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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 27th March
Portela, new CEO of ONO
PVRs: The big shift
W Europe: 10m IPTV subs
Liberty defers more debt
Telkom to close pay-TV unit
Blockbuster on TiVo
Freeview NZ developments
Sony AXN HD for Portugal
Whitehead for BBC Asia
Nilesat, Eutelsat to develop West video neigbourhood
Verimatrix Increases IPTV security footprint in Russia
Tandberg RX8330 multi-format receiver
Miniweb best interactive app
Edgeware and SmartLabs partner for Russia
Harmonic supplies AT&T CruiseCast
Portela, new CEO of ONO
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spain's cable company ONO has named Rosalia Portela, former Telefonica executive, as CEO replacing the Richard Alden as part of a far-reaching management reshuffle and reorganisation of the company.
The appointment will be formally made in May at the shareholders meeting. Portela, a former director of Telefonica, was reportedly on a final shortlist against another Telefonica director Antonio Viana. Portela’s career has also taken in Kimberly Clark, Repsol and Procter & Gamble. "This appointment will bring an end to a phase of changes within the company," said ONO chairman Jose Maria Castellano who recently replaced Eugenio Galdon at the chairmanship.
The new CEO will have to face a difficult situation with the company burdened by E4.2 billion debt. ONO has already admitted a sale or major capital reorganization is likely over the next 15 months or so.
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PVRs: The big shiftData from BARB and SkyView has shown the impact of personal video recorders (PVRs) on the UK’s TV viewing habits. The data for the first episode of this season’s Lost, which aired in January on Sky One for example, shows that of the 1.6 million viewers, 53 per cent watched the show on a time shifted basis. Of those that time shifted the show, 46 per cent watched it from their Sky+ planner and the remainder either watched the show online (on SkyPlayer) or via SkyAnytime or the red button.
The research also ranks channels and genres by proportion of viewing that is time-shifted. Drama is the most time shifted genre (with 38 per cent of all viewing time shifted), followed by soap operas and documentaries. Of the channels, Sky Movies Premier and BBC4 are the most time shifted with 37 per cent and 35 per cent of their viewing time shifted respectively.
The three least time shifted genres are news, music, current affairs and sport - all of which viewers understandably prefer to watch live.
Charlie Ponsonby, CEO of digital TV and broadband comparison service Simplifydigital.co.uk says: "The data shows just how much the TV viewing experience is transformed in PVR households - people really are shaping the TV schedule around a timetable that suits them."Approximately 25 per cent of UK homes have a PVR. Sky+ is the market leader and is in over 4.5 million homes; followed by Freeview PVRs which are in approximately 1 million homes; and Virgin Media PVRs in over 0.5 million homes.
W Europe: 10m IPTV subs
From Colin Mann in LondonRecent figures compiled for the Broadband Forum indicate that the Western Europe, Africa and Middle East regions showed strong IPTV growth of 45 per cent throughout 2008. The report, prepared for the Forum by industry analysts Point Topic, showed France as the largest IPTV market in the Western European region, with over half of the 10.2 million subscribers.
The IPTV figures – announced at IPTV World Forum in London – come at the same time as world broadband statistics for 2008 show a 62.6 million broadband line growth to 410.9 million lines. While growth was slower later in the year generally, several countries showed improved performance than that of the third quarter of 2008, including France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Singapore and The Philippines. Global IPTV subscriber totals have now reached 21.7 million, which is an increase of 63 per cent on the end of 2007 figures.
"During 2008, IPTV operators showed that TV over IP could be deployed on a large scale. Western Europe remains the largest single region for IPTV," said John Bonsell, a Senior Analyst with Point Topic. "As expected, due to the global economic situation, broadband growth slowed, however all countries experienced overall growth during the last year."
Regionally, over the last quarter, Latin America (7.55 per cent), Eastern Europe (6.22 per cent) and Middle East and Africa (4.76 per cent) were the best percentage growth performers, although all regions continued to report growth.
In terms of technology, DSL continues to be the most popular broadband access technology, although fibre has grown twice as fast as either cable or DSL in the 12 months to Q4 2008. This should continue, given the number of new implementations and consumer and business demand for higher speeds. Value added services such as IPTV are also proving to be strong drivers for FTTx uptake and have driven this technology through the 50 million mark worldwide.
"This report shows that despite the economic situation the world is facing, the demand for both broadband and IPTV continues to expand," said George Dobrowski, Chairman and President of the Broadband Forum.
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Liberty defers more debtLiberty Global’s European division has restructured E530 million of its E850 million debt, creating two new tranches that will extend its due date from 2012 by two and three years respectively. As a result, around 95 per cent of UPC Holding’s debt will now be due in or after 2013.
Mike Fries, Liberty Global’s president and CEO, described the move as "prudent in this environment" and undertaken "with the support of our lenders."
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Telkom to close pay-TV unitSouth Africa's biggest fixed-line phone operator Telkom SA Ltd plans to close its pay-TV Telkom Media unit after failing to find a buyer for its stake in the business. Telkom had hoped to launch a pay-TV service to rival Multichoice, to offset sagging fixed-line revenues, but has failed to get the project off the ground.
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Blockbuster on TiVoBlockbuster, global film rental outfit and TiVo, are joining forces to deliver Blockbuster’s library of digital movie titles directly to the television set via TiVo DVRs.
Blockbuster OnDemand, featuring content to both buy and rent, will be integrated into TiVo Series2, Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs. The move will allow broadband connected TiVo subscribers to download Blockbuster’s content using TiVo.
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Freeview in New Zealand has welcomed two major developments that have taken place in NZ Digital Television. The first is the news yesterday that TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7 are set to become available to all Sky TV viewers on a subscription free basis.
The second development is the news that TVNZ has acquired a 33 per cent stake in Hybrid Television Services (ANZ), the exclusive licensee of TiVo in Australia and New Zealand. This will mean that TiVo will be locally available this year.
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Sony AXN HD for PortugalSony Pictures Television (SPT) has confirmed its second high definition channel in Europe with the launch in Portugal on April 6th of its general entertainment, action and adventure channel, AXN HD. The channel combines a mix of movies from the US and around the world as well as popular series such as CSI and Supernatural. AXN HD is already available in Spain where it launched last autumn.
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Whitehead for BBC AsiaDiscovery Networks Asia’s SVP Mark Whitehead is joining BBC Worldwide as its GM and SVP in the region. He will report to BBC Worldwide Channels MD Darren Childs, overseeing BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies, BBC HD and BBC World News in the region, which includes India.
Nilesat, Eutelsat to develop West video neigbourhoodNilesat, the Egyptian satellite company, and Eutelsat Communications have announced a new strategic agreement to pursue the development of the 7 degrees West orbital position which is used by both companies for satellite broadcasting across the Middle East; the Gulf and North Africa. This new phase of collaboration between Nilesat and Eutelsat follows the recent successful launch of Eutelsat's Hot Bird 10 satellite that will first be commercialised at 7 degrees West under the name Atlantic Brid 4A.
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ARRIS and OpenTV localised advertising technology
From IPTV World Forum in LondonArris and Open TV, provider of advanced digital television solutions, will present a joint demonstration of their next generation linear television ad platform at the upcoming NCTA Cable Show. The collaboration is designed to make TV advertising more relevant, accountable and dynamic and revolutionises traditional ad insertion technologies.
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Verimatrix Increases IPTV security footprint in Russia
From IPTV World Forum in LondonVerimatrix has revealed three significant Russian IPTV operators that have deployed the Verimatrix Content Authority System (VCAS) for IPTV in conjunction with regional systems integrator and reseller CTI.
The integrated IPTV platform now powers pay-TV services for Iskratelecom, Tattelcom and Bashinformsvyaz and extends Verimatrix's customer base throughout Russia. According to SNL Kagan, the pay-TV market in Russia had 14.5 million cable, satellite and IPTV subscribers at the end of 2008, yet there is still huge potential for growth in the region if pay-TV operators can demand higher prices for higher quality content and services.
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Tandberg RX8330 multi-format receiver
From IPTV World Forum in LondonTandberg Television, part of the Ericsson group, has introduced the RX8330 professional integrated receiver decoder, the newest product in the RX8300 series of products optimised for high-volume video distribution applications. The RX8330 distribution receiver is built into a compact, one rack (1RU) unit chassis with many standard features and an array of system configuration options. The device decodes all major SD video formats in use today, making it a safe, yet flexible choice for programmers and operators who have yet to migrate from MPEG-2 SD to MPEG-4 AVC SD.
Miniweb best interactive app
From IPTV World Forum in LondonMiniweb, the Interactive Service Provider enabling internet video, targeted, web-style advertising and interactivity on TV, was chosen as the best Interactive Service / Application at the IPTV World Series Awards.
This award recognises interactive TV technologies and solutions across all network types, including terrestrial, satellite, cable, IPTV and mobile, and also covers technologies and services relating to Internet-based video delivered over any access network.
"For so long the industry has been asking when and how the convergence of broadcast and broadband services will take place. I believe we’ve won this award because it is happening right now and the Miniweb Platform is central to its development and growth," said Ian Valentine, Chief Architect and Founder, Miniweb.
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Edgeware and SmartLabs partner for Russia
From IPTV World Forum in LondonEdgeware AB, specialist in server systems for network deployed on-demand TV, and Smartlabs, a provider of service delivery platforms for interactive digital TV, have formed a partnership where SmartLabs will offer Edgeware's products to Russian Service Providers in combination with SmartLabs platforms for interactive digital TV.
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Harmonic supplies AT&T CruiseCast
From IPTV World Forum in LondonRaySat Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) has contracted with Harmonic to provide video compression and stream processing solutions that enable delivery of the AT&T CruiseCastSM mobile TV service - a new source of entertainment in family vehicles. AT&T CruiseCast will provide 42 channels of satellite TV and radio to the vehicle rear seat entertainment system. Harmonic's DiviCom Electra 5400 standard definition MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) encoders, ProStream 1000 stream processing platform and NMX Digital Service Manager were deployed as part of the solution.
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Thursday 26th March
Canvas still blank
Bertelsmann: "Five needs merger to survive"
Digital Rights Group partners with Hulu
Way ahead ‘open’
France: War of words escalates
Docherty appointed Chairman of DTG
Spain's first IPTV interactive ad experience
China blocks YouTube
Amino and ZTE IPTV deployments
Edgeware IPTV Partnership with Ericsson
EchoStar Europe hybrid HD platform
ADB ships over 1.5m IPTV STBs
BT Media adopts Harmonic's Rhozet
IP Vision’s Smartbox gains Freeview+ accreditation
Alcatel-Lucent inks Microsoft and Telefonica deals
VCAS to Protect Slovenian IPTV Service
Sundance channel for France
Cisco CDS for Numericable
Canvas still blank
From Nick Snow at IPTV World ForumA common question here is "what do you think of Canvas?" or, as often, "what do you think Canvas is?" It’s a good question but not one that was entirely answered by Richard Halton, Programme Director IPTV for BBC, when he addressed the plenary session.
When the Canvas flag was first raised at Mipcom last year, it was referred to as a potential ‘standard.’ Halton said Project Canvas is not about setting a new technological standard for TV-over-Internet. He said it is about developing existing standards under an industry-wide brand name. This won’t necessarily assuage the fears of those who see it as a de facto platform that will use the existing de facto standard for online video: iPlayer.
In other words a bit like Kangaroo but perhaps without the partners. Asked if commercial players could join the (standard? / platform? / industry wide brand name?) Halton said he was keen to talk to all industry players but went on to make it clear Canvas would be about widening access to IPTV and its functionality for the FTA/PSB audience who didn’t want to subscribe to pay television.
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Bertelsmann: "Five needs merger to survive"Bertelsmann, the German media group that controls Five, has said that the UK broadcaster does not have a sustainable future without a merger with ITV or Channel 4. Thomas Rabe, the chief financial officer of Bertelsmann, which has a 90 per cent stake in Five owner RTL, said that the UK broadcaster's current business model was "not sustainable".
"We don't think Five in its current form is sustainable and that a transformation of the business or consolidation is necessary," added Rabe. "Everybody agrees that there will be further consolidation in the UK TV market and we are deeply convinced we will be part of it. There is no doubt that in that consolidation, Channel Five will have a value."
Rabe said that Bertelsmann was open to a merger between Five and ITV. "A combination of Five and ITV: everybody can agree this does make sense, if we could agree terms and conditions," he added.
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Digital Rights Group partners with Hulu
From Colin Mann at IPTV World ForumMarking Hulu’s first UK deal, the online video service has signed with Digital Rights Group (DRG) to roll out titles from its catalogue. Hulu’s US service, launched publicly in March 2008 now offers content from more than 1,200 shows, series and movie titles from more than 130 providers. The most recently published figures for Hulu from comScore Video Metrix (February 09) show 34.7 million unique viewers, and more than 332 million overall video streams.
DRG will provide titles from its C4i and Portman catalogues, with other DRG titles to be added in due course. Hulu is actively seeking more current UK broadcast content to add to the service.
DRG's Justin Judd said the company was excited to be leading the charge for British content on Hulu. "In a very short space of time it has established itself as the key player for long-form Video on Demand. We firmly believe in the commercial opportunities created by digital distribution and Hulu is the place to be. Crucially, they have demonstrated that it is possible to have video on the Internet in a legal, user-friendly environment".
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Way ahead ‘open’
From IPTV World Forum
Christophe Forax, the cabinet member of EU Media Commisioner Viviane Reding responsible for Networks and Convergence, told the plenary session the Commission was operating a policy of "platform neutrality" across all broadband networks.Forax refered to recent controversy on its directive to Dutch cable operators to allow third party access providers onto their nets. He said all network providers – telcos, alternative providers and cable – must be treated equally.
He also called for nation states to streamline their regulatory regimes and develop a ‘one stop shop’ approach to regulation.
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France: War of words escalates
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisOrange has held a hastily organised press conference in Paris to respond to the recent attacks by other operators Vivendi and Iliad (Free). "The aim is to set the record straight", said Louis-Pierre Wenes, Orange France Deputy General Manager. "We have been subject to attacks for several weeks now, hardly surprising in such a competitive environment" he stated, adding that Orange could not nevertheless accept declarations that were untrue. He confirmed that Orange had filed a complaint for libel against Maxime Lombardini, general manager of Free, who had stated in a press interview last week that innovation comes from brains, not from a chequebook. Free’s founder Xavier Niel had also called Orange a "multi-recidivist delinquent" whose last major innovation had been the Minitel.
Reacting to his competitors’ comments about the level of investment in fibre, Wenes pointed out that by the end of 2008 Orange had invested E121 million in fibre and had connected 20,000 homes, not E2 billion as had been claimed. As for investment in content, Orange had invested E1.2 billion, of which E202 million was for Ligue 1 football and E337 million for movies and production for the period 2008-11 and not per year as had been claimed.
Concerning innovation, Wenes pointed out that Orange employs 3,800 researchers in 17 laboratories, investing E900m p.a. Innovations the group had pioneered include VOD over IP, pay TV and VOD over ADSL, mobile TV, PVR via ADSL and HDTV via ADSL and HDTV on mobile and catch-up TV. He added that Orange would launch TV on the I-phone (60 channels) on April 7th, two days before its competitor SFR is to start selling iPhones.
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Docherty appointed Chairman of DTG
The Digital TV Group (DTG), the industry association for digital TV in the UK, has appointed David Docherty as their new Chairman, replacing Professor David Youlton who has stepped down from the post after more than 10 years.
David Scott CBE, Chairman of the DTG Appointments Committee said: "With a high-profile background that spans manufacturing, broadcast, broadband, interactivity, content, on-demand services and journalism, the Appointments Committee considered David Docherty to be well placed to lead the Digital TV Group through its next stage of development. We are delighted that he is joining the DTG at such an exciting time for both the Group, and UK digital television."
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Spain's first IPTV interactive ad experience
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Telefonica's IPTV network Imagenio and Alcatel-Lucent have jointly carried out what it claims to be the first IPTV interactive advertising experience in the country, enabling TV viewers to use their remote controls to have access to interactive content linked to a specific consumer brand product.
For the pilot, Imagenio has used a technological solution based on Alcatel-Lucent's 5930 Interactive Media Manager that allows "dynamic interactive applications and advertising campaigns", including web 2.0 features. The solution also measures the audience to optimize advertising campaigns, allowing Imagenio’s customers to interact with Web content in real time - seamlessly accessing Web-based content such as games, additional information, competitions, etc.
"We worked closely with Telefonica to develop and launch this strategic proof of concept pilot and we have successfully demonstrated that this new advertising model is possible. This is a model that is more rewarding for the user as it matches his lifestyle and interests, is more effective for advertisers as they now have a powerful new tool to reaching their target audiences and measuring their campaign’s success", said Alfredo Redondo, Alcatel-Lucent’s Global Account leader for Telefonica.
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China blocks YouTubeChina has blocked YouTube after Beijing denounced footage appearing to show security forces beating Tibetans in Lhasa last year as "a lie".
The authorities have blocked the service on previous occasions and, more frequently, have prevented access to specific videos. Google, which owns YouTube, confirmed that Beijing halted access to the site this week but said it did not know why.
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Amino and ZTE IPTV deployments
From IPTV World ForumAmino Communications, the IPTV entertainment solutions provider, has signed a global co-operation agreement with ZTE, provider of telecoms equipment and network solutions.
Amino will provide the full range of its award-winning AmiNET set-top boxes to ZTE, which has over 20 IPTV deployments globally. With a system capacity of more than 1.5 million user licenses and over a million active STBs, ZTE's IPTV market share is the largest in Asia. Deployments include BSNL, the largest state-owned telecoms operator in India, and PCCW, a major telecom operator in Hong Kong.
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Edgeware IPTV Partnership with Ericsson
From IPTV World ForumEdgeware, the provider of server systems for network deployed on-demand TV, has announced a global IPTV cooperation with Ericsson.
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With this agreement, Edgeware is integrating its solid state VOD platform with the Ericsson end-to-end IPTV solution and OpenStream Digital Services Platform to enable operators worldwide to easily deploy advanced on-demand TV services. Edgeware’s network-distributed server architecture allows operators to utilize their existing network, even when bandwidth and quality of service (QoS) are limited, by caching popular content close to the viewers.
EchoStar Europe hybrid HD platform
From IPTV World ForumEchoStar Europe, supplier of beyond the box, added-value applications and connected device solutions to the digital television industry, has unveiled its first dedicated product for IPTV operators at IPTV World Forum. The HDX-600 series DVR combines state-of-the-art cosmetics with HD reception, advanced video coding (AVC) and hybrid functionality, providing IPTV operators with an added-value product solution. Using its award-winning 900 series platform and in partnership with SlingMedia, EchoStar Europe will also illustrate the benefits of integrating SlingLoaded technology, which allows consumers to Sling content to connected devices in numerous secondary locations both inside and outside the home.
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ADB ships over 1.5m IPTV STBs
From IPTV World Forum
Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), supplier of technology to the global digital television industry, has revealed that it has shipped over 1.5 million IPTV set-top boxes.
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BT Media adopts Harmonic's Rhozet
From IPTV World ForumHarmonic has announced that its Rhozet universal transcoding technology has been adopted by BT Media and Broadcast, part of BT Global Services, for its BT Mosaic digital media platform. BT Mosaic is a leading online digital media management platform that manages content preparation and delivery processes. BT Mosaic with Rhozet Carbon Coder provides an integrated, end-to-end file-based workflow for content acquisition, preparation and multi-format delivery.
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IP Vision’s Smartbox gains Freeview+ accreditation
From IPTV World ForumIP Vision’s Fetch TV Smartbox has gained Freeview+ accreditation.
The Fetch TV Smartbox is a Freeview tuner, PVR, media centre and can be connected to any UK broadband connection to allow the user to choose from over 1400 hours of on-demand content to watch on their TV. The on-demand library is made up of films, TV drama and documentary series, music videos, sports and kids programming.
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Alcatel-Lucent inks Microsoft and Telefonica deals
From IPTV World ForumAlcatel-Lucent has confirmed that its popular digital media suite of products now supports the recently announced multimedia application environment for the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform, called the Microsoft Mediaroom Presentation Framework.
Combining the power of Alcatel-Lucent's digital media suite of products - the Multimedia Content Manager and Interactive Media Manager - with Microsoft's IPTV platform, IPTV service providers can increase ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) and generate new revenue streams by offering personalized multimedia, on-demand offerings, and deliver compelling interactive advertising services.
Alcatel-Lucent has also revealed its collaboration with Telefonica in an extensive interactive IPTV advertising proof of concept pilot for its Imagenio IPTV customers throughout Spain. Telefonica has relied on an innovative application enablement solution from Alcatel-Lucent, bringing increased interactivity and web 2.0 features to the TV experience of Imagenio‚s already robust IPTV platform. This service has enabled TV viewers to use their remote controls to access interactive content linked to a specific consumer brand product.
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VCAS to Protect Slovenian IPTV Service
From IPTV World ForumVerimatrix has confirmed that Telekom Slovenije as its latest customer to select the Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS) for IPTV t o protect VOD and live broadcast premium content. The operator's IPTV service, known as SiOL TV with 80,000 subscribers, currently maintains the majority market share in Slovenia according to the Agency for Post and Electronic Communications (APEK).
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Sundance channel for France
From IPTV World ForumRainbow Media, has signed a carriage agreement with cable broadband operator Numericable to launch Sundance Channel in France. Thenews marks the first international distribution for the channel, which reaches more than 30 million US subscribers. Under the creative direction of Robert Redford Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries and original programmes. Sundance Channel was acquired by Rainbow Media in May 2008.
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Cisco CDS for Numericable
From IPTV World ForumCisco has confirmed that Numericable, France's leading cable operator, is delivering highly advanced, on-demand entertainment services to French consumers using the Cisco Content Delivery System (CDS).
Numericable can now offer its customers advanced video services, including catch-up TV services, access to a catalogue of more than 7,000 programmes and movies, high-definition videos on demand and NumeriSPACE, an innovative service for user-generated content (UGC). The scalability of the Cisco CDS will help ensure that Numericable can increase its video delivery capacity whilst optimising networking costs and maintaining a consistent quality of experience for its 3.5 million TV customers and one million Internet customers.
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Wednesday 25th March
Joost and Hulu boost international
Bertelsmann profits down
BT super-fast, Virgin faster
China Telecom falls
UKTV Really?
Netflix movie ratings on Facebook
Astra extends European reach
Viasat selects NDS for HD VOD service
EchoStar conversion program for IP-Prime customers
Showtime Networks interactive application
Amino acquires MiriATE testing solution
Dreampark for Magnet
ioko verifies Edgeware Web TV performance claims
Joost and Hulu boost internationalHulu has further signaled its international intent with the hiring of a dedicated international SVP to acquire TV rights. Johannes Larcher had previously been search firm overture’s international GM, the international VP for Friendster and most recently co-founded now-defunct social betting site Pikum.
There had been much speculation about a Hulu UK launch but the NBCU/News Corp JV was waiting for the outcome of the Competition Commission’s Kangaroo inquiry to establish what programme rights it could get.
Meanwhile, Joost has added 11 German content partners; their content will be published through Joost’s new distribution partnership with pan-European social network Netlog, as well as on Joost. International acquisitions VP Stacey Seltzer, said: "Joost plans to roll out localised offerings in a number of European countries. Germany is one of the first markets where we’re able to partner with content and social networking partners, in order to create an entertainment experience for consumers. Europe is a priority for Joost and this partnership is a significant step towards engaging that market."
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Bertelsmann profits downGerman media giant Bertelsmann has reported that its 2008 net profit dropped by a third to E270 million after it was forced to make recession-related adjustments to the value of some of its investments. Impairment charges of E502 million — the bulk from television unit RTL and its stake in Five in the UK — were a drag on operating earnings, which hit E1.6 billion last year compared with E1.7 billion in 2007.
Thomas Rabe, chief financial officer, declined to give a formal forecast for the current year, but said operating earnings and sales would quite likely come in below those seen in 2008. Bertelsmann pruned its portfolio last year by selling its half share in music company SonyBMG to Sony and closing many of its book club operations, moves which helped boost profitability.
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BT super-fast, Virgin fasterBT has revealed the first set of locations where, from early 2010, customers will have access to fibre-based super-fast broadband via BT’s network. BT’s Openreach will deploy fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) technology at 29 exchanges across the UK. This will bring speeds of up to 40Mb/s - and potentially 60Mb/s - within reach of 500,000 homes and businesses. Areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Greater Manchester will be amongst the first locations to benefit from this initial deployment.
The roll out is the next stage in the UK’s biggest ever investment programme in super-fast broadband. BT has pledged to spend £1.5 billion (E1.6bn) by 2012 to ensure that 40 per cent of UK homes and businesses can access fibre-based services.
Meantime Virgin Media will offer 100 to 150Mbps broadband speeds up to two years before BT completes its rival fibre network. "We have an opportunity with our network to provide significantly higher speeds," Virgin Media's chief executive Neil Berkett said. Berkett said its fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) network was capable of supporting up to 200Mbps but roll out of higher speeds was a "function of timing". He said: "When we look at the market I don't see us getting the returns right now for 100 or 150Mbps.
"As we work with application providers, and content providers... there will be a natural point where we upgrade from 10, 20 and 50Mbps to something more.
"If BT were to meet the time frame they have suggested - of finishing by 2012 - I would see us as having much, much faster upstream speed, running at a minimum of 100Mbps downstream and possibly more."
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China Telecom fallsChina Telecom on Tuesday reported a 96 per cent plunge in net profit for 2008 after it booked a Rmb24 billion ($3.5bn) impairment charge related to its low-end wireless network, known as Xiaolingtong or "Little Smart".
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But the Chinese telecoms group said it remained buoyant on this year’s performance, adding that it hoped strong demand for phone services in China would offset the impact of the global economic downturn. China Telecom said it aimed to increase the number of mobile users from 30.63 million as of last month to 100 million by 2011. It said it hoped to attract more customers by bundling its traditional fixed-line operations with new 3G services.
For the 12 months to December 31st, China Telecom reported a net profit of Rmb884 million compared with Rmb24.2 billion the year before, on operating revenues up 3.3 per cent at Rmb186.8 billion.
UKTV Really?After Dave and Watch, UKTV has unveiled its latest channel rebrands, with UKTV Style to become Home and UKTV Gardens renamed "Really?". The new names are the penultimate stage of the digital broadcaster's rolling on-screen rebrand of all its channels, joining previously relaunched services Dave, Alibi, Eden, Gold, Eden and Yesterday.
Really, which will target 18 to 35-year-old women, UKTV describers Really as offering an "honest insight into people's lives... offering a point of difference with feisty, straight talking and good natured programming". Home will feature home and gardens programming such as DIY SOS, Escape To The Country, Groundforce and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The revamped channel's tag line will be "Home – there's no place like it".
UKTV said Home would target 35 to 54-year-olds with a "welcome refuge with energetic, stylish and motivating programming that shows viewers how to enjoy and maximise their space, both inside and out".
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Netflix movie ratings on FacebookNetflix is the latest media company to integrate with social networking website Facebook. Starting this week, Netflix users can use Facebook Connect - software that links individual Facebook pages to third-party Web sites - to share their ratings of Netflix rentals with their Facebook friends.
Movie ratings will appear on Netflix subscribers Facebook pages if they opt into the programme, and will link back to the correlating movie page at Netflix.com, the companies said.
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Astra extends European reach
From Colin Mann in LondonSatellite operator SES Astra has significantly increased its reach in Europe, particularly in France, Ukraine and the UK, and is now broadcasting to 122 million analogue and digital TV homes across Europe.
At the heart of the increase in reach was the increase of Astra’s digital satellite penetration across Europe. The satellite operator gained 6.1 million digital satellite households in 2008, reaching in total 47.2 million digital satellite homes (74 per cent of all digital satellite homes).
SES Astra’s findings, in its latest SES Astra Satellite Monitor, indicate that 50 per cent or 122 million out of the 243 million TV homes in Europe, receive programmes digitally, with satellite’s share – including other operators – proving to be a main driver of digitalisation, providing more than a quarter of all TV households or 52 per cent of all digital households with digital TV signals. The digitalisation rate of satellite, as an infrastructure, is three times higher (89 per cent) than that of cable networks (27 per cent).Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES Astra, said the results encouraged the operator to continue its strategy of being a neutral service partner for broadcasters, not investing in content and programmes, but in high-end technology.
Markus Fritz, VP and GM Marketing, anticipated there would be more than 100 HD channels across Europe by the end of 2010, and confirmed that the operator was in talks with TV channels about technical tests for 3D-TV. "It won’t be mass-market tomorrow," he admitted, "but we’re working with our customers and the consumer electronics industry towards an industry standard for 3D."
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Viasat selects NDS for HD VOD serviceNDS has announced that Viasat has extended its long-standing relationship with NDS with the addition of NDS‚ Progressive Download (PDL) technology to the ViasatPlusHD hybrid DVR.
The ViasatOnDemand HD service represents another successful deployment of NDS‚ PDL technology. This premium service offers ViasatPlusHD subscribers the ability to download a movie or series via their broadband internet connection to watch immediately or store to view later. NDS PDL technology delivers uninterrupted viewing by removing the buffering problems associated with slow broadband download speeds.
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EchoStar conversion program for IP-Prime customersEchoStar Satellite Services has announced the company’s IP-Prime Conversion Program, designed to provide continued delivery of video transport services for telco IP headend facilities across the US. Commercial transport provider IP-Prime has previously announced it will discontinue its video transport service to headend facilities by July 31st, 2009. EchoStar’s IP-Prime Conversion Program provides qualified customers with EchoStar’s ViP-TV transport service, replacement IDC satellite receivers and a standard professional installation, including compatible LNBs, a satellite dish re-point, cabling and connectors.
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Showtime Networks interactive applicationShowtime Networks has developed an interactive TV (ITV) application that is transforming the way premium channels are marketed and sold. The Showtime Marketing Application uses ITV to bring together long form marketing video, remote ordering, and free full-length episodes of Showtime programming, in an easy to use interface. This new application creates an innovative way for the viewer to access custom video segment that communicate the full value of a Showtime subscription, including Original Series, Movies and Sports as well as high definition and On Demand.
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Amino acquires MiriATE testing solutionUK set-top box firm Amino has purchased the MiriATE testing solution from Mirifice, which it intends to integrate into its existing facilities to provide accurate results from automated tests on its STBs.
MiriATE will provide Amino with the ability to automatically drive large numbers of STBs through suites of various tests, including realistic endurance testing. The solution offers advanced features such as video analysis, motion detection, region comparison and optical character recognition.
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Dreampark for MagnetDreampark, IPTV middleware provider, has revealed its first customer in Ireland as Irish IPTV and ISP provider Magnet Networks. Magnet has upgraded their existing middleware solution to Dreampark's Dreamgallery, further strengthening the company's position as a leading IPTV middleware provider in Europe.
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ioko verifies Edgeware Web TV performance claimsEdgeware has confirmed that digital media systems specialist, ioko, has completed a successful lab trial with the Edgeware Web TV server. This trial was part of ioko's assessment of caching and serving technologies for a range of new web video distribution services.
Edgeware's Web TV Servers cache and deliver up to 32,000 concurrent video streams over the open Internet and can be cost effectively distributed in operator networks or co-location facilities as they require just 1U form factor, max 85W power and virtually no maintenance. As part of their evaluation, ioko successfully conducted extensive load testing of the server in their UK labs where performance was found to scale deterministically even across a wide spread of assets.
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Tuesday 24th March
TW buys stake in CME, WB branded channels
Babelgum flash
Orange offers UK broadband for all
TiVo price hike upsets Aussies
HD films on iTunes
BSNL to subsidise STBs for rural homes
NDS for Cox tru2way
Chunghwa enhances IPTV service with Harmonic
ADB joins Open IPTV Forum
Wowza for TV1.EU
TW buys stake in CME, WB branded channelsCentral European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) has confirmed that Time Warner will invest $241.5 million in CME for a 31 per cent stake. Time Warner is agreeing to allow CME founder and Non-Executive Chairman Ronald S. Lauder to vote Time Warner’s shares of CME for at least four years, subject to certain exceptions. Also, Lauder has pledged to support Time Warner’s appointment of two of its designees to CME’s board of directors. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the second quarter of 2009.
In addition, Warner Bros and CME have separately agreed to form a partnership to launch and operate new thematic television channels in current CME territories. These channels, some of which will be Warner Bros branded, will feature international films and television series, including titles from the Warner Bros library.
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Babelgum flashIndependent Web TV service Babelgum has released a new version of its mobile video application in the US, UK and Italy and simultaneously launched a redesigned website with a Flash-based player, offering, it says, one of the first fully integrated video mobile and web user experiences.
Babelgum mobile has already experienced success in the UK and Italy with, respectively, 30 and 25 per cent of each country’s iPhone users. The new, free-to-use mobile application is now available for download on iPhone and iPod Touch devices. The Babelgum mobile application can be used in 3G and Wi-Fi mode. The application will gradually extend to Blackberry Storm, Samsung Omnia and Nokia N97 and 5800 handsets. With these new releases Babelgum will be available on all major touchscreen phones and mobile operating systems including Apple mobile OS, Symbian, Android, Rim and Windows Mobile, covering most of the smartphone 3G global market.
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Orange offers UK broadband for allMobile phone company Orange has offered to set up a UK-wide broadband network to meet the ambitions of Lord Carter for universal access — in return for a share of the radio spectrum owned by Vodafone and O2.
Orange, which has more than 1 million residential broadband users in the UK, made its proposals in the first batch of submissions to the communications minister's interim Digital Britain report, which outlined the government's communications vision for broadband access to the future of digital radio.
But it has also emerged that there is little support within the internet industry for Carter's plans to defeat illegal online file-sharing through the creation of a rights agency which would bring together the ISPs with the music, TV and film industry.
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TiVo price hike upsets AussiesTiVo users are demanding refunds after the company began charging $199 for a basic upgrade it promised would cost "tens of dollars", prompting investigations into whether the move breached fair trading laws. TiVo was launched in Australia in the middle of last year by Hybrid Television Services, wholly owned by the Seven Network, but it lacked key features present on the US model.
The $699 TV recording device lacked the key home networking feature that allows users to transfer content from their PC to the TiVo, and recordings from the TiVo to the PC and a range of mobile devices. The feature, which also allows multiple TiVos in different rooms to talk to each other, comes free with the US model but was deliberately disabled on the Australian version. It was finally made available this month at a cost of $199, prompting an outcry among TiVo users.
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HD films on iTunesApple has announced that iTunes customers in the US can now purchase and rent box office movies in HD through the iTunes Store. Starting this week, users can purchase newly released films for download in HD for $19.99 and films will be available as iTunes Movie Rentals in HD for $4.99 within 30 days after release. Customers can view the films in HD on their Mac or PC and on their widescreen TV with Apple TV, as well as in standard definition on their iPhone or iPod with video.
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BSNL to subsidise STBs for rural homesIndian telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will use the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund to subsidise rural households purchasing home entertainment devices for viewing, programming and surfing the Net using its broadband network. BSNL has tied up with Hyderabad-based iChip Technologies for deploying the latter’s @Box compact home entertainment device across rural areas in Andhra Pradesh and later in other states. The @Box provides a range of Web-based applications such as Web browsing, e-mail, IPTV, VoIP, internet gaming and video conferencing on a television set.
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NDS for Cox tru2wayNDS will supply Cox Communications with a full suite of interactive applications for its tru2way set-top platform, the companies announced. The applications -- which include email, news, sports, weather, games, TV caller ID, movie listings and other information services -- are set to roll out to existing and new Cox customers this summer along with a new Cox user interface, also being implemented by NDS.According to Cox, the applications suite was designed to more closely complement the provider's new UI design and integrate its various service offerings - including VOD, DVR and linear content - into one, streamlined UI experience.The tru2way announcement is the first major unveiling from the companies since they first announced their collaboration in early 2008.
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Chunghwa enhances IPTV service with Harmonic
Harmonic has confirmed Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest telecommunications provider, has deployed a broad range of Harmonic's content management solutions in support of its Multimedia-on-Demand (MOD) IPTV service expansion. The upgrade has enabled Chunghwa Telecom to offer its IPTV customers a number of advanced interactive services, including multi-channel digital mosaics and time-shifted access to major events and programming. The enhanced IPTV offering has been very well received; Chunghwa Telecom serves over 4.3 million broadband subscribers throughout Taiwan.
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ADB joins Open IPTV ForumAdvanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), supplier of technology to the global digital television industry, has been accepted as a member of the Open IPTV Forum. The Forum is an industry organisation working on "Open Standards" for end to end IPTV solutions.
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Wowza for TV1.EUWowza Media Systems has revealed that its Wowza Media Server Pro server software has been selected by TV1.EU, Germany’s largest platform for online video technology, to deliver high-performance Flash streaming from existing RTP/RTSP dicas encoders. Only Wowza offers the ability to stream H.264 to Flash from RTP/RTSP encoders, a crucial factor in TV1.EU’s decision to select Wowza.
"Wowza Pro’s unique RTP/RTSP ingest capability integrated seamlessly with our dicas H.264 encoding infrastructure," said Johann Soukup, CTO, TV1.EU, who has selected the dicas2010 SD encoder for TV1.EU’s live streaming services and conducted the implementation of the dicas H.264 software mpegableDS into TV1.EU’s IP network to do offline encoding one year ago.
"With Wowza Pro and dicas working together, we have streamlined our operations and lowered infrastructure costs, an important achievement which in turn has helped reduce our carbon footprint," continued Soukup. "Wowza has been an excellent addition to our workflow, and fits perfectly with our charter of being the most ecologically progressive platform for online video technology."
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Monday 23rd March
BSkyB granted ITV appeal
Digital media grows 20% in 2008
Fremantle boss: charge 5p for on-demand shows
472m Mobile TV subs
Global broadband and IPTV stats
Iliad, record 2008, more fibre coming
EU to simplify rules on broadband financing
BBC increases web spend
Cisco to acquire Pure Digital, i-CABLE deal
e-Player exceeds 24m video streams in Feb
Eutelsat consolidates reach in Italy
Kalimat IPTV deal with PCCW
Tele2 selects Agama
Tianjin deploys Tandberg
Harris and Roundbox mobile solution
Broadcom expands hybrid IP STB family
NDS opens R&D facility in China
The Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s decision in respect of BSkyB’s investment in ITV plc. The Court of Appeal will schedule a hearing in due course.
In September 2008, BSkyB was ordered by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to reduce its stake, which it acquired in 2006, to at least 7.5 per cent after losing an appeal to retain its shareholding. BSkyB had challenged a previous Competition Commission ruling, forcing it to reduce its stake to below 7.5 per cent.
BSkyB's acquisition of the ITV stake effectively blocked cable group NTL, now Virgin Media following the merger of Telewest and Virgin Mobile, from buying the commercial broadcaster. BSkyB welcomed the Court of Appeal decision.
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Digital media grows 20% in 2008
According to Strategy Analytics Digital Media Strategies (DMS) research, the top 27 digital media companies in the world increased earnings by more than 20 per cent, to $74 billion in 2008 up from $61.5 billion in 2007.
Among the top five digital media companies in the world, Apple’s ‘Other Music Related Products and Services’ segment, which includes iTunes, was best- in-class – growing 32.7 per cent in 2008, while Yahoo grew the least with only 3.4 per cent growth in 2008. Other findings indicate that most of the companies focusing on consumer paid-for media, such as music and video downloads, are currently withstanding the economic downturn better than most of the companies focusing on online advertising."While growth in the digital media sector has been slowing as a result of the global economic downturn, the industry still grew a healthy 20.5 per cent in 2008 and Strategy Analytics projects a further seven to nine per cent growth in 2009," said Jia Wu, Analyst at Strategy Analytics’ Digital Consumer Practice.
"The fact that, in 2008, most of the companies focusing on consumer paid-for media in the Strategy Analytics Digital Media Index performed much better than most of the companies focusing on online advertising, could be an early indicator that we are approaching a watershed moment in the nascent digital media market, and that more focus will be put on consumer paid-for online media in the difficult years ahead," commented Martin Olausson, Director of Digital Media Research at Strategy Analytics.
Fremantle boss: charge 5p for on-demand shows
Tony Cohen, the chief executive of FremantleMedia, the production company of shows such as X-Factor, has called on the UK government to consider a system of charging consumers as little as 5p to view TV shows on-demand.
Cohen, revealing details of FremantleMedia's submission to the Digital Britain report, said there was a case to look beyond the current charging mechanisms for TV shows on-demand - which start from about 99p per show - and look "afresh" at the potential of micropayments.
It could be possible to charge from just 5p for TV catch-up TV shows - or even first run shows - as long as the payment system was extremely simple.
"We need to maximise the value of our work, we need to look again at on-demand viewing and how to get extra money from pay-per-view," said Cohen. "Until now it has been a nice add-on confined to computers."
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The number of people receiving Mobile TV will reach 472 million by 2013 according to an analysis by Cantab Wireless. The report - Mobile TV – Technologies, Country Cases, and Forecasts for 2009-2013 - argues that subscriber growth is anticipated to be strongest in Asia at first, especially in Korea and Japan.
From 2010 onwards, Europe and the USA are expected to catch up. Especially in Europe the shortage of radio spectrum before the analogue TV networks shutdown may delay the launch of mobile TV networks in some countries, most importantly in the UK. Also, from 2012-2013 onwards, cellular operators may start providing mobile TV services via their upgraded LTE networks, which will offer greatly increased capacity. They will become serious competitors to broadcast TV systems. The current economic slowdown will have only a temporary effect on Mobile TV user numbers.
Report author Dr Juha Korhonen, suggests that even more important than choosing the right technical standard is choosing the right business model. It is not yet obvious on how to make money in the Mobile TV business. According to Cantab, various business models have been tried and tested around the world, some successfully and some less so.
The report argues that in the medium term, broadcast Mobile TV systems will be popular. However, in the long run, point-to-point Mobile TV channels, delivered via upgraded high capacity cellular networks, will become a more popular service.
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Global broadband and IPTV statsAccording to research by Informa Telecoms & Media, global fixed broadband subscriptions stood at 422 million at the end of 2008, adding nearly 68 million subscriptions in the year and 16 million in the final quarter.
The biggest access technology remains DSL (65 per cent of the total), but FTTH (11 per cent) registered its biggest in year gain to date, adding over 11 million subscriptions - almost exactly the same number as cable broadband (21 per cent) - now stands over 48 million. The growth of FTTH is part explained by robust growth in Asia-Pacific: the region added 20 per cent more subscriptions in 2008 than in 2007. In addition, nine of the world's 10 largest FTTH operators are in the region.
Western Europe has seen broadband growth stagnate, as all but five of its 30 countries now exceed a household penetration level of 50 per cent and 20 countries enjoy penetration of over 60 per cent.
China, where broadband subscriptions grew by 21 per cent over 2008 to reach 82 million subscriptions, passed the USA mid-year to become the world's largest fixed broadband market, though it still has a household penetration level of below 20 per cent.
The IPTV total stood at 19.96 million at the end of 2008. Even by the standard of its own past record, growth was steady but not spectacular, registering net additions of 7.5 million. What is significant is the fact that of the four main multi-channel TV platforms, IPTV and digital terrestrial (DTT) are increasing their share of the market and now hold 10 per cent and 3 per cent of the global market, respectively.
Julian Herbert, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media said, "It is a fair observation that IPTV has not made the sort of inroads into broadband homes which operators might have expected, but it is wrong to declare that the concept is doomed to fail. In markets where the bandwidth is available and the marketing and pricing are attractive, IPTV is attracting big volumes of new customers and helping operators to improve retention rates and increase fixed line ARPU. Look at operators like AT&T - over 800,000 net adds in 2008 - or Free and France Telecom in France, PWCC in Hong Kong or Portugal Telecom: all are growing their market shares strongly in competitive TV markets".
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Iliad record 2008, more fibre coming
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisIliad, parent company of Free, the leading French ISP and IPTV operator after Orange, has announced that 2008 was a record year, with 1.3 million new ADSL subscribers, bringing the total to 4.2 million, and a market share of 25.2 per cent, generating a hefty cash flow to enable it to continue investing in optical fibre.
Net profit however fell by 33.2 per cent to E 100.4 million, due to the acquisition of Alice from Tiscali, bringing in 840,000 subscribers. Ebitda exceeded E200 million for the first time. Profitability had grown, attributed to the increase in the rate of local loop unbundling – 85.6 per cent of its subscribers and an increase in value added services. The high generation of free cash flow will enable the group to finance the whole of its investment in fibre, said the group’s financial director Thomas Reynaud.
Iliad confirmed that it is continuing to invest in fibre, a total of E1 billion by 2012 and the same amount in mobile telephony if it were to be attributed the fourth mobile licence later this year.
"Fibre makes us more profitable," explained the group’s director general Maxime Lombardini, "as it makes us independent of France Telecom, not having to pay for access to the local loop."
Free provides triple play for E29.99 per month, including unlimited VOIP calls to 92 countries and 150 TV channels. Optical fibre subscribers pay the same, but get a bandwidth of 100 Mb/s.
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EU to simplify rules on broadband financingEurope's top antitrust official Neelie Kroes has said she will update and simplify EU rules on state aid for the information and communications technology sector to help nations roll out next-generation broadband networks.
Broadband-for-all and next-generation networks are part of the European economic recovery plan. The new communication will explain in which cases and under which conditions this financing can take place and provide a clear and predictable framework for governments, Kroes told a committee at the Dutch parliament.
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BBC increases web spendThe BBC Trust has sanctioned a 27 per cent increase in the corporation's online budget, to more than £145 million per year, over the next three years.
BBC web ventures will benefit from a £30.7 million increase in the BBC Online budget, a 27 per cent increase over its current £114.4 million -a-year budget over the next three years subject to conditions set out by the trust chairman, Michael Lyons, to make sure the corporation does not abuse its power in the market.
The approved increase is almost 42 per cent below the £52.7 million a year the BBC wanted. Regardless, cash-strapped commercial rivals will balk at the ability the BBC has to ratchet up-spending in such economic conditions.
Lyons, in a letter to director general Mark Thompson, concluded that the budget increase did not require a full public value test, concluding that there was a "limited risk of the new investment, which is incremental in existing areas of BBC activity, adding materially to the market impact of BBC Online".
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Cisco to acquire Pure Digital, i-CABLE dealCisco has announced its intent to acquire privately held Pure Digital Technologies. San Francisco-based Pure Digital, creator of the best-selling Flip Video brand is a specialist in developing consumer-friendly video solutions with mass-market appeal.
"The acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco’s strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking," said Ned Hooper, senior vice president of Cisco’s Corporate Development and Consumer Groups.
Cisco has also confirmed that Hong Kong broadband operator i-CABLE is deploying Cisco's set-top boxes and end-to-end video solution to resolve pirated viewing of its television services. i-CABLE started the set-top box and video network replacement project for subscribers in February 2009 and expects to complete it by end of this year.
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e-Player exceeds 24m video streams in FebGlobal digital sport and entertainment specialist Perform and Virgin Media have revealed that e-Player streamed a record 24.6 million premium sports videos in February and reached over six million unique users, confirming its position as the UK’s leading commercial online sports video network.
The free-to-view, multi-channel web TV player currently syndicates premium sports highlights to over 130 websites. The e-Player’s 22 sports channels include highlights from Virgin Media’s Barclays Premier League and Coca-Cola Football League content as well as a range of additional premium sports content from Perform’s rights portfolio.
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Eutelsat consolidates reach in ItalyEutelsat Communications has unveiled that the results of its two-yearly survey on satellite television trends in Italy.
The number of homes across Italy equipped for Direct-to-Home (DTH) reception has increased by 13 per cent over two years to 7.1 million homes, representing almost one in three of the 23.1 million television homes in the country. The number of homes equipped for DTH reception from Eutelsat's Hot Bird neighbourhood grew at a faster rate of 18 per cent over the last 24 months. The installed base of DTH antennas equipped for Hot Bird reception in Italy now stands at 6.1 million. Pay-TV accounts for the lion's share of satellite TV homes, representing over 4.6 million homes and showing a growth rate of 24 per cent over the last two years.
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Kalimat IPTV deal with PCCWIraqi fixed wireless operator Kalimat Telecom has inked a $25 million deal with Hong Kong based operator PCCW to launch IPTV and mobile TV services throughout Iraq and Kuwait. Under the 50/50 joint venture Kalimat will provide the carrier services while PCCW will run the operation and provide the content.
The service will offer a wide choice of TV channels and VOD services to Kalimat subscribers via their mobile phones and TVs. The service is scheduled to launch towards the end of the year.
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Tele2 selects AgamaAgama Technologies has confirmed that Tele2, a large European telecom and digital cable TV operator, has selected the Agama DTV Monitoring Solution for cable TV service assurance. The deployment covers the whole of Tele2s digital cable TV network in Sweden.
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Tianjin deploys TandbergTandberg Television, part of the Ericsson group, has confirmed that Tianjin Broadcast & TV Network has deployed a fully redundant cable headend built on the award-winning Tandberg iSIS 8000 solution, including encoders, multiplexers, and QAM modulators. The system is the first deployment of Tandberg Television’s next generation MX8400 IP multiplexer in China, and will enable Tianjin Cable to harness the efficiencies of IP as it expands its cable Pay-TV business.
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Harris and Roundbox mobile solutionHarris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, and Roundbox, specialist in mobile broadcast software, have signed an OEM agreement to deliver a complete mobile broadcast solution for US terrestrial DTV broadcasters. Under this agreement, the Roundbox Broadcast Server will be integrated into the Harris ATSC Mobile DTV broadcast system, enabling the first feature-rich mobile DTV solution available for immediate commercial deployment. The system will be available for delivery in mid-March.
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Broadcom expands hybrid IP STB familyBroadcom, a global player in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, has confirmed the expansion of its IP set-top box family with a range of highly integrated, system-on-a-chip solutions. These new offerings will enable manufacturers to rapidly design and deploy next generation performance- and feature-optimised hybrid cable, terrestrial and digital subscriber line IP STB products for the connected digital home. The products, offer a streamlined feature set targeting single, multi-format HD decode, including support for China's audio/video standard.
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NDS opens R&D facility in ChinaNDS, provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, is strengthening its commitment to, and presence in China with the opening of a new R&D, engineering and customer support facility in Shenzhen. The new office will primarily focus on the development of software for advanced middleware, customised electronic programme guides (EPGs), and innovative digital service capabilities as well as end-to-end solutions all tailored to meet the specific needs of the Chinese pay-TV market.
