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Tuesday Spain: green light for pay- DTT
Spain: green light for pay- DTT
Sky Deutschland still struggling
Boxee gets a $6M catalyst
China may appeal WTO media ruling
Discovery joins Comcast online trial
OTT $11bn by 2012
Warner and Cisco partner
Rovi and TNS collaborate on set-top-box measurement
GDB, Verismo launch VuNow
From David del Valle in MadridIn common with other European countries, Spain is to have pay-DTT services on its digital terrestrial TV platform, with the first ones likely to be launched by the end of this month, coinciding with the beginning of the Spanish ‘La Liga’ football .
The Government has approved a Royal Decree allowing nationwide TV broadcasters to distribute pay-DTT services through one of their DTT channels. From April 2010, when digital switchover is completed, each nation wide TV network will operate one multiplex (five TV channels) with RTVE with two. Most broadcasters on the DTT platform have already requested a licence to be able to offer pay services.
The Government’s decision has been taken on the grounds that pay DTT “was necessary and urgent” and that it will help “a greater DTT introduction” opening “new business opportunities”, according to the Vice president of the Government, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega. It is estimated that pay DTT will generate a business of E5 billion over the next years.
The new legislation has been approved, though, despite Spain’s State Council’s unfavourable opinion which stated that the decree had no legal basis, broke the law of contracts with the Administration and did not meet the needs of the TV sector. This advisory body holds that the new legislation changes the terms of the licences of three companies -Veo TV, Net TV and La Sexta, which broadcast free to air. Sogecable, owner of DTH platform Digital Plus, and cable company ONO had both appealed against the new rule.
The decision paves the way for Mediapro, the main shareholder in the commercial TV channel La Sexta, to launch its football-orientated TV channel Gol TV as a pay-DTT service by the end of the month, offering the majority of all matches of La Liga. The company has reportedly requested 500,000 set-top-boxes capable of receiving pay-DTT services to be available in the market over the next weeks. It is estimated that only two per cent of all 18 million DTT devices already sold in the market are ready for pay-DTT services.
Sky Deutschland still struggling
Sky Deutschland (formerly Premiere) lost 7,000 subscribers during the second quarter of the year and reported losses of over E360m. The pay-TV operator ended June with 2.364 subs against 2.371 at the end of the previous quarter.
While the operator attracted 23,000 monthly contract customers, it lost 30,000 Flex subscribers during that time, overall churn remained stubbornly high at 22%.
The operator reported a net loss of E365.8m, much of which it down to writing off the value of the Premiere trademark for E253.9m. Revenues for the second quarter were down E230.6m from E252.1m while EBIDTA was negative E63.4m compared with positive E11.6m a year earlier. ARPU increased to E25.20 during the quarter from E24.85 the previous quarter.
CEO Mark Williams remains positive: “We are very pleased with progress since the successful launch of Sky on 4 July, with awareness of the Sky brand very quickly exceeding 50%. In these first few weeks, we have seen a very positive reaction from both our existing customers upgrading to the new expanded range of Sky services, including our new comprehensive HD offer, as well as a strong increase in the rate of subscriber additions.”
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Boxee gets a $6M catalyst generalBoxee has closed a $6m round of financing led by Boston-based General Catalyst with participation by prior investors Spark Capital and Union Square Ventures. Neil Sequeira from General Catalyst will join the board.
The web to TV company, who suffered a blow recently when Hulu withdrew their service, says the investment will go to improving the product and into the roadmap of 2010. “The idea is to have a healthy mix of development driven by user feedback (which is the essence of the upcoming Beta) and innovation that comes from within Boxee.” And adding more content – “We believe Boxee can be a great partner for independent content producers as well as big media companies. We will try to bring more TV Shows, Web Shows and Movies from ad-based, subscription-based and a la carte type services.”
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China may appeal WTO media rulingChina said it would consider launching an appeal against a World Trade Organisation ruling that the US claimed would help open up Chinese markets for media as well as curbing rampant intellectual piracy.The WTO said that it was impermissible to give one state-owned enterprise the monopoly for importing products such as films and books in China, where the government has long exercised strict censorship over the media.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said that the channel for importing foreign publications, films and audio-visual products was “very smooth”. Beijing “regretted” the fact that the WTO expert panel had not rejected US demands regarding the import and distribution market of these products in China, it said. Hollywood had hailed the ruling as a success but the US acknowledged that the finding, issued in response to a 2007 complaint by Washington, fell far short of all it had asked for, and that serious obstacles remained to importing and distributing films, books, CDs and DVDs in China.
Dan Glickman, chairman and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America, told the FT he welcomed the prospect of an end to the Chinese government’s monopoly over the import of both DVDs and films for show in cinema.
The ruling doesn’t affect China’s policy of allowing the cinema screening of only 20 films a year – a restriction the movie industry says is deeply unfair given the extent of piracy.
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Discovery joins Comcast online trialUS reports say Discovery Communications is the latest company joining Comcast's OnDemand Online Trial. Until now Discovery has resisted, its’ main concern about making its material widely available online has been the risk of cannibalizing its existing business and upsetting the cable operators that provide its bread and butter.
In July, CBS became the first broadcast network to join the Comcast trial service, which requires users to authenticate themselves as paying cable subscribers. Time Warner's HBO and Starz Entertainment are partners in the trial. Other networks involved include Time Warner's TNT and TBS along with Rainbow Media, Scripps Networks, A&E Television Networks and BBC America.
Comcast expects to launch On Demand Online nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2009, if trials are successful.
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A new global report from MRG shows how OTT (Over-the-Top) video services will offer new opportunities for IPTV & Cable Operators and media owners to expand their reach through TV-centric open Internet services. Revenues in 2012 should exceed $11 billion, with Internet Set-top Box (ISTB) penetration (including game consoles) exceeding 57 million. Besides cost containment practices, the report identifies what kinds of OTT video content consumers want (and will pay for), based on a global consumer survey done specifically for this report.
"The real question isn't whether Service Providers (SPs) should implement OTT, as most analysts already agree," states MRG Analyst Mike Galli. "The real question is how and with what results, which is why we did a ROI analysis for Tier-1, 2 and 3 IPTV SPs explaining the best practices, cost-loading and break-even points for several different configurations of OTT service."
The report also disputes the belief that "smart TVs" (TVs with Ethernet ports) will replace ISTBs in the next five years, as predicted by some CE promoters. "ISTBs will continue to be strong players beyond 2015," states MRG President Gary Schultz. "This is illustrated by the evolutionary path ISTBs must follow to stay ahead of the fast changing OTT business." The report further asserts that many HD (High-Definition) TVs will rely on (external) ISTBs to provide the needed storage, hybrid-processing, progressive download, and EPG-processing capability at an affordable price to deliver HD content.
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Warner and Cisco partnerWarner Music Group and Cisco announced the expansion of their relationship into a strategic agreement in which WMG will use the Cisco Eos social entertainment platform to power many of its artist Web sites. Eos will now be available to WMG to deploy an unlimited number of sites for their portfolio of artists and labels, and play a significant role within WMG's direct-to-consumer initiatives.
Cisco Eos is a hosted white-label "software as a service" platform that enables Media & Entertainment companies to create, manage and monetise social entertainment experiences built around their branded content. WMG deployed Eos for four new sites: Grammy-nominated rock band Paramore; R&B singer Trey Songz; rock band Halestorm; and a redesigned Eos site for reggae singer Sean Paul. WMG also announced that it intends to use the Eos platform to create approximately a dozen additional sites by the end of the year, including a brand new site for singer/songwriter and American Idol alum, Jason Castro, as well as for R&B songstress Estelle, and hip-hop phenomenon Lupe Fiasco.
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Rovi and TNS Collaborate on Set-Top-Box Measurement
Rovi Corporation (formerly Macrovision Solutions Corporation,) and TNS Media Research announced that they are collaborating on the development of advanced TV and set-top-box (STB) measurement solutions. The alliance joins Rovi’s clickstream technology with the reporting capabilities of TNS Media Research to enable some of the richest measurement in the industry, including consumer viewing across live, recorded and on-demand TV programming, as well as consumers’ use of interactive program guides (IPGs). Under the terms of the agreement, TNS Media Research will measure the performance of advertising in Rovi IPGs in participating cable systems. The two companies will also work together to provide guide and audience measurement solutions to cable systems and advertisers.
“The ability to gain granular insight into viewing behaviour as a result of Return Path Data (RPD) from STBs is redefining the definition of audience measurement,” said George Shababb, president, TNS Media Research North America. “It’s no longer just about reach and ratings, but about gaining true insight into the habits of the audience. TNS Media Research has pioneered the use of RPD through its DIRECTView and Charter Los Angele services and we are looking forward to working with Rovi Corporation to develop new applications and services, including in the area of IPGs.”
“As entertainment choices multiply, MSOs, programmers and advertisers need better tools to understand evolving consumer behavior and use that knowledge to further enhance the viewing experience,” said Fred Amoroso, president and CEO, Rovi Corporation. “We also know that IPGs are integral to the TV viewing experience and have a profound influence on what people choose to watch. This collaboration between TNS Media Research, a global leader in media measurement, and Rovi, a leader in IPG technology, marks an important milestone in advancing the industry’s understanding of IPG usage and TV viewing habits.”
Based on internal estimates, Rovi IPG advertising technology is active in more than 50 million homes worldwide, including 25 million homes in North America, providing one of the most broadly deployed interactive TV ad platforms.
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UK-based IPTV platform, Global Digital Broadcast (GDB) is partnering with Verismo Networks in order to launch VuNow into the UK.This partnership furthers GDB's existing IPTV services to the UK, whilst extending Verismo Network’s offerings into the UK and Europe. Under the agreement, GDB secures rights to provide its’ IPTV channels via the VuNow service, to the UK, at launch this September 2009.
Currently only available in the USA, the VuNow service enhances TV entertainment by giving consumers the ability to access and enjoy internet video directly on their TV, without a computer.
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Thursday 13th August
Swisscom IPTV success
Regulator bans Sky HD ad
Setback to Abertis Telecom's expansion plans
TDC TV subs up
Showtime, Orbit confirm merger
Intelsat re-signs TV
NBCU hires Curtis
Ericsson IPTV for GeorgiaSwisscom has doubled the number of subscribers to its Bluewin IPTV service during the year to the end of June for a total of 165,000 customers after adding 26,000 during the second quarter.
The Swiss telco said the simplified installation process introduced last year was proving successful with about 85% of new Bluewin TV customers installing the system without the help of Swisscom technicians. Swisscom also reported 1.8 million broadband access lines at the end of June, up from 1.7 million a year earlier.
The company reported total revenues of CHF3bn (E2bn) for the quarter, down 2.3% year-on-year. Italian telco Fastweb, which Swisscom acquired in 2007, contributed CHF719m.
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The UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned a Sky+ HD advert for misleading the public over costs. The ASA received complaints about BSkyB relating to a TV campaign pushing "free installation" as part of a cheap sign-up deal.
Seven viewers said that when they telephoned to enquire about the offer they were told it was only available if they subscribed to a package called Sky Multiroom. BSkyB said that it was running two Sky+ HD box and installation offers. One was for new customers and one for existing customers.
New customers got a set top box for £49 (E57) with free standard installation when they joined Sky TV with an HD pack. Existing customers had to pay a £30 installation cost, which was waived if they took a multi-room subscription.
Sky said the TV ad was only promoting its offer to new customers. However, the ASA said the ad did not make clear that installation was not free for existing customers, who would be interested in the offer. It therefore banned the ad as misleading.
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Setback to Abertis Telecom's expansion plans
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish dominant broadcast network operator, Abertis Telecom, has backed out of the deal reached with two local broadcast networks in Andalucia and Madrid, Axion and Teledifusion de Madrid, to take over them, following the Competition Authorities imposing tougher conditions on the operation.
Abertis Telecom had planned to take an 80 per cent stake in Telefifusion and 65 per cent in Axion to strengthen its dominant position in the market, but, according to the company, new conditions from the National Competition Commission have spiked the deal valued at E107.6 million.
The Competition watchdog imposed the obligation of Albertis opening up its networks to third parties to guarantee free competition.
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Danish telco TDC reported 1.195 million TV customers at the end of June, up 6.3% year-on-year. The figures include analogue and digital cable subscribers of its YouSee cable operation and IPTV subscribers. TDC had 1.292 million retail broadband customers at the end of the first half, up 9.5% year-on-year. Wholesale broadband customers numbered 118,000, down 12.6%.
YouSee’s contribution was boosted by an increase in cable TV revenue with an increase in customers and ARPU. It posted total revenues of DKK1.72bn (E231m) in the first half of the year, up 8.7% year-on-year. Digital TV contributed DKK96m of that, up 54.8% year-on-year, while internet services revenue was DKK339m, up 7.6% and fixed-line telephony revenues were DKK31m, up 19.2%. EBITDA was DKK550m, up 20.6%. Fixed-line telephony customers grew by 51.2% in the first half to 65,000, of which 56,000 were VOIP customers (with 12,000 of those coming from the acquisition of A Plus).
TDC as a whole posted revenues of DKK17.839bn for the first half, down 0.4%, with EBITDA of DKK6.337bn, up 8.4%.
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Showtime, Orbit confirm merger
The pay-TV merger between Showtime Arabia and rival Orbit has concluded.
The deal was announced last month, although no official valuation was given. Showtime Arabia had reportedly bought out its Viacom minority partner in its Gulf-DTH operation. Kipco, an investment vehicle ultimately controlled by the Kuwait royal family which already controlled 75.3% of Gulf-DTH.
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Intelsat reported results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2009 with revenue of $642.5 million and a net loss of $32.7 million for the three months. The company reported EBITDAi, of $522.4 million.
“Intelsat’s record Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2009 surpassed the $500 million level for the first time, reflecting attractive revenue growth and solid execution on cost management,” said Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade. “Our network services business and Intelsat General Corporation government business are thriving as a result of the demand for the communications infrastructure we provide for applications such as broadband networking, cellular backhaul, and mobility.”
“In the second quarter we entered into a significant long-term renewal in our media business, underscoring the value of our satellite neighbourhoods and contributing to an increase in our backlog to $9.5 billion at June 30, 2009 from $8.7 billion at the end of the first quarter.”
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NBC Universal Global Networks has appointed Paul Curtis to the new role of VP, commercial strategy, for its portfolio of UK channels including Sci Fi, Hallmark Channel, Movies 24 and Diva TV.
Curtis, a former deputy MD of Sky’s in-house sales arm Sky Media, will report to Laurence Dawkin-Jones, MD (UK) NBCU Global Networks. Curtis is a former managing director of Viacom Brand Solutions, working across MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and Paramount ComedyChannel for MTV Networks Europe.
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Ericsson Nikola Tesla has signed IPTV contract with main Georgian mobile operator Magticom. The contract is worth over 17 million kunas. This end-to-end IPTV solution will consist of Ericsson middleware, Tandberg TV headend with initial capacity of 74 TV channels, Video on Demand (VoD) functionality, along with satellite antenna subsystem and set-top boxes, as well as professional services including learning solutions, project management, system integration services and support service package.
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Wednesday 12th August
Spanish TV consolidation fails
Sky and Discovery head for court on ad sales
PA Consulting investigates future spectrum demand
Verizon FiOS TV expands offerings
RGB improves cable HD VOD
SKY Brasil builds HDTV infrastructure with Harmonic
Broadcom SoC receives MoCA 1.1 certification
DS2 for Singtel
Spanish TV consolidation fails
From David Del Valle in MadridThe consolidation of Spanish TV is turning out to be more complicated than expected. Prisa, owner of commercial TV channel Cuatro and DTH platform Digital Plus, and Imagina, ultimate owner of TV channel La Sexta, have abandoned their negotiations to merge their TV divisions, Cuatro and La Sexta.
Disagreements over the distribution of the ownership (Prisa wanted 60-70 per cent of shares, whereas Imagina proposed a 50:50 per cent deal) have ruined merger plans after months of negotiations. Both groups have announced that they will "explore new opportunities with other TV operators", among them Mediaset-controlled Tele 5 and Antena 3 TV.
Last February, the government passed a law which eliminated a 5 per cent limit on cross shareholdings at television broadcasters. The law was intended to ease sector mergers at a time when Spain's media is being hit by the economic crisis with advertising revenues falling by 30 per cent to June to E1,192 million against E1,706 million the same period last year, according to Infoadex.
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Sky and Discovery head for court on ad sales
Sky Media and Discovery's TV ad sales current deal expires at the end of 2009 and no renewal yet agreed, the two companies are at loggerheads over the amount of ad revenue Sky Media pays Discovery. Discovery, which is believed to be claiming up to £14 million (E16.3m) in unpaid ad revenue, took Sky Media to the High Court earlier this year over a disagreement about the companies' ad sales contract. The dispute now goes to a full hearing.
The wrangle centres on a clause that allows Sky Media to cap the amount of money Discovery receives when its channels' commercial impacts reach a certain level.
Sources say no renewal agreement is yet in place, with Discovery thought to be openly pitching out its sales contract to rival sales houses. Discovery is understood to account for about 20 per cent of Sky Media's total commercial impacts.
BskyB said: "This action is a means to resolve a disagreement over the interpretation of a contractual clause. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Discovery, which remains a valued part of Sky Media's channel portfolio."
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PA Consulting investigates future spectrum demand
Following a nine month study, PA Consulting Group has completed a report for UK’s Ofcom to predict any potential pressure on spectrum availability across the UK over the next 15 to 20 years.
Spectrum is a finite and valuable resource, and PA’s report shows both supply and demand for spectrum under a number of different scenarios ranging from high growth with very high demand for downloads and video streaming over wireless, to a 'contracting market' scenario where nervousness about security and privacy lead people to rely less on wireless transmission.
PA's report shows the range of conditions under which spectrum would be readily available to meet demand, as well as the levels of growth that would be needed to reach a point where spectrum might begin to limit rollout of new high bandwidth services. PA's work also highlights the importance of technology changes that we expect to see over the next 5-10 years, and how those will mitigate the increased demand for spectrum by improving spectral efficiency dramatically.
These findings will enable Ofcom to continue to manage the spectrum efficiently based on likely demand for wireless communications - primarily in mobile, broadcast and fixed services – through to 2025.
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Verizon FiOS TV expands offeringsFiOS TV subscribers now can enjoy more home-entertainment choices as Verizon continues to expand its video-on-demand (VOD) programming with several new offerings.
FiOS TV customers now can watch the AMC hit show "Mad Men," shop any time with HSN, and watch classic and contemporary Disney movies and animated shorts from Disney Family Movies. Also, new-release films from 20th Century Fox will now be available in HD on FiOS TV. In addition, FiOS TV customers can enjoy a variety of other new VOD programming: Spanish-language shows from Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión; a variety of films from Cinetic Film Buff; and favorite old movies from American Pop Classics. Exclusive content of behind-the-scenes footage from the Dew Tour has also been added recently.
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RGB improves cable HD VODRGB Networks, a specialist in network video processing, has upgraded its Dynamic Bandwidth Manager (DBM) VOD transrater to support the MPEG-4/H.264 video format. As cable operators around the world are increasingly taking advantage of the advanced compression capabilities of MPEG-4/H.264 to deliver bandwidth-hungry high definition (HD) video and an ever-increasing array of on-demand services, they can now utilise RGB’s DBM to unlock even greater bandwidth efficiencies. By deploying the DBM, the industry’s only real-time video-on-demand (VOD) transrating solution, operators can deliver up to 50 per cent more VOD programming to subscribers, all within their existing QAM bandwidth and without having to upgrade their current transmission infrastructure or incur costly and disruptive ‘node splits.’
According to industry analyst firm InStat, demand for HDTV services is expected to grow at 30 per cent during 2009. At the same time, subscribers are making increasing use of pay and free VOD services. Analysys Mason has predicted that the Western European VOD market will be valued at E1.1 billion in 2013, up from E350.7 million last year.
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SKY Brasil builds HDTV infrastructure with HarmonicHarmonic has announced that SKY Brasil Serviços, Brazil’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) satellite video service provider with nearly two million subscribers, has rolled out its new HDTV service based on Harmonic’s MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) digital video delivery solutions. Powered by Harmonic’s DiviCom Electra 7000 encoders, ProStream 1000 stream processing platform with DiviTrackIP statistical multiplexing, and NMX Digital Service Manager, the new service from SKY Brasil is the largest HDTV broadcast offering currently available in the country.
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Broadcom SoC receives MoCA 1.1 certificationBroadcom, a global player in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, has revealed that its home networking reference design platform for set-top box (STB) and broadband access products, featuring integrated Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) connectivity, has received MoCA 1.1 Certification from the MoCA Certification Board. The integration of MoCA 1.1 connectivity into Broadcom system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions enables Broadcom to offer net throughput of 175 Megabits per second (Mbps) using packet aggregation, which is a significant increase over MoCA’s previously stated performance metric of 100 Mbps.
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DS2 and Comtrend Corporation announced that Comtrend’s Power Grid 902 adapter, based on DS2's Aitana powerline communication chipset, has been selected by Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) to create a secure and reliable home network to deliver quick and convenient access to content and entertainment on SingTel's IPTV service, mio TV. DS2 is a leading technology innovator in next generation wireline technology based on the G.hn standard for a single wired home network and a global supplier of Universal Powerline Association (UPA) compatible circuits for Digital Home, Smart Grid and Ethernet over Coax applications. Comtrend Corporation is the leading provider of home networking solutions for service providers.
SingTel's mio TV service is a 24-hour pay TV service. It offers multi-room connectivity with a Set-Top Box with or without a Digital Video Recording (DVR) feature. Each Set-Top Box is connected to an ADSL2+ modem and a SingTel telephone line. The service will now offer Comtrend’s Power Grid 902 adapter, based on DS2's Aitana chipset, as a local network bridge for 'plug and play' home networking. Each adapter features an integrated power socket that saves the subscribers’ wall outlet for other uses and includes a mains filter for greater reliability.
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Tuesday 11th August
RAI: Economic benefit from Sky split
Online TV viewing won’t be driven by faster broadband
HMV boss out of ITV race
DISH Network reports Q2
Asian pay-TV demand robust
Pay TV, mobile, Internet to grow Oz media sector
Dynamic ad solution from cable trio
Epix on FiOS in October
NZ online TV viewing up 70%
GVT and Sky offer triple-play in Brazil
Rovi EPG for KDG
LIN TV for BlackBerry Smartphones
RAI: Economic benefit from Sky split
From Branislav Pekic in RomeRAI claims that the recent pullout of the RaiSat thematic channels from the Sky Italia DTH platform will bring economic benefits to the Italian public broadcaster in the long run.
In a document distributed to RAI’s Board of Directors, director general, Mauro Masi, explains that the break-up with Sky will help contain growth of the DTH operator while at the same time recouping advertising revenues for the pubcaster. He claims that the free-to-air transmission of the RaiSat channels (Extra, Premium, Cinema, YoYo) on digital terrestrial (in the analogue switch-off (ASO) areas) and on digital satellite (TivùSat platform) will enable RAI to reach break-even by the end of 2011, thanks to advertising revenues, and bring profit from 2012. Significantly, the pubcaster will dispose of a "higher quality" package than any other media group, including Mediaset, with at least 12 free-to-air TV channels.
According to the document, Sky could take advantage of the ASO by increasing subscriptions: by 2013 Sky could arrive to 9 million subscribers, nearly double the current figure, and an audience share of 17 per cent. At that point, the pay-TV operator would take away a 3 per cent to 4 per cent viewing share from RAI, with a loss of advertising revenue estimated at E500 million. So, in order to contain losses and maintain free digital terrestrial as the preferred distribution platform over pay-TV on digital satellite, it is also necessary to take away RAI’s flagship channels (Rai Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre) from the Sky platform.
For the moment, both RAI and Mediaset will encrypt on Sky all of the events for which they do not dispose of the non-Italian TV rights (mainly football and hit TV series and movies), while any further moves would be decided depending on the results of the new Tivù distribution platform.
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Online TV viewing won’t be driven by faster broadbandThe prospect of faster broadband connections will not be the catalyst for increased TV viewing online, according to a survey to be published by Deloitte/YouGov on behalf of the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.
Of the 2,123 viewers polled, 53 per cent said they would not watch more online video clips or TV programmes even with a faster and more reliable Internet connection and 29 per cent felt there was little importance in being able to watch television using an online service. As many as 54 per cent of viewers surf the Internet while watching television with 74 per cent of 18–24-year-olds multi-tasking compared with 40 per cent of 55+. Some 81 per cent of viewers use personal emails while watching TV.
Younger audiences are more likely to watch TV online but a surprisingly high percentage (43 per cent) of 18 to 24-year-olds said they would not watch more TV online with faster broadband speeds. Most viewers found online content too difficult to access or did not know how to. A large proportion (71 per cent) of those who sometimes watch television via the Internet do so to catch up on programmes they’ve previously missed on television.
Online video is now more synonymous with traditional broadcasters than with online pure-plays. Viewers' awareness (83 per cent) of broadcasters' on-demand sites (such as iPlayer, itv.com, 4OD) is now greater than that for either YouTube (76 per cent) or iTunes (64 per cent).
James Bates, Media and Telecoms Partner at Deloitte said: "Stimulating investment in a next generation broadband infrastructure for Britain has been at the heart of the Digital Britain debate. However, as this survey shows, making high-speed broadband access widely available to consumers is no guarantee that it will be taken up. Demand and willingness to pay for services varies significantly, and there is little evidence that the mass market is prepared to pay substantially more for it.
"One of the strongest advocates for online television may well be traditional television companies. In an ironic twist to earlier expectations, broadcasters and independent producers may, in the medium-term, be those that benefit most from online television. Broadcasters may increasingly use online television to support their core, traditional objective of maximising broadcast audience size and quality. Online clips, distributed via their own websites as well as third party platforms, are likely to be used to spark interest in their shows. Online catch-up can enable viewers that missed a broadcast episode to keep up with a storyline and remain interested in a series."
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HMV boss out of ITV race
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Simon Fox, the CEO of music and DVD retailer HMV has reportedly ruled himself out of the race to run UK commercial broadcaster ITV. Although considered a front-runner for the job, he is understood to have told the HMV board that it was too soon to leave because he is just over two years into a three-year turnaround programme.
Fox's decision strengthens the position of rival candidates Pascal Cagni, the head of Apple Europe, and Tony Ball, the former chief executive of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
DISH Network reports Q2DISH Network has reported a total revenue of $2.904 billion for the quarter ended June 30th, 2009, a 0.4 per cent decrease compared with $2.915 billion for the corresponding period in 2008.
Net income totalled $63 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, compared with $336 million during the corresponding period in 2008. Basic earnings per share were $0.14 for the quarter ended June 30th, 2009, compared with basic earnings per share of $0.75 during the corresponding period in 2008.
The US satellite TV operator added approximately 26,000 net subscribers during the quarter ended June 30th, 2009, ending the quarter with approximately 13.610 million subscribers.
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Asian pay-TV demand robustResearch from Media Partners Asia (MPA) shows that Asia’s top 40 pay-TV operators added 5.8 million net new subscribers between them during the six months to end-June 2009, demonstrating that demand for pay-TV remains robust in Asia, despite concerns that the global economic downturn.
The new subscriptions take the combined customer base of Asia’s top 40 operators to 65.3 million, around a third of the region’s installed pay-TV base. MPA forecasts indicate that these leading operators will end the year with 70.7 million customers, implying annual net additions of 11.3 million and close to 20 per cent annual growth.
"In spite of a recessionary macro environment, the demand for pay-TV remains robust in Asia Pacific and in certain instances, ARPUs along with profits are also growing healthily," said MPA executive director Vivek Couto. "Pay-TV, especially when anchored to digital upgrade, competition and next-generation broadband digital services, is proving itself as a sustainable proxy for consumption and investment."
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Pay TV, mobile, Internet to grow Oz media sectorConsumer spending, not advertising, will fuel growth of Australia’s entertainment and media sector over the next five years, with the Internet, mobile phones, subscription-TV, and interactive gaming set to be the strongest growing industries, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers’ forecast.
The Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook, which predicts the growth of different media and entertainment industries to 2013, revealed that while the ad sector will grow by an average of 1.7 per cent over the next five years to about $13 billion in 2013. The consumer-spending market will lead growth, averaging a 5.5 per cent increase each year to 17.8 billion.
The report stated that the industry will benefit from "game changers" in the future, with the Government’s National Broadband Network and the growing prevalence of smart phones, such as the iPhone, set to facilitate new modes of media consumption and revenue.
The Internet access and advertising market is said to experience the most growth (10.4 per cent) in coming years and be worth $6.8 billion by 2013. While the global economic downturn will slow Internet ad revenue growth, Internet access revenues will remain strong as download speeds increase and users consume more videos online. Meanwhile, mobile ad revenues, while small, are expected to grow to $232 million in 2013, lead by search advertising.
Subscription TV will also grow by more than 9 per cent over the next five years to be worth over $4 million. Take-up of subscription TV is expected to grow from 32.2 per cent to 41 per cent during this time. Meanwhile the free-to-air sector, while still commanding large audiences, will continue to experience falling revenues despite the launch of digital channels this year. Ad spend fell by 1.8 per cent to $3.4 million in 2008 and is anticipated to remain flat until 2013, declining at a rate of -0.7 per cent each year to $3.3 billion.
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Dynamic ad solution from cable trio
Advanced IP service fulfilment solutions specialist Sigma Systems, BlackArrow, a worldwide provider of advanced advertising solutions for new television platforms, and triple play technologist Arris have teamed up to unveil a joint advertising solution that allows cable TV operators to cross-promote their services to subscribers in dynamic VOD environments. Combined with the cross-promotion capabilities, Sigma Systems, BlackArrow, and Arris also demonstrated advanced advertising that incorporates segmentation data from Nielsen for enhanced addressability.
"Being able to target your own subscribers with relevant offerings is a great way for cable operators to increase ARPU and reduce customer churn," said Rick Mallon, vice president of Product Management for Sigma Systems. "Now MSOs can effectively cross-promote their services, ensuring that triple-play bundles and premium channel packages are only offered to subscribers most likely to upgrade."
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Epix, the new movie service owned by three Hollywood studios, will be available online for customers of Verizon Communications FiOS before the first broadcast on October 1st.
Verizon’s fibre-optic TV customers will get early online access to 160 movies in high-definition including ‘Iron Man’, Emil Rensing, New York-based Epix’s chief digital officer, revealed.
Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, Lions Gate Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) are using the Web offering to promote the service. FiOS customers will be able to invite friends and others to watch along on their own computers or mobile devices. The owners of Epix are betting the feature will build demand for the service.
"People are already watching films online," Rensing said. "Our goal is to provide a service that is as easy and gentle as anything out there." By the end of the year, Epix will host more films and programmes online than on the channel, Rensing added.
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NZ online TV viewing up 70%The amount of New Zealanders migrating their viewing habits from the TV to the computer has jumped from 194,000 to 330,000 in just two years. While New Zealand’s laggard broadband penetration is still impeding faster growth, the direction is clear for television in New Zealand: people want to watch TV on demand.
In 2006 the 194,000 people watching TV online represented the 7 per cent of the population with access to the Internet, in 2008 the 330,000 people watching represented 11 per cent of the population with access to the Internet, according to Nielsen Media Research Panorama.
In contrast to the general population, New Zealanders aged 18 to 24 have increased their online viewing by 83 per cent over the same two-year period.
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GVT and Sky offer triple-play in BrazilBrazilian telephony and broadband provider Global Village Telecom (GVT) is teaming up with Sky TV to offer a triple-play service. The offer is available to GVT customers with a ‘Unique 600’ or ‘Smart Maxx’ residential package, while Sky customers who take its ‘2010’ or HD service can also access the triple-play package. As an added bonus, Sky offers free installation, more than one connection point in the home and one free technical visit per year.
GVT is currently undertaking a major drive to upgrade its customers to faster broadband speeds offered through fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and Very high bit-rate Digital Line Subscriber (VDSL) technology. It expects 50 per cent of its total broadband user base to have access to speeds of over 10Mbps by the end of 2010.
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Rovi EPG for KDG
Entertainment discovery solutions specialist Rovi Corporation - formerly Macrovision Solutions Corporation - and digital pay-TV technology solutions provider NDS Group have confirmed that Germany’s largest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has signed an agreement for licences to Rovi's electronic programme guide (EPG) patent portfolio.
KDG is licensing Rovi's EPG patents under the agreement between Rovi and NDS that was announced in April 2009. KDG joins other Rovi European licensees that include Canal+, BSkyB, Portugal Telecom, SKY Italia and UPC Broadband.
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LIN TV for BlackBerry Smartphones
LIN TV, a local television and digital media company, has confirmed the expansion of its mobile offerings to include a new application for BlackBerry smartphones.
The US broadcaster has leveraged News Over Wireless’s (NOW) technology to develop custom BlackBerry smartphone applications for each of its 27 local television stations. Six LIN TV stations will launch service today, including WISH-TV, WAVY-TV, KRQE-TV, WANE-TV, WALA-TV and KXAN-TV. LIN TV is the first in its local markets to provide instantaneous and on-demand access to its local news, sports and entertainment, as well as video, weather forecasts and traffic reports to BlackBerry smartphone subscribers.
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Monday 10th August
DirecTV quarterly sales up
CBS profits plunge
Key capabilities for placeshifting identified
India, China and US continue to drive STB shipments
Deutsche Telekom posts strong Q2
300m+ DLNA-certified digital media devices to ship in 2012
China Telecom opens tender for IPTV STBs
China Unicom 3G mobile TV plans
Rovi data licensing agreement with TiVo
Cache-A's archive appliances go global
DirecTV quarterly sales upDirecTV warned that more customers were growing wary of paying for costly premium services, dragging its shares down 3.5 per cent although it reported a 9 per cent gain in quarterly revenue on strong subscriber growth.
The US satellite operator reported its second-quarter revenue rose to $5.22 billion from $4.81 billion.
The company, majority-owned by Liberty Media, trimmed its annual forecast for growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) to a range of 1 per cent to 2 per cent growth from a previous 2 per cent to 3 per cent, blaming a weaker economy as well as a lack of compelling content.
"The primary reason for the lower growth is that we're continuing to see more customers ... purchasing less premium packages and pay per view titles, particularly in the area of adult and events," interim Chief Executive Larry Hunter said on a conference call. "More customers are finding less value in premium channels, particularly because of the tough economic environment."
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CBS profits plungeCBS has reported a 96 per cent drop in net profit but forecast a "considerably" stronger second half of the year as the company’s devastated local businesses showed signs of a rebound.
The US broadcaster, which owns the CBS television network and CNET Internet properties, is closing the book on the first six months of a year in which operating profit sunk by 70 per cent on heavy losses in advertising across its entire portfolio of television, radio and outdoor properties.
"The second quarter is better than the first," said Leslie Moonves, chief executive. "We see a third quarter better than the second and we believe the fourth will be better than the third. We will continue to improve in the early part of 2010 when we have the Super Bowl. We’re definitely seeing light at the end of the tunnel."
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Key capabilities for placeshifting identifiedStrategy Analytics has identified six success factors for developers to provide the best user experience for Digital Media Placeshifting, as discovered from consumer evaluations of study participants who expressed a strong interest in the ability to remotely access and control devices within their digital homes.
The Strategy Analytics Digital Home Observatory report - Useful and Usable Placeshifting Solutions Raise Value of Digital Media Services - describes the most desirable features for placeshifting, based on the mobile and online offerings of Orb and Sling Player, as well as the online DirecTV site. Target users evaluated core service features of each service, including remote file access, viewing streaming live TV and setting TV programs to record.
The best practices for Digital Media Placeshifting include:
- Provide Access/Control for ALL of the User's Digital Media
- Timeshifting + Placeshifting = Ultimate Content Flexibility
- Following Appropriate Conventions Key to Superior Usability"The most valued capabilities include the ability to remotely access personal media, control TV recordings and access live TV content streaming from their home TV receivers," according to Christopher Dodge, Analyst, in the Strategy Analytics Digital Home Observatory.
David Mercer, VP of the Strategy Analytics Digital Consumer Practice, added, "The Sling Player application provided a useful, usable and compelling application for these consumers, while almost all participants found Orb to be useful and intuitive to use on both a PC and a mobile device."
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India, China and US continue to drive STB shipmentsShipments of digital terrestrial (DTT) and satellite (DTH) set-top boxes to China, India, and the US accounted for more than 60 per cent of total worldwide STB shipments in 2008, and are expected to reach 70 per cent of worldwide shipments in 2009, according to IMS Research. Rapid expansion of the Chinese and Indian DTH platforms and analogue terrestrial switch-off in the US are pushing sales of FTA satellite equipment and digital-to-analogue (D/A) converter boxes.
Delay of the US’s analogue terrestrial switch-off date from January to June 2009 extended the uptake period for D/A converter boxes. Americans have purchased close to 34 million boxes with the help of Government-provided coupons. New estimates put the number of active analogue TVs in the US and Canada at more than 110 million, which ensures demand for new equipment will continue through Canada’s switch-off date of August 2011. DTT boxes shipped to the US will account for more than 20 per cent of global STB shipments in 2008 and 2009.
Though demand for DTT STBs in the US will dissipate over the next 18 months, uptake of DTH services in China and India is forecast to increase through at least 2010. In 2008, China’s expansion of rural FTA DTH coverage resulted in shipments of close to 20 million new DTH STBs, accounting for more than 10 per cent of STB shipments worldwide. In 2008, shipments of STBs for the Indian pay-DTH platform topped 6 million, or more than 3 per cent of worldwide STB shipments. The platform is expected to account for more than 4 per cent of STB shipments worldwide in 2009.
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Deutsche Telekom posts strong Q2Deutsche Telekom has reported a big rise in quarterly profits after integrating Greek acquisition OTE. The German telco made a profit between April and June of E521 million, up 32 per cent on the E394 million it made a year earlier.
The company reached 721,000 subscribers for its IPTV service 'T-Home Entertain' by the end of the second quarter of this year, adding 122,000 customers in the three-month period.
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300m+ DLNA-certified digital media devices to ship in 2012A growing number of digital media devices for home entertainment are receiving DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certification. According to a study from ABI Research, nearly 200 million such products shipped in 2008; that number will rise to more than 300 million in 2012, and the growth curve accelerates even faster in the years that follow.
"Consumers increasingly desire ways to connect their various home entertainment devices and distribute digital media content around their homes," says digital home practice director Jason Blackwell. "Without standardisation, that is a nightmare. Fortunately, specifications developed by the DLNA, which are based on the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) standard, enable easy, seamless connections in a wide and growing range of consumer electronics devices."
As of today, more than 5,500 devices, including products bearing many famous brand names, have received the DLNA seal of approval. Digital TVs are a huge part of this growth, with more than 170 TVs certified in the first six months of 2009 alone.
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China Telecom opens tender for IPTV STBsChina Telecom has officially opened bidding for IPTV terminal procurement contracts. The procurements are primarily for set-top boxes meeting China Telecom's IPTV V2.0 technology standard.
The sixteen firms currently competing for the bids all offer product models that have been inspected and approved by Shanghai Telecom Research Institute. The firms are: ZTE, UTStarcom, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, New Postcom, Sunniwell, 30Kaitian, Yuxing Infotech, Coship Electronics, Changhong, Motorola, Sichuan Jiuzhou Electric Group, Shanghai DareGlobal Info Tech, Konka Group, Fiberhome and Thomson.
Winning bidders will become China Telecom's IPTV terminal partners, and establish individual contracts with each provincial operator according to the province's actual purchase volume. China Telecom's rules state that the top five companies will collectively receive no less than 80 per cent of total purchasing volume.
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China Unicom 3G mobile TV plansChina Unicom has confirmed billing rates for its 3G mobile television service. Mobile television offerings will be categorised as either live-streaming broadcasts or on-demand content; users who have mobile television software clients will be able to browse and search mobile TV content without any need to activate the service.
Users will be able to select and order single or multiple live-streaming broadcasts from live-streaming broadcast offerings, including CCTV and Dragon New Media TV programmes; a single channel will be charged at RMB 5 to RMB 10 per day (E0.51 to E1.02), or RMB 30 to RMB 40 per month, while it will cost RMB 38 per month for a package of CCTV's six channels. On-demand broadcast offerings include sports and entertainment, with most videos weighing in at 2MB (at RMB 1/M), or 3MB for high-quality video. The fees will be reduced by half, until the end of the commercial trial period on August 31st.
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Rovi data licensing agreement with TiVoRovi Corporation has confirmed that TiVo has signed a multi-year global agreement that will allow them to incorporate Rovi’s television, movies, and music data into TiVo digital video recorders (DVRs) and through TiVo’s technology and service solutions tailored for cable, satellite, and broadcasting companies.
Rovi provides descriptive, image-rich entertainment metadata that includes insightful programme and movie descriptions, rich media content, celebrity biographies, synopses, original editorial content, cast and credits information, album reviews and artist photos as well as extensive relational links to help consumers find even more content of interest to them.
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Cache-A's archive appliances go globalCache-A Corporation, supplier of small form factor archive appliances for the digital film, broadcast and professional video industries, has announced the signing of distribution agreements that will extend its reach internationally throughout Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
In Europe, Global Distribution Group, in Cambridge, UK, has been appointed Cache-A’s distributor in every European county except France; AV2P in Paris has been appointed Cache-A’s distributor in France.
In the Asia Pacific region, Cache-A has appointed ASK Corporation for Japan, BESCO S.I Corporation for Korea, Caton for China, Intraware Australia for Australia and Vsolutions for Singapore.
