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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 16th April
Lagardere selling its 20% of Canal Plus
Nationwide 3D TV trial in Singapore
3D buzz at NAB
Sony bundling 3D PS3 games with all 3D TVs
ESPN going all out for World Cup
Net Insight to deliver HD and 3D QoS for World Cup
ART on NeuLion platform
Lagardere selling its 20% of Canal Plus
Lagardere has decided to execute its annual option to offer its 20 per cent stake in Canal Plus for sale. It can go to the market but only after majority owner Vivendi has decided whether to take up a preference option. Credit Suisse values the stake at about E1.2 billion.Lagardere, which publishes Elle and Paris March, is selling non-core assets after shareholder criticism about focus. In recent months Vivendi has brought its share of Canal Plus to 80 per cent after buying 10 per cent of from TF1 and 5 per cent from M6.
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Nationwide 3D TV trial in Singapore
From Colin Mann in CannesSingapore is set to be the first country in the world to have a nationwide 3D TV trial. To be carried out this year, it will involve the major broadcasters and telcos and be conducted across free-to-air television, cable, IPTV, and online.
The plans were revealed by Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) chief information officer Yeo Chun Cheng at MIPTV 2010. The MDA is considering several dates to launch the 3D trial, which could last anywhere from one to six months.
Yeo, who is also director of broadcast and music, explained that similar to the high definition (HD) TV trial carried out four years ago, where the MDA latched on to the Fifa World Cup, they will be looking to tie the 3D trial to a big event. But it would probably not be ready for the World Cup in June.
"The month of August might be an interesting date," he suggested. "There is the National Day Parade and the F1 grand prix. We will settle the date when the broadcasters are ready."
Yeo said the 3D TV trial might be bigger in scope than the HD trial, and might involve an online platform with the completion of the Next Generation National Broadband Network. This fibre connection will be rolled out fully in 2012. There might also be future plans for a mobile 3D trial, he added.
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3D buzz at NABAlmost three quarters of visitors to NAB2010 want to find out more about stereoscopic 3D production, according to a survey by leading test and measurement manufacturer Hamlet. The survey found that just 28 per cent said that 3D was not on their agenda at the moment, while 29 per cent had already had some experience of working in 3D.
The rich complexity of the technical challenges involved in creating good stereoscopic 3D content was reflected, with a number of issues being quoted by visitors. The largest single challenge, though, was the need to ensure absolutely perfect consistency between the two cameras, cited by 28 per cent of respondents.
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Sony bundling 3D PS3 games with all 3D TVsSony have confirmed they will bundle four free 3D PlayStation 3 games with every 3D Bravia television, as they promise to make 3D 'affordable' with their new Bravia HX800 model.
PlayStation 3 owners will have to upgrade the firmware on their PS3s to enjoy 3D gaming - an update that will be made available over the PlayStation Network before the 3D TVs ship, Sony say. They also say the 'select' 3D products will also come bundles with 3D Blu-ray copies of the movies ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘Deep Sea’.
Sony also unveiled the first in the Bravia HX800 series of 3D televisions, which it claims will make 3D viewing 'affordable'. Sony said that their 3D TVs would be available in stores by the time the World Cup.
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ESPN going all out for World CupESPN is making its largest marketing investment in a single sporting event in its 30-year history as it looks to use the World Cup to transform the audience for football in the US.
The Walt Disney-owned sports broadcaster is trusting that a combination of demographic changes in the US and the increased availability of Premier League and other European games on cable channels and online has prepared the ground for football to break through in the US after many previous false dawns.
ESPN has exclusive US domestic rights, with the exception of Spanish language broadcasts, for the first time and is planning a multimedia blitz from live online streaming to radio broadcasts, mobile applications and special editions of ESPN Magazine. ESPN has also said it is planning two months of "respectful education" about the sport and the host country before the first game on June 11th.
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Net Insight to deliver HD and 3D QoS for World CupNet Insight, developer of transport solutions for media, IP and broadcast networks, has been selected by 9 global media operators and major rights holder to deliver live HD and 3D broadcasts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Net Insight are upgrading their networks with the Nimbra platform to deliver live video coverage and data services at 100 per cent QoS to the 1.5 billion viewers expected to tune-in across the globe.
In addition to transporting hundreds of hours of live HD coverage, Net Insight will also transport ESPN’s 3D broadcast. The broadcaster plans to cover up to 25 games in 3D.
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ART on NeuLion platformArab Radio and Television Network (ART), the leading Arabic language television network in the Middle East, and NeuLion, an end-to-end IPTV service provider, have inked a long-term partnership to distribute ART channels using NeuLion's IPTV platform in Canada.
The partnership names NeuLion as the exclusive IPTV technology provider and ART/IMD as the exclusive Arabic content provider to NeuLion in Canada to offer to all IP platforms including PC, TV through set top box, mobile and other IP enabled devices.
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Thursday 15th April
Sky chief: Ofcom ‘unlawful’
US broadcasters team for ‘mobile Hulu’
Sky Player strikes Humax deal
RAI to air World Cup in HD
Virgin demos in Best Buy
Nagravision and SkyLife partner on 3D
Irdeto protects Netflix
Amis Telekom selects Edgeware
Sky chief: Ofcom ‘unlawful’
From Colin Mann in CannesJeremy Darroch, Chief Executive of BSkyB, delivered a robust defence of the satellite operator’s business model and role in content value, as well as a strong attack on regulatory intervention in a Media Mastermind keynote speech at MIPTV.
Identifying three key threats to the economics of content – piracy, commoditisation and regulatory intervention, Darroch said that content owners should be able to generate a fair and profitable return on their investment - £1.7 billion (E1.92bn) for 2010 in Sky’s case - which would impact on the ability to maintain the "virtuous circle’ of investment and monetisation.
He described the three threats as "forces working in the opposite direction," suggesting that piracy had changed significantly with the ubiquity of broadband. "Online piracy is theft pure and simple," he stated. "It’s not a victimless crime." In terms of commoditisation, he warned of other players retailing content at the lowest cost possible and making up margins elsewhere on other products. "Players will need to think carefully about their approach to distribution in the future."
Darroch reserved his harshest criticism for regulators, referring obliquely to UK comms watchdog Ofcom’s recent pay-TV review. "There is a regulatory agenda to move value from one part of the value chain to another and improve chances for a competitor. This is unprecedented and unwarranted." He said that Sky had a strong reason to believe this was unlawful and confirmed that the company was preparing a legal challenge. "This should sound alarm bells across the industry," he said, suggesting instead that Ofcom needed to make content retailing a more attractive model. He said Ofcom has formed its view despite it being contrary to that of experts with years of experience in TV rights.
Describing the threat of market distortion from regulatory intervention, Darroch observed that Sky wasn’t afraid to invest, and welcomed competition, but that Ofcom’s approach cast dark shadows over the value of content.
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US broadcasters team for ‘mobile Hulu’
A dozen major US TV groups are teaming up to provide content and spectrum for a national mobile DTV service called Pearl Mobile DTV Company. Belo, Cox, Fox, Gannett Broadcasting, Scripps, Hearst Television, ION Television, Media General Inc., Meredith Corp., NBC, Post-Newsweek Stations, and Raycom Media will get together to form a "standalone joint venture," according to an announcement at the NAB Show.
The service will reach 150 million US residents, said the companies, and content will include "live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, as well as sports and entertainment programming."The announcement comes against the backdrop of the FCC's plan to encourage broadcasters to give up spectrum for wireless broadband, but broadcasters are looking to pool and leverage their own spectrum to be players in the new media space.
"The venture is designed to complement the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) National Broadband Initiative by giving consumers mobile access to video content while reducing congestion of the nation's wireless broadband infrastructure," the companies said. "In addition, the service's mobile content network will have the capacity to deliver local and national time-sensitive emergency information to citizens across the US"
"Local broadcasters are the backbone of the US media industry," said David J. Barrett, President and CEO of Hearst Television Inc., in announcing the venture's official launch. "This sharing of content, broadcast spectrum, marketing resources and capital is unprecedented, and underscores US broadcasters' commitment to bringing vital local news, weather, and emergency information to increasingly mobile US consumers. This is a critically important initiative that holds great promise for our audiences and the television industry. This is truly the next generation of local television service."
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Sky has confirmed that its Sky Player service is to launch on the UK's first Freeview HD box as part of an expansion across Humax's new range of digital boxes. Viewers will soon be able to watch Sky programming live and on-demand in HD on the Humax HD-FOX T2, which launched in February 2010 and already supports the BBC iPlayer.
The deal will let Sky customers watch TV on sets in rooms around the home that don't already have a Sky box. Existing Sky customers will be able to access the service, while new customers will need to subscribe to one of the various monthly deals.
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RAI to air World Cup in HD
From Branislav Pekic in RomeItalian public broadcaster RAI will air the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on its RAI HD channel. The matches for which RAI has acquired the Italian TV rights (mostly of the Italian national team and the final stages) will be transmitted in RAI HD on DTT multiplex 4. It is highly likely that the channel will also be aired on the TivùSat DTH platform, negotiations with Telespazio for transponder space are at an advanced stage. Only SD-only receivers are currently available for the TivùSat platform, but TivùSat is currently certifying new HD receivers that should be available by the summer.
Sky Italia has already confirmed it will be airing all of the World Cup matches in HD for its subscribers, although none of them will be in 3D.
Mediaset Premium is launching this month a new HD receiver for its On Demand service which distributes movies during the night to the digital boxes that can be subsequently watched by users. Due to a lack of DTT capacity, Mediaset Premium is currently transmitting only two Italian league games weekly in HD. When more frequency space becomes available (not likely before 2011), the broadcaster plans to launch the Premium Movie Channel HD.
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Virgin demos in Best BuyBest Buy stores will feature interactive demonstrations of the company's pay-TV, broadband, mobile and fixed-line services. Virgin Media itself already has a high-street presence in the UK, with 57 own-branded stores across the country.
Virgin Media is a rival to broadband and phone provider Talk Talk, which was de-merged last month from Carphone Warehouse, Best Buy's joint venture partner. The first Best Buy megastore will open in the summer with five or six more planned.
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Nagravision and SkyLife partner on 3D
Nagravision and SkyLife, the sole DTH pay-TV service provider in Korea with 2.5 million subscribers, are expanding their relationship to collaborate on 3D television. Nagravision and SkyLife will create a state-of-the art 3D experience for home viewers.
Equipped with high-end 3D production systems by this coming May, SkyLife will produce a variety of 3D content, focusing on live sporting events and concerts. SkyLife is also planning to add two more 3D only channels to its 3D offerings by 2012.
Nagravision will provide SkyLife with a full push VOD solution, enabling SkyLife to offer a new service called 3D MRS (Movie Rental Service). 3D MRS is expected to be available in 2010. The new service will allow SkyLife subscribers to watch the 3D content of their choice at their own convenience.
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Irdeto protects NetflixIrdeto has confirmed that Netflix has licensed Irdeto’s Cloakware Embedded Security as part of its suite of content protection tools for the tens of thousands of TV episodes and movies it streams instantly to its members. Irdeto provides an advanced content protection solution that allows application developers to rapidly deploy leading software security.
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Amis Telekom selects EdgewareAmis Telekom has selected Swedish firm Edgeware to provide its video servers to power the on-demand element of the telco's IPTV services, which it operates in Slovenia and Croatia. The telco's IPTV service, called 'Amis TV', offers linear channels and on-demand video, network personal video recorder features and time-shifting capabilities, courtesy of the Edgeware servers.
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News Corp chief predicts different pay models
LagardèreActive, YouTube partner for online video
Ofcom opens consultations on P2P code
ONO signs off debt restructure
DTV subs 887m in 2014
Starling social TV lands at MIPTV
Akamai says traffic peaking on sports
Alcatel mobile middle man
Accenture OTT
S3 speeds Pace deployment
News Corp chief predicts different pay models
From Colin Mann in Cannes
Jonathan Miller, chief digital officer, chairman and CEO of the digital media group at News Corporation, has suggested that different levels of digital consumption experience will emerge, with a migration to different forms of paid models.Delivering a keynote speech on ‘Charting the next digital decade’ at MIPTV, Miller noted that each of the main content distributors such as Google, Yahoo and Apple were gravitating towards “different models and pushing different stuff”. "Google is in the free camp, but Apple is focusing on charging for content." He pointed out that these models are either co-existing or - according to some - fighting it out for supremacy.
Miller suggested that all the different content forms - TV shows, e-books, music and so on - were now funnelling into the same distribution stores, which he noted was a big change from the past. In terms of advertising-supported models, Miller thinks there will be premium destinations that "advertisers have to be in", such as Hulu as well as other portals where the ads are discounted due to the sheer weight of inventory. "I think we'll start to see different classes of experience, and a migration towards different forms of paid models," he said, with even Google being forced into a tiered model, rather than its existing 'everything free' approach.
Miller says Hulu has to “continue to accelerate its user base, and grapple with this question of free versus paid," adding that News Corp believes in paid models for highly produced forms of content in general." He predicted that 2010 would be the year when terms of trade are determined for digital content. "At the end, we'll have much more of a paid side to it than it does today.”
In newspapers News Corp is out front and will be erecting pay walls on its UK newspaper sites this summer. Strangely UK PM Gordon Brown, currently campaigning to be re-elected on May 6, intervened in the debate to say he thought paid for internet news would fail.
Despite being less than three weeks away from his first General Election, the Leader of the Labour Party has waded into the debate surrounding NI's controversial paywall strategy.
Set to begin in June with a £2 weekly or £1 daily charge for web access to The Times and Sunday Times, News International's paywall has been hailed as a "defining moment for journalism", by NI's chief executive, Rebekah Brooks.
But speaking to the BBC's Radio Times, published today, the Prime Minister was quick to offer reasons why such a move would not work. "People will pay for certain things, and should pay for certain things, but I think there's a whole sort of element of communication that's got to be free. People mind paying for basic news," he said.
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LagardèreActive, YouTube partner for online video
From Colin Mann in CannesLagardère Active, the press and broadcasting unit of French media conglomerate Lagardère SCA and Google's YouTube have agreed a partnership to promote online videos globally.
Lagardère Active will make available video content to YouTube viewers with the aim to speed up the promotion and monetisation of online video content, the pair said. "Video is one of Lagardère Active's major axes of growth on the Internet," said Didier Quillot, chief executive of LagardèreActive.
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Ofcom opens consultations on P2P codeUK regulator Ofcom is getting on with implementing the Digital Economy Act. It says
—It will draft the code, governing how ISPs must notify infringing subscribers, by May, and will put it out to widespread consultation.
—It will settle on the code by September.
—It will submit the code, in the form of a draft statutory instrument, for required European Commission approval at the same time, by September.Since EC approval takes at least three months, it means downloaders will not start receiving letters from their ISPs until at least December 2010.
If the notifications - which will come along with advice on legal download options and WiFi security - do not “significantly reduce” file sharing, the government will be able to order ISPs to implement “technical measures” ie speed management and, eventually, cutting them off.
Ofcom says it is starting “immediately” on finding a methodology that will it use to determine file-sharing levels. The methodology will need to be in place on the day the code is implemented in order to find a baseline figure for file-sharing prevalence. It’s this research which will be handed quarterly to the government for consideration. The regulator says it’s also starting to spec out subscribers’ appeal and disputes channels “immediately”.
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ONO signs off debt restructure
Ono, Spain’s dominant MSO, has finally agreed the major debt restructure of its E3.5bn loans first outlined in January. The main purpose of the deal is to put back principle repayments to 2013. In return lenders received an improved coupon and additional covenenants.
The operator had already announced all of its main shareholders have taken part in a subscription of E200 million of new capital.
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The number of digital television subscribers worldwide will grow from 484 million in 2010 to 887 million by 2014, according to estimates released today by Strategy Analytics announced at NAB. On a regional basis, Asia Pacific will post the highest growth in the next five years, and will represent over half of worldwide digital subscriptions by 2014. Cable continues to be the dominant television viewing platform, however over two-thirds of subscriptions worldwide still use analogue. This is expected to change rapidly, with digital cable households outnumbering analogue starting in 2012. As countries roll out their respective Digital Switchover (DSO) programs, the relative importance of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) as a primary viewing platform will likewise increase.
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Starling social TV lands at MIPTV
From Colin Mann in CannesStarling, a new social TV platform that says it connects TV audiences and integrates them with broadcast media, has been unveiled. Designed for mobile devices, tablet computers and the web, it provides viewers with a platform to chat, play, and interact - around a show, and with each other.
Starling builds on the emergent trend of ‘co-viewing’, which generates active social media chatter when fans of a show gather online. It connects fans with other fans of the programme, and friends to what their friends are watching. Users engage each other around the shows they already enjoy, and discover new shows through the social graph.
“Viewers will be able to use Starling to scan comments from friends and other fans of the show, in sync with the TV broadcast. Watching a show becomes a social activity, where the audience becomes aware of the audience. It’s like a real-time watercooler,” said Kevin Slavin, President of Starling.
For production companies and broadcast organisations, Starling retains viewers by deepening their relationship to a TV show and activates the audience, turning fans into participants. It encourages viewers to discover new TV shows through their social network. For sponsors and advertisers, Starling delivers a new layer for broadcast, creating a new channel for companies looking for turnkey solutions to effectively use social media.
An early customer for the service is Fremantle Media. Gary Carter, COO at FremantleMedia Group, said that Starling’s Early Access Programme provided it with the opportunity to explore new channels to connect with its audience, which extended Fremantle’s legacy in doing so for many years. “Emergent behaviours in social media are building a new and connected audience, and we look forward to the ways that Starling could help Fremantle to amplify, augment and engage this trend,” he said.
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Akamai says traffic peaking on sports
Akamai Technologies, provider in powering video, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, announced that its global network reached an all-time high for total content served. Spurred by unprecedented end user demand for premium online coverage of major sporting events the Akamai EdgePlatform reached a new, single-day peak of 3.45 Terabits per second (Tbps) of content served on Friday, April 9th. This rate of content served is Akamai's highest in more than ten years in business, and represents total, simultaneous content served in support of over 3,100 customers worldwide.
"This new peak demand demonstrates the Internet's emergence as a primary channel for communications, entertainment, and commerce," said Paul Sagan, Akamai's President and CEO. "Interest in online news, entertainment, and sporting events, combined with major enterprise product announcements and software launches from leading companies, drove new levels of demand for Akamai services. Most notably, in just the six months since announcing the Akamai HD Network, we have seen many of the largest live events move to high definition video delivery. Consumers now expect access to premium content online, and Akamai is uniquely capable of providing services that are helping to redefine television quality and scale on the Internet."
In addition to reaching a milestone for peak traffic served this past Friday, the Akamai network also hit a new peak during the same day for video streaming, as well as a near high for total requests served.
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Alcatel mobile middle manAlcatel-Lucent is taking up position in the mobile advertising space, launching a service with which agencies can buy permission-based mobile ads across multiple carriers and networks.
Mobile advertising vice president Thomas Labarthe said the firm has built on its existing “application enablement framework” by creating a brand new media arm comprising 50 to 100 staff across several countries.
The new service called Optism starts by Alcatel-Lucent partnering with mobile carriers then lining up media buyers. The ad buyers then create and book ads using Optism’s web-based tool. “We enable agencies to purchase and campaigns and get all sorts of analytics,” Labarthe said, adding the buying agency, operator and Alcatel-Lucent share revenue.
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At NAB the consultancy Accenture introduced a new set of capabilities to help communication, entertainment and retail companies address the growing consumer demand for “anytime” video services. Referred to as Accenture’s solution for Over-The-Top TV (OTT TV), it provides a seamless consumer experience for accessing linear content through the broadcast network on a TV set, as well as non-linear services such as Catch-up TV and Video on Demand through a broadband IP network. It is also designed to allow the provider to extend content and the consumer experience to additional platforms including PCs, mobile, gaming consoles and connected TVs.
The Accenture solution for Over-The-Top TV is based on Accenture platforms, that enable service providers to launch new services quickly and economically while reducing the initial high costs of IT and infrastructure setup. It also minimizes the risk and complexity of managing multiple connections to third parties. Accenture’s solution is based on a pre-integrated platform, which helps providers dramatically reduce the time it takes to launch services.
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S3 Group announced that is has successfully completed testing the recently launched Mediaroom STB platform from Pace, the leading developer of digital TV technologies for the pay-TV industry. S3 Group, a provider of products, services and intellectual property (IP) to the Digital TV industry, is undertaking testing work for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to test new and derivative STB models for deployment by Mediaroom customers. S3 Group has increased testing capacity for Mediaroom STBs, enabling faster time-to-market for OEMs and more choice of STBs for Mediaroom operators. Mediaroom now delivers IPTV services to over 4 million subscriber households and supports features such as instant channel zapping, HD VoD, whole home DVR and remote recording as well as rich interactive TV applications.
“Our world-class engineering team has created this customisable platform to enable operators to quickly and easily roll out IPTV, hybrid broadcast/broadband and OTT (over-the-top) services,” said Olivier Thivolet, Chief Technical Engineer, Pace. ”By testing Pace’s Mediaroom STB platform to rigorous standards, S3 Group has played an important role in enabling us to bring a service-ready, high-quality, stable product to market faster.”
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Tuesday 13th April
Abertis Telecom faces more competition charges
Big 3 telcos threaten Google; Pay up or face legislation
Chellomedia buys Teuve bouquet
Will M&A settle Echostar v TiVo fight?
Fastweb fraud exposure E81m
Sharp enters 3D TV market
Confusion over HD TV as World Cup approaches
MobiTV for iPhone
Ericsson brings live HD IPL coverage to India
3D TV from Ericsson
SmartJog acquire TV-Radio.com
Witbe for Etisalat and BesTV
Abertis Telecom faces more competition charges
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish Competition Authority has started legal proceedings against domestic broadcasting agency Abertis Telecom over alleged abuse of dominant position in the distribution of TV signals.
The case was taken to the CNC Competition Commission by SES Astra Iberica which accuses Abertis of hindering competition in the market by refusing free access to RTVE's terrestrial network to third parties.
This is not the first time Abertis Telecom has been criticised for controlling the market. Last year the company was fined with E22.6 million for abuse of dominant position in the DTT market. Last February, Abertis was also fined with E143,000 for not informing the authorities about the acquisition of Teledifusion.
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Big 3 telcos threaten Google; Pay up or face legislationEurope’s three biggest telcos – Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and Telefonica, have said Google must share advertising revenue from services carried on their networks or they will ask EU regulators to intervene.
"There is something totally not normal and contrary to economic logic to let Google use our network without paying the price for this," said Stéphane Richard, France Telecom’s new CEO.
Telefonica has already floated the idea of charging Internet search engines for the data they send rather than consumers, because the web firms currently contribute nothing towards infrastructure.
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Chellomedia buys Teuve bouquet
Chellomedia has acquired Teuve, the 10-channel bouquet, from ONO - making it the leading multichannel operator in Spain. The combined Multicanal and Teuve offering now represents a 16 per cent viewing share of the pay-TV market in Spain.
"This deal demonstrates Chellomedia’s success at developing a leading position in key European territories and underlines our commitment to the Spanish market," Chellomedia President Shane O’Neill said.
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Will M&A settle Echostar v TiVo fight?
Rumours in the US press that Echostar might try and escape the disaster of potentially having to switch off its DVR population, if its last appeal to escape a patent infringement charge fails, by buying the plaintiff – TiVo.
In March, the US Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's ruling that EchoStar/DISH are still in violation of TiVo's patents. The settlement deadline is April 30. An alternative is the reverse scenario – TiVo buys Echostar; its market cap now outranks Echostar at $2 billion v. $1.6 billion.
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Swisscom expects the total exposure of its Italian subsidiary Fastweb to a complex fraud and tax evasion investigation in Italy to be no more than E81 million, according to the Swiss company’s chief executive. Carsten Schloter, who took over temporarily as chief executive of Fastweb this month, said Swisscom had been aware since it acquired the Italian company in 2007 that the fraud investigation had been going on and had earmarked E70 million at the time to meet any liabilities arising from it. It has since set aside a further E11 million to cover any illegal profit the activities behind the alleged fraud may have generated, taking its total exposure to E81 million.
Schloter said the "real risk" to Swisscom’s E4 billion investment in Fastweb had been the threat that the Italian company might have been placed in administration because of the allegations, which surfaced at the end of February. Fastweb and Sparkle, the wholesale broadband unit of Telecom Italia, were accused by prosecutors in Rome of offering services to offshore companies that were used to launder money and evade tax. The prosecutors alleged that the fraud, which they estimated had involved E2 billion of revenues, was one of the largest ever in Italy.
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Confusion over HD TV as World Cup approachesAt a time when HD Ready TVs are selling faster than ever in the run up to the World Cup, many UK households are still confused as to how actually to watch in HD.
Ofcoms data shows that 70 per cent of digital TVs sold in the UK in the last quarter of 2009 were HD Ready. As a result, total HD Ready TV sales in the UK hit 23 million units by the end of 2009. But a British Video Association (BVA) study this week shows that 50 per cent of those who believed they were watching in HD had not actually connected the necessary player or set-top box, and are thus actually still watching in standard definition.
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Sharp enters 3D TV marketJapan's Sharp will begin selling 3D-capable LCD TVs in Japan this summer, the latest consumer electronics maker to enter the market. Sharp plans to launch 3D TVs in China, Europe and the United States by December, joining larger rivals Samsung, LG and Sony.
Sharp's says the new products will be the world's first 3D TVs using four-primary-colour technology, which utilizes yellow on top of the three conventional primary colours of red, green and blue, enabling the TV sets to offer brighter, more vivid images.
Demand for 3D TVs will likely grow more than 10-fold to 27 million units in 2013 from an estimated 2.5 million units this year, according to research firm DisplaySearch.
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MobiTV for iPhoneMobiTV has confirmed that its MobiTV for iPhone application is available from the App Store in the US. The app gives iPhone users live sports, breaking news and entertainment with enhanced discoverability and interactive technologies, the first in a wave of new mobile media features coming from MobiTV.
Consumers can use the in-app purchasing feature to download an additional content package that includes eight channels of live programming from marquee brands, over 30 channels of on-demand TV that feature over 150 titles of full-length programming across news, entertainment, children’s and sports genres. The additional content package is available in one, three and six month subscriptions for $9.99, $24.99, and $44.99, respectively.
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Ericsson brings live HD IPL coverage to IndiaThe Indian Premier League Twenty 20 (IPL T20) cricket enters its third season in 2010 and is expected to draw a TV audience of 200 million in India alone. To enhance the viewing experience of this hugely popular competition, the action will be broadcast in HD to homes across the country using Ericsson HD solutions. Essel Shyam, the Indian Telecom / IT & Media Broadcasting Technology service provider, is managing the entire Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) for the event, using the Ericsson EN8040 HD DSNG solution.
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3D TV from EricssonSome analysts predict that close to 80 million 3D TV sets will be sold by 2015 – remarkable given that they were launched only at the beginning of this year. Total revenues are expected to top $60 billion within five years. Ericsson’s new solution for both direct-to-home (DTH) and contribution and distribution of 3D content will allow them to meet viewers’ demands.
Staffan Pehrson, Head of Solution Area TV, Ericsson, says that advances in camera, delivery, and display technologies now make it possible to effectively deploy 3D television to the home. Pehrson says: "Consumers will be able to get the same enhanced experience in their living room as they do at the movie theater. At NAB, we will launch a complete solution to enable broadcasters and operators to introduce 3D consumer services today." The launch builds on Ericsson’s understanding and expertise in content distribution and high definition video.
The Ericsson 3D solution addresses challenges in both contribution and distribution as well as direct-to-home delivery of 3D content. The challenges for live 3D contribution differ greatly from DTH, with the utmost being the need for the best picture quality possible including full spatial resolution. Ericsson’s large contribution and distribution portfolios have been optimized to ensure that 3D feeds are compressed and delivered correctly.
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SmartJog acquire TV-Radio.comSmartJog, a fully owned TDF subsidiary and a leader in managed digital delivery, has acquired TV-Radio.com, a content delivery network (CDN) specialising in live and on-demand Internet streaming for radio, television, new media and corporate clients in Europe. SmartJog will add live and on-demand streaming across the Internet to its global product offerings.
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Witbe for Etisalat and BesTVFrench firm Witbe has won new contracts with UAE telco Etisalat and Chinese IPTV operator BesTV to provide its triple-play quality assurance solutions.
Etisalat has deplyed Witbe solutions in three major cities in the United Arab Emirates - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ajman - including video monitoring robots, as well as data and voice robots. The telco has also selected Witbe CORP, a central multifunction portal installed in the operator's service supervision centre, dedicated to aggregating, correlating and alerting all available results and information in a real-time view. Chinese IPTV BesTV has selected Witbe solutions for monitoring its IPTV service from their network operations centre in Shanghai.
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Monday 12th April
TalkTalk defies Digital Law
FCC pushes ahead despite Comcast ruling
3D TV shipments to hit 2.5m this year
Cabovisao subs loss slows
Cable and IPTV operators investing in VOD servers
Qlipso buys Veoh assets
Orange serves up Roland-Garros Tennis Open in 3D
Kyte for Boxee
Brightcove signs Finnish TV Channel
One of the UK's three biggest Internet service providers has declared it will not co-operate with measures to combat file-sharing set out in the government's controversial digital economy bill. TalkTalk, which has more than 4 million UK internet users, said that objectionable provisions remain in the bill, including those that would allow content companies to force ISPs to block the connections of customers suspected of online copyright infringement.
Andrew Heaney, TalkTalk's director of strategy and regulation, said the proposals were "draconian": "This is made all the more appalling by the ability of big music and film companies to influence government and the absence of any proper debate or scrutiny by MPs – only 5 per cent of MPs turned up for the brief debate and the other important parliamentary stages will be bypassed in the wash-up process."
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FCC pushes ahead despite Comcast rulingThe head of the Federal Communications Commission vowed to press ahead with the broadband expansion plan despite a court ruling that undermined the agency's authority to manage networks. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the appeals court ruling was narrowly cast and he issued a timetable for public comment and rulemaking on broadband goals ranging from reallocating airwaves to expanding Internet access for rural and low-income households.
The ruling in favour of Comcast dealt a blow to proponents of Net Neutrality, who argue that providers should treat all traffic on the Internet equally, and to the FCC's authority to oversee the Internet. "The court decision does not change our broadband policy goals, or the ultimate authority of the FCC to act to achieve those goals," Genachowski said in a statement that included the opening of more than 60 proceedings on elements of the National Broadband Plan.
"The court did not question the FCC's goals; it merely invalidated one technical, legal mechanism for broadband policy chosen by prior commissions," he said.
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3D TV shipments to hit 2.5m this yearWith the first round of 3D-capable TVs now reaching retail floors and plans for the top TV manufacturers to bring more products to market soon, DisplaySearch has increased its 2010 forecast for 3D-capable TV shipments. According to the latest Quarterly TV Design and Features Report, the market is forecast to grow from 2.5 million 3D-capable TVs shipped in 2010 to 27 million sets in 2013.
The video processing and extra display performance required for 3D remain relatively costly compared to entry-level models. As a result, 3D is constrained by the penetration of double or quadruple frame rate sets in the market. While 3D is forecast to show rapid growth, DisplaySearch research indicates that only 27 per cent of 40 inch or larger sets shipped in 2013 will be 3D-capable.
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Cabovisao subs loss slows
The Portugese cableco lost 1,302 basic cable subscribers in the six months to February 2010, compared to 19,943 in 2009. Announcing second quarter and half-year results, Canadian parent Cogeco said net additions amounted to 21,508 RGUs and 48,121 RGUs, respectively, compared to 12,833 RGUs and 84 RGUs for the same periods of the previous year. Digital customers grew by 12,189 in the second quarter to reach 131,056 out of 267,353 homes connected.
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Cable and IPTV operators investing in VOD serversInfonetics Research has released the fourth quarter editions of two video-related market share and forecast reports: Video Infrastructure and Subscribers and Set-Top Boxes and Subscribers.
"In the ongoing battle between cable and telco IPTV operators, both continue to spend furiously to add video-on-demand and streaming content server capacity to support the rollout of on-demand HD content and provide start-over and remote storage-digital video recorder services, all of which require the delivery of unicast streams to set-top boxes. This aggressive move to full unicast models for video delivery is driving strong growth in video on-demand and streaming content servers," notes Jeff Heynen, Infonetics Research’s directing analyst for broadband and video.
Highlight of the reports include:
- Worldwide video infrastructure revenue held steady from 3Q09 to 4Q09 at $625 million, with all segments up but one (video content protection software)
- For the full year 2009, video infrastructure revenue decreased 11 per cent to $2.5 billion.
- Worldwide VOD and streaming content server revenue increased 60 per cent from 2008 to 2009, and is expected to increase rapidly over the next four quarters.
- 3D TV is expected to be popular for particular content, primarily movies and sporting events, but will have little impact on how operators spend to deliver 3D content, except for devices that improve access network bandwidth, such as edge QAMs for cable operators.
- There were 417 million cable video subscribers worldwide in 2009; that number is expected to hold steady through at least 2014 as standard cable video subscribers switch over to digital cable video.- Motorola is the worldwide STB market share leader, followed by Cisco and Pace.
- Worldwide total STB revenue grew 7 per cent in the fourth quarter, following a dismal third quarter.
- The number of video subscribers increased across the board in 4Q09, and more existing subscribers also upgraded to premium HD and DVR set-top boxes, a trend likely to continue.
- For the full 2009 year, worldwide STB revenue reached $11.2 billion, down 5 per cent decrease from 2008, as macroeconomic conditions tempered subscriber growth, especially among North American and European cable operators.
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Qlipso buys Veoh assetsInternet start-up Qlipso has bought the assets of online video sharing service Veoh Networks, allowing it to expand its real-time media sharing platform to millions of new viewers.
Qlipso, backed by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), an Israeli-based venture capital fund, said it had purchased "substantially all of the assets of Veoh" in March. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Investors had pumped $70 million into Veoh, which was formally launched in 2005.
Veoh competes with YouTube in allowing Internet users to broadcast video content. The company said its audience has grown to 28 million users per month, but in February announced plans to file for bankruptcy protection.
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Orange serves up Roland-Garros Tennis Open in 3DOrange has signed multi-year agreements with the French Tennis Federation and with France Télévisions covering Orange’s broadcasting of the Roland-Garros French Tennis Open Championships from 2010 to 2013. The Orange sport channel will broadcast in HD the best matches taking place on the Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen courts based on a licensing agreement with France Télévisions, the tournament’s official broadcaster.
For the first time ever, Orange will enable its broadband and fibre-optics subscribers who are already equipped with a 3D compatible TV set and special glasses to experience the event in 3D. For the sixth year in a row, Orange will also provide its "Tennis Everywhere" service to keep abreast of matches via TV, PC and mobile phone.
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Kyte for BoxeeKyte, the 360° social video platform for live and on-demand content, has extended the Kyte Platform to support Boxee.
The Kyte Boxee App Framework provides an easy way to deliver fully-brandable content to Boxee, which audiences are then able to browse and view through the Boxee interface on their PC or television. Content can be made available in Boxee’s Apps directory, bringing Kyte customers the opportunity to expand their reach to audiences at home. Customers can also push their content to Facebook and Twitter through Boxee’s rating system, which recommends video content to contacts both inside and outside of the Boxee community.
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Brightcove signs Finnish TV ChannelFinnish software house Soprano Brain Alliance has delivered an online TV service for SuomiTV, a Finnish national TV channel. The online service was developed, implemented and launched in the timeframe of one month. The technical implementation was done in cooperation with t online video platform developer Brightcove. The service concept and design were provided by Finnish interactive design consultancy Nordkapp.
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