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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday
Friday 20th March
BSkyB concerned by BBC broadband role
Crisis, what crisis? Cable (mostly) OK in crunch
HD arms race boosts IPTV
Downloaders reject pay model
Foxtel boss: "no-one has noticed FTA channels"
Meo VOD service sets new record
Dutch DTV excels
GlobeCast launches DW-TV ASIA+
ConceptWave signs up BSkyB
Samsung Mobile movie store
J:COM subs up
Intelsat reports record quarter but losses widens
Entone for Hargray
Baltic viewers get MotoGP
Akamai offers Microsoft IIS7
Latens and Pixsan middleware platform
BSkyB concerned by BBC broadband roleThe UK government’s suggestion that the BBC should be part of the drive to make broadband universal in the UK would distort markets and distract the broadcaster from its main purpose in making programmes, BSkyB has suggested in its submission to the Digital Britain review headed by Lord Carter, the communications minister, BSkyB said the operations of the market should be allowed to meet the UK’s needs.
In the interim version of its report, Lord Carter’s team suggested that the BBC could use money from the licence fee to help promote the adoption of broadband by the 40 per cent of the population who still do not have it.
BSkyB contends this would be a potentially damaging move. "The suggestion that the BBC should become involved in driving broadband take-up by setting technical standards and developing new platforms raises concerns. As well as the potential for market distortion, it sets a dangerous precedent and risks distracting the BBC from its core purpose, which is to invest in public service content and to make it widely available to licence fee payers on whichever platforms and services they choose to use."
BSkyB expressed fears that the BBC would unfairly promote its own content-playing platforms, such as the iPlayer and ‘Project Canvas’, a technology designed to marry programme viewing over the Internet and on conventional television. The submission also raised objections to Digital Britain’s concentration on providing direct or indirect support to free-to-air commercial channels, particularly Channel 4 as a means of providing so-called public-service broadcasting. BSkyB, which wants a market-based approach to the growth of broadband across the UK as well, added that preserving the current model of PSB with the BBC and a ‘PSB2’ based on Channel 4, is unlikely to be sustainable.
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Crisis, what crisis? Cable (mostly) OK in crunch
From Nick Snow in BerlinThe finance panel here at Cable Congress was a frank but fairly upbeat affair. It is no secret that with most MSOs controlled by highly leveraged private equity capex is going to be scarce. John Hahn of Providence (which has major positions in KDG and ONO) confirmed as much, "investment is only going to be made if the return in it is certain and fairly neat term."
Generally, though, the panel agreed cable was in OK shape – its services are either utility or counter cyclical (in the entertainment space) and that meant cash flow would remain strong. But there will be bumps; even though many private equity firms restructured debt in 06 and 07, the depth of the lending crisis means assumptions then about having further access to the credit markets are having to be rethought. ONO, in particular, has a looming crunch 12 to 15 months down the road and both Hahn and Richard Alden, the outgoing CEO, agreed there would have to be a major capital restructure or sale. As Alden admitted, "if we had our time over again, would we go through with the mergers of 2005, no, but that’s hindsight."
In terms of prospects, Philip Meier-Scherling MD at Deutsche Bank, was fairly upbeat believing a recovery of sorts was probably less than a year away and stock and debt markets would be quick to recognise (or remember) the good fundamental value of cable and how well it is positioned in an expanding world of NGA.
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HD arms race boosts IPTVCommunications market research firm Infonetics Research has released the fourth quarter (4Q08) edition of its IPTV and Switched Digital Video Equipment, Services, and Subscribers report.
Jeff Heynen, Directing Analyst, Broadband and Video, Infonetics Research, said that with service providers around the world countering decreasing revenue by cutting capex, one would assume video equipment providers would be hit just as hard as their network equipment colleagues; "That won't be the case in 2009," he countered. "Encoder providers like Harmonic, Tandberg (Ericsson), and Motorola will see a continued uptick in revenue this year as they benefit from the HD arms race currently going on in North America and soon to expand to Western Europe and parts of Asia."
Report findings indicate that service provider and cable operator spending on IPTV and switched digital video (SDV) equipment increased 48 per cent in 2008 from the previous year, hitting $3.9 billion worldwide; The market was up 10 per cent sequentially in the final quarter of 2008; Spending was boosted by the shift to high definition (HD) formats and an increase in channel line-ups; Thanks to aggressive pricing on bundled service packages, there was healthy growth in IPTV subscriber numbers in EMEA, Asia Pacific, and North America Q4’08; The number of pure and hybrid IPTV subscribers more than doubled in 2008 to 25.4 million worldwide, and is expected to grow to about 45 million in 2009; Service providers are expected to increase their spending on IPTV equipment in the double-digit per cents over the next five years, with spending hitting a high of $8.9 billion in 2013.
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Downloaders reject pay modelA Knowledge Networks study offers clear evidence that streamers and downloaders of TV network video have embraced - or at least accepted - advertising as an alternative to for-pay models. Eighty per cent of network video downloaders favour watching ads in exchange for free video, up from 67 per cent in 2006; and 69 per cent of network video streamers either watch the pre-roll ads before the video or listen to those ads while doing something else on the computer.
The findings, from How People Use TV's Web Connections, a new syndicated report from Knowledge Networks, were produced as part of The Home Technology Monitor.
Thirty-seven per cent of all Internet users say they streamed TV network video - from clips to full episodes - during the study period, and 11 per cent have watched downloaded network video in the same timeframe.
The percentage of network video streamers watching pre-roll ads has grown since 2006, from 30 per cent to 37 per cent, while incidence of watching video without pre-roll ads has dropped, from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.
"Streamers and downloaders particularly value the ability to watch full episodes of TV shows via the Internet, and both groups accept the idea of ad-supported access," said David Tice, Vice President and director of The Home Technology Monitor². "Our research shows that downloaders are increasingly seeing advertising as an acceptable compromise for obtaining free network video; and while many streamers try to avoid preroll ads in some fashion, a surprising percentage is still exposed in one way or another."
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Foxtel boss: "no-one has noticed FTA channels"Foxtel CEO Kim Williams has slated the new, Australian free to air digital television consortium Freeview, claiming that "no one has noticed" most of the FTA digital channels which are already running.
Speaking at the annual ASTRA conference, Williams said Freeview was being marketed with "over claims" of 15 new channels: "Twelve of the fifteen channels are already up and running- it's just no one has noticed them," he said. "They are introducing a dedicated sports channel (Network Ten's One), which will recycle content from Fox Sports, sorry, but that doesn't excite me."
Williams was equally unconcerned about the launch of TiVo, Seven Media Group's digital television recording device, into the market. "We were selling more IQs (Foxtel's personal video recorder) in December than TiVo did in six months," he said. "If you care enough about TV to consider a PVR, then you care enough about TV to get subscription TV. Although you can order a pizza through TiVo, but it's a very expensive way to order a pizza."
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Meo VOD service sets new record
From Branislav Pekic in RomeMovie rentals via the Videoclube VOD service of Portuguese IPTV operator Meo have registered a new record with more than 5000 clients watching ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘The Dark Knight, in four days.
In total, more than two million videos have already been rented by Meo clients, who can select movies from NBC Universal, Disney, Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers. Besides movies, clients also have access to documentaries, music concerts and children’s content.
Portugal Telecom’s triple-play service Meo will add the AXN HD channel to its basic offer of channels, starting from April 6, the date of the channel’s launch in Portugal. It will also be available to clients of Meo’s DTH service. In the IPTV offer, the AXN channel is already available in the thematic package Meo Entretenimento that PT clients can include as part of their basic package, with no additional cost.
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Dutch DTV excelsThe number of digital TV connections in the Netherlands grew by 5.2 per cent or 200,100 net additions during the fourth quarter to a total 4.014 million at the end of 2008. At the same time, digital TV increased its share of the entire TV market to 50.9 per cent, passing analogue TV as the most-used TV service, according to Telecompaper's quarterly report on the Dutch TV market. The market researcher expects the digital TV market to grow four-to-five per cent per quarter in 2009, reaching the five million subscribers mark in 2010.
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GlobeCast launches DW-TV ASIA+GlobeCast has launched its second MCPC platform on the AsiaSat 3S satellite. Leading European broadcaster Deutsche Welle is the new transponder’s first client.
The new C-band platform on AsiaSat 3S, located at 105.5° E with a footprint covering the Middle East to East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, is a premium broadcast platform for the Asia-Pacific region reaching a potential audience of over 95 million households.
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ConceptWave has announced BSkyB (Sky) as a customer. The deployment will allow Sky, the UK’s largest entertainment and communications company, to streamline and accelerate the delivery of convergent services and compete effectively as a quad-play in the UK market.
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Samsung Mobile movie storeSamsung Mobile has launched Samsung Movies, a dedicated movie store for Samsung customers. Powered by Acetrax, the new store will allow customers to download and watch movies and TV shows on compatible Samsung phones, laptops or PCs. Downloads will be available to own or rent.
The service will be rolled out initially in the UK and Germany before being available in other key European markets later in 2009. The store will allow Samsung customers to make the most of the new AMOLED screen technology within the 2009 Samsung range.
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J:COM subs upJupiter Telecommunications (J:COM), the largest multiple system operator in Japan based on the number of customers served, has announced that the total subscribing households as of February 28th, 2009 served by J:COM’s 24 consolidated franchises reached approximately 3.18 million, up 478,700, or 17.7 per cent since February 29th, 2008.
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Intelsat reports record quarter but losses widens
Fixed satellite services provider Intelsat has reported revenue of $608.8 million and a net loss of $524.2 million for the three months ended December 31st, 2008.
The net loss includes non-cash charges of $326.8 million for orbital location impairments and $186.6 million for a loss on undesignated interest rate swaps. The company also reported EBITDA of a loss of $71.1 million.
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Entone for HargrayEntone, provider of IPTV home connectivity solutions, has revealed that their family of IPTV customer premise equipment (CPE) with digital video recorder capabilities has been chosen by Hargray Communications Group for its IPTV services. Hargray Communications provides IPTV services to subscribers in the South-eastern part of the US.
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Baltic viewers get MotoGP
Viasat has acquired the exclusive live broadcasting pay-TV rights for the MotoGP motorcycle grand prix championship across the Baltic states. All races will be broadcast live on the newly launched pay-TV channel Viasat Sport Baltic, which is available on Viasat’s satellite TV platform and in cable TV networks in the region. Viasat Broadcasting has agreed on a three-year deal, until 2011, with commercial rights holders, Dorna Sports, for the television rights.
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Akamai offers Microsoft IIS7Akamai Technologies, specialist in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, has confirmed the availability of Akamai AdaptiveEdge Streaming for Microsoft Silverlight, the first service based on Microsoft Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7) Smooth Streaming technology, enabling a higher quality video experience for all viewers.
Akamai AdaptiveEdge Streaming for Microsoft Silverlight adapts stream quality based on a user’s connection speed - so consumers with high bandwidth connections can experience true HD (720p+) quality streaming while consumers with lower connection speeds can receive the highest-quality video stream available for their levels of connectivity.
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Latens and Pixsan middleware platformLatens, a market player in software Conditional Access and Middleware for digital Pay TV has partnered with Pixsan to provide a cost effective MHEG-5 middleware solution for Cable operators. Latens and Pixsan offer a complete client solution of software only Conditional Access (CAS) and MHEG-5 based middleware, providing content security with full open standards technology offering operators a combination of enhanced services with highly competitive deployment and running costs.
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Thursday 19th March
Half of Britons choose VOD
Cable Congress – no more arguing over throne?
Widget alignment for TV
Cable Europe optimistic
Connected STB raises interest
Twilight goes day-and-date
Bosnia debuts IPTV service
TV1000Play goes HD
Brits accused in Spanish TV fraud
Japan to subsidise digital TV?
UK: £1.3bn illegal video
Tight capital impacts DTT STB market
Connected STB raises interest
Harmonic releases Electra
RGB boosts APAC IPTV
Half of Britons choose VOD
Video on demand services have now been used by half the population of Britain, with millions of viewers claiming to use the service every month, according to a survey, commissioned by industry regulator ATVOD, which shows that 50 per cent of the population have used on-demand services, with 20 per cent using them every week. Release of the findings coincides with the launch of a new consumer awareness campaign from ATVOD (the Association for Television On Demand).
With 76 per cent of the population now being aware of video on demand, the way we view is also rapidly evolving, with the continued emergence of the laptop as a popular, portable option. Viewing is across a range of platforms with 48 per cent of those using on demand services watching through their TV, 41 per cent through PCs, while almost a third (30 per cent) now use laptops.
The research also shows what people think about how VOD should be regulated. The survey findings showed that 87 per cent thought that either the individual should self-regulate their viewing, or that responsibility should be shared between the individual and a regulator. The main areas where people want help is in being informed about the content of a programme e.g. bad language, swearing and violence (53 per cent) and in protecting children from unsuitable content (52 per cent).
Elizabeth Filkin, Chairman of ATVOD, said the findings proved that video on demand is flourishing in the UK, and that the body was ready to take responsibility for ensuring content standards for on demand television and to work out the details of the new co regulatory arrangements.
Andy Burnham, Culture Secretary noted that millions of people were already using video-on-demand services as an easy and convenient way of accessing content, and their popularity will continue to grow. “Viewers need to have trust in the services they are using and I welcome ATVOD's new awareness campaign that will help media consumers to access guidance and advice. We should be doing all we can to maintain the UK's position as a world leader in this area as we head towards a digital age, he said.
Cable Congress – no more arguing over throne?
From Nick Snow in BerlinTony Ball, chairman of KDG, got the 50th Cable Congress underway by cheerfully admitting he had spent much of his career (at Sky) trying to make cable fail. Now, of course, he's changed his mind and is particularly proud KDG has invested over E1bn in its network – with no state aid. His plea was that regulators in general, and German regulators in particular, must recognise this level of investment needs a return and that allowing more integration would increase innovation.
The ‘view from the top panel' concluded old arguments over whether content is king or distribution is god were irrelevant and all needed to work together to profit from the consumer. However, back on earth, the conflict was still there with Parm Sandhu, CEO of Unitymedia, Germany's second largest MSO after KDG, flatly disagreeing with Rich Ross, President of Disney Channel Worldwide, over whether carriage fees and minimum guarantees were outdated.
Mike Volpi, CEO of Joost, who would not be so welcome if the service had taken off as some cable operators feared it would, believes its new direction of alliances with social networks will encourage recommendation and the ‘stumble across' factor for VoD. Others including Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, and Darren Childs, MD BBC Worldwide Channels, were adamant linear channels were essential to VoD; users watch material related to what they've seen on regular TV, the amount of unprompted VoD was still very small.
There was also agreement that cable shouldn't fear the ‘Internet to TV jump' (though Volpi claimed existing platform resistance was the only reason it wasn't already prevalent) as it had the broadband to deliver it and – so long as it got its User Interface act together – was best placed to exploit it. On i-Player – such a disruptive technology in the UK in terms of free VoD – Fries agreed it was a great example of good content well promoted and an excellent UI, but it was an anomaly – there was no other non-P+L organisation in the world like the BBC that would bring such a thing to market.
In terms of changes needed, Fries also lead the rallying cry for the industry to work together more effectively drawing comparisons with the standards work and lobbying effectiveness of the telco industry.
Recent findings from broadband research consultancy The Diffusion Group (TDG) suggest that the appeal of widget-enabled TV and video systems will be far greater than many expect. As well, the range of widget-based applications demanded by consumers will quickly eclipse the basic ‘information push' apps to be featured on the first wave of widget-enabled TVs and video platforms.
"TDG strongly believes that the introduction of widget-based apps into the TV environment will be the tipping point for Internet-enabled TV," noted Michael Greeson, president of TDG. In support of this argument, TDG points to data collected during a January 2009 survey of adult broadband users in the U.S., which quantified an unusually high value perception of TV-based widgets.
According to TDG's research, 76 per cent of consumers believe having a widget toolbar on their primary TV would be valuable (48 per cent "somewhat valuable" and 28 per cent "extremely valuable") with only 13 per cent being neutral and 11 per cent negative. "Rarely in quantitative consumer research does a new feature or application receive such overwhelming support," notes Greeson. "The widget concept is something consumers seem to understand - they just get it."Greeson warns that CE OEMs and service providers must make certain that their platforms can handle rapidly evolving usage scenarios. If Apple's widget experience is any indication, the number and variety of TV-based widgets will expand rapidly and in many cases outstrip the ability of low-end hardware to support these applications. Should this happen, notes Greeson, firmware upgrades won't matter because the hardware is what defines the headroom and sets the ceiling. "Future proofing Internet-enabled video platforms is critical - OEMs and operators must think beyond supporting the first round of applications and consider what will comes next, because 'next' will be here within months, not years."
Cable Europe optimistic
From Nick Snow in BerlinFigures released at Cable Europe's annual Cable Congress indicate a strong increase in industry revenues and market penetration, as growth in cable services defied signs of a downturn in other parts of the European economy.
Volumes among cable customers remain robust, with double-digit European growth
In 2008 in digital TV, cable Internet and cable telephony subscriptions, based on analysis by Screen Digest.
A breakdown by sector shows that Digital TV subscriptions of the European cable industry rose 33 per cent from 13.5m to 18m, and now represent 29 per cent of all Cable TV subscriptions in Europe (2007: 22 per cent). Cable Internet subscriptions increased 17 per cent to 18.3m and cable telephone services rose 19 per cent to 14.2m.
Manuel Kohnstamm, president of Cable Europe, said that growth figures for 2008 were “very encouraging and showed how the cable industry outperformed in the current economic slowdown. “We stay resilient by taking full advantage of the continued transition from analogue to digital distribution. This gives us reason to be optimistic for the year ahead.
Connected STB raises interest
Connected set-top boxes are growing in popularity, with 33 per cent of all U.S. broadband households interested in this platform, according to Parks Associates. The international research firm notes this news is good for service providers, which have this device at the core of their current service strategies."The cable providers have a unique challenge - continuing to innovate at the pace that consumers are adopting new forms of entertainment technologies that may not currently be available through their provider," said Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist for Macrovision. "Many of the new technologies out in the market now have generated great interest, but for these emerging technologies to be a viable solution for the end consumer, they need to be deployed to the mass market - cable can provide this."
"Up to seven per cent of broadband households are willing to pay three to six dollars more per month for a connected STB," said Jayant Dasari, analyst with Parks. "They want to stream music, view photos, and watch Web video through their television, and carriers can capture that consumer interest by leveraging the set-top to deploy these services."
Blockbuster movie Twilight is being made available to cable operator Comcast's on-demand customers on March 21, day-and-date with its DVD release, together with behind-the-scenes features.
Comcast On Demand customers will be able to access the book adaptation in SD and HD beginning just after midnight on March 21. From May 19, Comcast is offering three behind-the-scenes segments on demand.
ISP Logosoft has launched the first IPTV service in Bosnia and Herzegovina, called Super TV. Delivered over DSL, the service will initially be available in the New Sarajevo area, before being extended to other parts of Sarajevo.
Super TV currently offers 33 TV channels as well as EPG and VoD services, and there are plans to add HDTV channels at a later stage. The monthly subscription is BAM25 (E12.50), while the lease of the set-top box costs BAM 12 and a digital receiver can be acquired for BAM 280. Logosoft provides Internet access services in Sarajevo, Zenica and Tuzla, charging BAM 80 a month for a 512/192 Kbps flat-rate package.
Scandinavian pay-TV operator Viasat Broadcasting launch HD content on TV1000Play, a catch-up service on the ViasatOnDemand platform, marking the first time Scandinavian TV viewers are able to choose which movie they want to see and when they want to see it in HD quality.
TV1000PlayHD is part of ViasatOnDemand's service for customers in Sweden, Norway and Denmark that have chosen the recordable digital box ViasatPlusHD. ViasatOnDemand offers 110 movies on TV1000Play and 15 movies on TV1000PlayHD free of charge to TV1000 and TV1000HD subscribers.
Brits accused in Spanish TV fraud
Seven Britons have been arrested in the Spanish coastal area of Orihuela for allegedly distributing pirated television signals to more than 15,000 clients, most of them also British. The Guardia Civil made the arrests in several urbanisations on March 17, with telecommunications and computer material also being seized.
The group allegedly distributed the signal from several national pay channels from Digital Plus as well as international satellite signals. It is estimated that they had made several million Euros in servicing at least 15,000 clients in the area.
Several clients told the Guardia Civil that they were indeed customers of the group, but that they did not know the service was unauthorised. The seven arrested face initial charges of crimes against intellectual property and tax fraud. More arrests in the case have not been ruled out.
Japan to subsidise digital TV?Japan is considering paying 20,000 yen (E155) to people who trade in their analogue televisions for new digital sets, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura has revealed. “We will look into this from all angles, including as part of economic stimulus, Kawamura said.
The junior party in the ruling coalition, New Komeito, has proposed a 1 trillion yen package to assist the nation's switch to digital television broadcasting, including the 20,000-yen subsidy, according to party sources. Other proposals include funding to install digital TVs. at public facilities.
Japan has about 100 million televisions and is scheduled to end analogue broadcasting and switch to digital TV programming in July 2011. Kawamura said the government expects the transition to be on time. “We must do all we can for the 2011 start, he said.
UK: £1.3bn illegal videoResearch from Coda Research Consultancy estimates that UK Internet users watch at least £1.3 billion worth of video content a year through illegal file sharing, and that video rights owners are losing at least £100m a year in lost revenue. Year-on-year increases in these illegal behaviours are irreversible, but can be slowed through the launch of aggregated catch up, archive and film services online and direct to TV, Coda suggests.
Commenting on the research, Coda's Senior Director, Steve Smith, said that if Project Canvas and commercial aggregators were to launch soon, overall ad revenues and audiences are set to increase. “If these don't launch, we forecast even larger reductions in TV ad revenues by up to 25 per cent, and the drive to illegal sources will be even greater than they are now, reaching at least two thirds of VOD behaviour by 2015. Overall, our research shows that the stakes for the vision industry are very high. Either invest, draw up business, legal, rights and distribution models, and open up current, archive and film content, or face the nightmare scenario of sustained decline in revenues and audiences, thus threatening the sustainability of some major current vision services."
Tight capital impacts DTT STB marketThe global credit crunch could endanger many large digital terrestrial TV deployment projects, which require large amounts of financed capital, reports In-Stat. This could cause delays in DTT conversion programmes worldwide, with consumers purchasing fewer set-top boxes (STBs) as a result.
“Another scenario, however, is more upbeat for the STB market, noted Gerry Kaufhold, In-Stat analyst. ³The economic slowdown could spur governments to fund the DTT transition at an accelerated rate to stimulate the economy. By auctioning off the analogue spectrum, governments would receive income. Converting analogue spectrum for other uses will also spur new innovation and opportunity.
In-Stat's recent study - Digital Terrestrial TV Set Top Boxes 2009: Analog Shutoff
Fuels Worldwide Market – indicates that: Total DTT STB unit shipments will peak at 44 million in 2009; Standard Definition DTT Set Top Box unit shipments will peak in 2011: The Component Value of Standard Definition DTT STBs will reach nearly $500 million in 201, with the European DTT STB market value peaking in 2011 at $1.6 billion.
Connected STB raises interest
Connected set-top boxes are growing in popularity, with 33 per cent of all U.S. broadband households interested in this platform, according to Parks Associates. The international research firm notes this news is good for service providers, which have this device at the core of their current service strategies."The cable providers have a unique challenge - continuing to innovate at the pace that consumers are adopting new forms of entertainment technologies that may not currently be available through their provider," said Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist for Macrovision. "Many of the new technologies out in the market now have generated great interest, but for these emerging technologies to be a viable solution for the end consumer, they need to be deployed to the mass market - cable can provide this."
"Up to 7% of broadband households are willing to pay $3-$6 more per month for a connected STB," said Jayant Dasari, analyst with Parks. "They want to stream music, view photos, and watch Web video through their television, and carriers can capture that consumer interest by leveraging the set-top to deploy these services."
Harmonic releases Electra
Video solutions provider Harmonic has revealed the DiviCom Electra 8000, claimed to be the world's first encoding and transcoding platform to support MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) and MPEG-2 codecs in standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) formats, up to full frame-rate 1080p 50/60
Network video processing specialist RGB Networks has expanded its presence in the Asia Pacific telecommunications industry with the introduction of its Modular Video Processor (MVP) to the region. The MVP is RGB's first product built specifically to meet the advanced video delivery needs of telecom carriers. The MVP is a complete IPTV solution that enables telcos to deliver high-quality, IP-based video services to their subscribers. The solution combines support for MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264 advanced processing, grooming, switching and digital ad insertion in a highly reliable chassis.
“Based on the recent demand that we have experienced for RGB's advanced video processing solutions from cable operators outside of North America, we anticipate that IPTV providers in the Asia Pacific region will have similar interest as they seek to keep the playing field even," said Sarah Hackforth, Vice President, Asia Pacific.
Virgin Media tidies for sale
Mobile TV still off pace
Cabelcom adds 16 new channels
440m broadband homes by 2010
Major TV ad research to offer hope?
Hardie for ITN
Türk Telekom converges with Envivio
NXP platform
Virgin Media TV is to close its teenage pay-TV channel Trouble within months as Virgin gets ready to off-load its content business. Reports say it plans to close Trouble and launch a new version of its popular Living channel in its place.
Virgin Media has appointed UBS to sell its content division for sale and hopes to raise £500m (E541m). The Living portfolio already occupies four EPG slots on the Sky and Virgin Media platforms: Living, Living+1, Living2 and Living2+1. Living2 will rebrand later this year and be given an as-yet undisclosed new name and identity.
In February, Virgin Media TV closed down Trouble+1 and in its place launched Living 2+1 as it was believed such an offering would generate a higher level of commercial impacts.
Approximately 40 million users watch mobile TV based on broadcast networks, in addition to those watching mobile TV streams via 3G networks - but this is well below initial projections and only about 1% of all mobile phone users. Even the business models in markets with sizeable numbers of broadcast mobile TV subscribers - such as Japan with 18 million, South Korea with 17 million or Italy with well over 1 million - have not yet become viable commercial success stories. However, mobile operators remain interested in promoting the service as it can support customer acquisition and retention, and can be used to promote high value "flat-rate packages".
Arthur D. Little's new report, "Mobile TV - Tuning in or switching off?" investigates the status of broadcast mobile TV uptake worldwide and identifies actions that key players need to take to improve the prospects of broadcast mobile TV businesses.
The consultancy proposes four ways to improve mobile TV business models:
Regulators need to support the set-up and potential success of emerging mobile TV businesses; benchmarks show that national telecommunication and media authorities play a fundamental role in supporting or hindering the success of broadcast mobile TV.
All key players need to work on lowering the costs of delivering broadcast mobile TV services; the profit potential from broadcast mobile TV services for mobile operators is low. In an exemplary country market, mobile operators can only generate E1 profit per mobile TV subscriber - under the condition that a critical mass of 10% of all mobile phone users in the market subscribe to broadcast mobile TV services at a monthly fee of E6. Therefore, any plans for new broadcast mobile TV businesses must ask the question: "How to bring down the three key cost drivers: network roll-out outs, incremental handset subsidies and content costs?"
The industry needs to improve the service and price attractiveness of broadcast mobile TV to end-users; the price, usability and attractiveness of broadcast mobile TV services need to be continuously improved, for example, by providing improved outdoor and indoor network coverage and improving the TV channel bouquet.
Mobile operators need to factor in indirect benefits from offering broadcast mobile TV; mobile operators can use broadcast mobile TV services to differentiate their services, increase customer loyalty or offload traffic from 3G streaming TV services.
The Swiss operator is immediately adding the new channels nine of which will be English-language channels from the UK. They include BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, Cbeebies, Five, E4, More 4, ITV 3 and ITV. German channels ZDF Infokanal and Eins Extra will also join the line-up, along with Austrian music channel gotv, Bibel TV and K-TV. Cablecom's basic digital package comprises over 110 TV channels and 100 radio stations. As an optional extra, customers can select from five different programme packages that include sport, film, documentary, kids and music channels, as well as channel in international languages
According to new research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), the number of global broadband households will near 440 million by 2010 and top 1.2 billion by 2030. During that same time, the number of broadband-enabled home networks will grow from 150 million in 2010 (34% of broadband homes) to more than 1.0 billion in 2030 (83% of broadband homes). With such infrastructure in place, the opportunity for broadband-enabled services - especially video - will grow dramatically.
TDG's latest study, Video-Enabled Home Network Nodes - A Global Analysis & Forecast, points to a confluence of network-enabled applications, services, and serviceable consumers that will occur within the next 10 years which will drive the diffusion of home networks and network-enabled media applications. According to Dr. Predrag Filipovic, report autho,r video delivery over the Internet is a primary part of this future. "By 2020, virtually every broadband-enabled home will have a multitude of network-connected video platforms. Though the pace at which this occurs will vary by region, its inevitability is unquestionable."
In the short term, Filipovic says these trends will be driven by two major shifts in industry behaviour:
- Consumer electronic vendors will embed Internet support and IP video subsystems into their mainstream platforms, meaning even average consumers will be buying new CE platforms with native Internet support, and
- Incumbent TV providers will incorporate walled-garden broadband video applications and services into their Pay TV experience, meaning set-top boxes will be required to support broadband connectivity.
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Major TV ad research to offer hope?
US reports say the Council for Research Excellence, a cross-industry think tank of top executives from agencies and TV networks, has spent the past year executing a $3.5 million project called the “Video Consumer Mapping Study. The initiative is described as, “the largest and most significant observational study of media activity ever undertaken.
Shari Anne Brill, Senior-VP director of at Carat, said, “People are in fact watching commercials and not running screaming from the room and younger viewers haven't abandoned television. The major findings are being kept for a presentation on Thursday, March 26th.
The study, full details of which will be out next week, was funded, in part, by Nielsen Media Research, and was created to investigate commonly held, but perhaps mistaken beliefs about TV viewings. Data was gathered via Webcams that tracked consumer behaviour in and out of the home. Participants were also tracked by researchers through their daily lives. If consumers were using media during private times such as bathroom visits or when they were getting ready for bed, they were asked to track that in a diary. The research council recruited 350 people from six TV markets and conducted two phases of the survey in Spring and Fall 2008. It also offered new media devices at a discount to people to try to measure how interested people would be in certain products if their prices came down.
Steve Sternberg, executive VP, director of audience analysis at Magna said “Multi-tasking is not a young person's phenomenon. Traditional TV still accounts for the bulk of viewing to all three screens.
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ITN has appointed John Hardie, a senior executive at Disney and former ITV commercial director, as its chief executive. Hardie, who succeeds Mark Wood who left ITN in February after six years, takes up the role in June.
Hardie, 47, executive vice-president and managing director of Walt Disney Television across Europe, Middle East and Africa, leaves Disney after eight years.
Disney announced the promotion of Giorgio Stock, the senior vice-president and general manager of Disney Channels Italy, to take over Hardie's responibilities. Stock will relocate to London.
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Türk Telekom converges with Envivio
IP video convergence encoding solutions provider Envivio is to supply its Convergence Series video headend for Türk Telekom's IPTV project in Turkey. Türk Telekom, one of the world's largest Tier 1 operators serving more than 30 million customers, will use Envivio 4Caster C4 SD and 4Caster HD30 HD MPEG-4 AVC encoders and the 4Manager NMS, to deliver an extensive line-up of standard and high definition channels for its new IPTV service.
Julien Signès, president and CEO of Envivio said that forward-thinking operators around the world recognised that quality of service is a dominant factor in their success.
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NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, unveiled the new STB150 system solution, delivering a complete production-ready platform for the fast growing digital cable TV services market. The NXP STB150 integrates the powerful new single-chip CX2448x MPEG-2 decoder for DVB-C reception with a TDA18252HN silicon tuner and complete software stack, giving cable operators a cost-effective silicon platform for a new range of advanced, revenue-rich digital entertainment services. Targeting the high-growth digital cable TV market in China, NXP is working closely with iPanel Technologies to provide Chinese cable operators a turn-key solution that enables fast time to market. Integrated with iPanel-DVB MediaService middleware, the new STB150 platform enables set-top box manufacturers to meet the diverse needs of all Chinese cable operators
with a single, pre-validated hardware and software platform, dramatically speeding time-to-market and reducing development costs.
"While cable operators across China and worldwide look to capture increasing consumer demand for improved television services, it's vital they have immediate access to platforms that deliver on the digital promise," said Roger Gregory, Marketing Director, Product Line Cable & IP, NXP Semiconductors.
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Tuesdy 17th March
Setanta nears rocks?
TV ads spend collapse
Spain allows the sale or lease of DTT licences
Peace Point content on Joost
Comstar selects NDS
Vodafone dumps DRM
Verimatrix protects BSNL IPTV
Arris debuts the C4c CMTS
Mariner sets sail for European IPTV market
Setanta nears rocks?Things are not looking good for Setanta, the Irish pay TV operator, with two investors completely writing off their investment. Private equity firm Doughty Hanson, which owns 20 per cent of the company, has written down its share to zero and Goldman Sachs, which owns five per cent has done the same.
The moves follow the loss of one of Setanta’s two Premier League packages for the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons after Sky upped its bid to a record £1.62 billion (E1.76bn) to capture five out of six.
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TV ads spend collapseAdvertising spend fell off a precipice in the fourth quarter of 2008 plunging almost 10 per cent year on year. The figures, compiled by the World Advertising Research Centre for the Advertising Association, highlight the speed of the erosion of the UK ad market, as companies slash budgets in the uncertain economic climate.
The AA said that the 9.6 per cent fall in fourth quarter dragged the total UK ad spend for 2008 down 3.9 per cent year on year, compared with the 4.6 per cent growth between 2006 and 2007.
The one bright light was the growth of internet ad spend, which saw a 17.3 per cent boost in the fourth quarter of 2008 year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the Nielsen Company has reported that US advertising for the full year 2008 was down 2.6 per cent compared to 2007. According to preliminary figures from Nielsen, US ad expenditures declined almost $3.7 billion to a total spend of $136.8 billion in 2008.
Hispanic Cable TV (+9.6 per cent) and Cable TV (+7.8 per cent) were the only two media to show ad growth in 2008. Cable was the highest revenue-generating medium with $26.6 billion in sales.
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Spain allows the sale or lease of DTT licences
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish Government is finalising an overall TV law (Ley General Audiovisual) that will allow broadcasters to sell or lease their DTT licences whose renewal will be made automatic for 15 years periods (the current law only permits up to 10 years subject to Government's approval).
The sale or lease of TV licences will be subject to several conditions, though, such as the licencees will have to wait until 5 years from the awarding to sell or rent them and will not be able to lease more than 50 per cent of their DTT capacity. In addition, if a broadcaster with a DTT licence takes more than one year to commence transmissions it will automatically lose the licence.
The new legislation will toughen fines to be imposed on those TV channels which do not meet with their obligations to invest in cinema or when they break ad limits or change programming at the last minute. Fines will vary from E1 million to up to cancelling the licence. The law will pave the way for the creation of an Audiovisual Committee, Consejo Estatal de Medios Audiovisuales, an independent body, elected by the Parliament, to oversee transparency and pluralism and with a 6 year mandate.
The new legislation states that TV channels will dedicate 51 per cent of its annual broadcasting time to European production. To boost the production industry, 10 per cent will be reserved for independent production companies. Channels will also be obliged to subtitle 75 per cent of the programmes with two hours a week with sign language.Broadcasters will have to invest 5 per cent of their annual revenues in European cinema, of which 60 per cent will be dedicated to feature films, short films and TV movies. Channels will not be able to change their programming at the last minute, they will have to do it three days in advance. As for advertising, the limit per hour will be 12 minutes allowing another 5 minutes for auto promotions. Films and news programmes will be able to have an ad break every 30 minutes and the same will be applied to children’s programmes as long as they last more than half an hour. Product emplacement is permitted in TV series, films and documentaries.
Finally, the new law will pave the legal way for the development of Mobile TV whose exploitation will require a licence. The legislation will allow both free-to-air and encrypted TV services, with at least 15 per cent of all content specifically adapted to mobile TV screens.
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Peace Point content on JoostPeace Point Entertainment has confirmed the availability of a selection of its content on Joost.com. Available immediately, 74 episodes from five award-winning Peace Point series will be available to viewers around the world for free on Joost.com or the Joost App for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Peace Point expects to add more titles in the coming months.
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Comstar selects NDSNDS has announced that Comstar, a major operator of integrated telecommunications services in Russia and the CIS under the Stream brand, is the first customer to deploy NDS Master UI. The Master UI is a highly intuitive user interface that transforms the way content and features are presented on screen and enhances the way users interact with them. Comstar-UTS has also selected NDS IPTV content protection as it aims to become leader in the Russian pay-TV market.
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Vodafone dumps DRM
Vodafone has joined the growing band of firms that have removed copyright controls from music they sell. The operator said much of the music it offers would be free of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems by the summer. It has signed deals with Universal, Sony, and EMI to offer the tracks without controls.Increasing numbers of music stores are turning away from DRM systems that try to limit what people can do with the music they have bought. Apple, 7Digital, and Amazon now all offer customers DRM-free tracks.
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Verimatrix protects BSNL IPTVVerimatrix, content security specialists, has confirmed that its Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS) for IPTV has been deployed to protect IPTV services to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's (BSNL) customers in India. The state-owned telecommunications operator has embarked on a nation-wide launch in conjunction with Smart Digivision Private Ltd. (SDPL), and is planning to serve more than three million IPTV subscribers in 93 cities over the next three years.
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Arris debuts the C4c CMTSArris has debuted the newest member of its CMTS portfolio, the C4c - a small-form factor DOCSIS 3.0-based CMTS chassis designed for headends lacking the space or environmental capacity for a full C4 chassis, or simply not needing to support the volume of customers typically associated with a C4 chassis. The C4c is a high performance, high availability platform using existing C4 modules like the System Control Module (SCM), Router Control Module (RCM), 16 Downstream and 12 Upstream Cable Access Modules (CAMs). CAM sparing capability is designed into the chassis hardware, as well as redundant dual power supply modules.
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Mariner sets sail for European IPTV marketMariner, provider of innovative IPTV solutions and technologies, has formed a partnership with UK-based Endurance Technology, marking Mariner’s official launch into Europe. The partnership with Endurance Technology, an outsourcing provider to the Digital TV and Broadband industries, will provide immediate services and implementation support for European customers. During 2009, Mariner plans to establish a base in the UK for a regionally focused business development operation to specifically address the European opportunity.
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Monday 16th March
Western Europe DTV 100m subs
Abertis rejects Astra's charges on DTT
US cable super fast by 2013 and will get stimulus
Sirius on iPod
Warnings would halve piracy
SeaChange revenues jump
Harmonic completes on Scopus
$160m boost for Singapore’s media sector
Eutelsat commissions WC3 satellite
Google man for AOL
Digital Rapids archives BBFC
Changhong selects Tektronix
Western Europe DTV 100m subsWestern European digital television subscriptions broke through the 100 million household mark in 2008, according to a report by Strategy Analytics. The report estimates that Western Europe added 17 million net new digital households in 2008.
On a platform level, Digital Satellite led in terms of overall subscriptions; however, DTT will fuel the growth of digital television over the next four years. Fifty-seven million homes will use DTT as their primary viewing platform in 2012, according to Strategy Analytics.
"As European countries undergo their respective Digital Switchovers (DSO), and analogue signals are shut off, DTT will emerge as the dominant primary digital viewing platform," noted John Lee, Analyst in the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service.
Strategy Analytics forecasts that Western European digital households will surpass the 150 million mark in 2012, implying a four-year CAGR of nearly 10 per cent.
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Abertis rejects Astra's charges on DTT
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spain's broadcasting agency Abertis Telecom, shareholder in satellites Hispasat and Eutelsat, has rejected SES Astra's charges of favouritism in the Spanish DTT market before the European Union.In a letter to the European Competition and to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, the company has defended the Spain's DTT model denying that the Administration has given it preferential treatment in the extension of DTT as SES Astra says it has and to its detriment. Recently, the Government approved a new legislation relying more on terrestrial distribution to extend DTT 100 per cent although counting as well on satellite to complete DTT coverage. Currently, DTT reaches 92.3 per cent of the population and the Technical Plan obliges public TV networks and private television to cover 98 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively.
Astra accused the Administration of "lack of technology neutrality" and breaking competition rules and took the case to the Spanish and European competition authorities. At the same time, the company appealed against several DTT public tenders.
In its letter Abertis claims that DTT technology is cheaper to extend DTT and that all DTT awards have been granted in a transparent way. The company claims that it has invested more than E400 million to deploy DTT and that "neither the Administration nor tax payers' resources are financing the deployment". As for public tenders to complete DTT coverage by satellite, the company argues that they are open to all potential bidders and that in any case they mean a significant change in the market share of both Astra and Hispasat. Abertis estimates that the investment to complete the DTT coverage through satellite will be around E75 million.Telecommunications State Secretary, Francisco Ros, estimated that the total investment to migrate to digital will amount to E12 billion up to 2010 and will generate 36,000 jobs.
More than 1.1 million DTT devices (more than half a million IDTV sets) were sold last month reaching more than 16.3 million since 2003, with 48.5 per cent households having access to DTT, according to Impulsa TDT. DTT’s daily reach is more than 12 million viewers, adding new 2.4 million in just one month, representing an average audience share of 26 per cent.
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US Cable super fast by 2013 and will get stimulusUS Cable companies, which have begun to deploy new technology that will enable them to deliver faster Internet speeds to customers, should have the enhanced broadband service available to nearly all of their customers within the next five years, according to a forecast by market research provider Pike & Fischer.
DOCSIS 3.0 will help cable operators better manage their networks, cut their operational costs, and significantly increase their high-speed Internet revenue, P&F notes. The research house also predicts that DOCSIS 3.0 will garner a lot of support from government officials distributing funds from the economic stimulus package.
"Considering the massive bandwidth increases that will be enabled by upgrading DOCSIS 2.0 to 3.0, the government is likely to view DOCSIS 3.0 as a most feasible and affordable near-term solution to perceived bandwidth scarcities," says P&F Chief Analyst Tim McElgunn.
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Sirius on iPodSirius XM is to expand the reach of its satellite radio service with the second-quarter launch of an iPhone application as it explores a potential marketing partnership with satellite TV provider DirecTV Group.
The company, which had to sell a 40 per cent equity stake to Liberty Media to resolve looming debt problems, is looking for new revenue streams as its primary distribution outlet, as new car ales, is looking "terrible" this year, management has said.
Sirius said the iPhone application would be available to its 19 million subscribers and to Apple's 7 million US iPhone users. It can also be used by iPod Touch Wi-Fi users.
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Oxford Economics institute in UK says online piracy cost the industry £235 million (E253m) in 2008 - that’s nearly half of the £531 million the group says was lost to piracy of all kinds. But the annual online loss could be reduced to £83.2 million if downloaders received an ISP warning and if detection technologies were deployed, said the group, which cited a previous EMR survey indicating the kind of education-and-warning campaign ISPs trialled with music groups last year are an effective deterrent.
The study advocates bandwidth throttling as a "significant inducement to refrain" from illegal downloading and says the "Rights Agency" proposed in Lord Carter’s draft Digital Britain report would "act to reinforce the long-term obligations of ISPs and help ensure they do not fall asleep on the job".
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SeaChange revenues jumpSeaChange International, provider of software and hardware services that support video-on-demand television, reported that fourth-quarter revenues rose 13 per cent to $54 million. Fourth-quarter net income was $4.8 million, down from $12 million in the comparable quarter a year ago; the year-ago quarter included a one-time $10 million gain, the company said.
"Despite the challenging economic times this country is facing, we believe SeaChange is solidly positioned to exploit the continuing movement to video-on-demand television that has been the cornerstone of our business," president and chief executive Bill Styslinger said.
Total revenues for the year that ended January 31st were $201.8 million, up 12 per cent, and full-year net income was $10 million, versus $2.9 million from the previous year.
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Harmonic completes on ScopusHarmonic has completed the acquisition of Scopus Video Networks for approximately $50 million, net of Scopus' cash and short-term investments. The acquisition strengthens Harmonic's technology and market leadership, particularly in the broadcast contribution and distribution markets, in addition to increasing the global customer base. Scopus' customers will be supported by the expanded regional Harmonic sales and support teams, and through channel partners.
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$160m boost for Singapore’s media sectorThe Media Development Authority (MDA) has confirmed that the Government aims to spend $160 million this year to sustain the growth momentum of Singapore’s media sector amidst the economic downturn. This spending, which includes funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF) to boost research and development in interactive digital media, as well as support for public service programmes, is projected to support about 2,000 jobs when the projects come on stream in the coming year.
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Eutelsat commissions WC3 satelliteEutelsat Communications has announced that Thales Alenia Space has been commissioned to build the W3C satellite. Eutelsat will select the launcher for the satellite separately at a later stage.
The rapid order of W3C follows Eutelsat's decision not to integrate the W2M satellite into its fleet following a major anomaly which occurred during its transfer from the location used for in-orbit tests to its operating position where its mission was to replace well in advance Eutelsat's W2 satellite. As a result of this incident, Eutelsat decided that the W3B satellite, which is already one year into construction, will replace W2 from the middle of 2010, raising available capacity at 16 degrees East to 56 transponders from 27.
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In its second management upheaval in two years, Time Warner has lured Tim Armstrong, the president of Google’s North American sales team, to be chief executive of AOL.
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Digital Rapids archives BBFCDigital Rapids, provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, film and web content to wider audiences – has revealed that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has selected Digital Rapids’ StreamZ media ingest and encoding systems for the board’s ongoing initiative to digitise and archive their tape-based library of over 200,000 programmes.
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Changhong selects TektronixTektronix, global provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, has confirmed that Sichuan Changhong Electric has selected the Tektronix PQA500 picture quality analyser for its AVS (China’s Audio and Video Coding Standard) encoder and decoder design. The adoption will help Changhong to optimise the codec performance and accelerate its video product development.
