its stake in ITV, a decision that was endorsed by the government this week.
Sky said it will recognise a £343 million (E460m) impairment charge on the whole 17.9 per cent stake in its results for the six months to end December, due next week, because of ITV's plunging share price.
Opinion is said to be divided at Sky on whether an appeal is worth it. On the letter of competition law they have a good case as 20 per cent holdings are the minium previously taken to threaten undue influence. However compeition and plurality in media ownership is a more subjective judgement and as an appeal is effectively a Judicial Review, Sky would have to show the Comission and the Government willfully or wrecklessly misinterpreted the rules.
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EU protects downloader privacyRecord labels and film studios cannot demand that telecom companies hand over the names and addresses of people suspected of breaking European copyright rules by swapping illegal downloads, the EU's top court has ruled. But EU nations could introduce rules to oblige companies to hand over personal data in similar cases.
The court upheld Spain’s Telefónica’s right to refuse to hand over information that would identify who had used peer-to-peer file-sharing tool KaZaA to distribute copyrighted material owned by Promusicae, a Spanish nonprofit group of film and music producers. EU law did not require governments to protect copyright by forcing companies to disclose personal data in civil legal actions, the Luxembourg-based court ruled.
They could draft national rules to change this but they will then have to balance the right to privacy against property rights and "cannot however affect the requirements of (protecting) personal data," according to a court statement.
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Shipments of IP-enabled devices surpass 60mMultiMedia Intelligence reports that shipments of IP-enabled consumer electronics reached 64 million units in 2007. This represented nearly 73 per cent growth. However, the market continues to be dominated by Internet-enabled video game consoles.
While many of these game console IP interfaces remain unconnected, the enormous developing installed base represents a ‘Trojan Horse’ with potential for online gaming, music and video downloads, as well as a variety of internet-based value-added services. Already, in late 2007 Activision announced that more than 2 million songs associated with the ‘Guitar Hero’ video game were accessed through Xbox live alone over the previous five months.
"An increasing variety of TV-centric consumer electronics devices with IP interfaces is developing. Manufacturers are adding IP interfaces across TVs, DVD equipment, as well as cable, telco, and satellite set top boxes," according to Mark Kirstein, President of MultiMedia Intelligence. "While manufacturers and operators are gradually adding IP connectivity, the IP-Enabled Consumer Electronics market has not reached a true inflection point beyond game consoles for hyper-growth. However, this growing installed base of CE devices with dormant IP ports could quickly become active with a simple network connection or software upgrade."
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University creates mobile HD platform
From Branislav Pekic in RomeWatching television TV in high definition at 200 kilometers an hour may soon be possible thanks to a mobile telecommunications platform for terminals on the move being developed by Portugal’s University of Aveiro.
Ten international partners, among institutions, universities and manufacturers, from Belgium, Spain, France, the UK, Portugal, Germany and Israel are taking part in the project. According to project coordinator, António Navarro, "the project consists of a wireless telecommunications transmission system, which has as its goal obtaining high definition images at a maximum speed of 200 kilometers an hour".
The platform results from the combination of two wireless networks, digital terrestrial TV and WiMAX, with broadcasters using a system that automatically selects the network with the best signal for the uninterrupted sending of TV content.
The project has been submitted to the European Commission which financed it with E5 million as the first project on a European level to introduce this technology for broadcasting networks. Navarro claims that the Commission will try to convince operators to adopt this platform.
So far only lab tests have been conducted, with field tests due to start soon, using two antennas, one located on the University of Aveiro and the other on a social security building, which is the highest in Aveiro. The tests will last until the beginning of April.
FCC to make stations show switch ads
The FCC may approve a plan that would require broadcast-station owners to run at least four 30-second public-service ads a day about the digital transition. That number would increase to as many as 12 ads a day on each station as the February 2009 deadline approaches.
Broadcasters, who object to the idea of donating so much valuable airtime to the ad effort, recently proposed an alternative plan that would have local stations voluntarily air at least a dozen public-service announcements a week, as well as two separate ads a week on each of the Big Four and Spanish-language networks. The proposal appears to be gaining support among the FCC's Republican members, although Martin and the FCC's two Democratic commissioners have so far supported the plan requiring more-frequent ads.
Earlier this month, US residents could begin applying for two $40 coupons to help pay for converter boxes, which are expected to sell for about $50 to $70 each. So far, the number of requests for the coupons - more than two million - represents less than 15 per cent of the estimated number of households that rely on traditional broadcasts. Federal officials got less than $10 million to publicize the program. Lawmakers said they expected the private sector to take the lead in publicizing the change.
Last year, broadcasters announced they would commit almost $700 million of airtime to public-service announcements devoted to explaining the digital transition.
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Comtrend: "interoperability is key"Comtrend Corporation, supplier of powerline equipment for IPTV home distribution, has revealed that it shipped more than 800,000 powerline adapters for IPTV applications during 2007, confirming recent independent analysis that shows strong demand for the technology, as a result of an explosion in subscriber growth. According to the DSL Forum, year-on-year European IPTV subscriber growth reached 231 per cent, adding almost 3.5 million subscribers.
"The market for powerline-based IPTV distribution will keep growing as current deployments add subscribers and more operators launch IPTV services. Comtrend feels that the strong growth rates powerline-based solutions are experiencing could increase even further if powerline technology is standardised", said Harold Fitch, Comtrend´s General Manager for Europe and South America.
The industry understands the need for a standard and organisations like the IEEE and the ITU have launched initial work that may lead to an industry standard. Recently, some IEEE P1901 members began the long process of considering a specification for a draft baseline proposal. However, this specification is not based on interoperability, a key requirement for IPTV operators.
"If a standard does not guarantee interoperability it will fail to gain market traction and risk becoming irrelevant. Our current powerline solution works very well, so a standard that does not guarantee interoperability will not provide any added value", Harold Fitch added.
Sirius 4 satellite now operational
SES Sirius has confirmed that the Sirius 4 communications satellite is now in operation and has taken over all transmissions from Sirius 2 and Sirius 3. Sirius 4 is intended to meet the increased demand for HDTV broadcasts in the Nordic countries, and the needs arising from the large increase in new television channels within Eastern Europe.
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First targeted, addressable ad over IPTVPacket Vision – player in targeted, addressable advertising for IPTV - has announced the completion of the world’s first targeted TV advertising campaign to a predefined audience.
The campaign featuring a Mediacom financial client ran daily on Channel 4 between 16 and 31 October. It was specifically targeted at university students across the UK so that during the same 40 seconds in which the ad spot ran, students saw an ad from a different brand to the rest of the general viewing population.
Charlie Horrell, Packet Vision’s CEO, said: "This is the first time IPTV has enabled targeted advertising. In this instance, we’ve inserted an ad into a closed IPTV network for students, but that’s just the beginning. As the service develops, TV advertisers will be able to select IPTV audiences on a range of demographic or geographic profiles."
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PT Multimedia now Zon MultimediaPortuguese cable operator PT Multimedia has unveiled its new brand name, Zon Multimedia, following its spin-off from Portugal Telecom. The name will function as an umbrella brand and will accompany all of the sub brands of the operator.
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Widevine partners with Digital Latin AmericaDigital Latin America, provider of digital content and applications for Latin America, and Widevine Technologies, provider of multiformat, multiplatform content protection and watermarking solutions, have partnered to secure content for digital pay-TV operators throughout Latin America. Widevine will encrypt and watermark content that DLA delivers to 23 countries to fulfil content owners‚ requirements for licensing high-value videos and programmes.
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NDS, Kaon support ASTERNDS, provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, has joined forces with Kaonmedia (Kaon) to deliver digital set-top boxes (STB) and DVRs, including a DVR for viewing in High Definition, to ASTER, a provider of media and communication services in Poland.
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Wednesday 30th January
BSkyB ordered to reduce ITV stake
Pace profits
NDS strong Q2
Mobile convergence slack
Gore’s Current files IPO to fund growth
Verizon one million
Ofcom warns over content
Views sought on Hong Kong mobile TV
Unitymedia selects Evolving Systems for triple play
SIDSA mobile TV coverage of CSTB
Harmonic for Lifetime
BSkyB ordered to reduce ITV stake
From Colin Mann in LondonUK Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton has ordered BSkyB to reduce its 17.9 per cent holding in ITV to a level below 7.5 per cent, having concurred with the Competition Commission's decision that the transaction resulted in a substantial lessening of competition within the UK market for all television.
Hutton’s decision followed the Competition Commission's detailed investigation and report into the effects of BSkyB's shareholding in ITV on competition and on the public interest as it relates to the need to ensure a sufficient plurality of persons with control of media enterprises.
BSkyB has four weeks within which to apply to the Competition Appeal Tribunal for a review of the decision. A statement from BSkyB noted the decision, adding that the company would give "careful consideration to the announcement and confirm any further steps in due course". ITV said it "warmly welcomed" the decision, saying it was "in the best interests of the overwhelming majority of our shareholders."
BSkyB had contended that it was not seeking to influence ITV and when it bought the stake in November 2006, it did so as an investment. At the time, the deal was seen as an attempt to derail the bid made by cable operator MSO NTL (now Virgin Media) to acquire ITV. It spent £940 million (E1.3 billion) buying the stake. Having bought the shares at £1.35, BSkyB would lose several hundred million pounds if forced to sell; the holding having lost more than 40 per cent of its value as ITV shares have plunged.
At BskyB’s request the time limit on it selling the shares has not been revealed as it argued this would the affect the price it might achieve.
Legal opinion seems to think an appeal would be difficult as it amounts to a judicial review, i.e. that the regulations have been misinterpreted, which would be difficult as the plurality guidelines are open to interpretation.
Stock market crashes not withstanding, Sky will likely be able to mitigate its losses somewhat as ITVs price should rise as the uncertainty lifts. Some observers believe of Sky ends up with a bill of £150-200m for effectively stopping the Virgin / ITV media, it will regard it as a price well worth paying.
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Pace profitsUK STB maker Pace Micro posted strong profits for the second half of 2007, and said it was confident of meeting full-year 2008 expectations.
The company, currently in the process of buying Philips Electronics set-top box business for a reported E95 million, reported a net profit of £14.4 million (E19.3m) for the seven months, compared with £6.8 million for the full financial year ended June 2007. Revenue for the period was £250 million versus £386 million for the previous year.
Pace Micro said that growth was driven by cost cutting and efficiency improvements in the business, as well as an exceptional performance in North America. The company, which shifted 2.4 million set-top boxes during the period, saw gross margins improve to 20.3 per cent from 15.9 per cent, for the year. Pace also saw strong growth in European and Australasian markets, where there has been demand for new High-Definition digital personal video recorders.
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NDS strong Q2CA and DRM specialist NDS has released its operating results for the quarter ended December 2007.
Total revenue for the three-month period was $214.9 million, an increase of 30 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. For the six-month period ended December, 2007, revenue was $419.8 million, an increase of 28 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.
Dr. Abe Peled, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, "NDS is benefiting from the long-term investments we have made in R&D, which have resulted in our clear leadership in security, middleware and DVR technologies for pay-TV. This has allowed us to continue and expand our long-standing relationships with our established customers and also to win new ones. We are particularly proud of having passed the 10 million DVR milestone with our XTV technology, in which we started investing in 1998. We are also gratified by the performance of our Orbis subsidiary, where our OpenBet platform has been well received. Furthermore, our acquisition of NT Media and our subsequent investments have allowed us to offer a number of innovative original games that have been very successful, and helped establish the OpenBet platform."
Mobile convergence slack
Valista a provider of multi-channel merchandising, payments and settlement solutions announced the results of a global poll of the media and entertainment, broadband/cable, and mobile industries on significant industry developments in 2007 as well as upcoming challenges and opportunities for 2008.Forty-six per cent of mobile industry insiders surveyed believe that developing business strategies to capitalise on convergence will be the biggest challenge in 2008 - followed closely by declining ARPU at 30 per cent. Capitalising on convergence may become even more challenging when confronted with the pessimism within the broadband and cable industry where three quarters predict that less than 10 per cent of broadband and cable providers will offer programming over the mobile channel in 2008 - showing that mobile-broadband convergence is still viewed by the industry to be in its early stages.
Almost half of the respondents in the media and entertainment industries believe that the biggest challenge for 2008 is developing new business models for new channels, followed closely with maintenance of advertising revenues at 33 per cent. Only 11 per cent feel that managing and protecting content would be a challenge for 2008."The difference in responses between the industries on the topic of convergence signifies the challenges the industries face in developing new business models in the new environment," said Fran Heeran, CTO, Valista.
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Gore’s Current files IPO to fund growth
Al Gore’s Current Media, the online media company, plans an initial public offering that could see it raise up to $100 million. Current’s planned IPO comes at an uncertain time for equity markets worldwide.
The planned flotation comes as Current attempts to capitalise on growing interest in its media strategy, which seeks to link user-generated internet content with professionally packaged television broadcasts in a way that appeals to its target audience of computer-savvy 18-34 year olds. Current said it took in more than $63 million in revenues last year, an increase of 58 per cent from the year before, with most of the revenues coming from so-called "affiliate fees" paid by cable and satellite companies to carry Current’s television content. Advertising accounted for about $9.9m in sales last year.
Gore is a major shareholder and executive chairman.
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Verizon one millionVerizon has announced it has now over one million subscribers to its fibre FiOS IPTV service. In Q4 2007, the service gained 226,000 customers, for a year-end total of 943,000. The company is now the tenth largest provider of television services in the US. Launched in September 2005, FiOS TV offers hundreds of digital video and music channels, HD programming, and a library of more than 10,000 VOD titles.
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Ofcom warns over contentUK media regulator Ofcom has issued a warning to broadcasters over user-generated content after ruling against two clips screened by Sumo TV. Ofcom said it was concerned that some TV channels were putting too much responsibility for complying with its broadcasting code on the creators of user-generated clips rather than performing sufficient checks themselves.
The warning came as Ofcom warned Sumo for two clips broadcast on its Sky digital channel in July last year. One of the clips featured an expletive-strewn rap, while the other showed a child being "deliberately distressed" by an adult.
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Views sought on Hong Kong mobile TVThe Office of the Telecommunications Authority has launched its second consultation on the development of mobile television services in Hong Kong. It proposes to allocate one multiplex in the UHF Band and two multiplexes in Band III for deployment of broadcast-type mobile TV services.
For the allocation of the multiplexes in UHF Band and Band III, it proposes to adopt a pro-mobile TV approach. At least 50% of the transmission capacity should be used to carry mobile TV content, while the remainder can be used to provide other ancillary services.
To give operators flexibility the 50 per cent mandatory percentage of transmission capacity dedicated for mobile TV content will be subject to review five years after the service launch.
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Unitymedia selects Evolving Systems for triple playEvolving Systems, provider of software solutions and services to the wireless, wireline and IP carrier market, has confirmed that its Tertio Service Activation solution and Tertio Service Verification solution have been selected by German broadband carrier Unitymedia to support their growth strategy for triple play services. Unitymedia's core business is TV, with more than five million customers covering two of the largest populated states in Germany.
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SIDSA mobile TV coverage of CSTBSIDSA will bring live DVB-H Mobile TV signals to the CSTB trade show in Moscow. SIDSA will use transmitters from its partner MIER Communications and will showcase the services in Samsung mobile TV phones. SIDSA has a strong presence in Russia, with a commercial office in Moscow, and providing the technology to one of the first DVB-H pre-commercial networks worldwide in the city of Yekaterinburg.
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Harmonic for LifetimeHarmonic’s Rhozet Carbon Coder video transcoding solution has been selected by Lifetime Networks – encompassing the two highest-rated women's networks, Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network – for the transcoding and packaging of content for Web-based distribution. Lifetime delivers broadband content through a wide variety of outlets, including Apple's iTunes store, Yahoo!, and its own website.
Harmonic has also announced that C, a leading TV operator in Korea with more than two million subscribers, has deployed Harmonic's DiviCom Electra 7000 encoder for Asia's first live high definition MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video service in a cable environment.
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Tuesday 29th January
Mobile set to surpass online TV delivery
Sky, ITV decision
French government will email pirates
Vertical integration key to convergence
Virgin boosts Britain's broadband speeds
Chinese firms form HDTV IP protection alliance
Internet radio a hit
Zodiac launches Zodigo
SK Telecom inks Sony Pictures deal
Verimatrix secures UNE-EPM IPTV
i-concerts goes HD
Mobile set to surpass online TV deliveryMobile delivery of TV and music will exceed online delivery by 2010, international authors group CISAC has reported. CISAC, the worldwide organisation of copyright societies, said that consumption of audiovisual content on mobile devices will grow 68 per cent per year through 2010.
Driven mainly by mobile TV, it will reach a total market value of $3 billion. By comparison, online Internet TV is expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2010. Musical content will follow a similar trend, the CISAC study said: with a projected 4.2 billion mobile subscribers worldwide by 2010 - up from 3.3 billion in 2007 - the global market value of the mobile consumption of digital music content is expected to reach $6 billion while online delivery will reach $5 billion.
The study said the mobile surge will be driven by the Asia-Pacific region, which will generate more than half of the total global income from mobile music downloads by 2010, surpassing both North America and Europe.
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Sky, ITV decisionUK Business secretary John Hutton is expected to announce imminently whether he accepts the ruling of the Competition Commission that Rupert Murdoch's pay-TV company must reduce its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV to below 7.5 per cent.
It is anticipated it will insist on some sale. ITV's share price has tumbled since Sky bought the shares. In recent weeks, ITV shares have languished at all-time lows, with part of the pressure stemming from uncertainty over Sky's stake. They closed on Friday at 72.9p, (E1) compared with the 135p a share that Sky paid, at which level it is sitting on a £430m loss. However if Hutton's decision goes against them, Sky will probably go to court for a ruling.
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French government will email pirates
Legislation allowing the French government to send e-mail warnings to anyone downloading music tracks without paying for them should be passed by the summer, a senior official said. Illegal downloading in France had reached such a point, said Jean Berbinau, general secretary of Armt, the regulatory authority for digital copyright, that the authorities had to act.
"We have to do something, but it is only transitional, only to give time to the industry to adapt and maybe to encourage a new business model," said Berbinau at Midem. He is charged with implementing the measures announced President Nicolas Sarkozy. They include a "three-strikes-and-you’re-out" policy for people downloading illegally.The e-mail warnings, which would tell people they had been caught breaking copyright laws, would not only be sent to those involved in large-scale file-sharing, he said. "They would be sent to each IP address. It is not a huge technical challenge."
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Vertical integration key to convergence
Early attempts to bring networked video to television have fallen short of success, but that may change soon with the arrival of new vertically integrated solutions and business models, according to a recent study from ABI Research. Thus far, initial product offerings have been centred on a computing and home networking model; but vendors are learning that they need to provide end-to-end solutions in order to attract new consumers.
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) supports broad communication between networked devices and even handset manufacturers such as Nokia have shown how a Wi-Fi–enabled handset plays a role in the connected living room. Microsoft has been busy with its Media Centre Extender technology. Extender technology can be embedded in any suitable consumer electronics device, in addition to standalone DMA (Digital Media Adapter) clients, and is featured in products from both Linksys and D-Link, as well as the HP MediaSmart TV.
"While Extender defines a specific implementation, the more generic DLNA devices continue to gain widespread industry support," says ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson.
But ABI Research believes that video is the big fish – and home networked–based approaches are beginning to take a back seat to efforts being made by companies that directly link Internet services with television. Leveraging their strong brands, companies such as Apple, Netflix, and TiVo are providing more vertically integrated solutions.
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Virgin boosts Britain's broadband speeds
Virgin Media has unveiled plans to begin the first part of a major broadband upgrade programme. Customers on Virgin Media's 'L' tier broadband package will be upgraded for free, taking their service from 4Mb to 10Mb. The upgrade will roll out by regions from late February and will give customers more than double the speed of their current package. The upgrade is scheduled to be completed by late summer.
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Chinese firms form HDTV IP protection allianceMore than 40 enterprises will join forces to create the China Terrestrial Digital HDTV IPR Protection Alliance on January 31st. The alliance will have the mandate to manage patents for the Chinese standard for terrestrial digital HDTV, and could potentially become a body like the IGRS (Intelligent Grouping and Resource Sharing) Working Group by setting standards for how and in what amount patent licence fees are to be paid. Reportedly, Chinese television manufacturers pay a $31 licensing fee to the US on every television set made using the American HDTV standard.
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Internet radio a hitMore than 8 million people in the UK listen to web-based radio services every week and nearly 2 million download podcasts on a weekly basis, according to a survey audience research body Rajar. The survey found that more than 12 million people have listened to the radio online and 8.1 million listen every week.
Zodiac Interactive, developer of software for interactive television, has launched mobile content search engine, Zodigo. Zodigo includes features that make it easy for consumers to download mobile content instantly to their mobile phones. Zodigo is also the first software platform built for release on digital TV systems, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players, all next-generation gaming consoles as well as at Zodigo.com and many other web distribution partners.
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SK Telecom inks Sony Pictures dealSK Telecom, South Korean mobile carrier, has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Television International to provide the latest movie content to its mobile service users. Under the deal, SK Telecom will provide its 22 million customers with a wide range of TV and film offerings held by Sony's affiliates such as Columbia and Tristar. SK Telecom customers will be able to view the latest video content through its mobile multimedia service platforms, NATE and June.
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Verimatrix secures UNE-EPM IPTVVerimatrix has announced that systems integrator Unión Electrica has deployed the Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS) for IPTV within its platform solution for the UNE-EPM Telecomunicaciones IPTV deployment. UNE-EPM, a division of Empressa Publica de Medellín, will be formally launching its IPTV service in Medellín and Bogotá over the next few months. Verimatrix joins partners Orca, Sagem and Bitband for this IPTV deployment in Columbia.
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i-concerts goes HDSwiss based i-concerts has finalised a deal with Numericable, France’s largest cable operator, to launch the company’s i-concerts HD TV channel as part of its service in Spring 2008. i-concerts HD’s launch on Numericable marks the first time it will be available to European cable subscribers.
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Monday 28th January
French MNOs ‘tax for exclusivity’
IAC and Liberty open war
Mobile TV subscribers 462m by 2012
FCC spectrum, first day bids
Gemstar files lawsuit against Virgin
DBS contributes to AT&T's Q4 video count
Microsoft up
BBC on-demand going global?
Nielsen measures VOD data
Latens partners with TelCo
French MNOs ‘tax for exclusivity’
France's three mobile network operators; Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, have told president Nicolas Sarkozy that they would back his concept of eliminating advertising on public TV by levying a tax on mobile TV operators (and ISPs) in return for a guarantee there will be no more 3G operators.
This would leave Iliad's Free subsidiary and other potential mobile entrants out in the cold. The Attali Commission's long-awaited report on economic liberalisation in France argues in favour of the emergence of a fourth UMTS network operator to stimulate competition and lower end-user prices. It also supports aggressive efforts to accelerate high speed network rollouts.
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IAC and Liberty open warMonths of tension between Barry Diller (IAC) and his long time backer, John Malone, (Liberty) boiled over into a two-way legal battle that could determine the future control of major parts of IAC.
Malone's Liberty Media which owns a majority voting stake in IAC, has filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court accusing Mr. Diller of trying to mount a "corporate coup" with a planned restructuring that would dilute Liberty's control over several of IAC's major assets, which include Ticketmaster and the HSN home-shopping network.
Liberty's suit seeks to block Diller from completing the spin-offs of several units on terms that would dilute Liberty's voting power. Liberty's suit follows IAC's filing of a suit against Liberty in the same court earlier this week, in which IAC sought the right to complete the break-up on its terms.
Malone had backed Diller in IAC, by giving him the right to vote Liberty's majority voting stake in the company.
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Mobile TV subscribers 462m by 2012As mobile TV services expand over the next five years, ABI Research sees the total number of subscribers growing to 462 million, driven in large part by the expansion of 3G networks, and flat-rate plans for mobile video. The build-out of mobile video delivery networks and an increase in the amount of available content will also contribute to the market’s growth.
"Mobile operators’ sustained investment in video delivery will continue to be rewarded by subscribers’ growing adoption rates, particularly as they upgrade to new video-capable handsets," says research director Mike Wolf. "Consumers are being increasingly enticed by better experiences through more powerful and larger screens as well as by a widening array of subscription options."
ABI Research sees the Asia-Pacific region as the overall leader in the adoption of mobile video services. The number of subscribers to mobile video services in Asia-Pacific will grow from 24 million in 2007 to more than 260 million by 2012. High levels of penetration will occur in both Japan and South Korea while China and India will both contribute significantly to the overall total due to very large subscriber populations, even though the overall penetration of video services will remain much lower than in more technologically advanced countries.
"South Korea and Japan will continue to lead worldwide, while some countries in Western Europe will also continue to see strong growth," notes Wolf. "North America will also see some strong uptake as more services become available in 2008 with the launch of AT&T’s MediaFLO service, the continued expansion of Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO subscriber base, and the growth of on-demand mobile video services."
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The first day's bidding of the Federal Communications Commission auction of 700 MHz spectrum attracted $2.8 billion in prospective bids, according to the agency.
The majority of the money was committed by bidders in the first round with only $353 million being raised in the second round. The day one total was about a quarter of the way toward the official $10 billion estimate the radio spectrum is expected to be sold for. However recent days have seen tech stocks hammered and there is doubt the target will ultimately be met, although Microsoft’s announcement of profits up nearly 80 per cent on the quarter, will help.
Nearly half the money, some $1.24 billion, was bid by one participant seeking a national license for a swath of 22 megahertz of radio spectrum. The minimum ultimate price tag for this section of airwaves is $4.6 billion, meaning bidding for it is likely to be limited to large companies.
There was one bid for a second national license of 10 megahertz for $472 million in the first round. There was no bid for the license in the second round. There are a total of 214 qualified bidders.
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Gemstar files lawsuit against VirginGemstar, the News Corp controlled TV listings company, has initiated patent litigation proceedings against Virgin Media in the English High Court. Gemstar allege that the Virgin companies infringe three of Gemstar’s European patents, including techniques for providing certain interactive program guides (IPGs), and for handling recordings from IPGs.
We have worked diligently to license Virgin Media for their distribution of various set-top boxes that contain IPGs covered by our patents, but negotiations did not lead to a resolution," said Samir Armaly, executive vice president, intellectual property and licensing, Gemstar-TV Guide.
"The substantial value of our European patent portfolio has been recognizsd by leading service providers as well as leading consumer electronics manufacturers in the UK and throughout Europe. While we would have preferred to reach a commercial solution with Virgin Media, we ultimately have a responsibility to our shareholders, licensees, and other stakeholders to protect the value of our intellectual property.
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DBS contributes to AT&T's Q4 video countSatellite TV contributed to video customer gains for AT&T in the fourth quarter. The telco giant's IPTV platform also gained a significant number of new subscribers during the three-month period. On satellite TV, AT&T said it was serving 2.116 million bundled dish customers at the end of December. That's up from the 1.986 million customers under at the close of the third quarter.
The company has been bundling its services with both DISH Network and DirecTV, however AT&T announced that going forward it would sell only DISH Network.Also, AT&T grew its U-verse customer base to 231,000 during the fourth quarter, it was serving 126,000 at the end of the third quarter.
Total video service subscribers increased by 235,000 to 2.3 million in the fourth quarter. AT&T said that at the end of 2007, 7.6 percent of its primary consumer lines had a video solution, up from 4.6 percent a year earlier.
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Thanks largely to stronger-than-expected global PC sales, Microsoft reported $6.48 billion in profit for the holiday quarter on sales of $16.37 billion, beating analyst estimates. Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell raised the company’s sales and profit targets for the next two quarters — a sign that unlike Wall Street, Microsoft expects a comfortable start to 2008, despite signs that U.S. businesses might slow their spending. "We’ve just gone through our mid-year reviews where we go country by country and segment by segment, across the world," Liddell said. "The next six months we feel very good about."
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BBC Worldwide is in talks with international broadcasters in relation to launching local on-demand media players, similar to its Kangaroo joint venture with ITV and Channel 4. The US, Australia and Germany are likely targets. A BBC Worldwide spokeswoman insisted any international venture would be separate to the Kangaroo system, but added the BBC would still be willing to go ahead overseas without the support of a local broadcaster.
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Nielsen measures VOD dataThe Nielsen Company has confirmed the commercial launch of Nielsen On Demand Reporting & Analytics, (NORA), a measurement service that aggregates and anonymously reports on video-on-demand (VOD) usage based on real time transactions collected at the set-top box level.
At launch, Comcast will be providing VOD data for the NORA service, covering January 1, 2007 to the present. Comcast will also begin using the NORA service immediately to analyse trends in VOD usage based on a number of factors, including programmer, programme distributor, programme category and the overall revenue.
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Latens partners with TelCoLatens and TelCo Group, systems integrator in the Russian TV and telecommunications market, have signed a partnership agreement, and TelCo Group has integrated Latens CAS, with its eScentra middleware platform. The focus of this partnership will be on the sales and marketing of Latens and TelCo Group integrated solutions for Russia’s IPTV, digital cable, satellite and terrestrial TV market.
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