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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday
Friday 20th June
Telcos face both ways on net neutrality?
No consensus on Internet ‘breaking point’
Americas IPTV prospers, but not at satellite’s expense
Orange DTH package
Adelphia creditors fail
Strong growth Canada
ITV and Fox programming deal
Vodafone opts out of Tiscali race
Telekom Malaysia IPTV in 2009
Ireland spectrum consultation
Packet Vision and Tandberg addressable advertising
Orca eyes Asia Pacific market
Ether selects Velocix
Telcos face both ways on net neutrality?US telcos gathered at NxtComm in Las Vegas have focussed on the bandwidth challenge of media services as the main issue facing the industry, but at the same time have called on the FCC to sanction cableco Comcast for ‘bandwidth shaping’ to alleviate the problems caused by heavy p2p traffic.
AT&T and Verizon urged the regulator to take action against Comcast for slowing down peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic to free up bandwidth. Tom Tauke, executive vice president of public affairs and policy for Verizon, said: "It's in the best interest of the industry for the FCC to make a judgment against ComCast in the BitTorrent (p2p) case. None of us want to be in a world where there is a sense nobody is watching what is going on. We have the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission, which have authority to enforce some policies in this area. And if they do their jobs properly, they can make positive contributions on how the internet develops."
Jim Cicconi, senior executive and vice president for legislative affairs for AT&T, agreed "The Comcast case has brought the debate over net neutrality into specifics".
Meanwhile, CTOs of the same US phone companies say dealing with growing Internet traffic is a key challenge, as they work on preventing services like video downloading from bogging down the network. They said the popularity of bandwidth-heavy services, including movie downloads and video chat, was contributing to exponential growth in online traffic.
"There will always be a need for some sort of rational network management," Verizon CTO Mark Wegleitner said. He said the company has not yet had to block or control traffic like video streaming or online file sharing, but may eventually need to find a way to prevent congestion.
For now, Verizon is focusing on upgrading its network to enable faster Internet speeds. It announced on Wednesday that it will boost download speeds to up to 50 megabits per second (Mbps) from a previous 30 Mbps for premium FiOS subscribers.
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No consensus on Internet ‘breaking point’
Telecommunications professionals are split down the middle on whether increasing bandwidth demands are likely to break the Internet, according to a survey released by research firm IDC. The survey showed half of respondents saying bandwidth demands will eventually break the Internet, with the other half saying they won’t. Of the 51 per cent who see trouble ahead, one out of four think it could happen within two years.
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Americas IPTV prospers, but not at satellite’s expenseDespite a near quadrupling in subscribers in 2007, IPTV is not stealing customers from satellite television in the Americas region according to iSuppli.
The number of IPTV subscribers in North and South America expanded to 1.8 million in 2007, up 257.1 per cent from 501,000 in 2006. The vast majority of those subscribers were in the North American region, specifically in the US. US telcos and leading IPTV providers Verizon and AT&T collectively reached 1.2 million subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, up 295 per cent from 296,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006. AT&T’s U-Verse service accounted for 231,000 of those subscribers, while Verizon had 943,000.
Satellite subscribers in North and South America rose to 39.5 million in 2007, up from 36.3 million in 2006. North America’s leading satellite television providers, DirecTV and EchoStar, added 2.1 million subscribers during the same period.
"The early hypothesis was that IPTV subscribers would come out of the hide of the satellite companies in North America," said Pamela Tufegdzic, multimedia analyst at iSuppli. "However, over the past four quarters, satellite subscriber numbers have continued to grow in the region. The initial results show that IPTV subscribers in the United States still are mostly net additions to the pay-television market."
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Orange DTH packageThe Orange TV DTH package, due on market in July for French viewers unable to receive the DSL service, will comprise a basic free bundle of all the DTT channels. In addition there will be premium tiers similar to the IPTV service with packages priced at E9-E10 each. Orange Sport TV will be part of basic. Subscribers will get a hybrid Live Box including satellite receiver.
Later in the year will come the announced Cinema Series with five SD channels and one HD.
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A federal judge has dismissed claims by Adelphia Communications creditors who sought $4 billion from hundreds of commercial banks and investment firms, ruling that the cable operator's bankruptcy plan already had paid creditors what they were owed.
The creditors sought recovery of $3.4 billion in loan claims and $605 million in interest and fees from Citigroup., Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, among others, alleging wrongdoing on their part in dealings with Adelphia's former management. Several other dismissal motions still are pending.
The Adelphia Recovery Trust, representing the creditors, filed its complaint in 2003 saying that the banks and investment funds received more money than they should have from the company as the result of fraudulent wire transfers.
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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has released the statistical and financial summaries for Canadian broadcasters. Overall, total revenues for cable, direct-to-home (DTH) satellite distribution and multipoint distribution system (MDS) companies experienced substantial growth between 2006 and 2007. Cable companies’ total revenues exceeded $7 billion for the first time ever in 2007, while the combined revenues of DTH and MDS companies reached a new high of $1.85 billion. Cable
According to CRTC data, total revenues for cable companies increased by 16.1 per cent between 2006 and 2007, rising from $6.1 billion to $7.1 billion. The number of basic-cable subscribers increased from 7.48 million to 7.65 million. Cable companies’ profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) went from $1.4 billion in 2006 to $1.5 billion in 2007. However, expenditures also rose by 19.1 per cent, which reduced operating margins from 22.34 per cent in 2006 to 21.17 per cent in 2007.
UK’s ITV and Twentieth Century Fox Television, have signed a deal to jointly develop new television programs. The two companies plan to identify television formats from their existing catalog, which could be developed for new markets in either the US or the UK. The deal was struck by ITV global content chief Lee Bartlett, a former Fox executive.
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Vodafone opts out of Tiscali race
Mobile phone opertaor Vodafone has withdrawn from the auction to acquire Italy-based Internet firm Tiscali due to a disagreement over price. Vodafone said they may return if Tiscali did not reach an agreement with one of the four companies still in the running - BSkyB, Carphone Warehouse, Italian mobile operator Wind and Swisscom.
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Telekom Malaysia IPTV in 2009Telekom Malaysia plans to launch its IPTV commercial services next year, as part of its move to increase the usage of broadband services in Malaysia, its group chief executive officer Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said. "We hope to launch it commercially in the second quarter of 2009.
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The Commission for Communication Regulation in the Republic of Ireland (ComReg) has announced a consultation on the award of UHF spectrum in the Irish cities of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. The consultation would likely result in the launch of a nationwide mobile TV service – although ComReg noted that other mobile multimedia applications will be considered.
ComReg is proposing to award licences for a period of 10 years with wholesale service obligations aimed at ensuring access to the content on non-discriminatory basis for other operators. Mobile TV services will be expected to launch in the country within two years. The licences would be awarded through a sealed bid auction.
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Packet Vision and Tandberg addressable advertisingPacket Vision, provider of advanced video advertising and Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson Group, have partnered to deliver an advanced targeted advertising solution. The companies have built what they believe to be the world’s only solution capable of delivering truly frame-accurate splicing in H.264 over IPTV, which is a key component in ensuring seamless delivery of addressable advertising.
The solution was used to provide addressable advertising to university students subscribed to Inuk’s Freewire Service - an IPTV network that provides triple play services to universities across the UK. Ads played out during Channel 4 commercial breaks that weren’t relevant to students were replaced with ads for a major UK convenience food brand during May. It was the second such campaign to be completed successfully.
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Orca eyes Asia Pacific market
Orca Interactive, provider of IPTV middleware and applications and a subsidiary of Viaccess, has announced plans to expand into the Asia Pacific market. As part of this strategic expansion, Orca will initiate business development activities across the region during the third quarter of 2008, which will be supported by Viaccess’ existing presence.
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Ether selects VelocixVelocix, provider of the Digital Asset Delivery Networks, has been selected by Ether Digital to provide advanced web video delivery services for their Miomni digital entertainment platform. Miomni is Ether Digital's ‘white-label’ solution that enables global brands and content owners to create their own bespoke broadcast quality web TV channels. Currently, the Miomni platform uses the Velocix Video Streaming service for on-demand video delivery in Windows Media format. Plans are already underway to extend this to include live streaming and download video services, all delivered by Velocix.
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Thursday 19th June
TV ads still work best
UK online ads will overtake TV this year
First Wimax in Europe
Microsoft acquires Navic
ProSiebenSat.1 CEO out
PT Meo tops 100,000 subscribers, TVTel 60,000
Mobile TV adoption ‘tipping points’
Burnham: "Protect talent"
11bn online vids viewed in US during April
Cisco plans STB plant in India
UTStarcom selected by Sri Lanka Telecom
Content-House deploys Kasenna solutions
Thomson HD STBs for Broadband Networks
Hanaro deploys Harmonic
TV ads still work bestNew research finds that advertisements appearing in traditional media like television are still "much more likely" to have made a positive impression with consumers than ads running in digital media.
The US study, "When Advertising Works," was conducted by Yankelovich in association with Sequent Partners. The study covered 16 types of media. Besides TV, the traditional kinds included billboards, magazines, newspapers, radio and cinema commercials. The digital kinds included email messages, Internet banner ads, social networking websites, video games and video-sharing Web sites like YouTube.
When asked what kind of an impression the ad made, 56 per cent of survey respondents said traditional media ads made a positive impression, in contrast to 31 per cent who said that about digital media ads. Thirteen percent reported a negative impression of traditional media ads versus 21 per cent for digital media ads. Thirty-two percent said they had neither a positive nor a negative impression of traditional media ads, in contrast to 48 per cent who said they had neither a good or bad impression of digital media ads.
A principal reason for those results, said Yankelovich Monitor division, was that for ads that made an impression, consumers using traditional media were in a more positive mood and more likely to be interested in entertainment and relaxation. By comparison, consumers using digital media were more likely to be in busy moods, seeking control or solving a problem, and they were more likely to be by themselves. That may mean that "advertising will always have to work harder to make a positive impression in digital media," the company added.
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UK online ads will overtake TV this yearThe Internet will overtake television as the biggest advertising medium in Britain this year, with over 19 per cent of total ad spend, according Enders Analysis. The main engine for growth continues to be paid search on sites such as Google but Enders said it had also seen early signs that the popularity of online video is now making a small contribution to a shift in advertising from television to the Internet.
"Rising Internet consumption and surging consumer e-commerce continue to drive strong growth in online advertising, particularly paid search, in spite of the deteriorating economic outlook," the report said. "Our forecast for 2008 is that online advertising expenditure will grow 26.4 per cent in nominal terms to 3.56 billion pounds ($7 billion), overtaking TV ad spend, which we expect to fall 2.5 per cent to 3.39 billion pounds."
The report said Google would remain the biggest beneficiary of the growth in search advertising and predicted it would take 80 percent of UK spend on search advertising, up from 78 per cent in 2007. It predicted growth in online classified advertising, which increased 54 per cent in 2007, would slow in 2008 due to declines in recruitment and property listings.
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First Wimax in EuropeA commercial network launched in Amsterdam is the first in Europe to use a mobile version of the Wimax standard to allow users to surf the web at high speeds while on the move. The network is operated by Worldmax.
The network initially covers just the city centre of Amsterdam, but Worldmax said it plans to extend it across the country in coming years. Chief Executive Jeanine van der Vlist said a nationwide rollout was a task similar to building a new mobile phone network, adding the company would need about 3,000 sites to cover the Netherlands.
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Microsoft has acquired Navic Networks, a leading provider of television advertising solutions. Navic’s technologies include sophisticated campaign management tools that use relevant data to optimise the delivery and placement of targeted interactive television media and, through Admira, provide a unified ad network for targeting audiences across television advertising inventory. With the addition of Navic solutions, Microsoft’s advertising platform will be able to facilitate enhanced digital advertising across online and offline environments.
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ProSiebenSat.1 CEO outProSiebenSat1 Media CEO Guillaume de Posch is to leave the German broadcaster at the end of the year "at his own request", the company said. A successor has not been named. He has been a member of the board since September 2003 and chairman of the board since June 2004. The firm has seen its stock price fall by 55 per cent this year.
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PT Meo tops 100,000 subscribers, TVTel 60,000
From Branislav Pekic in RomePortugal Telecom has surpassed 100,000 subscribers for its triple-play service Meo, available via IPTV and satellite. Net additions in the second quarter have so far topped 53,000, more than doubling the net additions obtained in the first quarter of this year. The total number of subscribers represents 15% of Portugal Telecom’s ADSL client base and 40% of them are first time clients.
Major take-up of Meo only started this April when the offer was enhanced by including the Disney channel, and signing a partnership with TVI for the first free-to-air broadcasts in HD. In partnership with the Eurosport channel, Meo will air the Olympic Games in HD format.
Rival operator TVTel (owned by ZON Multimédia and Caixa BI), has expanded its triple-play services to the city of Porto, bringing the total number of customers to 60,000 with the goal of reaching 100,000 by the end of 2008. Initially, TVTel is offering a pay-TV service for E20.60, while the 60 Mbps internet service costs E50 a month.
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Mobile TV adoption ‘tipping points’QuickPlay Media, provider of mobile TV and video solutions, has today revealed the results of an independent Market Tools survey focused on mobile TV and video consumption in the UK. The research found that there are several barriers preventing people consuming TV and video content on their mobile phones, including a lack of awareness of the mobile TV and video services on offer (44%) and cost (33%) – a barrier that is set to erode as ‘all-you-can-eat’ data plans become more prevalent in the market place.
The demand for consumers to watch mobile TV is there, with 65 per cent of respondents stating that they are willing to spend time watching an advert if it meant that the mobile TV or video content they consume is free or discounted. On the other side of the coin, if mobile TV and video were to be charged for, 22 per cent said that they would prefer a pay-per-use business model and 13 per cent outlined a preference for an additional monthly subscription that would deliver the content without adverts.
"Operators across the world have invested heavily in improving their network structures to handle high-speed data transfer, but as an industry it seems that we are challenged by the last hurdle in marketing and selling these innovative data-based services to the public. There is a clear lack of awareness by end-users about what services they can enjoy, and what it will cost them to start watching," commented Wayne Purboo, CEO of QuickPlay Media. Purboo added: "The survey shows that perceived cost is a key barrier to mobile TV and video consumption in the UK so one option for operators and content owners is an advertising-based mobile TV and video offering – a solution that we have successfully rolled out with some of our customers in other parts of the world. Furthermore, the shift by European operators to offer unlimited data packages will start to remove the barriers for consumers to test and adopt data-based services such as mobile TV and video."
Two in five people have watched TV and video content on their mobile phone, with many now regularly using such services. Eighteen per cent of those that have tried a mobile TV and video service watch on a weekly basis, with more than a third watching almost on a daily basis. For consumers that are currently using mobile TV and video, the research highlights that as many as 46 per cent have used it at home.
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Burnham: "Protect talent"
From Colin Mann in LondonAndy Burnham, the UK’s Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, has described his government department as "the Department for Talent" and suggested that positive action may need to be taken to stem the increasing amount of illegally downloaded content.
"It’s important that creative talent continues to be rewarded," he told members of the Broadcasting Press Guild, and alluding to the problems encountered by the music industry being faced by broadcasters, said he couldn’t "stand by and let this roll on with no solution to that issue." A visible, self-regulatory body was one possibility.
Addressing the general question of whether the Internet should be regulated in the same way as television, he said that you "can’t stand by and say it’s all too difficult." He said that the Labour administration would bring forward proposals to address copyright issues. "You can’t be relaxed about the system being undermined," he said.
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11bn online vids viewed in US during AprilcomScore , a player in measuring the digital world, has released April 2008 data from the comScore Video Metrix service, revealing that US Internet users viewed 11 billion online videos during the month, with YouTube.com accounting for more than four billion of that total.
Cisco plans STB plant in India
Cisco Systems has said its Indian arm is targeting sales of set-top boxes to trigger growth in the consumer business. The company may set up a manufacturing facility in the country to cut down on costs, its top official in India said. Cisco did not provide financial details of the proposed manufacturing unit. "We expect to sell a couple of million set-top boxes in India in FY08-09," said Rajesh Chainani, senior vice president at Cisco Systems, India.
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UTStarcom selected by Sri Lanka TelecomUTStarcom has confirmed a multi-million dollar contract with Just In Time Holdings to supply its industry-leading RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution to Sri Lanka Telecom, the country's largest tier-one wireline and incumbent operator. SLT, a provider of international and domestic voice, Internet, and data services, will use the RollingStream platform to bring IPTV services to its growing customer base throughout Sri Lanka.
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Content-House deploys Kasenna solutions
Kasenna has confirmed that Content-House, an independent provider of interactive TV and PC services to Russian broadband operators, is using Kasenna MediaBase video server software and Kasenna LivingRoom middleware to deliver video-on-demand services to telcos and their customers across the country. For the first time, the new service will bring on-demand content to hundreds of thousands of Russian households.
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Thomson HD STBs for Broadband NetworksAfter successful delivery of MPEG-4 HD cable set-top boxes at the beginning of 2008, Thomson will also supply MPEG-4 HD PVR platform to Swiss distributor, Broadband Networks, the leading solution provider and system integrator for access network operators in the country. Interest in HD television in Switzerland is strong with the Euro 2008 football championship currently being held there.
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Hanaro deploys HarmonicHarmonic has announced that Hanaro Telecom, a Korean telco serving approximately six million subscribers via cable and DSL networks, has extensively deployed Harmonic's Narrowcast Services Gateway (NSG) 9000 universal edgeQAMs to increase bandwidth offered to cable subscribers. Hanaro's wideband DOCSIS 2.0B modular cable modem termination system (M-CMTS) service with channel bonding, capable of delivering 150 Mbps or more, is fully operational and has been very well received by Hanaro customers. Harmonic's NSG universal edge platform is a powerful solution for the cost-effective expansion of high-speed data capacity, while also freeing up critical network resources for cable IPTV and other advanced services.
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Wednesday 18th June
Croatia’s HRT to launch seven new DTT channels
CA, DRM revenue will triple by 2013
DSL becomes Broadband Forum
UK TV transformed by Internet
China Telecom IPTV STBs tender
Universal music vids on Last.fm
iPlayer revamp
Digisoft eRental movies
Brightcove 3 beta launch
Unitymedia hits subs milestone
SkyLife enhances HD with Tandberg
GlobeCast Asia to open playout centre in Singapore
Croatia’s HRT to launch seven new DTT channels
From Branislav Pekic in RomeCroatian state broadcaster HRT plans to launch seven new digital terrestrial TV channels over the coming years. Inititally, HRT will launch a sports channel, a channel dedicated to Croatian TV productions and a news/information channel. Other channels to be launched by the 2011 analogue switch-off date include a music channel, a channel dedicated to TV series and movies, a documentary channel and a kids channel. HRT’s main competitors are also boosting their offer, with Nova TV expected to launch two new cable TV channels, while RTL Televizija has launched the RTL Plus channel on T-Com’s IPTV service Max TV.
The introduction of DTT in Croatia will enable the transmission of up to 32 TV channels with national coverage, compared to the current five. For their part, local TV channels are expecting to receive one of the five channels on the country’s first multiplex.
With Euro 2008 HRT has launched trial broadcasts of the HRT HD channel in the cities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek to an estimated 1.5 million citizens. An HD DVB-T compatible device which is compatible with the MPEG-4 H.264 standard is required for reception. MAXtv subscribers can also receive the HRT HD channel and other HD channels, making Croatia the fifth country in Europe which offers HDTV via IPTV.
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CA, DRM revenue will triple by 2013Global revenue from digital asset management (DAM) solutions is expected to triple by 2013, according to ABI Research. The research, which also covers conditional access and broadband video markets, indicates marked differences in adoption rates and market growth between the major industrialized regions, North America, Europe and Asia.
"Certain common factors affect the growth of conditional access, digital asset management, and broadband video across all regions," says industry analyst Zippy Aima. "There is the recent proliferation of digital media content, especially video, and the rise of portable devices for viewing it. We can add the widespread availability of broadband data services to distribute it, and the need for systems that can store and deliver that content to the right people at the right time."
Beyond those common drivers, however, differences emerge. In North America, the conditional access market is quite mature, and revenue is expected to reach a plateau starting this year. Telcos will earn the largest piece of that revenue, followed by the cable industry, with the satellite sector a distant third. The maturity of the North American market affects shipments of new conditional access servers too, which will see lower than replacement rates, while shipments in Asia will more than double in the same period.
"After a slow start, IPTV is finally finding traction, particularly in Asia and Europe," adds Aima. "The pay-TV business model will do especially well, with the number of videos viewed increasing six-fold by 2013, while free content suffers a few percent decline."
None of these markets is without its challenges. Although vendors and service providers have been quick to provide and adopt new conditional access solutions, the required infrastructure changes are slow and expensive. The explosion of online video also demands more bandwidth. With the security of both premium entertainment content and private data under threat, ever-stronger access control is needed. DAM vendors must also focus on integration: their tools must interact with a constantly changing array of other applications.
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DSL becomes Broadband Forum
From Colin Mann in LondonChanging network environments and new sophisticated applications such as IPTV have brought the DSL Forum to transform its work across the broadband space, leading to the unveiling of its new name and identy – The Broadband Forum.
To meet the need for greater speed, more responsive network provisioning and greater personalised Quality of Experience (QoE) for customers, the DSL Forum has expanded its scope of work over the years, producing more than 150 technical reports to help drive industry progress. Moving from pure DSL solutions to include access agnostic management specifications in 2005, the Forum now adds PON solutions, more digital home optimisation models and sets the standard for real time application support.
"Broadband has already changed lives considerably since our organisation first began in 1994 – but now the world stands on the brink of a giant leap forward in converged communications," said George Dobrowski, Chairman and President of The Broadband Forum. "For some time now, we have been dealing with much more than DSL," he continued, pointing out that because DSL featured in the body’s name, many of its specifications that were access-agnostic, management-related or provided solutions to broader broadband issues, were being missed by the standards community because they mistakenly thought the Forum’s work was just DSL-specific.
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The online TV market in the UK is developing quickly, as individuals harness the power to determine their own viewing schedule and online activities, according to a report from digital market specialists eMarketer.
In 2008, more than 60 per cent of UK homes will have broadband connections, and that figure will rise to 74 per cent in 2012. As a result, online video viewing is also rising and an increasing amount of broadcast and cable television content is appearing online. Add that behaviour to the growing Internet population, which will top 38 million in the UK in 2008, and a transformation of the TV landscape is the result.
Thanks to the Internet, it is easier than ever for TV broadcasters to reach audiences. "Already in the first half of 2008, over one-half of UK adults with Internet access had watched TV online, and many had used it to catch programs they had missed," says Karin von Abrams, senior analyst and author of the report, "Web Television in Europe: An Expanding Scene."
Traditional TV viewing times are still growing but on-demand viewing and downloading are growing much faster. In most of Europe, increasing broadband penetration is a priority for governments, and services are expanding rapidly. The proportion of professional-quality TV on the Web is also rising, as networks and other content owners release their output online.
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China Telecom IPTV STBs tenderChina Telecom has launched a unified bidding process for 574,000 IPTV 2.0 terminals. The bid covers 536,000 standard-definition terminals and 38,000 high-definition terminals and requires the H.264 encryption standard for video compression. China Telecom set this figure after consulting with its provincial branches on their growth plans for IPTV usage.
The bidding is taking place through a unified framework managed by China Telecom, while each province is involved with its own procurement. Only Guangdong Telecom will not be ordering any terminals, as its IPTV platform will not be upgraded to IPTV 2.0 this year.
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Universal music vids on Last.fmLast.fm has added more than 12,000 full-length music videos to its site following a deal with Universal Music covering the group's artists including Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, Nirvana and Kanye West.
The video deal is the first global arrangement with a major music group for the CBS-owned site, allowing users to stream official music videos and the tracks in full for free, though not allowing downloads or copies that could be posted or embedded on sites such as YouTube.
Last.fm's video deal with Universal is funded through advertising, a spokesman said. Video plays will also be "scrobbled", adding to the listener profile that helps the site recommend similar artists to its users.
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iPlayer revampThe BBC will is preparing to launch a revamped version of the iPlayer including radio and TV content on a single interface, BBC head of digital media technology Anthony Rose confirmed. Personalised features will follow, including a recommendation service introducing new content to viewers based on past choices, and users on shared computers will be able to log in to individual profiles.
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Digisoft eRental moviesDigisoft.tv, provider of solutions to the IPTV markets, has launched its eRental Movie Download Platform. The solution enables customers to download high definition and standard definition movies from an in-store kiosk to a portable storage device for later viewing at home
The new eRental Movie Download platform takes traditional movie rental to the next level by using abundant, portable memory technology combining ease-of-use with the latest security technology and video compression standards in a patented package. The solution has been developed in conjunction with Video Ezy, Australia, and uses best-of-breed encryption and watermarking technologies from Verimatrix.
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Brightcove 3 beta launchBrightcove has beta launched its next-generation online video platform, Brightcove 3. The beta program provides access to a completely new version of the Brightcove service.
Scheduled for release this Autumn and immediately available to selected Brightcove customers, Brightcove 3 is built around the company’s vision for increasing video consumption and engagement by introducing a completely new model for incorporating video players and information about videos into the context of Web pages. Brightcove 3 also brings TV to the Web by enabling the delivery of long-form, broadcast-quality content through any website without the need for proprietary software plug-ins.
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Unitymedia hits subs milestone
Over one million German households in NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia ) and Hesse now receive their television and radio broadcasts via Unitymedia digital cable connections. This strong trend among consumers to switch to digital is the result of Unitymedia’s consistent digitalisation strategy. It commenced with the acquisition of the Bundesliga rights, followed by the introduction of Unitymedia’s triple play offer including digital tv and most recently its "Jetzt Digital" (Go digital) initiative together with the state media authorities of NRW and Hesse.
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SkyLife enhances HD with TandbergTandberg Television is upgrading the satellite head-end system of Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting - more recognised under its ‘SkyLife’ brand name. The enhanced MPEG-4 AVC system will allow SkyLife to expand its HD TV services. As Korea’s only satellite broadcast operator, SkyLife is at the forefront of the country’s television landscape and is aiming to offer more channels and continue its improvement of advanced services to its subscribers.
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GlobeCast Asia to open playout centre in Singapore
GlobeCast, a global content management and delivery company, is extending its service range in Asia with the upcoming launch of a playout and media management centre at its regional headquarters in Singapore. Scheduled for October, the launch follows GlobeCast’s acquisition of Pacific Century Matrix in Hong Kong, and is part of the company’s strategy to expand its geographic and commercial offering in Asia.
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Tuesday 17th June
ProSiebenSat.1 sells C More to TV4
Cisco predicts six-fold jump in video traffic
FCC chief to back satellite radio merger
Global satellite TV revenue nears $131bn
J:COM subs rise
TRAI aims to bridge Indian broadcasters and IPTV providers
Widevine connects TV services to Apple, Adobe and RealNetworks
NBCU exclusive on Weather Channel
Win delivers IPTV with Digisoft
ADB expands in North America
Kabel uses Comverse billing solution
Coship chooses ANT
ProSiebenSat.1 sells C More to TV4ProSiebenSat.1 Group is to sell the C More Group to Swedish broadcaster TV4. C More Group runs pay-TV in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The deal values the company at SEK 3 billion or E320 million.
Patrick Tillieux, COO, ProSiebenSat.1 commented: "Free-TV is the core of our business. In that respect, the sale of C More fits our strategy. I am happy that we have found a strategic investor, for whose portfolio C More is an ideal complement."
TV4 operates a number of Free- and Pay-TV channels in Sweden and is part of the Bonnier Group, a family-owned international media group based in Sweden with operations in more than 20 countries, including TV stations in Sweden and Finland.
ProSiebenSat.1 says deal receipts will be used to cut debt. It acquired C More when it bought SBS Broadcasting Group last year.
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Cisco predicts six-fold jump in video trafficCisco is projecting a six-fold jump in Internet traffic between 2007 and 2012, as online video becomes the biggest driver of global data communication. The networking-equipment maker predicts that Internet video -- which accounted for 5 per cent of data traffic in 2005 -- will represent 30 per cent of total data transfers by the end of this year. That will swell to 50 per cent by 2012, Cisco estimates.
"Over the last three years Internet traffic has exploded," says Suraj Shetty, vice president of worldwide service provider marketing for Cisco. And communications carriers that provide the Internet's infrastructure "are wondering how do they plan for this kind of growth," he said.
Cisco, the biggest maker of equipment used to deliver data over the Internet, developed the study to help communications carriers make such plans. In recent years, the rapid growth of traffic has worried some Internet providers, which fear that the flood of data could clog their networks. Cisco prepared the study by collecting data from phone and cable customers as well as market researchers and internal experts.
Overall, Cisco estimates, the current volume of Internet traffic transmitted a month globally is seven exabytes - or quintillion bytes, the equivalent of about two billion DVDs - and will reach 44 exabytes a month in 2012.
One big source of traffic in recent years has been file-sharing networks, which let PC users exchange videos and other files. That activity, while still growing, is shrinking as a percentage of traffic as more video is transferred from Web sites, Cisco says. Web-based video is projected to overtake file-sharing as a percentage of Internet traffic in two years.
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FCC chief to back satellite radio mergerThe head of the US Federal Communications Commission will support Sirius Satellite Radio's proposed purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's decision could remove the last regulatory hurdle in a lengthy and heavily criticised move to combine the companies.
The FCC chief decided to give his support after the companies agreed last week to concessions intended to prevent the new company from raising prices or stifling competition among radio makers. Martin is expected to issue an order that the FCC vote to approve the union of XM and Sirius.
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Global satellite TV revenue nears $131bnAccording to the Satellite Industry Association (SIA), global satellite services revenues grew more than 18 per cent, with satellite television contributing nearly three-quarters of the $78.6 billion earned in 2007 by satellite services revenue. Furthermore the report said that launch services revenue grew to $4 billion in 2007, increasing nearly 19 per cent from 2006.
Total satellite global revenues in 2007 were $ 130.8 billion, representing an average annual growth of 11.5 per cent for the period from 2002-2007 and sales in consumer hardware resulted in a 19 per cent rise in ground equipment revenues over the previous year, posting 2007 revenues of almost $40 billion.
The SIA said more satellites were launched in 2007 than in 2006 but satellite manufacturing revenues dipped slightly reflecting the higher number of microsatellites that have recently been launched.
Satellite pay TV subscribers increased by about 13 per cent over 2006 levels, surpassing the 100 million mark globally for the first time. Satellite carriage of High Definition Television (HDTV) continued to grow rapidly. The number of HDTV channels worldwide grew by 150 per cent from 2006 to May 2008. Satellite-delivered HDTV channels are also forecasted to grow 350 per cent by 2013.
Jupiter Telecommunications, the Japanese MSO has announced that the total subscribing households as of May 2008 served by J:COM’s 20 managed franchises reached 2.86 million, up 178,900, or 6.7 per cent since May 2007.
Combined revenue generating units (RGUs) for cable television, high-speed Internet access and telephony services reached approximately 5.09 million, up 426,800 or 9.2 per cent since May 2007. The bundle ratio (average number of services received per subscribing household) increased to 1.78 as of May 2008 from 1.74 since May 2007. The cable television digital migration rate as of May 2008 increased to 72 per cent from 58 per cent as of May 2007.
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TRAI aims to bridge Indian broadcasters and IPTV providersThe Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said that it was hopeful of having broken the impasse between broadcasters and IP service providers.
Broadcasters have agreed to offer channels on an a la carte basis and also to offer the same bouquets, at the same rates to the IPTV service providers as those being offered to DTH operators according to the regulator’s recommendations, said the Authority.
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Widevine connects TV services to Apple, Adobe and RealNetworksWidevine Technologies has launched an enhancement to Widevine Cypher that enables traditional television services to be securely delivered direct to major PC players. The enhancement converts MPEG2 TS (transport streams) on a PC so they are recognisable by Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime and RealNetworks RealPlayer. For the first time, video operators can securely deliver SD and HD pay-TV content to a PC without the need for special connectors, head-end equipment or custom PC player software.
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NBCU exclusive on Weather ChannelTime Warner withdrew its bid to buy the Weather Channel after refusing to raise its offer, leaving NBC Universal and its partners in exclusive talks with the network's owner, Landmark Communications. The NBC Universal, Blackstone Group and Bain Capital consortium offered an estimated $3.5 billion.
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Win delivers IPTV with DigisoftDigisoft.tv, provider of carrier class solutions to the IPTV and media and entertainment markets, has revealed that Win Multimedia of Thailand has selected Digisoft’s DigiHost Service Delivery Platform and IPTV set top box middleware to deliver IPTV services in the Thai and Chinese markets.
WM plans to launch their IPTV service across 10,000 retail outlets in Thailand and China over the next year and will include advanced applications including IPG, Video on demand, mobile phone tracking, news and weather services and karaoke in addition to multi language support. WM is operating in Thailand and also will expand to The Peoples Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India.
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ADB expands in North AmericaAdvanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), supplier of digital TV systems and software solutions for interactive television, has signed a distribution agreement with Graybar a leading North American distributor of electrical, communications/data and security products. The agreement provides for the distribution of a complete range of IPTV set-top boxes (STBs) and digital video recorders (DVRs) to Independent Operating Companies (IOCs), municipalities and utilities deploying IPTV products and services. This agreement will expand ADB’s current distribution network – the company’s products are currently deployed on over 90+ IOC networks.
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Kabel uses Comverse billing solutionComverse, supplier of software and systems enabling network-based multimedia enhanced communication and billing services, has announced that Kabel BW has selected the Comverse Billing solution to support its subscriber base of approximately 2.3 million households. Comverse is responsible for the solution’s integration with both the operator’s existing legacy systems and with the SAP Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution.
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Coship chooses ANTANT, provider of software and services for the delivery of digital TV, has confirmed that Coship, China’s largest set-top box manufacturer has licensed ANT Galio Browser for use in its next generation IPTV set-top boxes.
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Monday 16th June
Warner Bros online channel partnerships
Yahoo closer to Google deal, ad agreement
TV and video consumption rising
Spanish Government demands better DTT content
BBC sports portal
Canal+ VOD on PSP
TVN joins forces with IP-Prime
Changhong DTV sets
France revisits 3G allocation
Intelsat renews CCTV contract, HD Olympics
Canada stamping out online piracy
Mirada wins ITV Bingo deal
Warner Bros online channel partnerships
The Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) has signed distribution agreements with a select group of preferred partners to launch a number of advertiser-supported branded channels in premium environments that will further WBTVG's strategic expansion into the digital marketplace. WBTVG will work closely with Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh Networks to launch channels that will include TheWB.com and KidsWB.com – the two new advertiser-supported broadband destinations.
The channels will launch in mid-September, providing WBTVG's branded destinations with the added reach of the distribution partners' target audiences, while giving consumers greater access to the Studio's programming. The three-screen distribution strategy provides scale to advertisers, allowing them to associate with Warner Bros. brands through the expanding Warner Bros. digital arena, which gives advertisers access to targeted consumers via the Studio's programming.
"These new premium partnerships fit our overall digital distribution strategy by providing users the opportunity to access our content where and when they choose," said Warner Bros President Bruce Rosenblum. "These partnerships will further the reach of the high-quality content we are creating to fuel our branded, ad-supported niche destinations which will benefit both the user and the advertiser."
The branded channels at Dailymotion.com, www.joost.com, Sling, TiVo and Veoh.com will offer, free of charge to consumers, full-length episodes of programming – some drawing from The WB Network, and others from Kids' WB! and the Warner Bros. collection. In addition, selected original series will be made exclusively for TheWB.com.
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Yahoo closer to Google deal, ad agreementYahoo and Google are close to reaching a search advertising deal, and talks between Yahoo and Microsoft Corp about a similar deal have fallen through, it is being reported.
Talks between Microsoft and Yahoo concluded after Yahoo decided to pursue a deal with Google,. Yahoo also asked Microsoft if it would renew its $33-a-share takeover offer for the Internet company, but Microsoft reportedly was not interested.
Meanwhile, Yahoo has confirmed a formal search alliance with Google under which Google ads will run alongside Yahoo! search results in the US and Canada. The deal leaves rival suitor Microsoft out in the cold as it hunts for a way to revive its own flagging Internet fortunes.
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TV and video consumption risingWith video entertainment choices expanding rapidly with the broader availability of web video and video-capable devices such as the iPhone, Americans are consuming more video content than ever according to the Multiplatform Video Report by Solutions Research Group.
The study found that an average American consumer aged 12 and older with Internet access now spends 6.1 hours daily with video-based entertainment, up from 4.6 hours in 1996. Of this 6.1 hours, 63.9 per cent (nearly 4 hours per day) currently comes from traditional Television, including live, DVR and video-on-demand viewing. Video games, web and PC video, DVDs and video on mobile devices account for the balance.
TV accounted for a lower share of video-based entertainment among younger Americans, coming in at 42.4 per cent among those 12 to 24 (vs. 63.9 per cent total population average). There was also a significant difference between men and women, with TV accounting for 70.4 per cent of women’s daily video-based entertainment diet, versus 57.7 per cent for men. PC or online video use was similar, accounting for 10.1 per cent of daily video time for men and 10.5 per cent for women.
One of the most interesting aspects of the findings was the different ‘prime time’ periods in evidence for various media platforms. For example, PC and web video achieved its highest share mid-day during the week (12.3 per cent share) and it was lowest after 6 pm weekdays and weekends. Prime time for video gaming was Saturday mornings while mobile video peaked during weekday mornings.
Projections developed for the report suggest that per capita time spent with PC, web and mobile video will increase from just under 1 hour per day currently to nearly 2.9 hours by early 2013. Daily Video/TV use is set to expand by 35 per cent— with web, mobile and games to drive growth. Total hours with video-based entertainment on all platforms is forecasted to expand nearly 35 per cent to about 8 hours on average, as consumers use more screens in more places and video becomes ubiquitous.
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Spanish Government demands better DTT content
From David del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish government is not happy with the quality of DTT content and has asked all DTT operators to improve their offer under the threat of legal proceedings against them otherwise.
The State Secretary of Telecommunications, Francisco Ros, said that the Government "has detected" a level of DTT content "lower" than expected since the relaunch of DTT. He underlined that TV operators are obliged to distribute new digital content and warned of legal proceedings.
Ros claimed that the DTT take-up is going well with more than 10 million DTT tuners already sold and a coverage of more than 85 per cent to reach 88 per cent by the end of July. Currently, five million homes receive DTT, representing 33 per cent of the population. Other five million households enjoy digital TV through other platform such as cable, satellite and IPTV, according to the Administration.
Ros announced that the Government will approve in the coming months an overall TV law to regulate the whole sector and will create an Audiovisual Committee to oversee the quality of TV content.
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The BBC is planning to establish a permanent interactive sports service, available via the red button, on Freeview, digital satellite, cable and Freesat, The multi-million pound initiative, dubbed Mysportnow, is scheduled to go live following this summer’s Olympic Games.
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Canal+ VOD on PSPCanal+ group, producer and distributor of pay TV content, and Sony Computer Entertainment France are teaming up to provide all PSP (PlayStation Portable) owners with video on demand. It is the very first time that VOD will be available on Sony's PSP.
Launching 18th June, PSP owners will be able to download as much entertainment as they like from Canal+ group's VOD platform to their personal computers and then synchronise with their PSP to watch when they want .
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TVN joins forces with IP-PrimeTVN Entertainment Corp., the television on-demand company, has announced a long-term agreement with IP-Prime, provider of outsourced IPTV services, in which TVN will provide its comprehensive suite of VOD content and asset management services as part of IP-Prime’s service solution.
The deal allows IP-Prime operators full access to TVN’s on-demand products and services including iPRI – an advanced interactive tool that allows programmers to update VOD metadata before, during, and after asset distribution to VOD servers and TVNow – the fast turn around service that converts live programming into on-demand content, which is then made available to viewers within hours of the event.
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Changhong DTV setsChanghong has launched its first digital satellite television. Purchasers need not purchase a separate set-top box, and will pay around RMB100 (E9.5) on purchase to receive an antenna capable of receiving digital television programming directly from Chinasat-9.
Liu Xiwen, director of the digital television department at the Beijing Gehua Network TV Company, believes that - in line with related national regulations - urban residents will not be able to purchase antennae capable of receiving Chinasat-9 signals independently, as these antennae will be available only in remote rural areas. Chen Ning, the deputy general manager of Changhong's multimedia division, said that the new television is permitted by national regulations, and stated that it will be sold at regional sales outlets. The new television is not currently available at large chain stores in Beijing, Shanghai or other major cities. Changhong will participate in special "government procurement" processes to sell these sets.
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France revisits 3G allocationFollowing an unsuccessful attempt in 2007 to assign the remaining frequencies in the 2.1 GHz band for 3G services, the French government has invited telecoms regulator ARCEP to hold a public consultation, which is required prior to the launch of a new procedure, with the goal of having results available by 30th September 2008.
ARCEP’s public consultation aims to collect the opinions and analyses of players on the issues and the different ways of assigning the remaining frequencies in the 2.1 GHz band. The assignment of these frequencies is an important issue, especially for a new entrant candidate, which will be able to gain access to low frequencies in the 900 MHz band if it is authorised in the 2.1 GHz band, whereas only a little amount of low frequencies will be available in the coming years.
Intelsat renews CCTV contract, HD Olympics
Intelsat, provider of commercial satellite services, has confirmed that China Central Television (CCTV), the national broadcaster of the People’s Republic of China, has renewed a multi-year contract on Intelsat’s Galaxy 3C satellite for Ku-band capacity to distribute its regional direct-to-home (DTH) services in the US.
Intelsat has also announced that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has signed a multi-transponder deal for the video carriage of the 2008 Summer Games to Europe. The EBU will use C-/Ku-band cross-strap capacity on the Intelsat 706 satellite, located at 50.2 degrees East, to distribute the all high-definition event to its members.
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Canada stamping out online piracyThe Canadian federal government has moved to end free downloading online. Industry Minister Jim Prentice has introduced legislation that caps penalties for copying a movie at $500.
The amendments to Canada’s copyright laws would also make it illegal to copy a compact disc or DVD to a personal digital device such as an iPod — even if consumers have already paid for the CD or DVD — if it involves breaking a ‘digital lock’ to make a copy. People caught hacking digital locks would face penalties of up to $20,000.
These higher penalties would also still apply for posting music using the Internet or peer-to-peer technology, or for posting a copyright-protected work, such as a picture or video, onto a website such as Facebook or YouTube.
When it comes to enforcement, Internet service providers are exempt from liability for copyright violations by their subscribers.
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Mirada wins ITV Bingo dealInteractive media and games group Mirada has landed a new deal with UK commercial broadcaster ITV to provide interactive televised bingo. ITV is planning to launch ‘Bingo Night Live’ later in June 2008, a free-to-play bingo game that will be televised five nights a week at midnight. Viewers will also be able to compete via the Internet.
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