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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday
Friday 28th November
VOD more popular than IPTV
Cable industry’s100 Mbps broadband roll-out
ASTC elevates mobile standard
EC carpets Spain over excess ads
Mobile Internet usage up 25%
Zodiak shoots for the stars
Warner on Korean mobiles
Singapore mobile TV trials ends
Korean TV open to congloms
Mobile VOD for Met Office
MTV HD on Numericable
Tudou, SMG dancing partners
VOD more popular than IPTVVideo on Demand (VOD) via a TV and IPTV are both becoming mainstream. Their concurrent rapid growth means there is a temptation to see them in competition - a kind of battle of the platforms, suggests Continental Research.
If it is seen as a competition, the company’s recent ‘TV 3.0: The Digital and Internet TV Report’ shows that VOD via TV is winning comfortably. The research shows conclusively that VOD via TV is watched more often and for much longer than IPTV.
In particular, satisfaction with the overall VOD via TV viewing experience is a sizeable 91 per cent compared with only 62 per cent amongst IPTV viewers.
Arguably the success of VOD via TV could be seen as TV adapting to, and defending itself against, encroachment from the Internet. However, the research suggests that IPTV should at present be regarded as an addition to VOD (via TV) rather than an alternative.
The type of content watched on IPTV is very different from VOD via TV. IPTV viewers are particularly keen on viewing content such as reality TV, sport, news and music that can all be consumed in short bursts. Conversely, longer content such as soaps and movies are viewed more heavily on VOD via TV. For this type of programming viewers want to relax, lean back and enjoy the viewing experience.
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Tim Barber, Associate Director at Continental Research says "Over time we do expect IPTV and VOD via TV to converge. This will increasingly be driven by advanced TV sets that allow viewers to view online content on their main TV set, effectively blurring the distinction between VOD and IPTV. The Internet has transformed industries as diverse as banking, music and travel. This process of transformation is now fully underway for TV."
Cable industry’s100 Mbps broadband roll-outMembers of industry trade body Cable Europe in France, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium have taken the lead in launching ‘next generation’ technology infrastructure built around high-speed broadband connections.
The cable operators delivering the services are Welho of Finland, Numericable in France and Belgium, and UPC, part of Liberty Global, in the Netherlands. And there is more to come with companies such as ONO of Spain already offering 50 Mbps.
Manuel Kohnstamm, president of Cable Europe, said: "This is a major step forward to deliver ground-breaking internet services to cable consumers, creating a richer media experience. Cable continues to take the lead in next generation network investments, inspiring the competition to follow."
The roll-out coincides with calls by Cable Europe for a European market-place that encourages continued investment and transparent competition in broadband delivery. The association has called on EU telecommunications ministers to ensure that fully independent networks can compete fairly against national telecoms operators and alternative telecom providers.
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ASTC elevates mobile standardThe Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has elevated its specification for Mobile Digital Television to Candidate Standard status. The new Mobile DTV Candidate Standard provides the technical capabilities necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices using their digital television transmissions. ATSC Mobile DTV includes a highly robust transmission system based on vestigial sideband (VSB) modulation coupled with a flexible and extensible IP based transport, efficient MPEG AVC (H.264) video and HE AAC v2 audio (ISO/IEC 14496-3) coding.
In addition to live television, the ATSC Mobile DTV Candidate Standard provides a flexible Application Framework for running software on receivers. Receivers that make use of an optional internet connection will enable new interactive television services, ranging from simple audience voting to the integration of internet-based applications and transactions with television content. The Candidate Standard also enables broadcasters to deploy new ‘data broadcasting’ services such as providing real-time navigation data for in-vehicle use and providing news and sports highlights for ‘on-demand’ use by consumers.
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EC carpets Spain over excess ads
From David del Valle in MadridThe European Commission is bringing Spain before the European Court of Justice for breaking the EU's ‘Television without Frontiers’ Directive. Brussels accuses Spain of doing nothing to restrict TV advertising and teleshopping spots allowing the main commercial TV channels regularly to break the 12 minutes limit per hour.
"In spite of our calls for action, Spain has not put the European limit of 12 minutes of spot-advertising per clock hour in place," said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media. She said such actions would have negative effects on advertising spending – a major source of financing for free-to-air broadcasters – and called the excess a "sustained bombardment" that was bad for viewers.
According to the EC, Spain has misinterpreted the EU's ‘Television without Frontiers’ Directive by defining ‘advertising spot’ too narrowly. The EC had previously sent a warning to Spain on July 2007 and a reasoned opinion on May 2008. The Spanish authorities replied in September 2008 but did not agree with the Commission's analysis. The EC decision comes nearly one year after the entry into force of the new ‘Audiovisual Media Services without Frontiers’ Directive, approved on December 2007, which reaffirms the "12 minute-rule".
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The number of Brits accessing the Internet via mobile devices increased by 25 per cent in the third quarter of 2008, according to research from Nielsen Online.
Results from the study Mobile Media View, highlight that usage of the mobile Internet is increasing eight times faster than PC-based internet growth, rising from 5.8 million to 7.3 million between the second and third quarters of 2008.
Kent Ferguson, senior analyst at Nielsen, commented: "The mobile internet audience is becoming more mainstream and is fast becoming a viable way for advertisers and publishers to reach important demographic groups."
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Zodiak shoots for the stars
From Colin Mann in LondonThe De Agostini group has unveiled details of a brand new company aimed at rivalling all existing international content groups. Zodiak Entertainment will spearhead financial conglomerate De Agostini’s move into the global television content market. The initiative follows De Agostini’s recent raft of acquisitions to ramp up its media and communications division with players such as Magnolia Productions, Marathon Group and Zodiak Television Group.
Lorenzo Pellicioli, CEO of De Agostini Group and CEO of Zodiak Entertainment, said the creation of Zodiak Entertainment confirmed the group’s commitment to create a worldwide leading brand, producing creative entertainment content for television and new media. "We also intend to significantly extend our reach in developing programming for new platforms, as well as growing our consumer products, licensing and publishing units into a substantial and lucrative global business utilising the advantages and synergies from collaboration between Zodiak Entertainment and De Agostini’s other fields of activity, particularly publishing and the gaming sector," he revealed. IPTV and mobile were particular areas of interest.
He said that Zodiak’s main focus going forward would be to combine organic growth with further acquisitions and strengthen its position both in the UK and US, as well as in high growth emerging markets. "This strategy will support our ambition to become one of the key international players in the TV content market in the next three years by achieving our revenue target of eight hundred to a billion euros, and EBITDA of 130 to 150 million euros and being ready to list the company on a stock exchange."
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Warner on Korean mobilesWarner Bros has become the first Hollywood studio to see its movies distributed directly to mobile TV in Korea. The move follows a deal with the country's number two phone company KTF.
The service, known as Warner Bros Digital Distribution, launched with an initial offering of 150 recent movies and TV series. Movies will be available at $1.40 each, TV series for $0.70 per episode.
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Singapore mobile TV trials endsAfter 18 months, Singapore Digital’s TV2GO mobile TV trial will shutdown at the end of November - in preparation for a possible commercial launch. Aimed at providing technical experience in the implementation and operation of digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) services, the TV2GO trial has also enabled a range of interactive services to be road-tested. This has allowed Singapore Digital, a digital broadcast services company, to obtain market feedback on new mobile TV applications, content and viewing habits.
According to Singapore Digital CEO Giulio Dorrucci, the TV2GO trial has revealed a great deal about how mobile TV technology performs in high-density living environments, and the challenge of providing high-quality coverage indoors. Dorrucci said that the timing was now right to cease the trial and to start considering the next steps towards commercial network deployment. "The TV2GO trial has equipped Singapore Digital with the all-important experience and insight into how mobile TV networks need to be designed and deployed."
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The Korea Communications Commission has voted in favour of a new regulation that will allow conglomerates with assets of less than W10 trillion (E5.2 billion) to run terrestrial or cable TV channels . That opens the door into television for 34 conglomerates including LS, Dongbu, Daelim and Hyundai. Under the current law, the cap is assets of W3 trillion.
The KCC also eased regulations on cable TV. Currently, any one cable TV operator can provide services only to 15 out of 77 regions nationwide. That will rise to 25, likely to bring about a rush of mergers and buyouts of firms.
The rules, which come under the enforcement ordinance of the relevant law and need no parliamentary approval, will come into force at the end of December after vetting by the Regulatory Reform Committee and the Ministry of Government Legislation.
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UK weather forecasting specialist the Met Office is claiming a first with its plans to deliver a free of charge, video on-demand weather service for mobile.
The new service, powered by the mobile TV specialist, Gorillabox, will be available through its own branded mobile portal. Weather forecasts, updated several times a day, will give access to the very latest weather information direct from the new Met Office television studio in Millbank, London.
"Taking the Met Office’s position as the country’s leading weather forecaster to new media and building an e-commerce brand is a key strategy for us, and we will be leading the market in weather information through mobile TV", commented Juliet Gardner, Business Manager for Met Office Media.
"Today’s technology means we’ve become accustomed to having information at our fingertips, exactly when we want it. In teaming up with Gorillabox our forecasts do just that; delivering weather information that anyone can access at any time. We will be leading the market in mobile TV." Christian Harris founder and CEO of Gorillabox claimed that there was huge demand for mobile TV, and weather had consistently been one of the most successful forms of information on mobile.
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MTV HD on NumericableMTV has confirmed that a HD broadcast of its flagship channel will join the line-up offered by French cablenet Numericable, one month after the station joined the DTH package CanalSat.
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Tudou, SMG dancing partnersChinese online video site Tudou has formed an exclusive strategic partnership with the entertainment channel of Chinese media provider Shanghai Media Group (SMG). For an interactive segment on SMG's ‘Let's Shake It’ dance competition programme, users will be able to upload their own dancing videos to Tudou's website. Thereafter, starting from November 30, select user videos will be shown on commercial breaks during the airing of the first-round stages of the competition.
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Thursday 27th November
ONO loses subs and profit on quarter
SeaChange acquires Mobix
TiVo profit from damages
Miniweb launches TV Keys
Pace delivers ‘+Le Cube’
Government ditches C4 switchover help
MVS, EchoStar form Dish Mexico
Telcos will market OTT services
Vodafone VoD service in Germany
ONO loses subs and profit on quarter
From David Del Valle in MadridSpain's largest cable operator ONO lost 19,000 subs in the third quarter which the company blamed on the deteriorating economic environment and a lack of commercial activity during summer time.
ONO ended the third quarter with 1,935,636 total subs, with telephony experiencing the sharpest decline losing more than 7,000 customers. The company managed to add only 5,000 subs to its TV service up to 1,057,422 subs with a penetration rate of 15.2 per cent. ARPU amounted to E52.4 against E53.3 in the previous quarter.
ONO achieved revenues of E396 million for Q3, or 3 per cent less than in the previous quarter and 2.1 per cent less than in the corresponding quarter in 2007. The EBITDA was E180 million, 0.3 per cent less than in the previous quarter and 4.5 per cent down on a year earlier. ONO’s EBITDA has risen by 8.8 per cent in the first nine months of this year, revenues are down by 0.9 per cent.
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On Demand Group (ODG), a subsidiary of SeaChange International, has extended its content aggregation and management services to the growing European, Middle East and Africa mobile video market with its acquisition of Mobix Interactive.
Mobix is a leading provider of mobile video and TV services to some of the region's largest carriers, including O2 and 3 in the UK and Vodacom in South Africa. Using its proprietary mobile video and TV platform, Adrenalin, and core media services, Mobix enables the deployment of mobile video and TV services.
ODG delivers end-to-end on-demand service creation, content aggregation and management for television companies including Virgin Media, Telekom Austria, OTE and TTNET, while Mobix's managed service approach brings a proven and successful business model within the burgeoning mobile media industry. The acquisition agreement lets ODG enable managed network owners to tap into both markets. Further, ODG intends to bring to mobile carriers its content rights management, distribution and retail marketing capabilities, which are reflected by the company's large stable of relationships with top-tier studios such as Paramount, NBC Universal and Warner Bros.
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TiVo profit from damages
TiVo reported a record profit for the third quarter ended October 31, of $100.6 million, but that was based mainly on the $105 million in damages the company received from satellite operator Dish Network and its set-top supplier EchoStar Corp. relating to patent litigation.Without the Dish/EchoStar damages award, the company would have posted a loss of $900,000. Last year, the firm recorded a loss of $8.3 million for the same period. Net revenues for the quarter were $64.5 million, compared to $75.6 million last year. Service and technology revenues were $51.7 million, compared with $58.3 million for the same period last year.
TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers said he was optimistic about the next phase of the litigation with EchoStar that comes in February, when a U.S. district court judge will consider TiVo’s request to find EchoStar in contempt for not disabling its DVR devices to not infringe on TiVo’s "time-warp patent."
Rogers also spoke about TiVo’s cost-cutting, including the planned elimination of 7 per cent f its workforce and tight inventory control, in the midst of the current financial crisis. He noted that TiVo is sitting on over $200 million in cash and short-term investments and has no debt.
While TiVo pointed to progress in rolling out its DVR software with multichannel operators Comcast, Cox and DirecTV, it did caution that the current economic downturn may affect retail sales of its own DVR devices.
TiVo-owned subscription gross additions for the third quarter were approximately 44,000, compared to 69,000 gross additions for the year-ago period. Overall, TiVo-owned subscriptions ended the quarter at approximately 1.7 million. The company has 3.5 million overall DVR subscribers, counting multichannel partners.
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Miniweb launches TV KeysMiniweb, the Interactive Service Provider that is enabling interactivity and targeted, web-style advertising on the TV, has confirmed the commercial availability of TV Keys, a new interactive TV service. TV Keys bridge the gap between the interactivity and targeting of the web and the ease of use and reach of TV, to deliver a measurable advertising platform.
Companies are able to use a TV Key, a distinctive icon that incorporates brand names, words or phrases, to provide a memorable trigger for viewers to connect and engage with web-style content on TV Sites, delivered directly to the TV, rather than a PC.
The TV Key can be included in broadcast video or printed media just like a web site address so consumers can simply enter the TV Key with their TV remote control at any time to interact with the content or service.
"By combining web-style measurement and targeting with the high impact of television, Miniweb’s TV Keys enable companies to make the most of their advertising and marketing budgets. The launch of our TV Keys service into 9 million UK Sky homes means that interactive TV is now an important and viable part of the marketing mix," said Andrew Noble, Marketing Director, Miniweb Interactive.
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Pace delivers ‘+Le Cube’Europe's first Satellite / IP hybrid set-top box to use the Ethernet port for VOD services, +Le Cube, has been delivered to the French pay-TV operator Canal+ Group by Pace.
Mathias Hautefort, President Pace France said, "+Le Cube's hard disk has been optimised by Pace Engineering for very low audibility, to be less intrusive for the user. This is also the first HD PVR for Canal+ Group with an internal hard disk drive, with a 320 GB capacity providing the ability to record up to 100 hours of HD programming.
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Government ditches C4 switchover helpThe UK government has withdrawn controversial plans to award £14 million (E17.7m) to Channel 4 to help with the cost of digital switchover. In a written statement to parliament, culture secretary Andy Burnham said the plan had effectively been overtaken by events because forthcoming proposals on Channel 4's future funding would be "more wide-ranging".
"In the period since the notification was made, the debate on the future of public service broadcasting in the UK has moved on significantly." Burnham said in the statement. "Furthermore, the structural challenges that traditional commercially-funded public service broadcasters face have been exacerbated by current cyclical conditions. The government has therefore brought forward its timeline for decisions and is now committed to take a more comprehensive view on the future institutional and financial framework of public service broadcasting, including the future of Channel 4, early in 2009."
Channel 4 has been warning that it will require extra funds to plug a shortfall of £150 million by the time of switchover in 2012.
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MVS, EchoStar form Dish MexicoMVS Comunicaciones, a Mexican telecommunications conglomerate, and EchoStar have formed a joint venture, Dish Mexico that will launch Dish satellite TV service across Mexico.
EchoStar is providing satellite capacity and uplink facilities for transmitting the service. Additionally, EchoStar is contributing digital satellite TV equipment including a small 20-inch dish antenna, satellite receiver, remote control and a secure conditional access system.
MVS Multivision’s existing MASTV service brings more than 570,000 customers to the newly formed joint venture. The Dish service will use the existing MASTV infrastructure that is positioned in 11 cities across Mexico and has been developed for the last 20 years to provide sales, billing and collection, installation, and customer service for subscribers.
The service is expected to launch initially in the cities of Puebla and Leon and will be available across Mexico in the next few months. Financial terms of the joint venture were not released.
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Telcos will market OTT servicesAs cable providers beef up their PC video offerings, satellite and telco operators increasingly see over-the-top broadband video delivery as a viable option to shore up their own weaknesses. Over the past year, both DirecTV and DISH Network have rolled out over-the-top Video On Demand on Internet-connected set-top boxes, while telcos in Europe have been combining digital terrestrial linear TV broadcasts with broadband video for VOD. ABI Research believes that as broadband video offerings increase in quality and become more seamless, carriers could be significant players in the over-the-top video delivery market.
"Carrier-packaged over-the-top video delivery is a reality today in most markets," says research director Michael Wolf of ABI Research. "The fact is, broadband video is a way for some carriers to fill holes relative to larger closed-network operators such as cable MSOs, and we think over time more satellite, telco and European terrestrial operators will utilise broadband video delivery as a component of their overall offering."
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Vodafone VoD service in Germany
Vodafone has launched a video-on-demand service in Germany, offering films and TV series for viewing on a PC or mobile phone. The Vodafone Videotheque offers TV episodes from E0.99 each and films for E 1.99, plus connection costs. The content can be viewed as many times as the user likes during a 24-hour period, on the mobile phone or PC. Users can also watch advertising-financed content online for free, and some titles are available for download-to-own.
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Wednesday 26th November
Zon TV Cabo receives approval to acquire four cable operators
BSkyB targeted ads in 2011
Too many channels, too little DTT business
Over 10m DTT boxes sold in Italy
TV, Internet and mobile usage continues to increase
Berlusconi invests in Premiere
YouTube goes widescreen
Rentrak measures DISH
TiVo Mobile
New Blockbuster STB
Verizon FiOS TV completes digital upgrade
Magyar satellite TV service
Grassroots football a hit for ITV websites
Thomson fast channel change solutions
Zon TV Cabo receives approval to acquire four cable operators
From Branislav Pekic in RomePortugal’s Competition Authority (AdC) has announced that it is not opposed to the acquisition by TV Cabo (part of the Zon Multimédia group) of cable operators TVTel, Bragatel, Pluricanal Leiria and Pluricanal Santarém.
AdC’s decision was preceded by a detailed analysis of the concentration of ownership, consultation with interested parties and subsequent imposition of conditions and obligations destined to guarantee the maintenance of effective competition on the cable TV (retail) and satellite (wholesale) markets and network infrastructure.
Since TV Cabo has committed itself to observe the conditions and obligations imposed by the antitrust body, Zon has confirmed it will now purchase the remaining 80 per cent of the capital of TVTel and Bragatel, of 76.192 per cent of Pluricanal Leiria and of 79 per cent of Pluricanal Santarém from the CaixaBI.
Subsequently, Zon will initiate the integration of these companies, a process which is expected to generate significant synergies, mainly regarding the acquisition and management of costs, marketing, operational costs and network maintenance.
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BSkyB targeted ads in 2011Targeted advertising around linear TV will launch in the in the UK for the first time as BSkyB confirms a service launch in 2011. The company is developing what it terms targeted substitutional advertising, or Smart TV. The service will allow broadcasters to serve targeted ads to viewers in Sky+ homes, based on subscribers' personal and demographic characteristics.
Targeted ads are currently served around various TV and PC-based on-demand services in the UK but the BSkyB service would be the first time targeted ads can be served around linear TV content in the UK. The service will use personal data gathered by Sky's research department and SkyView, its 20,000-strong audience panel, to target commercials to users' Sky+ boxes. The ads will then be dropped into ad breaks surrounding linear TV content.
Nick Milligan, managing director of Sky Media, said: "We hope to have Smart TV ready by 2011. Over the next couple of years, we intend to build a detailed database so we can drop targeted ads into regular TV ad breaks and develop a relationship with consumers. He told Media Week: "The real challenge will be to make the triggers instantaneous so consumers don't realise the difference between a targeted ad and a general one. It has to be seamless."
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Too many channels, too little DTT business
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spanish TV executives are very pessimistic about the outcome of the DTT business. The proliferation of DTT channels threatens to ruin the viability of the market which will go from the current 8 to 10 TV channels to between 40 and 50 after the analogue switch-off in 2010.
A survey made by the firm Time Consultants for the Navarra University reveal that 64 per cent of the 168 participants (among them, TV managers, producers, representative of operators and ad agencies) believe that the model is not sustainable from a financial perspective.
Most of those surveyed, 60 per cent, go even further by saying that Spain is not ready for the analogue switch-off in 2010 for lack of a wide DTT coverage, quality DTT content and of MHP-ready set-top-boxes in the market.
"Currently, quality content and interactivity are conspicuous by their absence", said a consultant from the survey. For most participants channels should bet on thematic content and sports on their DTT services to attract the viewer's attention.
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Over 10m DTT boxes sold in Italy
From Branislav Pekic in RomeMore than 10 million boxes for the reception of digital terrestrial TV have been sold in Italy from 2004 to September 2008, according to the latest data published by DGTVI. The Association, which includes all of the major Italian broadcasters, claims that the number of Italian households with at least one DTT receiver in their main habitation grew to 6.9 million, with 448,000 boxes sold in September of this year. The audience share of DTT channels arrived to 6.4 per cent in October.
At the end of September, total digital TV penetration in Sardinia was estimated at 96.5 per cent of households, with digital terrestrial responsible for 91.7 per cent. The digital switchover was completed only on October 31st. The first DTT audience data on the island revealed that Rai 4, the latest channel from pubcaster RAI, obtained a 3.3 per cent share in prime time and 3.7 per cent on an average day.
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TV, Internet and mobile usage continues to increaseThe Nielsen Company has released in its second "A2/M2 Three Screen Report" that US usage of TV, Internet and Mobile – the Three Screens – continues to increase. As of third quarter 2008, the average person in the US watched approximately 142 hours of TV in one month. In addition, people who used the Internet were online 27 hours a month.
Furthermore, the average time a US home used a TV set during the 2007-08 television season was up to 8 hours and 18 minutes per day, a record high since Nielsen started measuring television in the 1950s. "Americans keep finding more time to spend with the three screens," said Susan Whiting, vice chairperson for The Nielsen Company. "TV use is at an all-time high, yet people are also using the Internet more often – 31 per cent of which is happening simultaneously."
The study also reported that Americans spend more than 6 hours per month watching timeshifted TV, which is more than double the amount of time they watch video online.
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Berlusconi invests in PremiereSilvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest has bought a surprise 3.13 per cent stake in Premiere, Germany’s leading pay-TV operator, in which News Corp has been trying to increase its own 25 per cent controlling stake. Premiere shares surged after the deal.
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YouTube goes widescreenYouTube has received a major overhaul with the introduction of widescreen videos. Visitors of the site can now upload video in a 16:9 format and the page width has been expanded to 960 pixels "to better reflect the quality of the videos you create and the screens that you use to watch them," according to owners Google.
The introduction of widescreen adds further weight to the rumour that YouTube plans to stream entire movies in the future.
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Rentrak measures DISHDISH Network has confirmed an agreement with Rentrak to report the measurement of DISH Network set-top box (STB) click-stream television data from millions of set top boxes. Rentrak's TV Essentials delivers anonymous viewer measurement data from DISH Network's set-top boxes, including second-by-second television programming and advertising information.
DISH Network will use Rentrak's TV Essentials reporting system together with other DISH Network tools to analyse anonymous audience viewing of programming and advertising for linear television and generate detailed viewer measurement information.
DISH Network selected Rentrak's TV Essentials service as a means to gain further insight into subscriber viewing preferences. TV Essentials is integrated with the DISH Network traffic and billing system(s) for ad placement information, giving DISH Network and its advertising partners performance intelligence by campaign, program and individual advertisement. TV Essentials will also report on DISH Network DVR and iTV reporting and analysis.
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TiVo MobileTiVo has launched TiVo Mobile, a free mobile phone-optimised website that users to browse, search, and discover television shows, regardless of mobile platform, carrier or browser. The site can be accessed with any Internet-enabled phone through any network, regardless of carrier. The new mobile site lets television fans stay in touch with their TiVo DVR when they are away from the living room, giving them the power to schedule recordings directly to their TiVo box from their mobile phone.
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New Blockbuster STBBlockbuster said it would roll out a new digital media player that brings fewer, but more recent titles from the Internet to consumers' televisions than a six-month old offering from rival Netflix Inc. The MediaPoint player by broadband device maker 2Wire allows Blockbuster customers to download high-definition quality movies to their TVs via broadband lines for $1.99 apiece, after an initial $99 for the box and 25 films. Consumers have 30 days to watch a film once it is downloaded to the set-top box, and must finish watching it within 24 hours of pushing the 'play' button.
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Verizon FiOS TV completes digital upgradeVerizon's FiOS TV is now 100 per cent digital. In an initiative that began in April, the company phased out the small number of duplicate analogue channels that had been offered on its FiOS TV service.
Verizon has always provided all FiOS TV programming in digital format. Previously, however, Verizon also provided duplicate signals in analogue for some channels. Some customers used the old analogue signals to view limited programming on a television set not equipped with a set top box, CableCard or digital tuner.
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As part of Magyar Telekom’s rebranding campaign, the Hugarian company has launched a nationwide satellite TV service under the brand T-Home Sat TV. T-Home’s new Digital Video Broadcasting-Satellite (DVB-S) service offers a variety of channels grouped into thematic packages, and premium picture and voice quality, as well as electronic programme listings. Magyar Telekom aims to position itself as the leading triple play company in Hungary. Following the introduction of the nationwide satellite service, Magyar Telekom now offers TV services on three different platforms: cable TV, IPTV and satellite TV.
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Grassroots football a hit for ITV websitesEarly round highlights of the FA Cup on ITV.com and ITV Local have proved a massive hit, with over 300,000 videos viewed since the competition began. Hundreds of matches involving non-League clubs have made available to a large audience thanks to a unique partnership between ITV Local, ITV.com and The Football Association.
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Thomson fast channel change solutionsThomson, specialist in video solutions, is launching a new range of fast- channel change solutions with the latest updates in its award-winning ViBE encoders. Thomson’s new fast zapping solutions enable viewers to quickly check through live content as channel change time is reduced by 50 per cent, even for high-definition video. The new fast channel change solution can also manage up to 3 HD sets per home.
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Tuesday 25th November
Spain's new TV law to impose public service TV content
Telefónica, Vivendi joint Digital Plus bid?
Competition for BBC state funding?
Disney takes on Chinese affiliate over piracy
UK Internet connection stats fall
Orange HD mobile TV for Unik
TVB unveils new digital channel
Bluewin HD VOD
Cyfrowy Polsat launches EchoStar HD STBs
BigBand teams with Verimatrix, Widevine
NDS appointments
Spain's new TV law to impose public service TV content
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish Government is already working on a new overall TV law, called Ley General Audiovisual, that will rule the whole TV sector and lay down content and financial obligations for public television specifying for the first time its different nature from private TV networks.
Public TV networks, partly financed by state subsidies, will have to comply with their public service purpose in accordance with the Brussel's ruling as a way to justify the public financial aids. Every year the state-owned network RTVE and 13 Regional TV stations receive around E1,000 million as state subsidies.
Spain's new law will specifically define the public TV financial model with the Government planning to progressively reduce TVE's ad time until zero, meeting the private TVs' historic demands. In 2009, it will be 10 minutes per hour and 9 in 2010 against private TV's 12. The Administration is considering to approve a tax over private TVs' revenues to finance public TV, following the Sarkozy's formula in France (Tele 5 and Antena 3 made a combined profit of more than E500 million last year) and ruling out a tax on TV sets as in other countries.
The new law, to be ready by March 2009, will also regulate the mobile TV and the radio industry. It will also include an Audiovisual Committee responsible for overseeing the quality of content, guaranteeing the transparency amongst operators, the ad limits and the cinema investments.
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Telefónica, Vivendi joint Digital Plus bid?Telefónica of Spain and France’s Vivendi have held preliminary talks with regards to a possible joint bid for Digital Plus, the satellite pay-TV business being sold by Spanish media group Prisa to reduce debt.
According to reports, Spain’s biggest telecommunications company has emerged as a frontrunner in the sale process, although it had still not lodged a binding bid, nearly two weeks after Prisa’s own deadline. Vivendi, the communications group, also remains interested. The two have discussed a joint bid to ease competition concerns.
Telefónica has a pay-TV business, Imagenio, which it feeds to clients through its broadband network. Some executives believe Digital Plus’s satellite platform, with 2 million subscribers, would complement this.
However, a tie-up between Telefónica and Digital Plus would further squeeze Ono, the only other pay-TV group in Spain with its own network. The company, which is controlled by a private equity consortium, has been plagued by management problems, and hit by the consumer downturn.
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Competition for BBC state funding?Lord Carter, the new minister for technology, communications and broadcasting, has signalled that the BBC could face competition for state funding of public service content in a fully digital future.
In his first interview since being ennobled, the former head of the media regulator Ofcom refused to rule out the possibility of splitting the licence fee once the economics of funding public service television becomes even more difficult. "Parliament very recently had that debate and decided against contestability [of funding]," he said. "Does that mean that, for ever and a day, if looking at funding structures you would rule out any form of sharing the licence fee? I don't think it would be sensible to do that."
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Disney takes on Chinese affiliate over piracyDisney is fighting a piracy war over its recent film Wall-E against a company that its venture capital arm invested in. The infringing company, 56.com, a Chinese video sharing site that's similar to YouTube, hosted several full-length bootlegs of Wall-E that were freely available on the company's site. The bootlegs were added by users of the site months ago, but only recently have they been fully removed from its pages.
Piracy in China is commonplace, but the fact that 56.com featured Disney movies on its site is ironic considering Disney's venture capital division, Steamboat Ventures, invested in the video sharing company back in 2006. Although the exact amount is unknown, the Wall Street Journal claims the investment is substantial, but less than $30 million.
John Ball, founder and managing director of Steamboat, said his company was aware that pirated content was commonplace on the site when it made its investment in 56.com, but he was confident that the video service would remove illegal material quickly and "help the legitimate evolution of digital content online."
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UK Internet connection stats fallThe Office of National Statistics has issued a report revealing that the overall number of connections across the UK continued to decline in Q3 by 0.4 per cent. Figures recorded at the same time last year stood at +1.1 per cent. According to the ONS factors like the current recession and market saturation are to blame.
Within the same report the Office of National Statistics also commented on the mis-match between "advertised" broadband speeds and the speeds actually received by customers. ONS stated: "The proportion of higher speed connections continue to increase. In September 2008, 57.7 per cent of broadband connections had a speed greater than 2Mbps, which is an increase from 55.8 per cent in June 2008. Over the same period, the percentage of connections with a speed of less than or equal to 2Mbps decreased to 42.3 per cent in September 2008, down from 44.2 per cent in June 2008."
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Orange HD mobile TV for UnikOrange has revealed plans to launch high definition mobile TV for Unik, giving customers in France access to more than sixty high definition mobile TV channels (including twenty with unlimited access). The service will be available on Orange’s 3G+ UMA platform through a new and exclusive handset from LG, the LG Secret KF757.
The device will be the first UMA handset to include Orange TV Player, Orange's mobile TV software that enables users to flick from one channel to another and to consult a guide to programmes showing on each channel.
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TVB unveils new digital channelTelevision Broadcasts (TVB), Hong Kong's leading public broadcaster, is to launch a news and interactive channel that will be carried on the territory's expanding digital terrestrial airwaves. The iNews channel will provide 24-hour news and information services, including stock prices and weather forecasts. TVB has begun trials and net is expected to be rolled out officially in early 2009.
The government has hailed the successful of DTT which began in January this year. Some 75 per cent of the city has coverage and approximately 25 per cent of households in the zone have taken up the services, which are free of charge but require modifications to receiving equipment.
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Bluewin HD VODSwisscom will become the first provider in Switzerland to offer video-on-demand in high-definition quality on December 1st. Bluewin TV will offer over 130 feature films, concerts and documentaries in HD quality. Customers can order the new HD offerings, which start at CHF2.50 (E1.6), at the touch of a button.
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Cyfrowy Polsat launches EchoStar HD STBsEchoStar Europe, supplier of applications and connected device solutions to the digital television industry, has confirmed that its advanced, high definition set-top box has been introduced by Cyfrowy Polsat, the largest Polish satellite television platform serving 2.4 million subscribers in Poland. The launch of the DBS-7100HD product enriches the digital satellite TV operator’s offer of HDTV services and is a testament to the strong working relationship forged between EchoStar Europe and Cyfrowy Polsat.
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BigBand teams with Verimatrix, WidevineBigBand Networks, Iprovider of digital video networking, has announced interoperability between its recently unveiled media services platform, the BigBand MSP2000, and Verimatrix’s Video Content Authority System (VCAS) and Widevine Cypher.
These partnerships will provide cost-effective solutions for inserting advertising on encrypted high-definition and standard-definition video streams, in both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264 formats. The ability to insert ads directly into encrypted streams improves the operational efficiency of ad targeting while maintaining the security of programming content.
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NDS appointmentsNDS, provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, has announced that Caroline Le Bigot has taken on responsibility for its business in Latin America in addition to her senior role in EMEA. In recognition of her contribution to NDS and reflecting her expanded responsibility, Le Bigot has been promoted to NDS Senior Vice President, EMEA and Latin America, and General Manager, NDS France.
NDS has further announced the appointments of Jesper Knutsson as Vice President and General Manager of Sales, NDS Americas and Sue Taylor as NDS Senior Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific with responsibility for all operations across the region.
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Monday 24th Novermber
Portuguese pay-TV subs up to 2.2 million
BBC local websites plans rejected
Virgin non-believer in mobile broadband
Pay TV to excel on games consoles
Web video on 30m living room TVs
Tuchman made President of MGM Networks
Monty Python YouTube channel
Portuguese pay-TV subs up to 2.2 million
From Branislav Pekic in RomeZon Multimédia remains the pay-TV market leader in Portugal, despite the fact that its market share dropped from 74.3 per cent to 71.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. According to the latest data from telecom market regulator Anacom, Cogeco-owned Cabovisão is second with a 13.5 per cent market share, followed by PT Comunicações with 9.5 per cent (the only operator which registered a growth – 5.4 per cent in 2007) and TV Tel (3.1 per cent).
At the end of the period July-September 2008, there were a total of 2.2 million pay-TV subscribers in Portugal, up 3.5 per cent on the second quarter. Cable TV was responsible for the lions share – 1.49 million or 67.3 per cent of the total. The number of cable TV subscribers was down by 6,000 or 0.3 per cent on the previous quarter, but higher by 21,000 when compared to the third quarter of 2007.
The drop in cable TV services was compensated by the increase of demand for TV reception via other technologies. In the third quarter, DTH grew 6.8 per cent to 561,000 clients or 25.3 per cent of the total pay-TV market. Other access technologies such as FWA and the public telecom network, responded for 7.4 per cent of the total pay-TV market, up 37.5 per cent on the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, Zon Multimédia (the owner of pay-TV operator TV Cabo) has confirmed plans to invest E120-140 million over the coming years, but made clear that these figures could be reviewed if there is a deceleration of sales.
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BBC local websites plans rejectedThe BBC's proposals to launch a £68 million (E82m) network of local news websites with video content have been rejected by the BBC Trust. Michael Lyons, the BBC Trust chairman, told the corporation's management to instead concentrate on "improving the quality of existing services".
The trustees made their decision based on evidence provided by trust officials in a public value assessment (PVA) and Ofcom's market impact assessment (MIA) – both of which delivered a negative verdict on the local online video proposals.
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Virgin non-believer in mobile broadbandVirgin Media said it does not believe mobile broadband has mass appeal in the short term, but it entered the market to offer the service in its high-end mobile, broadband and television bundles. "Mobile broadband in the short to medium future will be a complementary product in the UK," Chief Executive Neil Berkett said.
He said Virgin Media had entered the mobile broadband market last month - with an offering from £15 (E19) a month - and would bundle the service in the same way as it bundles Virgin mobile. "At the top end of products, a dongle (mobile broadband modem) will be very cheap indeed," he commented.
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Pay TV to excel on games consolesA report from research consultancy TDG predicts that console-affiliated media portals such as Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE and Sony’s PlayStation Network will soon become formidable competitors to incumbent Pay TV services. Leveraging broadband-enabled game consoles as Over-the-Top video platforms - thus bypassing cable and satellite TV operators - these companies will offer a compelling alternative to traditional TV programming by providing a more immersive, interactive video experience.
"The launch of Microsoft’s Experience and the Xbox LIVE Netflix streaming video service is a perfect example of how potent these services will soon become," notes Michael Greeson, president of TDG and co-author of the report. "There is little doubt these services are finally ready for primetime."
Even before the launch of Experience, Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE had amassed some 15,000 movies (1,000 of which are HD) and some 13,000 TV shows for download-to-own. The Netflix partnership adds 12,000 movies and TV programmes to the mix, all for free streaming to Netflix subscribers. Sony’s PlayStation Network has collected close to 1,000 movies and hundreds of TV programmes for download-to-own. It has also announced plans to expand dramatically its video library in the next few months in order to compete with Xbox LIVE.
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Web video on 30m living room TVsThe IMS Research study ‘IPTV: Beyond Telco TV’ has revealed that an estimated 290 million households globally had the capability to view Internet video at the end of 2007, of which 28 million had the ability to display Internet video on a TV. By the end of 2013, this 28 million is forecast to grow to 300 million, raising 2013 revenues for related equipment to $32 billion.
Shane Walker, research analyst and author of the study, states, "We can expect more CE manufacturers to incorporate web video into their products during the first half of 2009. Recently we have seen the incorporation of online video into popular devices such as game consoles, the TiVo, Blu-ray players, and flat-panel TVs. In addition, several dedicated Internet video set-top boxes, such as Roku or Vudu have recently become available’.
While many of these devices have yet to see wide spread adoption, IMS Research expects uptake to increase as the media aggregators serving this market to grow their libraries.
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Tuchman made President of MGM NetworksMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) has promoted Bruce Tuchman to President, of MGM Networks. In this newly created position, Tuchman will continue to oversee MGM Networks, the division of MGM which manages and develops the company’s interests in both MGM and non-MGM branded international television channels and services distributed via cable, satellite, IPTV, SVOD, Mobile and other platforms.
Monty Python YouTube channelThe stars of Monty Python have launched their own YouTube channel, offering free clips of some of their most popular skits. The comedy troupe said they wanted to "get their own back" on people who had been illegally uploading their sketches onto the site by taking matters into their own hands.
