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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 30th April
Sky reaches 9.77m as ARPU grows 11%
Apple shoots for $1m for mobile ads
Vidiactive breaks cover
Orange revenues down, subs up
Freesat looks to 3D
WRN rebrands, TopUp deal
APAC will lead mobile TV
MTG launches subscription sports channel in Bulgaria
BBC HD in Poland
Sonic announces 'Total 3D' initiative
MVR brings quality content to Metacafe
Rovi upgrades Cox
Sky reaches 9.77m as ARPU grows 11%Another strong set of figures sees Sky closing in on its 10 million target with 62,000 net additions in the third quarter bringing them to 9.77 million households. The company said its multi-product strategy with HD, DVR, broadband, multi-room etc, had seen 878,000 additional subscription product sales with an 11 per cent boost to ARPU over the nine months ended March 31st. Other subs highlights included 428,000 net HD additions, and 1.9 million triple pay customers.
Total revenue for the period grew 11 per cent to £4.383 billion (E5.04bn) and operating profit grew 5 per cent to £618 million.
Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive, said: "The business has continued to perform very well in what remains a tough consumer environment. Customers are responding to our focus on quality, innovation and value, and success in our multi-product strategy has allowed us to deliver double-digit growth in each of revenue, free cash flow and earnings per share.
"We have seen a huge response to our decision to cut the upfront cost of high definition, with net additions of 428,000 - up 76 per cent on the prior year. The number of customers taking all three of TV, broadband and telephony is up 39 per cent year on year and, as customers reward us with more of their business, ARPU has surpassed £500 for the first time.
"In support of this growth, we have created around 1,500 jobs over the last two years and, with the announced opening of a new contact centre ...we will be adding a further 550. At the same time, we continue to broaden our contribution to the communities in which we live and work. Our secondary schools programme ‘Sky Sports Living for Sport’ reached a key milestone this month signing up its 1,000th school."
"Our leading HD box is allowing us to bring more innovation to customers faster and at lower cost. The launch of Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3D TV channel, has got off to a good start, with more than 1,000 venues signed up so far. We’re on track to bring 3D to residential customers later this year along with our new video-on-demand service, Sky Anytime+. All of this will be available through our existing HD box.
Sky has also revealed that its planned full video-on-demand service, Sky Anytime Plus, which will be delivered over broadband to connected set-tops, will be launched later this year. Sky’s online TV service, Sky Player, will be accessible via a number of new devices including internet-connected LCD TVs and hybrid digital-terrestrial/IPTV set-top boxes, following recent agreements with Cello, 3View and Humax.It also confirmed Sky News will launch on election night – May 6th.
Sky is currently awaiting the outcome of its applications to Competition Appeals Tribunal for a stay on Ofcom’s ruling that it must cut wholesale prices. Sky wants the decision frozen while it fights Ofcom through the courts.
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Apple shoots for $1m for mobile ads
Apple aims to charge close to $1 million for ads on its mobile devices this year reports the WSJ.
Apple is hitting the road to showcase iAd, its new mobile-device advertising capability and has indicated it could charge as much as $10 million to be part of a handful of marketers at the launch. Earlier this month, Apple the software system to offer ads in the applications available in its App Store. Ads are likely to start appearing in applications on its iPhone and iPod Touch devices in June, and its iPad later in the year.
Apple said the company will sell and serve the ads and that app developers will receive 60 per cent of the revenue. Apple gets the other 40 per cent.
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Vidiactive breaks cover
From Colin Mann in LondonSocial television platform company Vidiactive has unveiled its production software and new Internet portal. The Vidiactive system enables any Internet video to be browsed full screen on a television and also enables users to control, share and manage their content and content feeds.
"What we’re doing is catering to the way television will be viewed in the future," noted Vidiactive CEO, Ben Hookway. "We’re not trying to layer Internet functionality onto the TV screen. Rather, we think the big screen is great for watching video and the small screen is great for controlling and sharing that video."
He revealed that the system is currently undergoing internal trials with one of the world’s largest network providers, and describing it as "a highly disruptive technology", claimed it had already attracted a lot of interest from the industry, including box and chip manufacturers and European network operators. "There are two or three companies looking at building boxes," he suggested, noting that these could retail at around £95 (E109).
Business plans under consideration for the development included selling to service providers, as well as potentially monetising viewer behaviour patterns. "Because we know what’s being bookmarked and sent as recommendations, it’s very valuable for targeted advertising" he noted, adding that in five years time, the company wanted all video devices to have Vidiactive conformance.
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Orange revenues down, subs upOrange’s pay-TV services were reaching 3.39 million subscribers across all markets by the end of March, up from 3.217 million at the end of 2009 and up 34 per cent year-on-year.
Orange sports and Orange cinema series channels having a combined total of 713,000 customers by the end of the period (up from 363,000 one year previously) whilst VOD generated 2.7 million pay-per-view uses in France in the first three months of this year, up 53 per cent from last year.
In Poland, the company more than doubled its pay-TV customer base in the twelve months to last March to reach 417,000 customers.
Total revenues across all operations reached E10.96 billion for the first quarter of this year, down 2.7 per cent year-on-year, while EBITDA fell 5.5 per cent by the same comparison to reach E3.764 billion.
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Freesat looks to 3DFreesat is "actively looking" at the possibility of adding 3D TV to the free-to-air satellite platform. In an interview with joinfreesat, managing director Emma Scott said: "We worked hard to make sure that the first generation of receivers were as future proofed as possible. The great news is that all HD Freesat receivers would be 3D compatible - if you buy a new 3D TV and the specs of course! We will continue to talk to broadcasters about opportunities in this area."
WRN rebrands, TopUp deal
From Colin Mann in LondonInternational broadcast services company WRN has revealed a new brand identity - WRN Broadcast – to reflect the comprehensive range of broadcast services it provides for television and radio broadcasters, content owners and brands worldwide.
WRN Broadcast has expanded its offering to become a comprehensive global broadcast services provider following its acquisition of TSI Broadcast in 2009. The company now offers clients an end-to-end solution for ingest, content management, playout, encoding / multiplexing and worldwide distribution via fibre and satellite, building on its heritage as an international radio distributor. The expanded offering is made possible by WRN Broadcast’s new Media Centre.
WRN Broadcast also announced that it has been contracted to provide content management and multi-channel playout services to Top Up TV, the UK’s leading DTT pay TV service. Since January 2010, WRN Broadcast has instigated a bespoke end-to-end tapeless workflow, which includes acquisition and file management from over 20 distributors. sThe solution also incorporates library management, ingest, file delivery, remote editorial compliance review, storage and archive, playout and distribution.
David Treadway, MD, WRN Broadcast, said the company intends to build on its broadcasting and digital expertise to offer a wide range of services to international television broadcasters and brands, in addition to its longstanding radio clients. "Convergence is bringing about what we’ve always done, but it’s now possible in a more managed way," he added. "Once content is in the building, we can send it anywhere in the world", noted Sophie Wilson, Head of Sales and marketing.
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In terms of subscriber numbers, Asia-Pacific region will continue to lead the global mobile TV market, owing to the rapid developments in countries like China, Japan, South Korea and India. As a result, Asia-Pacific region is projected to constitute around 67% of the global mobile TV subscriber base by the end of 2013, according to new report, "Global Mobile TV Forecast to 2013" from RNCOS.
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The report also provides detailed country level analysis, which will help clients to figure out the emerging countries in this field that will witness a rapid uptake of the technology in future. Our report also gives exclusive insights into future potential of mobile TV in various countries analyzed, including the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, South Korea, China, India, UAE, Malaysia, Russia, Brazil and Mexico.
Our team of experts has studied the global mobile TV market by segmenting it into various subsections i.e. by subscribers, by region, by revenues, by technology and by various business models. The research report also offers thorough information on various potential growth areas of the mobile TV market which will play an important role in driving the global mobile TV market.
"Global Mobile TV Forecast to 2013" provides detailed evaluation of the current industry trends and developments vital for the success of overall mobile TV market. Besides this, we have studied various factors that will foster the growth of the global mobile TV market
MTG launches subscription sports channel in BulgariaModern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment broadcasting group, has announced that it is launching a localised premium sports pay-TV channel in Bulgaria. Available immediately, Nova Sport will feature sports content including English Premier League and UEFA Champions League football, IAAF Diamond League athletics, Speedway Grand Prix and 2010 IIHF World Championship ice-hockey.
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BBC Worldwide Channels announced today that the BBC HD channel will launch in Poland on 1 May 2010.
BBC HD will be available to 700,000 households in Poland that subscribe to the HD package for major DTH platform n. BBC HD is also confirmed to launch with cable provider UPC Polska in the coming weeks.
Dean Possenniskie, General Manager and SVP EMEA, BBC Worldwide Channels said: "Today's announcement is another exciting stage in our commitment to bringing the very best of BBC programming to Poland. BBC HD will offer the BBC’s award-winning content with exceptional viewing quality."
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Sonic announces 'Total 3D' initiativeSonic Solutions has announced a broad programme to support the "next big thing" in home video -- the arrival of 3D in the home -- with new professional and consumer solutions for the creation, publishing, and playback of 3D digital video content. Sonic is unique in its focus on "Hollywood-to-Home" solutions that enable the growth of new video formats, and Sonic's new 3D offerings will help to fuel the availability and consumer adoption of 3D video.
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MVR brings quality content to MetacafeMyvideorights.com (MVR), the independent video rights distributor, has provided thousands of premium TV clips to Metacafe, the independent video entertainment site, for its new UK TV Clips hub. With more than two million unique monthly viewers to Metacafe, the deal provides a key new outlet to broaden distribution and monetise content produced by MVR’s clients.
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Rovi upgrades CoxRovi has confirmed that Cox Communications has completed deployment of Rovi's VOD application, ShowRunner, in the company's Motorola systems. As a result of the conversion, combined with additional marketing and promotion of On Demand from Cox at time of launch, the company has seen an increase in VOD usage of approximately 20 per cent. ShowRunner's advanced navigation path and other features make it easier for subscribers to access and navigate VOD content. Cox is planning additional roll-outs of ShowRunner throughout 2010 with a conversion to the Passport Guide for cable systems on the Cisco platform.
Thursday 29th April
End to Spanish DTT dispute?
Virgin Media beats expectations
Hulu abandons UK plans
FCC will mandate open STB
IPTV "interactivity gap" is hampering growth
Yahoo scores Premier League highlights
1 in 8 will axe their cable this year
blinkx adds Behavioural Targeting
Digital TV to become more popular?
FiOS TV adds YouTube and Internet radio
TiVo Wireless N Network Adapter
End to Spanish DTT dispute?
From David Del Valle in MadridPrisa, the parent company of Sogecable (DTH platform Digital Plus, Canal Plus and FTA channel Cuatro) has reached an agreement with domestic broadcasting agency Abertis Telecom, to be part of its pay-DTT platform, TDT Premium, alongside its rival Mediapro, shareholder in the commercial channel La Sexta, and owner of the first pay DTT channel, Gol TV.
This means Prisa has backed down on its plans to launch an alternative pay-DTT platform with a proprietary technology. The decision comes at a time when the company has just signed a deal with Mediaset-controlled Tele 5 to merge Cuatro and Tele 5 allowing the latter channel to acquire a 22 per cent stake in pay DTH platform Digital Plus.
Prisa has plans to launch around 4 pay DTT channels, following the merger agreement Prisa will manage the pay DTT channels of the new joint company. Prisa's pay DTT channels will be marketed under the brand of Canal Plus and the first launch is likely to take place in September.
Today, the Abertis Telecom pay DTT platform is distributing only two channels; Gol TV and AXN, to around 150,000 DTT subscribers (1 million combining all possible distribution platforms, according to the company). Abertis Telecom claims to have so far invested E350 million in the deployment of DTT.
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Virgin Media beats expectationsVirgin Media has added a net total of 38,300 new cable subs – the largest number since it was formed by the merger of NTL and Telewest four years ago, and above analysts' expectations.
Virgin said that the growth in net households added, which compares with just 7,100 for the same period last year, was attributable to a combination of a historically low customer churn rate of 1.1 per cent, expansion of its reach and its opening of new shops.
Virgin Media, which has heavily marketed its high-speed internet services with a 100 megabit service set for later this year, saw a 53 per cent increase year-on-year in broadband subscribers to 72,300. The company believes the promotion and availability of ‘super fast’ broadband has had a significant ‘halo effect’ on all its products and the brand.
Virgin Media's broadband customer base stands at 4.2 million. The company said that the number of subscribers paying for 20Mb or 50Mb speeds now accounted for 16 per cent of the total broadband base. The number paying for high speed internet was up 46 per cent year on year. A total of 550,000 customers have signed up to Virgin's 20Mb service and 57,900 to its 50Mb service.
The company added 35,700 net new TV subscribers, slightly under consensus analyst predictions of 38,000. Overall, Virgin added 46,600 TV customers; however, around 10,000 analogue customers were disconnected.
The company's digital TV subscriber base stands at 3.7 million. It said that 77,900 more households were using its enhanced V+ high-definition digital video recorder. Just under 1m households now have V+, approximately 25 per cent of the total subscriber base. Almost 60 per cent of customers regularly use video-on-demand services. Average monthly video on demand views stand at 68 million, up 24 per cent year on year. Virgin Media's TV revenues revenue increased 3.7 per cent to £33.8 million mainly due to a boost in the ad market.
Overall, the company reported revenues up 2.9 per cent to £963 million (E1.1bn) and EBITDA of £356 million.
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Hulu abandons UK plansHulu is said to be abandoning attempts to enter the UK market. With the BBC locked into iPlayer it needed to strike a deal with ITV or C4 and 5. ITV now wants to concentrate on building up ITV Player and will ot syndicate to third parties. While talks had gone a long way with C4 and 5, Hulu stuck to wanting to sell the advertising around the content and this was something the broadcasters would not concede.
Hulu, which has enjoyed major success in the US, providing a free advertising supported VOD service, is co-owned by News Corp, NBC Universal and Disney.
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FCC will mandate open STBThe US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has latched on to the disruptive technology formed when DLNA is combined with DTCP-IP and a form of high-bandwidth no-new-wire networking, and seems determined to use the opportunity to mandate the end of the pay-TV digital STB. The Commission wants to allow any CE manufacturer’s devices to access pay-TV content, which the Commission believes would foster competition and innovation in ‘smart video devices’.
What will replace the STB in the FCC’s ‘AllVid Concept’ is a ‘Pay-TV Gateway’ that translates from the platform-specific modulation and encryption (Conditional Access) to DLNA & DTCP-IP. The STB will be replaced with Digital Media Adapters that support the same protocols. An increasing number of televisions and Blu-Ray players are also including DLNA & DTCP-IP support.
Such a ban would directly effect more than 40 million STB shipments and $4.7 billion worth of sales annually. It would also enable much more rapid adoption of the same model in other countries.
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IPTV "interactivity gap" is hampering growth
Once viewed as a rising star in the digital television ecosystem, IPTV has largely failed to deliver on its promise, according to a report published by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. As a result, many industry watchers have revised their IPTV estimates downward."IPTV service providers have failed to answer the fundamental ‘why’ question," according to Ben Piper, Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service. "Why would an otherwise satisfied customer drop an existing service and sign up for IPTV? What features, content, or functionality does IPTV have that cable and satellite lack? Interactivity was IPTV’s promise, but so far we’ve seen little delivered."
Addressable advertising, the notion of interactive and targeted messages directed towards specific consumer segments at the individual or household level, is viewed by many as a hallmark of IPTV technology. The concept is not new, but commercial deployment has been slow.
There are glimmers of hope, however, according to Strategy Analytics. San Jose-based BlackArrow, an addressable advertising provider, recently announced that it had raised $20 million its latest round of funding. Led by NDS, and backed by other ecosystem heavy hitters such as Cisco, Comcast, and Intel, this intensive capital injection could very well propel addressable advertising—and the promise of IPTV—forward.
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Yahoo scores Premier League highlightsYahoo has struck a deal with the Premier League for the UK online highlights for the next three seasons. From the start of next season in August, Yahoo will run a five-minute highlights package of every match on Yahoo.co.uk. Highlights will be available from midnight on Sunday after weekend matches and at midnight the same day for midweek fixtures. Virgin Media currently have the rights. Before that they were held by BSkyB, and before that by 3 and Vodafone jointly.
Yahoo's deal also includes the right in the UK to syndicate all, or part, of the Premier League highlights content to third parties. Yahoo in the US has similar deals with big name sports including the NBA basketball, PGA golf, NHL hockey and MLB baseball.
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1 in 8 will axe their cable this yearYankee Group has identified a new category of consumer: the coax-cutter. These consumers cut off their pay TV services and use their PCs, gaming consoles and other connected devices to access video programming instead. One in eight consumers are set to join their ranks in the next 12 months.
Yankee Group reports that the number of coax-cutters will grow due to three main factors: a new wave of connected TVs, ever-escalating pay TV prices and the advent of connected consumer devices that can act like set-top boxes, including Sony Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming consoles.
"At the most basic level, the decision to cut off pay TV services is an economic one," says Vince Vittore, principal analyst and co-author of the report. "As programmers continue to demand ever higher fees, which inevitably get passed on to consumers, we believe more consumers will be forced to consider coax-cutting."
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blinkx adds Behavioural Targetingblinkx, the online video search engine, has introduced Behavioural Targeting through blinkx AdHoc, the first contextual and behavioural advertising platform for online video.
blinkx can now track video consumption patterns over time, build an awareness of a user’s interests and enable advertisers to match ads with an online video audience based on behaviour.
Over time, the system builds a multifaceted and accurate profile of the individual user’s habits, and utilising this behaviour analysis, it attaches the user to one or more predefined profiles. blinkx can then serve ads to users that are aligned to their past viewing habits and interests, regardless of the kinds of content they might be watching at another point in time.
blinkx Chief Executive Suranga Chandratillake said its new technology would allow it to understand its audience even further, which would give a better performance for the advertiser. "Targeting is extremely valuable," he told Reuters. "What we saw, particularly during a recession, is that if you can target viewers then advertisers can justify higher spend.Targeting in general can be very powerful in keeping the (ad rate) pricing high."
blinkx said its platform would monitor activity only on the blinkx site, and would not store any personal details and search habits. All users on the site will also be able to opt out of the behavioural targeting aspect.
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Digital TV to become more popular?
An increasing number of people are staying at home and watching digital TV and films rather than going out, research shows.
A survey by T-Mobile highlighted that 53 per cent of Britons now prefer to spend their time entertaining friends and family at home rather than going out. As a result of this, an increasing number of people are splashing out on improving their home entertainment systems, with almost a third (32 per cent) having spent cash on home entertainment improvements over the past year. In addition, 12 per cent have invested in a larger TV and ten per cent have bought a larger sofa.
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FiOS TV adds YouTube and Internet radio
Verizon has added YouTube to its FiOS TV Internet Video capabilities. Qualified customers can now use their remote controls to search for and enjoy any YouTube video - right on their TV screens. Verizon is also introducing Internet Radio, for FiOS TV subscribers, providing access to hundreds of stations nationwide and the ability to stream music from the PC to the TV.
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TiVo Wireless N Network AdapterTiVo has announced general availability of a new TiVo Wireless N Network Adapter. The adapter is designed to help consumers transfer and download broadband content within the home at a faster speed, making the most of TiVo Premiere and TiVo Premiere XL music, web and mobile features.
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Wednesday 28th April
UK Web video viewing up 37%
FCC seeks web concessions for NBC / Comcast approval
Mobile ads just £38m in UK
Sky axes red button ads
KDG unveils subs stats
FreeWheel raises $16.8m
Telenet: 1m digital
DirecTV and DISH launch ASAP
Hong Kong broadcasters resolve World Cup row
Technetix joins MoCA
ADB solution for CableTEL-Eurocom
comScore, has released data from its Video Metrix service indicating that 5.5 billion videos were viewed online in the UK in February 2010, up 37 per cent versus the previous year.
Driven by the popularity of YouTube, Google Sites grew 17 per cent versus a year ago to further solidify its position as the leading online video viewing property in the UK, with 2.5 billion videos viewed in February 2010. BBC Sites ranked second with 140 million videos viewed on its sites followed by Megavideo with 53 million videos.
Facebook ranked as the fastest growing video property in the top 10, surging 205 per cent in the past year to 43 million videos viewed. blinkx was the second fastest, growing 204 per cent to nearly 29 million videos viewed. BBC Sites (up 143 per cent), ITV sites (up 134 per cent) and Sky Sites (up 139 per cent) also achieved triple-digit growth rates over the past year.
"The UK online video market continues to soar and is attracting a greater and greater share of Internet users’ attention," said Mike Read, SVP and Managing Director, comScore Europe. "In particular, we’ve seen eyeballs move towards the online channel to watch more long-form, professional video content, such as popular broadcast network TV shows. This trend presents a significant opportunity to advertisers, as comScore research has consistently shown that online video advertising is effective at building brands."
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FCC seeks web concessions for NBC / Comcast approvalUS reports say the FCC may use their veto power over Comcast’s planned purchase of NBC Universal to demand concessions that help Web competitors.
The Federal Communications Commission extended its review of the deal in part to assess the effect on online video services. The FCC may bar Comcast, the largest US cable service, from interfering with Web video startups such as Roku and Boxee or from denying them NBC shows or films.
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Spend on UK mobile ads rose 32 per cent from 2008 to £37.6 million (E44 million), says the Internet Advertising Bureau / PWC. This compares with £3.4 billion online.
In keeping with online, search ads are the fastest-growing kind on mobile - up 42 per cent to £20.2 million. Display ads (banners, text links, pre-/post-roll and in-game ads) pulled in 24 percent more money at £17.4 million. SMS/MMS ads attracted just £1.2 million last year, up 26 per cent.
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BSkyB is ditching red-button ads campaigns from current advertisers on Sky channels and third parties, including MTV and Nickelodeon. However, the service will continue on ITV, UKTV and Virgin Media, as their slots are sold independently of Sky Media.
At its peak in 2006, 160 campaigns were running on the red-button service but by 2009 this had fallen to just 60.‘Sky doesn't pursue things that there is no demand for,' said Sky Media communications director Jeremy Tester.
The broadcaster now plans to concentrate on selling ads for its green-button service, which is less clunky and more cost-effective. Sky's Ad Smart service, which launches next year with targeted ads based on user preferences will also be a focus.
Sky will continue to offer red-button interactivity where users can get more information on news, weather and programmes but will stop red-button advertising.
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KDG unveils subs statsGerman regional cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has announced its key performance indicators (KPIs) for the year ended 31 March 2010, reporting a 3.6 per cent year-on-year rise in total revenue generating units (RGUs) to 12.048 million. However, total direct subscribers fell to 7.47 million, down by 33,000 from the previous year primarily due to adjustments related to the acquisition of Orion Cable in May 2008 and final integration of the cableco.
On a pro-forma basis total direct subscribers increased by 16,000 during the fiscal year. Internet and telephony subscribers grew by approximately 291,000 year-on-year (an increase of 36.1 per cent), while Internet and telephony RGUs increased by 556,000 units to reach 1.974 million.
Premium TV RGUs increased by approximately 111,000 units, or 11.5 per cent year-on-year, to reach 1.073 million at 31 March 2010. New services RGUs (comprising premium TV, Internet and telephony) made up 25.3 per cent of total RGUs, compared to 20.5 per cent the previous year. Subscribers now take an average 1.35 RGUs compared to 1.27 at the end of March 2009, and up from an average of 1.33 products at the end of 2009.
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FreeWheel raises $16.8mVideo advertising company FreeWheel has raised $16.8 million in funding from Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, and existing investors, including Turner Broadcasting System, Battery Ventures, and Foundation Capital . This brings the company’s total funding to nearly $30 million.
Founded by former DoubleClick employees in 2007, FreeWheel allows marketers and publishers to manage video advertising campaigns across a variety of distribution sites. FreeWheel’s technology allows media companies to operate an advertising platform for online video, including managing ad sales rights, producing inventory forecasts for live or on demand content, delivering a yield-optimised set of ads, and analysing video business performance.
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Telenet: 1m digital
Telenet, the Belgian MSO, had 1,065,000 digital homes as of March 31, 2010 but is still losing basic analogue subscribers to the fierce competition from Belgacom, which offers ‘free’ TV with a number of its broadband and telephony packages.
During the first quarter 144,000 new customers signed up. Digital TV added 65,000 homes, while 34,000 more took broadband, 23,000 mobile and 22,000 fixed telephony.
Average ARPU of digital and mulitplay customers rose to E37.70 during the quarter
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DirecTV and DISH launch ASAPDirecTV Group and DISH Network have confirmed the launch of the Advanced Satellite Advertising Platform (ASAP), a new interactive advertising platform giving national television advertisers unprecedented reach to nearly 30 million US households.
Advertisers will benefit from a turn-key, one-stop-shop approach with respect to the process of creating, planning, buying and implementing a national interactive advertising campaign. ASAP's core opportunity will offer advertisers the ability to showcase long-form advertorial content on an exclusive, dedicated channel coupled with interactive opportunities to further engage the consumer. These interactive opportunities include additional product information, photo galleries, simple gaming, regional locators and requests-for-information (RFIs). RFIs enable consumers at home to enter a sweepstakes or request a product sample, informational brochure or coupon directly from the television using their remote control.
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Hong Kong broadcasters resolve World Cup rowThree Hong Kong broadcasters have ended a dispute that would have shut out free coverage of the World Cup in the city of 7 million people but the partial solution only airs matches to households with digital decoders.
Hong Kong's World Cup rights holder, the pay-TV broadcaster Cable TV, was at loggerheads with local terrestrial stations TVB and ATV over a sub-licensing deal. Cable TV offered footage for the opening match, the semi-finals and the final, but required the two stations to also carry its commentary and advertising.
Those demands were initially rejected, but under public pressure to reach a compromise with the World Cup just weeks away, the three stations said in a joint statement that TVB and ATV have agreed to Cable TV's terms.
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Technetix joins MoCATechnetix, the European broadband cable and telecommunications equipment supplier, has joined MoCA as an Associate member. Technetix has recently added MoCA-compliant solutions to its product portfolio. The company is prominent in the access network and ‘final mile’ equipment market in Europe, and is rapidly expanding its footprint worldwide.
The Technetix liberti product family, which includes support for MoCA-based home entertainment networks, handles the delivery of high-speed broadband and interactive digital TV services around the home, making all forms of content available on any device, in any room.
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ADB solution for CableTEL-EurocomAdvanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) has signed an agreement with Bulgarian telecommunication operator CableTEL-Eurocom for the delivery of an advanced cable solution offering its latest TV experience with ADB’s Carbo user interface and a multitude of interactive capabilities. The ADB solution includes home networking functionalities and will come with an array of advanced applications such as over-the-top video, Video-on-Demand, media player and USB time-shift.
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Online movies from Virgin
BBC closes in on re-streamers
Nielsen IPO?
ITV to bid for 5?
Bell Labs 300 Mbps
Fox appoints Ytreland MD Nordic
McCann leads Nickelodeon
Virgin Media is launching an online movie service provided by FilmFlex, the Sony-Disney JV that operates Virgin’s premium on demand service.
Movies can be streamed directly to PCs and will be of sufficient quality for users to also watch on their TV with a suitable connection. “Virgin Media already offers the UK’s leading movies on demand TV service and we wanted to bring the same high-quality, easy-to-use experience to film fans online,” said Virgin Media commercial director Alan Green. “Virgin Media Online Movies will help visitors discover and enjoy a whole world of film and we’ll continue to develop the service by adding download functionality, even more titles and a great choice of HD films to the line-up.”
“With this new service, we believe online movie rental will really come of age. We’re building on our experience with Virgin Media’s TV platform to develop a great online movie experience for all film fans and we’re pleased that so many of our content partners have seen the potential of the new Virgin Media branded movie service and are with us for launch,” said FlexFlex CEO Andrew Keyte.
Virgin Media recently launched its online music video on-demand service and plans to launch an online TV player later this year. All of them will doubtless become available via the planned TiVo based service.
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The BBC is cracking down on re-streamers of its iPlayer services like TVCatchUp and Zattoo. “We took them [BBC channels] down and they will remain down and we will link to the iPlayer instead,” CEO of Zattoo Beat Knecht told the Guardian. “This is to comply with a request of theirs; and it frees us to launch a web presence next to the downloadable player and also support additional devices.” The BBC said: “The BBC has not authorised the streaming of BBC channels through Zattoo, and we’re pleased that they have ceased their unauthorised retransmissions. All our TV channels can be streamed live online through the BBC iPlayer.”
Channel 4 said “Channel 4, like the BBC and other broadcasters, takes the issue of online TV streaming sites using our content without consent very seriously and we are actively pursuing a number of these sites. We will continue to monitor Zattoo and we reserve the right to pursue any site, including Zattoo, which we believe to be infringing our copyright or using our content in an unlicensed, illegal capacity.”
The BBC is said to be ready to go after other services doing the same as Zattoo, including Swansea-based iPhone TV app Yamgo.
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Nielsen, the world’s largest TV and consumer measurement company is said to be planning what would be the largest media IPO for some time. Nielsen’s private equity owners hope the offering, expected this year, will value the company’s equity and debt at up to $21 billion including its $8.6 billion of debt.
Nielsen, which tracks TV viewership and consumer shopping habits, was taken private in a $10 billion buy-out in 2006 featuring six private equity firms: Alpinvest, Blackstone, Carlyle, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Thomas H Lee.
Impairment charges and interest costs led Nielsen to report a net loss of $490 million from flat revenue of $4.8 billion in 2009.
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Weekend press speculation has it that Adam Crozier, newly installed CEO at ITV, could be contemplating a bid for Channel 5.
Gerhard Zeiler, chief executive of Five's parent company, RTL, said a few weeks ago: "To take part in the consolidation, as I'm 100 per cent sure Five will, is a valuable asset. So it is the right decision and in the interests of shareholders to stay in the [UK] market." Tantamount to inviting offers and it seems that Five's future lies as part of another media group. Channel Four and Five called off merger talks last year.
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Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent, has successfully demonstrated a technology that boosts the transmission speeds achievable over just two digital subscriber lines (DSL). In a lab test of ‘DSL Phantom Mode’, Bell Labs achieved downstream transmission speeds of 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) over distances up to 400 metres (or 100Mbps at 1km).
At these speeds, service providers will be able to maximise the ability of the existing copper infrastructure - widely deployed around the world - to satisfy demand for bandwidth-intense residential triple-play and business services, for years to come, suggests Alcatel-Lucent.
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Fox appoints Ytreland MD Nordic
Fox International Channels (FIC) Europe has hired Åse Ytreland as the new MD for Nordic and Baltic regions. Ytreland will be based in the FIC Nordic’s local offices in Copenhagen and Oslo and report directly to Jesús Perezagua, FIC Europe president.
Over the last two years, she has been partly based in London as EMEA executive director affiliate sales of the American sports channels ESPN, part of Disney-ABC-ESPN Television Group.
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Nickelodeon UK has appointed Turner Broadcasting’s chief content officer to head its UK operation. Tina McCann becomes the new senior vice president and chief content officer for Nickelodeon UK replacing Howard Litton who left in January.
She has previously been acting chief content officer for Turner’s children’s entertainment brands in EMEA, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Cartoonito. During her time at Turner, McCann has launched 17 channels in multiple languages.
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Monday 26th April
FCC wants OTT interface
Cable Europe calls for rights review
Virgin Mobile France, TDF to launch DVB-H next year
Netflix stock passes $100
SES cuts 2010 growth guidance, shuffles transponders
UPC DTH repositioning dishes
FCC wants OTT interfaceIt has been revealed that at an FCC meeting last week Chairman Julius Genachowski's called for a new video interface to replace the CableCARD policy. Genachowski envisions "a small adapter on the customer's premises that would present a standard interface to all consumer devices. The adapter could be connected to the customer's TVs, computers, or other devices that can display multichannel video programming and Internet content."
Genachowski likened the new device to a "shopping mall" offering a single window into pay TV and internet content, including items already bought or archived. The agency has released a Notice of Inquiry on the proposed video interface.
Such a common interface would benefit OTT services something the FCC believes will drive competition in the pay-TV market.
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Cable Europe calls for rights reviewCable Europe is taking the opportunity of the launch the European Commission investigation into transparency in the collective management of copyright, to call for a full scale review of the rules that govern relationships between rights owners, collecting societies and users of copyright content across Europe.
"The cable industry calls on the Commission to take an unbiased approach to reform on rights clearance. We have right before us the opportunity to make a new EU collective rights framework, promote progress and truly rely on the strengths of Europe’s single market," said Cable Europe MD, Caroline Van Weede. "Now is the time for Europe to make choices that not only take into account our modern society but work collectively to build future-proof rules for content that are free of discrimination, regardless of platform."
The EU-wide review will seek to build more effective relationships between different stakeholders. Cable Europe contends that effective relationships will only be possible if increased transparency for collecting societies is called for by EU decision makers in conjunction with member state authorities. "What we have today is a regulatory framework that is outdated, is not technology neutral and unable to cope with the high-tech Europe of today. If we can get the balance right and make the best use of our world-class fibre-powered networks with the best content, Europe will benefit both economically and culturally," stated Van Weede. The cable industry encouraged the European Commission to take on board a five-point strategy which would:
1. End discrimination to ensure that content regardless of technology platform is treated the same
2. Demand transparency, accountability and a functional dispute resolution for collecting societies
3. Encourage competition among collecting societies
4. Be market-oriented with regard to the pricing process of content
5. Promote flexibility in the current rigid rights negotiation process
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Virgin Mobile France, TDF to launch DVB-H next year
Virgin Mobile France and broadcast services provider TDF plan to launch DVB-H mobile TV services in the second half of 2011. The groups revealed that they had signed a deal on the CSA approved plan allowing Omer Telecom, the parent company of Virgin Mobile France, Tele2 Mobile France, Breizh Mobile and Casino Mobile, to be the exclusive mobile distributor at the launch of mobile TV services in France.
The service is due to cover half of the French population at launch, or more than 2,500 towns and cities, well over the 30 per cent threshold set by CSA. Virgin Mobile expects to offer plans including mobile TV, rather than to charge separately for TV service, according to Virgin Mobile CEO Geoffroy Roux.
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Netflix stock passes $100
Netflix's stock rocketed past $100 a share – a doubling in three months - after the company reported another phenomenal quarter. The online movie rental company logged a 44 per cent surge in first-quarter profit on a 25 per cent jump in revenue. Even more impressive, the company gained a net 1.7 million subscribers in the first three months of the year, giving Netflix 14 million total subscribers. That's up 35 per cent from a year ago and churn was only 3.8 per cent of its customers, a record-low and attributed to its new streaming services. Netflix movies can now be streamed on any of the three major video game consoles.On the back of such great news, Netflix raised its profit and sales outlook. Netflix also upped its subscriber forecast by 1 million users, saying it now expects to add between 4 million and 5 million subscribers in 2010.
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SES cuts 2010 growth guidance, shuffles transpondersSES, the world's second-largest satellite operator, cut its forecast for 2010 revenue and core profit growth after weaker-than-expected first-quarter results.
SES, which sells transmission capacity to the likes of BSkyB, Canal Plus, Premiere and NBC, said the delay of a satellite launch and the reduction in revenue from another satellite meant it had to cut its 2010 guidance.
It now expected recurring revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to grow between 4 and 5 per cent this year, compared with a previous forecast of 5 per cent.
SES, in a sector which has generally shown little sign of pain from the economic downturn, said its much-watched core profit (EBITDA) dipped 0.4 per cent to E307.6 million in the first quarter.
The Astra 3B satellite was to have launched at the end of March, but would now only go into orbit towards the end of May. SES said the impact was likely to be E2-3 million, partly due to lost additional business related to the World Cup, which starts on June 11th.
SES said that it was shutting down some of the transponders - which beam data - on another satellite to conserve power, which would cut annual revenue by up to E10 million.
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UPC DTH repositioning dishesBeginning May 1st, UPC DTH will start a comprehensive repositioning process of its customers’ satellite dishes, in order to deliver more channels, better content and superior signal quality. Customers will receive an upgrade with various new channels varying by market. These new channels are at no additional cost to current subscribers. Customers with an HD ready TV will also now have the option to receive an array of HD programming.
This upgrade is made possible by the transition to a new satellite with a different orbital position. In order to provide the customer with the new features, their satellite dish needs to be realigned. The process is expected to take three to four months.
The change will also include a move for the subscriber to the new UPC affiliated company called UPC DTH S.à.r.l. This is designed to provide customers with the benefits of a centralised organisation serving the combined UPC DTH base in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as FocusSat in Romania. The new company is based in Luxembourg. The creation of the new entity coincides with a recent agreement for transponder capacity with Telenor (moving UPC Direct to the Thor 5 and 6 satellites).
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