|
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
Our Latest Issues
Visit our archive to access more than 200 features! |
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 3rd October
Freeview fit for the future
Apple: "We’ll shut iTunes"
DTV decoding chip market set to grow
DCIP agreement with major studios
AT&T U-verse gets thumbs up
ESPN Europe re-brands
Cloud raises E15m
ABC TV goes mobile
BBC HD from THOR 5 satellite
Orange and LaCie’s Home Library
SoftAtHome for Etisalat
Jungo speeds IPTV channel switching
Freeview fit for the futureFreeview, the UK’s DTT service in 16.7 million homes, says it is in a strong position for future growth following a trio of recent technology and service developments. New product launches from Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft allow customers to get the Freeview service via a PlayStation3 (PS3) and will see Freeview integrated as standard with Windows Media Center via a home PC. A successful trial of HD using the DVB-T2 standard also takes Freeview a step closer to providing HD from late 2009.
UK shipments of PlayTV on Sony’s PS3 reached 85,000 in its first week, demonstrating the desire to have access to digital TV on all TVs in the home. Not only does Play TV give viewers access to up to 48 TV channels and over 20 radio channels, it also provides viewers with a variety of integrated digital recording features including series record, one touch record and the ability to pause live TV. Freeview will also be available on the move thanks to Play TV’s compatibility with the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) combined with a wireless connection.
Microsoft has also announced Freeview will be on Windows Media Center, which will deliver enhanced digital TV content to PCs. Windows Media Center, which is found on all PCs running Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate, will offer UK users access to Freeview’s range of subscription-free TV and radio channels as standard.
In addition to the new Freeview branded products on the market, a live demonstration of DVB-T2 in action at IBC in September takes Freeview a step closer to delivering HD content. The BBC will run one of the HD channels available, and ITV and Channel 4 are amongst those which have submitted plans to Ofcom to deliver HD services on Freeview once capacity becomes available. Freeview HD will be available from Autumn 2009 in the Granada region and subsequent regions through the switchover process.
Back to top
Apple: "We’ll shut iTunes"Apple has issued veiled threats to shut iTunes just as royalty rates are to be set by US Judges. The Copyright Royalty Board meets to rule on a requested 66 per cent increase for sales of digital music from 9 cents to 15 cents a track. A rise would have to be paid by either Apple, the record company or consumer. Apple opposed the rate hike and has said it is unwilling to raise its 99 cents a song price or absorb a rise.
In April 2007 the company's vice president for iTunes, Eddy Cue, submitted testimony to the Board at the Library of Congress, which has just been revealed: "If iTS (iTunes Store) were forced to absorb any increase in the mechanical royalty rates, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all. Apple has repeatedly made clear that it is in this business to make money, and would most likely not continue to operate iTS if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."
The National Music Publishers' Association has asked for the royalty rate increase and has said it believes everyone will benefit because the digital music market is growing. "I think we established a case for an increase in the royalties," said David Israelite, president of the NMPA. "Apple may want to sell songs cheaply to sell iPods. We don't make a penny on the sale of an iPod." The Recording Industry Association of America said sales of digital songs and albums rose 46 per cent last year to $1.2 billion. Piper Jaffray estimates that Apple will sell 2.4 bn songs this year, giving it an 85 per cent share of the digital music market.
The forthcoming decision by the three judge panel will set rates for the next five years.
Back to top
DTV decoding chip market set to grow
The global transition from analogue to digital TV broadcast is spurring TV makers to offer sets with more advanced video decoding chips capable of working with multiple and new video standards, according to iSuppli Corp.
Global shipments of multi-standard video-decoder-equipped televisions are expected to rise to 966,000 units this year, up from zero in 2007. By 2012, shipments will rise to 41.7 million units.
"In the past, digital cable, satellite and terrestrial TV broadcasting relied on MPEG-2 as the video encoding standard," said Randy Lawson, senior analyst for DTV and display electronics at iSuppli. "However, newer systems increasingly are adopting more advanced codecs, such as MPEG-4 or its competitor, the Audio and Video Coding Standard (AVS) in China."
Across the globe, the transition away from analog and toward digital television broadcasting is proceeding. Some regions, like North America, have nearly completed the transition, while other parts of the world˜like South America and regions of the Middle East˜are just getting started defining which digital standard to adopt and when to schedule their Analogue Shut Off (ASO).
"The transition to digital broadcasting has been delayed in some regions and countries, allowing time for underlying technologies to advance further," Lawson said. "Many of those countries will reap a benefit from their deferral, since it has afforded them an opportunity to begin their digital terrestrial television service with more advanced and more bandwidth-efficient systems based on the latest signal-processing technologies."
Regions such as Eastern Europe and Scandinavia as well as countries such as France and China now are rolling out digital TV broadcast systems that use these newer technologies, paving the way for broader adoption in the future.
Back to top
DCIP agreement with major studiosDigital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) has entered into long term agreements with Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Lionsgate Films for the deployment of digital projection systems to nearly 20,000 movie theatre screens across North America, including the AMC, Cinemark and Regal theatre chains.
This key milestone marks the first five of a number of agreements that DCIP intends to enter into with all of the major studios and independent distribution companies to ensure the widespread roll-out of digital technology.
Back to top
AT&T U-verse TV ranks highest in customer satisfaction among residential television customers in all three US regions where it was ranked, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study. In the annual study of TV service, customers cited AT&T’s IP services for exceptional performance and reliability, customer service, cost of service, billing, and offerings and promotions.
The new study comes as AT&T continues to see growth in the availability, adoption and popularity of AT&T U-verse TV. AT&T is the only national service provider offering a 100 per cent IP-based TV service. U-verse services are available in 69 markets in 15 states, with its advanced fiber network passing more than 11 million living units at the end of the second quarter. The company expects to have more than 1 million subscribers by the end of 2008.
Back to top
ESPN Europe re-brandsDisney-backed sports broadcaster ESPN is to rebrand its European pay TV channel, North American Sports Network (NASN), as ESPN America.
Disney said that the rebrand, due to coincide with the Super Bowl in the US on 1 February, 2009, will not change the channel's programming. The rebrand follows ESPN's acquisition of NASN in December 2006 from previous owners Benchmark Capital and Setanta Sports.
Back to top
The Cloud, the UK-based European wireless broadband provider, has secured its future with a E15 million investment via a third round of venture funding. Ferd Ventures, the Norwegian investor, became the latest backer of the privately owned group, joining 3i, Accel and Provider Venture Partners, the Swedish fund.
While turnover at The Cloud rose from £6.7 million (E8.4m) to £8.1 million in the year to December 31st and operating losses narrowed from £8.5 million to £5.7 million, its accounts, published in August, revealed it needed a further cash injection in the current financial year to achieve its plans. Although based in the UK, it now has more than 12,000 contracted international network locations and more than 20,000 WiFi network access points in 11 European countries.
Back to top
ABC TV goes mobileDisney company ABC Television has reached an agreement to distribute ABC Mobile, in the US a channel featuring full-length episodes of many of ABC’s popular shows. Full episodes featured on ABC Mobile are available to MobiTV subscribers on AT&T Wireless and Sprint the day after their broadcast airing. The new primetime shows add to MobiTV’s daily line-up of live TV, made-for-mobile and video on demand with more than 40 channels of content from partners including NBC, ESPN and Discovery Networks.
Back to top
BBC HD from THOR 5 satelliteTelenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) has confirmed that BBC HD is set to commence broadcasts in the Nordic region for the first time from the 1st December on the THOR 5 satellite, located at one of Europe’s fastest growing hotspots, 1 degree west. THOR 5, TSBc’s latest high powered satellite, will effectively reach audiences across the Nordic region, distributing BBC HD to viewers via Canal Digital’s standard family package.
Back to top
Orange and LaCie’s Home LibraryOrange and LaCie, a major player of external data storage, have combined their expertise and capacity for innovation in the digital home field to develop "Home Library", which will be released in France from 10th October. The result of the first manufacturer/operator partnership in this field, this multimedia content server for the general public consists of the LaCie Internet Space network hard drive and the Orange Home Library software.
This association of the LaCie Internet Space network hard drive, which is based on the HipServ technology, with Orange’s Home Library software provides a capacity of 500 Gb. This enables the whole family's multimedia content to be stored, centralised and shared: videos, photos, music and documents.
Back to top
SoftAtHome for EtisalatSoftAtHome, a company created by Orange, Thomson and Sagem Communications to help service providers deliver convergent applications for the Digital Home, today announced that Etisalat, the largest operator in the Arab world, will be demonstrating SoftAtHome solutions for the Digital Home, on their booth during the Gitex Technology Week in Dubai.
Etisalat is planning to use the SoftAtHome Operating Platform to launch multiple-play offers in their markets and intends to become a shareholder of SoftAtHome, enabling them to help shape the future of the Digital Home. As such, it is inviting SoftAtHome to demonstrate its technology on their booth, during the most important high tech event in the Arab world. Key services demonstrated during Gitex include VoIP, location-based Caller ID on TV, content sharing among different devices using DLNA, free browsing on the Internet, IPTV portal in Flash as well as YouTube and RSS feeds on TV.
Back to top
Jungo speeds IPTV channel switchingJungo, a provider of software solutions for residential gateways, has revealed that its OpenRG residential gateway software now supports a patent-pending, fast channel-switching feature. This solution enables service providers to enhance consumers’ IPTV experience by improving the channel-switching performance of broadband access equipment.
Back to top
Thursday 2nd October
2009 will be like 1999 for digital media
Studios sue RealNetworks over DVD copying
DTH dominates Spanish pay-TV penetration
Phorm losses
Adobe fixes Amazon breach
Virgin mobile broadband service
US looks to mobile for entertainment
C4 backing down on radio
Matsushita name dropped
Dilithium VOD streaming for iPhone
2009 will be like 1999 for digital mediaSly Bailey, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, is warning digital businesses to beware of the inevitable bubble-burst. She highlighted how the digital growth of recent years had slowed and suggested there were "tough times ahead".
She also renewed her attack on the BBC's plans to spend £68 million (E85.6m) launching 65 local video websites, claiming the scheme could only hamper the development of fledgling digital business and calling it "anti-competitive, unnecessary".
"Digital businesses can no longer rely simply on a rising tide of growth. The latest market figures show that the downturn in the economy is now affecting digital media, with growth rates in internet advertising revenue falling in 2008 and the market expected to be more challenging in 2009 and as we've seen even Google is not immune," Bailey said.
"Only the strong will survive. Building new digital audiences is the right thing to do. Attracting millions of unique users to your digital brands is great. But if businesses can't convert those users to revenue and then to sustainable profit then they will simply run of cash. This is no time for vanity publishing.
"Our business models have to be sound and our investment plans have to be able to withstand short-term economic shock. I'm firmly of the belief that there will be casualties in the coming months. Remember 1999? Well 2009 will be like Groundhog Day. For the lucky we should expect consolidation and for the less fortunate failure."
Back to top
Studios sue RealNetworks over DVD copyingRealNetworks and major film studios are off in a legal battle over a new product allowing consumers to make computer copies of DVDs that the studios claim is illegal.
"RealNetworks' RealDVD should be called StealDVD," said Greg Goeckner, executive vice president and general counsel for the MPAA. "RealNetworks knows its product violates the law and undermines the hard-won trust that has been growing between America's movie makers and the technology community."
But the company argues RealDVD has built-in encryption to prevent saved copies of DVDs from being shared or stolen. "We are disappointed that the movie industry is following in the footsteps of the music industry and trying to shut down advances in technology rather than embracing changes that provide consumers with more value and flexibility for their purchases," RealNetworks said.
Back to top
DTH dominates Spanish pay-TV penetration
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Satellite beats cable and IPTV in the pay-TV distribution in Spain. A report from ONTSI, Spanish telco Observatory reveals that 48.9 per cent of Spanish homes have access to pay-TV services through satellite with more than 2 million subscribers.
Pay-TV cable distribution represents 36.2 per cent of all pay-TV consumers, with ONO taking the lead with more than 1 million TV subs. IPTV reaches 13.6 per cent of homes, with Imagenio leading the market with currently almost 600,000 subscribers.One in every four homes have pay-TV in the country with the highest penetration, 31 per cent, in Madrid.
Back to top
Phorm lossesAim-listed Phorm, the internet advertising group that announced a tie up with BT this week, made an pre-tax loss of £13.7 million (E17.2m) for the first half of 2008, an increase of 52 per cent from the loss of £9.1 milllion in the same period in 2007.
However, in spite of the losses, Phorm still has a positive cash balance due to fundraising of £24.9 million. The company announced this week that BT will start a trial of the Webwise software, which tracks browsing habits of internet users in order to refine the adverts shown. The system has raised concerns with regulators over privacy, data protection and whether the system should be opt-in rather than opt-out.
Back to top
Adobe fixes Amazon breachAmazon.com is now adopting Adobe Systems ncryption on all television shows and movies found on its site. Last week, Amazon.com said it fixed a temporary problem that allowed people to record and copy from the online retailer's video streaming service without paying.
Adobe, whose software is used by Amazon.com to distribute movies and TV shows over the Internet, said Amazon decided to encrypt all of its video after streaming both encrypted and unencrypted versions of content to users.
The encrypted video can be seen by about 86 percent of Internet-connected PCs while nearly all can view the unencrypted version.
"Amazon has subsequently made the decision to move everything to RTMPE," said Jim Guerard, vice president and general manager for Adobe's Dynamic Media division.
Back to top
Virgin mobile broadband service
Virgin Media has rolled out its first mobile broadband service. The service claims to offer speeds of up to 3.6Mbps and is available on an 18-month contract that comes with 3GB of data every month. The ISP claims this is sufficient to send 2,000 plain text emails as well as browse the web for 100 hours and make 100 two-minute downloads every month.
Priced at £15 per month (E18.8), subscribers will receive a USB modem that can be plugged into a laptop and uses the mobile phone network to provide online access. Each additional GB of data transfer will cost £15.
Back to top
US looks to mobile for entertainment
A recent survey of US mobile phone users by Artificial Life has revealed that 46 per cent use their devices for entertainment purposes, illustrating evolution of the mobile phone as a prominent communication tool to a must-have, multi-purpose consumer gadget.
The survey of 200 respondents shows that 33 per cent of individuals use their phone for entertainment over any other purpose, including email, GPS and Internet browsing. In addition, 87.5 per cent of those that own smartphones access entertainment content, such as music, games and video. Validating the continued development of the mobile entertainment industry, survey results also show that 56 per cent of people who do not own a smartphone desire the advanced types of features available on higher-end phones. One fourth of this group reported they want a phone with music, gaming and video capabilities.
Back to top
C4 backing down on radioChannel 4 is scaling back its digital radio plans, with only one of three of its originally planned stations, E4 Radio, now confirmed for launch. Channel 4 conceded that it is scaling back its investment in radio "in line with its proposal to reduce its cost base by £100 million (E126m) in the next two years". A spokesman said it is focusing digital radio investment on E4 Radio, "which we believe represents the quickest prospect of a commercial return from radio".
Back to top
Matsushita Electric has become Panasonic Corporation, and its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange has been changed from MC to PC. The name change also took effect for some of the group companies that used the names Matsushita or National. Along with the name change, Panasonic is working on the brand changeover from National to Panasonic in Japan, aiming to complete the transition by the end of March 2010.
When it was first established in 1918, the company was known as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works, which was changed to Matsushita Electric Manufacturing Works in 1929. The company used the name Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. after its incorporation as a joint stock corporation in 1935. While the company used the National and Panasonic brand names over a long period, it decided in 2003 to position Panasonic as its global brand with the slogan "Panasonic ideas for life".
Back to top
Dilithium VOD streaming for iPhone
Dilithium, the global player in multimedia delivery over mobile and broadband networks, has confirmed the availability of live video and Video On Demand streaming support for the iPhone utilising the Dilithium Content Adapter (DCA). The DCA iPhone solution is an infrastructure offering that can be deployed by operators and service providers enabling their customers to access live or on demand video content through the standard iPhone Safari browser.
The DCA solution supports live and pre-recorded clips in a wide range of video formats. iPhone users do not need to install a special application, and may be on WiFi, WiMax, 3G, or 3.5G (HSDPA) networks.
Back to top
Wednesday 1st October
Ofcom: BSkyB is dominant
BSkyB ITV appeal – they should sell more
BSkyB back on Virgin?
Fastweb to bring fibre optic to 4m homes by 2012
Europe tops broadband growth chart
Digital Plus Mobile, also on Movistar
Telecom Italia online service
Alcatel-Lucent targeted IPTV advertising
Docomo JV with Avex
Technetix in fast track
Teliasonera selects Ruckus
Chellomedia’s new Dutch based channels
MTV adopts Visible Measures
Ofcom: BSkyB is dominantOfcom has said that BSkyB has "market power" over live Premier League football and Hollywood films and has launched a consultation that could force it to make the content available to all other pay TV operators at more competitive prices.
Publishing the findings of its review of the UK pay-TV market, Ofcom said that BSkyB has "an incentive to limit the distribution of this content to competitors, in a manner that favours its own satellite platform". However, Ofcom, which launched the investigation after a joint complaint from BT, Setanta, Top Up TV and Virgin Media, rejected calls by BSkyB's rivals that the issue should be referred to the competition commission.
Meanwhile Ofcom has said it may grant permission for BSkyB’s DTT pay tier, the so-called Picnic, if Sky agrees to wholesale the channels involved to other platforms. Earlier this month BSkyB shelved plans for Picnic, claiming that Ofcom's regulatory review was taking too long.
It is understood that BSkyB came close to agreeing a wholesale distribution pricing deal with Ofcom earlier in the summer. However, the deal fell through and lead to BSkyB dropping the project and axing jobs related to it.
Ofcom's Pay-TV consultations will close on December 9th with the findings due to be published in the New Year.
Back to top
BSkyB ITV appeal – they should sell more
In more bad news for BSkyB, the company may have to sell even more of its stake in ITV than it was expecting after the Competition Appeal said an original antitrust ruling may not have been tough enough.
With ITV’s share price at record lows this would crystallise yet more losses on the deal for BSkyB. The sell-off, which will send values even lower, may even prompt a new bidder for ITV.
The hearing followed a ruling last December by the Competition Commission, which told BSkyB to sell its stake in ITV down to below 7.5 per cent. The tribunal on Monday dismissed BSkyB’s appeal but supported an argument from its rival Virgin Media that the Commission had been too lenient.
Lawyers said the ruling held out the prospect of a tougher approach to mergers in the broadcast media sector after the tribunal said the Commission had misinterpreted the importance of plurality in media ownership.
Back to top
Despite suffering at the hands of Virgin over its ITV ownership appeal, it seems Sky channels might be back on Virgin cable next year. According to advertising trade press, during presentations to certain media agencies at the start of the TV trading season Sky Media said it is hopeful of a deal that will see the channels return to the Virgin platform in the early part of 2009. According to a TV agency source: "We know it's not a done deal yet, but Sky must be hopeful that a resolution is near for the new year - otherwise it wouldn't be bringing it up with agencies at the start of trading."
Another TV agency added: "It's definitely part of Sky Media's sales patter this year. It will argue that agencies can't cut their share with Sky Media, because it is expecting its impacts to go up when a deal is struck."
A Sky spokesperson said: "We remain keen to agree a carriage deal with Virgin Media but it needs to be a fair price that reflects our investment in the channels."
Back to top
Fastweb to bring fibre optic to 4m homes by 2012
From Branislav Pekic in RomeItalian broadband operator Fastweb plans to connect 4 million homes with fibre optic cable in four years time, according to CEO, Stefano Parisi.
Speaking during a Parliamentary inquiry on the development of the telecommunications sector in the country, Parisi said that out of the E31 billion invested in the fixed networks from 1999 to 2007, around 35 per cent was made by alternative operators. He claims that Fastweb’s fibre optic network is the most extensive in Europe with 2 million households passed which equals to 40 per cent of all homes passed in Europe. By the end of the year, Fastweb will launch internet access at 100 Mbps, which will be the most advanced service in Europe.
In a related development, Fastweb has signed a strategic agreement with Disney-ABC-ESPN Television with the goal of offering the most popular TV series produced by ABC Studios. The TV series will be available on-demand for the subscribers of FastwebTV. Besides 'LOST', the package also includes other hit series such as 'Criminal Minds' and 'Alias'.
Back to top
Europe tops broadband growth chartEurope is leading the way in terms of broadband subscriber growth for the second year running, according to statistics compiled by the Broadband Forum. The report shows that the European region now has nearly 120 million subscribers, 32 per cent of the global broadband market.
The stats also show that worldwide broadband subscribers have now surpassed 380 million, an increase of 17 per cent in the past 12 months, demonstrating the continuing strong growth of broadband deployment across the globe. The top ten countries by broadband subscribers, is once again led by the US, which has nearly 77 million broadband subscribers. China, whose broadband deployment has grown by over 6.5 per cent in the last year and now has just over 76 million subscribers, is a close second and should shortly overtake the US in that top spot. However, Europe countries dominate the chart, with Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain all in the top ten.
Top ten:
USA
China
Japan
Germany
UK
France
South Korea
Italy
Canada
Spain
Back to top
Digital Plus Mobile, also on Movistar
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Sogecable and Telefonica, the dominant telco operator, have reached an agreement to jointly launch the mobile version of the DTH platform, Digital Plus Mobile, on Movistar, Telefonica's mobile company, through the service Emocion.
The service will be available to all Movistar's 3G clients with channels such as Canal+ movil, Cuatro movil, Jetix, Canal+ DCine movil, CNN+, Canal+ Fútbol movil, Cuatro Series, Playboy TV, Canal+ Comedia movil, Cartoon Network, Canal+ Eventos movil, Caza y Pesca or Gran Hermano (The Big Brother Channel)
Digital Plus Mobile was already available on Vodafone and Orange, the other mobile phone companies.
Meanwhile, Telefonica has selected Alcatel-Lucent's home network management solution for their customers worldwide. The first deliveries are already underway in the Czech Republic, Argentina, Peru and Spain. Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its 5580 Home Network Manager (HNM) enabling Telefonica to deliver triple-play services while providing customer homes with the necessary remote support, according to the company.
Back to top
Telecom Italia online serviceTelecom Italia has launched an online video service delivering live and on-demand streaming content, based on Cisco’s CDS platform embedded with Adobe Flash Media Server. The announcement is the latest movement of a telecom service provider to offer its own content delivery network offering, in this case on a network-based platform able to also support video offerings to the television set and mobile phone, as well as the PC.
The Telecom Italia Yalp! Offering will feature both rich streaming media content both live and on-demand, as well as community TV options that let consumers upload and share their own video content. Longer-term, it will offer an 80-channel lineup.
Back to top
Alcatel-Lucent targeted IPTV advertisingAlcatel-Lucent is introducing a new advertising delivery solution for IPTV networks that can enhance the TV ad model by enabling service providers to distribute ads to distinct groups of consumers. Alcatel-Lucent's Targeted and Interactive IPTV Advertising Solution is designed to increase IPTV revenue by making it possible for advertisers to reach the most attractive potential customers with ads that are more timely and relevant, as well as better measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. The solution also offers a variety of interactivity features that enable consumers to view additional information about products that interest them.
The Targeted and Interactive IPTV Advertising Solution gives IPTV operators the ability to insert ads into TV programs that are aimed at particular communities of interest and even specific households. These ads are delivered using anonymous subscriber profiles based on service usage and demographic data authorised via an 'opt in' process and retained in a secure, privacy-protected repository by the service provider.
Back to top
Docomo JV with AvexMNO Docomo is set to form a joint venture company, Avex Broadcasting & Communications, with Avex Entertainment (AEI) for the production and on-demand distribution of video content packaged for the mobile phone environment.
AEI is a part of the Avex Group, one of Japan's biggest music and movie entertainment companies, with operations involving the production, packaging, sale/distribution (including Web) and rights management of music and visual content in Japan and other Asian markets. Docomo will provide its IT infrastructure, advanced mobile technologies and vast experience in providing mobile customers with popular video content.
Back to top
Technetix in fast trackTechnetix Group Ltd, is pleased to announce that it has been ranked as one of Britain’s fastest growing private technology companies by The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league table. Furthermore, Technetix is in the top 10 of the ranked companies in terms of total sales.
With more than 500 customers and offices in more than 14 countries thorough Europe and in the US, the West Sussex based company has been expanding rapidly thanks to a mix of world class technologies, innovative new services, selected acquisitions and partnership with other leading manufacturers. Technetix is at present one of the major players in the broadband industry, offering a full range of products and services to operators worldwide. Technetix Sales have grown 48 per cent a year, from £14.5 million to £46.9 million in the 2004 to 2007 period.
Back to top
Teliasonera selects RuckusRuckus Wireless has revealed that TeliaSonera has selected and is deploying its a MediaFlex Smart Wi-Fi systems to provide customers flicker-free wireless distribution of the popular IPTV service, Telia Digital-TV, throughout their homes.
Back to top
Chellomedia’s new Dutch based channelsChellomedia’s Netherlands based premium pay TV business has launched new offerings for its sports and movies subscribers for the new autumn 2008 TV Season. Film1 will add in to its existing line up of channels with a sixth channel, Film1 Action, from the start of October
Dutch sister pay TV channel Sport1 has also launched a second 24-hour sports channel, Sport1.2. This new 24-hour channel, enables subscribers to have a concurrent choice of two different sports programs, with football being a key feature. The other six Sport1 Extra channels will be utilised for live events, should the range of sports exceed the capacity of the two channels.
Back to top
MTV adopts Visible MeasuresVisible Measures, the independent third-party measurement firm for Internet video publishers and advertisers, has confirmed that MTV Networks (MTVN), a division of Viacom, will deploy the company's Internet video metrics platform across all of MTVN's 340+ destination Internet video sites. As part of a multi-year agreement, MTVN Global Digital Media and MTVN Digital Media Research will use Visible Measures to build detailed, end-to-end online video performance metrics.
Tuesday 30th September
First Freesat figures
DirecTV takes over AT&T partnership
BT re-starts Phorm trials
US broadband video consumption doubles
TiVo on PC
Sky Italia to be leading Italian broadcaster in 2010
'Red Queen effect' plagues Europe's telcos
Baidu invests in UiTV
20% of HK families watching DTV
SES Americom joins MDTVA
Motorola set top platform
Overon selects Tandberg
AssetHouse sells licence to Sezmi
First Freesat figuresFreesat, the free-to-air digital satellite TV service from the BBC and ITV, has sold 100,000 set-top boxes during its first five months.
Free HD services has enabled Freesat to achieve sales described as strong and steady throughout a tough period for most high street retailers. Emma Scott, managing director of Freesat, said she was delighted with the uptake since its May 6th launch. Scott said she expected sales to continue to increase in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.
However, she also warned that some people still believed they were watching HD, when they were not, because they had an HD-ready TV, but no HD digital receiver.Freesat is increasing its offerings: a Freesat+ digital television recorder will be available in November and more manufacturers and channels are added every month. Freesat also offers standard definition digital boxes for under £50 (E63).
Back to top
DirecTV takes over AT&T partnershipDirecTV Group has confirmed that AT&T has picked it to offer a co-branded package of video, home telephone, wireless phone and Internet service from February 1st, 2009.
The news mean AT&T will not be renewing its five-year partnership with DISH Network raising new concern about future of the second largest satellite TV provider. DirecTV will begin selling the joint service in a new multi- year contract once AT&T's current partnership with DISH Network expires on January 31st. AT&T said current AT&T/DISH customers will continue to receive the same service after that date.
New AT&T/DirecTV customers will get DirecTV programming with the benefit of a discount for bundling other AT&T services, including phone and broadband services.
Back to top
BT re-starts Phorm trialsBT is preparing to start further trials of a controversial Internet advertising technology. The Phorm Webwise system watches what people do online and shows adverts tuned to their interests. From September 30th, a sample of BT's customers will be invited to "opt in" to a trial of the technology.
Early trials ran without the consent of customers which led to complaints from rights groups who said this broke laws governing the interception of data. The third trial was originally scheduled for March but has been repeatedly delayed. Those that are invited to take part will see a special webpage appear when they start browsing the web. In a statement BT said customers would be able to opt in, opt out or ask for more information via the pop-up page.
A spokesman for BT said the trial would run for "at least" four weeks and that it hoped 10,000 customers would take part.
Back to top
US broadband video consumption doublesAccording to an ABI Research survey of online households in the US, the number of consumers watching video streamed through a browser has doubled over the past year, going from 32 per cent a year ago to 63 per cent today. ABI Research believes this is due to growth in the amount of rich content available in ad-supported format on portals and through social networks, as well as increasing demand from consumers for video in both short- and long-form online.
"Consumers are changing their online habits quickly," says research director Michael Wolf. "Broadband speeds have continued to increase at the same time that Hollywood has decided online distribution is a legitimate monetisation opportunity that will increase total return on their video assets, and expand audiences. At the same time, easy to use content creation tools are being put into the hands of consumers and this has effectively created new forms of communication and entertainment."
All forms of content are contributing to the rise of broadband video consumption, including that of long-form TV shows, and much of the longer-form content today is being watched by younger viewers. When asked if they watched long-form content in the form of TV shows or movies online, nearly half of those under 25, and 53 per cent of those aged 25-29 indicate they do so once a month or more. Older viewers are much more likely to have experimented once with online shows; three quarters of those over 65 who watch video online responded that they have never watched TV shows or movies online.
"Today's younger consumers are developing habits that will mean drastic changes for the video entertainment market," said Wolf. "Many consume a large percentage or even a majority of their video entertainment through online distribution today, and we believe that this trend will continue to accelerate as more efforts are made to put this content on various non-PC screens."
Back to top
TiVo on PCNero, the German software developer will bring Tivo to the PC with its new Liquid TV package. The software turns a standard PC running Windows or Vista into a full-service TiVo PVR, with the same interface and programme guide as a regular TiVo box.
The Nero LiquidTV-TiVo PC kit includes the software as well as an original TiVo remote control and a USB-based TV tuner from Hauppauge to receive over-the-air or cable programming. The complete set costs $199, but there will also be a software-only version available for $99. Both packages include a year’s subscription to the TiVo EPG service.
Nero LiquidTV-TiVo PC lets viewers watch and pause live TV on their desktop, record their favourite shows directly to their hard drive, transfer shows between computers and existing TiVo DVRs in the home, burn recordings to DVD, or export them to portable devices like an Apple iPod or Sony PlayStation Portable.
Back to top
Sky Italia to be leading Italian broadcaster in 2010
From Branislav Pekic in RomeItalian DTH operator Sky Italia will overtake public broadcaster RAI and commercial rival Mediaset by 2010 in terms of market share, according to a new market survey by ItMedia Consulting.
Sky Italia's share of the overall TV market will rise to 32 per cent, ahead of RAI and Mediaset with 31 per cent each. If the projections are correct Sky Italia's share will have risen from 23 per cent in just five years.
ItMedia Consulting estimates that the Italian TV market as a whole will be worth E9.6 billion in 2010, compared to E8.75 million in 2008, growing at an annual rate of 5 per cent. In comparison, the pay-TV market will grow at a rate of 12 per cent per year, due to increased competition between the platforms.
DTT will register the highest growth among the various distribution platforms, from 6 million households in 2008 to 11.9 million in 2010. Out of that figure, an estimated 4.2 million households will subscribe to at least one pay-TV service on DTT, while pay-TV on satellite will have 5 million subscribers.
On the other hand, IPTV is not expected to make a major impact on the Italian TV market, totaling 1.8 million subscribers in 2010 (compared to 600,000 in 2008).
Back to top
'Red Queen effect' plagues Europe's telcosA report from Screen Digest examines the challenges faced by telcos and their IPTV services in 26 countries across Europe. ‘IPTV Business Models: Profit and Loss in the Telco TV Space’ discusses the likely success of their strategies.
These strategies are likened to a statement made by the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by the report’s author Richard Broughton. Despite rushing out IPTV services to differentiate themselves, their competitive position remains unchanged. As the Red Queen says to Alice "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
IPTV services were seen as a way to reduce churn in broadband markets and boost additions by making the overall product more attractive to customers. The research in this report reveals that IPTV has not covered its costs in reduced churn rates and has had little or no positive growth impact on the broadband market overall.
Yet despite this, telcos are pressing ahead with their plans, with Europe forecast to have over 12m IPTV subscribers by the end of the year and well in excess of 22m by the end of 2012. On the positive side, some IPTV service providers in the heavily cabled markets of Belgium, Sweden and Germany have found that broadband additions have seen an increase relative to the growth of other DSL players, bringing them more in line with rival cable triple-play operations and the market average.
In these cases, the launch of IPTV has returned the companies to their original position in the broadband market. Screen Digest Analyst Richard Broughton comments "In these markets IPTV is not so much putting the companies at an advantage, just at less of a disadvantage."
In other European markets including the UK, France and Italy, where pay-TV holds less sway over consumers, the positive impact has been more muted. Furthermore, with a number of services in the markets pulling in low TV revenues, there is the question as to whether services can ever repay investment. A key way for services to get out of this rut is to increase their ARPUs through the addition of further packages and content.
Broughton concludes "Adding small amounts of content and novel features is certainly a strategy for telcos to make their TV services more profitable, however, it fails to address the fundamental strategy issues of the TV and broadband businesses. Providers who are offering IPTV services are behaving like the Red Queen in Through the Looking Glass by running to stay where they already are. In order to actually get anywhere, operators will need to move at least twice as quickly."
Back to top
Baidu invests in UiTVBaidu.com, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, has entered into agreements with UiTV, operator of the largest Internet television platform in China. Under these agreements, Baidu will contribute assets related to the operation of Baidu Internet TV Channel to UiTV in exchange for an 8.3 per cent stake in UiTV and $15 million. Following this transaction, Baidu Internet TV Channel will continue to be hosted on movie.baidu.com and it will be operated by UiTV. This channel is not related to video.baidu.com, Baidu's video search business.
Baidu Internet TV Channel is a website where Internet users can download movies and TV programmes. Through cooperation with the majority of China's online movie and TV service and content providers, including TVB, Enlight Media and many others, Baidu Internet TV Channel has China's largest database for authorized copy-righted movie and TV programme downloads.
Back to top
20% of HK families watching DTVMore than 20 per cent of Hong Kong families, or about 500,000 households, are watching digital terrestrial television via set-top boxes, integrated digital TV sets or computers, up 30 per cent on the 15.6 per cent take-up rate at the end of July.
Deputy Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development (Communications & Technology) Alan Siu released the results of the survey conducted jointly by the Government and the two free-to-air television broadcasters at the High-Definition AV Exhibition. Siu said the Government will work closely with broadcasters to expedite the construction of transmission stations to extend digital television coverage from 75 per cent to 100 per cent, and enhance promotion to boost public understanding of its benefits.
Back to top
SES Americom joins MDTVASES Americom, a leading provider of satellite communications solutions, has joined the Mobile DTV Alliance board of directors to help drive growth in the mobile digital TV market. The MDTVA broadened its scope this spring to include multiple bearer technologies and to focus on harmonising the application and service layer.
Back to top
Motorola is accelerating the delivery of personalised media experiences with the introduction of a flexible multimedia set top platform. Set tops based on the new platform allow users to transfer content to and from a mobile phone, allowing them to enjoy their multimedia content at home or on the go without the need for a PC. Users are also able to create and store personalised music and video libraries.
Back to top
Overon selects TandbergTandberg Television has announced that it is providing an MPEG-4 AVC high definition HD encoding system to Spanish-based broadcast solutions provider Overon for the delivery of National Geographic Channel HD to broadcasters and TV service providers across Europe. The Tandberg solution will provide a bandwidth efficient satellite distribution service of National Geographic Channel HD, further increasing its presence on networks throughout Europe.
Back to top
AssetHouse sells licence to SezmiAmino Communications, the IPTV STB platform supplier, has confirmed that its subsidiary AssetHouse has licensed its "AssetFactory" content merchandising engine to Sezmi, the California-based developer of the first complete TV 2.0 service. The announcement is the first license win for AssetHouse since it was acquired by Amino in June 2008.
Back to top
Monday 29th September
Gartner: IPTV up 64%
Virgin VOD over 50%
EC: universal broadband
Carrier Ethernet required for future networks
US ISPs for opt-in ads
PSB decisions next year
Gartner: IPTV up 64%Worldwide subscriptions to IPTV platforms are on track to reach 19.6 million subscribers in 2008, a 64 percent increase, according to analysts at Gartner.
Revenue from worldwide IPTV is forecast to reach $4.5 billion up 93.5 percent from a year earlier, with Western Europe boasting the largest number of IPTV subscribers and North America the largest market for IPTV revenue.
It forecast that 1.1 percent of households worldwide would be using IPTV in 2008, and expects that to rise to 2.8 percent by 2012.
"The biggest change since 2007 is the rapid advent of new entrants making inroads in consumer video consumption and placing greater demands on IPTV operators to innovate," said Gartner research director Elroy Jopling. Gartner cited the new competitors as portals such as YouTube and Joost, social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook and broadcasters launching new offerings such as the BBC's iPlayer catch-up service and Hulu owned by NBC and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
Virgin VOD over 50%The proportion of its subscribers accessing Virgin Media’s on demand service has passed 50% for the first time. Virgin announced that the number of views had increased from 34 million in January to 45 million views in August 2008. The figure compares favourably with other international providers such as UPC Netherlands, which has reached 40%.
The figures have been boosted by the launch of the cable version of the BBC iPlayer. The iPlayer averages 11.5 million views per month on Virgin and represents a third of the BBC catch-up service’s views overall.
“We are clearly on the precipice of some fundamental changes in the way people watch TV,” said Neil Berkett, CEO of Virgin Media. The giant leaps we have taken, this year alone, show how popular on-demand viewing has become and as we continue to add compelling programming and develop innovative new way of accessing it, we will certainly enter a new era of television.”
EC: universal broadbandThe fast growth of broadband has lead the European Commission to bring forward a review of the basic telecoms services Europeans can expect. Current statistics suggest about 36% of households in EU member nations have high-speed net access.
When a majority of EU citizens are using a telecoms service, EC rules dictate that it becomes one every European should be able to enjoy.
"High-speed internet is the passport to the Information Society and an essential condition for economic growth," said Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner in a statement announcing the review. "This is why it is this Commission's policy to make broadband internet for all Europeans happen by 2010."
The EC's Universal Service Obligations (USO) demand that all citizens who want them should be able to get access to basic telephone services. The EC reviews the USO every three years and in its report kicking off the latest overhaul, it said broadband was growing at a pace that would mean more Europeans were using it than not.
Figures from the EC suggest that from 2003-2007 broadband use in member nations tripled to 36% of households and had an annual growth rate of 20%.
Despite this, said the EC, there were "striking gaps" among member states and the coverage their citizens enjoyed.
The EC is inviting submissions from telecoms firms, governments and citizens with the aim of producing a communique in 2009 and perhaps legislation in 2010.
Carrier Ethernet required for future networks
From Colin Mann in FaroPredicting that telco network traffic requirements will increase 100-fold in coming years, Bernd Schumacher, Head of IP Transport at Nokia Siemens Networks told delegates at the NetEvents Press Summit that Carrier Ethernet - the extensions to Ethernet necessary to enable telcos to provide Ethernet services to customers and to utilise Ethernet technology in their networks – will be necessary in a world that could see five billion people connected and requiring always-on access.
Suggesting that future network requirements would entail voice, business Internet, residential enterprise and unicast TV, with 100 Mbps to the home soon to be a reality, he said: “Current network architectures are not ready for this challenge. Cost-effective transport is a critical tool enabling profitable next generation networks.”
Verizon Communications, Time Warner Cable and AT&T have all told a Senate Commerce Committee that they support an opt-in system for targeted online advertising and pledged to hold to basic best practices.
Opting in means that companies that want to track Web surfers’ movements and use that data to target ads to them must get their permission first, rather than making it incumbent upon those surfers to opt out.
"Verizon believes that before a company captures certain Internet-usage data for targeted or customized advertising purposes, it should obtain meaningful, affirmative consent from consumers," said the company. To get that “meaningful” consent, it said, requires a) explaining to consumers exactly what kind of data are being collected and for what; b) treating a failure to consent as meaning no collection of data for "online behavioral marketing"; and c) consumers' ability to easily opt out if they initially agree but change their minds.
“Common rules are the only way to ensure that businesses compete on a level playing field,” said Time Warner Cable.
Verizon, AT&T and Time Warner Cable all said they do not now engage in targeted behavioral advertising, but if they do, it would be circumscribed by their pledge of protecting customer information, informing them of what they were doing and getting consent first.
ISPs are hoping to avoid congressional intervention in the online-advertising market.
PSB decisions next yearThe UK culture secretary, Andy Burnham, said the government would make decisions about the future of public service broadcasting in January. Burnham said public service broadcasting was not "fatally damaged" and pledged that the government would announce its decisions and implementation strategy on the future of PSB at the start of next year.
He said there was a "real urgency to set a timetable" about the future of PSB provision in the UK. "I think it is right that we should be stepping up the pace in the interests of viewers and the whole of the television industry. That is why the government and Ofcom will be working on a twin track approach, looking at policy options and practicalities upon which I need to decide."
Ofcom published its second review of public sector broadcasting yesterday and intends to make a final statement in "early 2009" with the expectation being January, after the closure of a consultation period on December 4.
Back to top
