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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 30th July
Sky 3D launching October 1st
BT Vision sign-ups sluggish
Comcast revenue up, profit and TV subs down
Telefonica H1 net profit up 9.4%
Sky to become UK home of HBO
Dale for ITV CTO
Virgin expands three-screen line-up with MTV
IETV trumps 3DTV in 2010
Ofcom removing out-of-date rules on TV ad sales
Big interest in Taiwan cable TV stake sale
ITV awarded Rugby World Cup rights
Digital TV channel gets exclusive rights to Liverpool match
France Telecom H1 profits up 45%
LOVEFiLM bolsters delivery with Widevine
NDS boosts senior management team in China
Topfield licenses ANT HbbTV solution
Turner scalable solution for Verizon FiOS TV Online
WRN Broadcast media village
Sky 3D launching October 1stSky has confirmed it will launch Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3D channel, to millions of Sky homes on Friday 1st October 2010.
Sky’s 3D service will launch with an extensive line-up of movies and live sport. It will be available to any Sky+HD home that has invested in a 3D Ready TV. All Sky+HD viewers with a 3D TV will be able to receive Sky 3D, as no STB upgrade is required. At no extra charge, customers who subscribe to Sky’s top channel and HD pack will receive access to a range of 3D movies, entertainment and sports.
Sky 3D will be compatible with all of the 3D TVs being introduced by Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic, and works with both ‘active’ and ‘passive’ 3D formats.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s Chief Executive, said that as with High Definition, 3D was set to transform the way TV is enjoyed in homes nationwide. "Following hot on the heels of the success of 3D cinema, Sky customers will now be the first anywhere in Europe to experience 3D TV from the comfort of their living rooms. They can look forward to a fantastic mix of live sport, blockbuster movies, and innovative entertainment and arts shows," he added.
Darroch’s comments came on the eve of revealing that BSkyB made a pre-tax profit of £1.17 billion for the year to the end of June.
A total of 90,000 new subscribers were added in the fourth quarter, taking the company's overall total to 9.86 million with 30 per cent taking HD. Darroch said that customers were choosing Sky in ever greater numbers, "not just for TV but across our entire product range."
One in five customers taking all three services of TV, broadband and telephone, a rise of 36 per cent on the previous 12 months.
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BT Vision sign-ups sluggishBT Vision quarterly sign-ups slowed to their lowest for two years during Q2, as the hybrid Freeview/IPTV service added 14,000 customers, taking it up to 481,000.
The results come ahead of BT Vision’s Sky Sports offer – pricing the premium sports channels significantly lower than Sky – which the company hopes will have a sizable impact on its subscription figures once the new Premier League season kicks off.
BT reported six per cent higher EBITDA of £1.39 billion, despite four per cent lower revenue of £5 billion.
The consumer-facing BT Retail division recorded the biggest revenue drop - of seven per cent, down to £1.9 billion.
BT added 96,000 net broadband customers in the quarter, giving it 40 per cent UK market share.
The telco says it has now rolled fibre out to cabinets serving more than 1.5 million properties, and is rolling out another 100,000 per week, giving customers up to 40Mbps through the BT Infinity package. But broadband-and-circuits revenue in BT Wholesale is down by £69 million.
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Comcast revenue up, profit and TV subs downRevenue at Comcast rose the fastest since late 2008, but costs associated with the proposed merger with NBC Universal cut into profit, and the cable giant lost 265,000 cable TV subscribers.
The US cable operator reported that quarterly sales were $9.5 billion, up 6 per cent when compared with the year-earlier quarter of $8.98 billion. Net income was $884 million, down from $967 million. Comcast reported $59 million in legal and other costs in the NBCU transaction in the current quarter and a $137 million tax benefit in the 2009 second quarter.
"We are very focused on profitable growth," chief executive officer Brian L. Roberts said in a statement, adding in a conference call that he believed the company was "striking a balance" between financial gains and pleasing customers.
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Telefonica H1 net profit up 9.4%
Spain’s Telefonica has reported a 9.4 per cent increase in first half net profits, to E3.775 billion, a 16 per cent increase in 2Q10.
Pay TV accesses stood at 2.7 million at the end of June 2010, up 8 per cent year-on-year in organic terms.
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Sky to become UK home of HBOSky and Home Box Office (HBO) have entered into a multi-year output deal which will see Sky become the home of HBO programmes in the UK and Ireland. The agreement is part of Sky's ongoing commitment to invest in standout content that differentiates the pay-TV experience and creates more reasons for customers to subscribe.
Under the agreement, all new HBO-commissioned programmes and series will be broadcast exclusively, and in HD, on Sky channels. The first HBO production to be seen on Sky as part of the output deal will be ‘Boardwalk Empire', the much-anticipated drama from director Martin Scorsese.
In addition, future seasons of existing HBO shows - such as ‘Entourage' and ‘Big Love' - will be broadcast exclusively on Sky channels in the UK and Ireland at the conclusion of their current broadcast rights agreements.
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Dale for ITV CTO
From Colin Mann in LondonUK broadcaster ITV has appointed Paul Dale as Chief Technology Officer. He will report directly to Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of ITV. Dale moves from a similar role with Asian pay-TV operator Astro. He was also formerly Sky’s Media Technology Director, as well as Development and Operations Director.
He will lead ITV’s newly formed Technology and Platforms directorate and will be responsible for transmission, broadcast services, platforms and exploiting technology to help deliver the company’s transformational change plan.
Crozier described Dale’s appointment as the latest addition to the transformation team that ITV was putting together over the next three to five years. "ITV has lagged behind it competitors for too long in terms of technology. Paul’s arrival signals a commitment to completely reshape our digital future," he added.
Dale’s innovations at Astro include screening the recent FIFA football World Cup in 3D, as well as transitioning from SD to HD to 3D, and introducing PVR, online and mobile access within the last 12 months.
Dale, whose previous roles included Controller of Worldwide Partnerships and Controller of Future Media and Technology at the BBC, said that having a CTO on ITV’s management board was an acknowledgement that "great content and technology" go hand in hand to create a sustainable business that will take the broadcaster into the future. He saw technology as key to making ITV the entertainment choice for all generations, using many platforms from the TV to the computer and mobile.
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Virgin expands three-screen line-up with MTV
Virgin Media has confirmed the beta launch of its first online and mobile TV player: Virgin Media Player.
Virgin Media has confirmed hundreds of hours of content for the beta trial including ITV, LIVING, Disney, Cartoon Network, National Geographic and, following a new agreement with MTV Networks UK & Ireland, a raft of MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon shows.
Throughout the beta trial, Virgin Media’s XL TV customers who also have a broadband connection with the company will be able to take a first look at the beta Virgin Media Player by registering at www.virginmedia.com/player
Registered Virgin mobile pay monthly customers will be able to enjoy an hour of Virgin Media Player on mobile content every day at no extra charge. Mobile versions of popular shows will be available to any mobile phone owner via the Virgin Media mobile portal.
Virgin Media will bring more content to Virgin Media Player as the company builds towards full launch later this year.
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IETV trumps 3DTV in 2010While the consumer electronics headlines this year have been dominated by 3D television news, the real story in 2010 is about Internet-Enabled TVs (IETVs), according to iSuppli Corp.
Global shipments of IETVs (TV sets with built-in Internet capability) will amount to 27.7 million units in 2010. In contrast, 3D set shipments will total only 4.2 million this year. While 3D television shipments are set to soar in the coming years, iSuppli’s forecast shows the biggest near-term growth story is in IETV.
"Despite aggressive promotions from the industry and intense consumer interest generated by the blockbuster Avatar and other titles, the 3D TV market in 2010 will be limited to a small pool of enthusiastic early adopters," said Riddhi Patel, director and principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli. "In contrast, IETV is entering the mainstream in 2010. This is because 3D is still dealing with a number of barriers, including cost, content availability and interoperability, while IETV provides immediate benefits by allowing TV viewers to access a range of content readily available on the Internet."
Shipments of IETVs in 2010 will rise by a remarkable 124.9 per cent from 12.3 million units last year. Significant growth will continue during the following years. All told, IETV shipments will expand at rates north of 50 per cent for the next two years, and then continue to increase at solid double-digit rates until the end of 2014. By then, global IETV shipments are anticipated to reach 148.3 million units, accounting for 54 per cent of the total flat-panel TV market.
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Ofcom removing out-of-date rules on TV ad salesUK comms regulator Ofcom has said it will remove a number of rules governing the way TV airtime is sold to media buyers and advertisers, and said it is part of Ofcom's work of removing unnecessary regulations, and ensuring any remaining rules are fit for purpose.
The Airtime Sales Rules, which will be lifted ahead of the next TV airtime deal season in the autumn, require ITV1, Channel 4 and Five to sell all their advertising airtime, and restrict the way in which all broadcasters can sell bundles of advertising airtime across their portfolios of channels.
Ofcom has also given careful consideration to whether it is appropriate to launch a broader market study of TV advertising. A market study is a considerable endeavour with significant resource implications, and given the information currently available Ofcom's view is that an own-initiative market study is not justified at this time. Ofcom will keep this decision under review by monitoring any stakeholder concerns and wider market developments.
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Big interest in Taiwan cable TV stake sale
International private equity groups and Taiwanese companies have expressed interest in the sale of China Network Systems, Taiwan’s leading cable television company, according to reports.MBK Partners, the pan-Asia private equity fund, is putting its 60 per cent stake in CNS up for auction, with first round bids due in early August. It bought the stake for about $1.5 billion in 2007 and is looking for a deal that it expects will value the company at $2.2 billion
Taiwan’s cable TV market, which has the highest profit margins in Asia, has seen a surge of deal activity as foreign investors who flocked to the sector in 2007 look to recoup their investments.
Carlyle is said to be in talks to sell Kbro, another cable TV company, to Taiwan’s Tsai family for about T$70 billion ($2.2bn).
MBK’s auction has attracted potential bidders from international private equity firms Bain, Blackstone, CVC and Kolhberg, Kravis & Roberts, to Taiwanese companies such as mobile operator Far Eastone and conglomerate Ruentex Group, according to the person. The two-stage auction process is expected to result in final bids being made by September.
The CNS sale is attracting broad investor interest partly because of the ample credit available in Taiwan. "This is one of the few places where pre-crisis leverage is still available," said a person close to the deal.
CNS, which has 1.3m cable TV subscribers and another 200,000 from broadband and other digital products, has a 25 per cent market share in Taiwan and generated $350 million in sales last year from all its system operators, according to Media Partners Asia, a Hong Kong research consultancy.
Taiwan’s cable TV industry is attractive to investors because cable is pervasive in Taiwanese households.
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ITV awarded Rugby World Cup rightsRugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) has confirmed that, subject to contract, ITV has been awarded the UK Broadcast rights for Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand and Host Broadcast rights for Rugby World Cup 2015 in England.
Under the terms of the new deal, ITV will broadcast live coverage of every match from the 2011 tournament in New Zealand and the 2015 tournament in England. All matches will also be shown online at ITV.com with the deal also encompassing highlights and clips packages on television, online and mobile.
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Digital TV channel gets exclusive rights to Liverpool matchUK seventh-ranked football team Liverpool’s Europa League qualification match with Macedonian side FK Rabotnicki scheduled for the evening of July 29 is being exclusively screened by Primetime. The digital TV pay-per-view channel is the only station in the UK to be screening it live.
Football fans will have to access Sky's digital TV network (Sky channel 480) or online for a one-off fee of £4.99. It will be the first time that Primetime has broadcast a football match, with the channel typically screening mixed martial arts fights and boxing.
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France Telecom H1 profits up 45%France Telecom has reported that first half net profit rose 45 per cent due to a one-off gain, although revenue and margins were eroded by regulatory costs and competition in the home market in France.
Net profit in the six months to the end of June rose to E3.72 billion from E2.56 billion a year ago, the former telecom monopoly said.
The company said it made over E1 billion in the first half by selling assets of its Orange brand in Britain, related to the creation of the Everything Everywhere joint venture with T-Mobile.
Revenue fell 1.2 per cent to E22.14 billion, and the profit margin fell 0.9 points to 35 per cent in the period.
It claimed rapid growth of digital TV with 3.6 million subscribers at 30 June 2010, a year-on-year increase of 34 per cent, with more than
900,000 new customers.The Orange sport and Orange cinema series channels had a total of 752,000 subscribers at 30 June, 2010, compared with 393,000 a year earlier, and there were 5.3 million paid uses of video on demand (VoD) in the first half of 2010 - a 48 per cent increase year-on-year).
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LOVEFiLM bolsters delivery with WidevineLOVEFiLM, Europe's largest subscription service -- streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post -- has signed an agreement with US-based Widevine, naming Widevine as LOVEFiLM's preferred provider of digital rights management (DRM) and video optimisation solutions.
The agreement with Widevine will see LOVEFiLM further develop its digital content to be playable on many new devices, ensuring the largest possible audience for future use. Widevine's DRM, adaptive streaming and virtual-DVD like trick play technologies will ensure the video remains both secure and at the best possible quality, providing viewers with the ultimate viewing experience across many devices.
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NDS boosts senior management team in ChinaNDS, provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, has expanded its senior management team in China with the appointment of three Vice Presidents, Water Wang, Tom Zhang and the Yvonne Wang. In his role as Vice President, New Initiatives and Business Development, Water Wang will oversee NDS’ Next Generation Broadcast (NGB) activities as well as the Telco sector in Greater China. Tom Zhang, Vice President, Cable Business, will be responsible for developing NDS’ cable business in the region.
These new appointments reflect the strategic importance of China to NDS. China is experiencing a period of intense growth in digital pay-TV, outstripping all other markets. According to Media Partners Asia, with over 66 million digital pay-TV subscribers, China is the largest market in the world for digital pay-TV subscribers. By 2014 this market is predicted to reach 198 million subscribers. In parallel, cable TV revenues will increase from $9 billion in 2009 to $17 billion in 2014.
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Topfield licenses ANT HbbTV solutionANT, provider of software and services for the delivery of digital TV, has revealed that digital STB specialist Topfield has selected the ANT Galio HbbTV Platform for its latest range of set-top boxes. The new devices will be capable of delivering HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) services and will be available in the German retail market in 2010, with France to follow in 2011.
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Turner scalable solution for Verizon FiOS TV Online
Turner Broadcasting System has launched a new scalable online video solution as part of its agreement with Verizon to launch TBS and TNT as Turner's initial participating networks with FiOS TV Online. That programming is now available with the help of both Adobe Systems Incorporated and FreeWheel. Verizon's FiOS TV subscribers can access Turner's online programming directly on the TBS and TNT sites and through Verizon FiOS TV Online.
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WRN Broadcast media villageInternational broadcast services company WRN Broadcast has announced the launch of a new Vauxhall-based media village in southwest London. It aims to bring together a host of like-minded broadcast companies, creating a culture for increased creativity as well as cost-efficient studio and office space.
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Thursday 29th July
Virgin wants out of UKTV as core results improve
UK mobile spectrum auction ‘soon’
Ono strong quarter on multi-play
3DTV not such a big deal....?
3D requires content
37% of TVs will be 3D by 2014
Disney buys Playdom for $750m+
Satellite's Worldwide High
Childs for UKTV?
MTV gears up for cross platform sell
House of Lords to report on TV advertising regulation
Telstra fined $18.5m for blocking access
Envivio raises another $15m
SES Astra and Sogecable cooperate on HD
Multimedia Polska deploys Cedar Point solutions
Discovery channel on FLO TV
Vulkano platform for mobile media
Virgin wants out of UKTV as core results improveNeil Berkett, CEO of Virgin Media, used its Q2 results announcement to give the clearest indication yet that the company will try to offload its 50 per cent stake in UKTV. Virgin, which owns UKTV jointly with BBC Worldwide, values its 50 per cent holding at £351 million (E421m) including outstanding loans to the unit of £116 million.
"It is not a strategic investment, we look at it from time to time. There are ways and means of realising it through divestment," Berkett told the Guardian. The problem is that the BBC, as partner and main supplier to the channels, has a veto over any deal and is unlikely to come up with a price itself to meet Virgin’s expectations. However, as UKTV is no longer core, Virgin may adjust its expectations, as it ultimately did when letting its wholly owned channels go to Sky.
Virgin Media beat analyst expectations to add a net total of 9,100 new households to its cable subscription base in the three months to the end of June, as revenue grew seven per cent to £964 million.
Virgin Media, which has been heavily marketing its high-speed internet services, added 28,100 broadband customers to take its total base to 4.21 million. The company said that more than 650,000 customers now subscribe to its 20Mbps and 50Mbps services, a 43 per cent year-on-year increase, or about 17 per cent of its total broadband base. Of these 74,000 have selected the top-speed 50Mbps service, a 28 per cent increase on last quarter.
The company also added 22,300 net new TV subscribers. Overall, Virgin added 25,900 TV customers; however, 3,600 analogue customers were disconnected. The company's digital TV subscriber base stands at about 3.7 million. More than half use Virgin's VOD services. The company said that about 260,000 customers signed up for HD TV in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 79 per cent, taking the total HD user base to 1.2 million.
The company announced a share buyback scheme of up to £375 million. Berkett said he had been able to announce a share buyback because Virgin had completed a root-and-branch refinancing and felt confident of continued strong performance in its cash flow. He said he was seeking to reduce the group’s net debt, currently £5.9 billion, to three times operating cash flow over the next two years, compared with the current 3.8 times.
VM’s pre-tax loss for the first half of 2010 compared with the same period a year ago widened from £186 million to £249 million, mainly because of increased interest costs and fees paid in its financial restructuring.
New MD for UKTV? See below
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UK mobile spectrum auction ‘soon’The UK government has laid down a statutory instrument instructing Ofcom to co-ordinate a combined auction of 2.6 GHz and 800MHz spectrum "as soon as possible".
"Under our plans, our mobile industry will have access to the 21st-century infrastructure it needs to give UK consumers the latest technologies and even better coverage for broadband on their mobile phones," said Ed Vaizey, the communications minister.
The government hopes the airwaves auction will take place by the end of 2011.
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Ono strong quarter on multi-playSpanish MSO Ono increased its revenue in the second quarter as more customers took multi-play services, despite the net number of TV subscribers declining.
The TV subscriber base fell by 4,000 in the quarter, reaching 966,000 at the end of June. Ono blamed the recession "that is forcing some customers to drop the service to conserve disposable incomes". It has also stopped offering TV services on a standalone basis. Ono’s total cable customer base stood at 1.821 million, down slightly from 1.835 million a year earlier. The number of RGUs reached 4.004 million, up from 3.940 million. The operator increased its broadband subscriber base by 4.1 per cent to 1.356 million and telephony customers increased 2.1 per cent to 1.682 million. As a proportion of the total customer base, 37.2 per cent took a triple-play bundle at the end of June, up from 36.4 per cent at the end of March.
Ono boosted revenues by 3.2 per cent year-on-year to E368 million, of which E291 million came from residential cable customers. EBITDA was up 2 per cent to E176 million.
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3DTV not such a big deal....?While 3DTV may be gaining momentum from the consumer electronics industry, Hollywood, and TV programmers, the technology doesn’t yet warrant significant investment from cable operators, according to the a report from Heavy Reading.
"Unlike technologies that demand quick attention by MSOs -- including wideband Internet, broadband video, interactive TV advertising, business services, and wireless -- cable can allow for 3DTV to simmer on the back burner," commented analyst Craig Leddy, author of the report.
Worldwide, iSuppli reckons 27.7 million internet-enabled TVs will ship this year, against just 4.2 million 3D TVs.
iSuppli reckons connected TV shipments will grow by 50 per cent each year for the next two years, and by double-digit amounts thereafter up to 2014, when they are forecast to hit 148.3 in the year (that’s 54 per cent of all flat-panel TVs).
But 3D TVs will continue shipping in far smaller numbers. "This is because 3D is still dealing with a number of barriers, including cost, content availability and interoperability, while IETV provides immediate benefits by allowing TV viewers to access a range of content readily available on the internet," says iSuppli TV analyst Riddhi Patel.
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International research firm Parks Associates reports a modest increase in awareness of 3DTV among US broadband households in 2010, but the mainstream viability of 3D depends on availability of premium video content and not one-off events such as the World Cup.
The firm's latest report Trends in 3DTV finds 13 per cent of households are familiar with 3DTV, an increase from 10 per cent from the previous quarter. In some cases, 48 per cent of these households are willing to pay for 3D content, provided they have access to the right types of content, including movies and TV shows.
"Efforts such as the ESPN 3D broadcast of the 2010 World Cup are great experiments and effective in building awareness of the technology, but they have not resulted in extraordinary 3D TV sales," said Pietro Macchiarella, research analyst, Parks Associates. "As content and service providers launch new 3D channels and Blu-ray discs, consumers will start to see more value in this technology, and shipments will increase as a result. By 2014, 80 per cent of the TVs sold in the US will be 3D-ready."
Parks Associates research indicates 3D movies generate the most interest from US consumers. One-third or fewer of consumers are willing to pay for 3D television shows and sporting events, but nearly one-half are willing to pay for 3D movies. "Hollywood's push to increase its 3D production benefits consumer awareness of the 3D experience and stimulates interest in bringing it to the living room," Macchiarella said.
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DisplaySearch forecasts 3.4 million 3D TVs to be shipped in 2010, with the market expected to reach 42.9 million in 2014. Based on this forecast, 3D TV market penetration is expected to grow from a 5 per cent share of total flat panel TVs in 2010 to 37 per cent in 2014.
"TV manufacturers have managed to launch products very rapidly. We have seen a full range of 3D TVs in sizes from 40" to 63" already available, and without a doubt, there will be another wave of new products at the IFA show in Berlin in September," noted Paul Gray, DisplaySearch Director of TV Electronics Research.
"Through the first half of 2010, only two flat panel TV makers in the US launched 3D TV products—Panasonic and Samsung," observed Paul Gagnon, Director of North America TV Research at DisplaySearch. "Based on early indications, the launch of 3D TVs is similar to Samsung’s rollout of LED LCD TVs at the beginning of 2009, albeit at a slightly slower pace. This would be in line with our forecast of just over 2 million 3D TVs shipped in North America for 2010."Despite the forecasted growth for 3D TVs, the consumer electronics industry is running ahead of content availability, as 3D content for TV remains limited to a small number of movies, plus some sports events on pay TV, which are dependent on cable providers. Blockbuster movies in 3D, such as Avatar, will not be available for 3D TV in 2010. In addition, the low penetration of Blu-ray players, and especially HD broadcasts, outside of North America and Japan affects content availability. Consumers may be tempted to wait for the ecosystem to develop in order to have enough material to watch. This, coupled with other significant obstacles for 3D implementation in the home, like consumer perceptions of 3D glasses, remain unresolved.
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Disney buys Playdom for $750m+
The Walt Disney Company bought leadership in the social game business by acquiring Playdom in a deal worth as much as $763.2 million.
Playdom is a start-up that make simple online games and sell virtual goods. Such companies have grown by taking advantage of social networks like Facebook. Disney will initially pay $563.2 million for Playdom, which is the No. 3 social game company on Facebook with about 42 million monthly players. The deal includes $200 million in additional payments if Playdom achieves growth thresholds.
John Pleasants, Playdom’s chief executive, will join Disney as an executive vice president. Playdom is expected to work to develop titles based on Disney characters and franchises.
"When deciding how to place a bet we thought we should do it at a significant level and not just take a little shot," Disney’s chief executive, Robert A. Iger, said.
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TV channel broadcasting continues to drive the satellite industry to new revenue highs, says Euroconsult. Despite economic turmoil across the past two years, Euroconsult says the industry grew both in terms of transponder demand (+5.3 per cent) and revenues reaching $10.3 billion revenue in 2009. The broadcast of TV channels accounted for half of that revenue increase with the fastest growth (minus DirecTV and Dish in the US) coming from Latin America.
Says Euroconsult's "Satellite Communications & Broadcasting Markets Survey, Forecasts to 2019," the global market value of capacity used for the traditional FSS market will reach around $14.8 billion in 2019, or $18.8 billion when including the wholesale market value of capacity used through emerging BBS systems dedicated to broadband traffic. That's an upward revision from previous forecasts.
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Childs for UKTV?Darren Childs is expected to become chief executive of UKTV, owner of the Dave channel, according to reports.
UKTV's former chief executive, David Abraham, resigned to become CEO of Channel 4. Childs is currently managing director of BBC Worldwide Channels, overseeing a portfolio of international brands that includes BBC America. The division also owns the BBC's 50 per cent share in UKTV. The other half is owned by Virgin Media.
UKTV has a turnover of about £200 million (E240m) a year. Since Abraham’s arrival at C4 it has struck a deal to sell UKTV’s advertising.
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MTV gears up for cross platform sellMTV has doubled its digital sales staff to cater for demand for campaigns across all its platforms.
The MTV Networks Digital team has increased from six to eleven and it intends to further integrate digital into the ad sales business so it can create cross-platform campaigns for brands that are looking to target its 16-24-year-old audience.
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House of Lords to report on TV advertising regulationThe House of Lords Communications Committee has issued a call for evidence for an inquiry into the regulation of television advertising.
The background to the inquiry is the recent decline in revenues of commercial television companies from the sale of advertising, and its implications for public sector broadcasting. The Committee will look at the regulation of television advertising, paying particular attention to the Contract Rights Renewal (CRR) mechanism.
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Telstra fined $18.5m for blocking accessAustralia’s Telstra has been fined $18.5 million for illegally blocking broadband competitors from using its local exchanges. The Competition and Consumer Commission had taken Telstra to the Federal Court of Australia for refusing competitors access 27 times to installing ADSL equipment at seven exchanges around Australia.
Telstra said the telco had acknowledged mistakes were made and will not be appealing the decision.
Envivio announced that it has secured $15 million in a mezzanine investment from venture capital and banking sources enabling the company to extend its leadership position in the Video over IP market. Envivio says it is is experiencing 100 per cent year-over-year sales growth.
"Envivio has been ahead of the video delivery technology curve for years, which is why we have been the choice when operators look to shake up their markets with innovation," said Julien Signès, Envivio’s co-Founder, President and CEO. "We have created a unified platform that delivers premier quality TV service to any device with a screen. Now that our vision is fast becoming the requirement for customers in all segments, we are the de facto IP video technology provider for over 250 of the world’s leading service providers. Cable companies and telecoms are expanding into multi-screen services—as well as each other’s markets—and Envivio has an active role in all the major trials of their next generation services. Content owners are creating entirely new breeds of TV service over the top of broadband networks. They all turn to Envivio because we enable them to deliver an excellent quality experience that appeals to subscribers using any combination of traditional TV screens, smartphones, PCs and the ever-expanding list of new devices like the iPad, while consistently delivering the best video quality and the highest level of investment protection."
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SES Astra and Sogecable cooperate on HDSES Astra is intensifying its cooperation with the Spanish pay-TV operator Sogecable and supports the development of its HD direct-to-home (DTH) offer. As part of the cooperation, SES Astra provides Sogecable two additional satellite transponders in 2010 at its prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East.
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Multimedia Polska deploys Cedar Point solutionsCedar Point Communications, a specialist in integrated Voice over IP (VoIP) switching technologies for service providers, has reached an agreement with Multimedia Polska for the deployment of Cedar Point communication solutions throughout Poland.
Under the agreement, Multimedia Polska will deploy Cedar Point’s Safari C3 Multimedia Switching System to enable availability of SIP-based voice services to Multimedia Polska’s current and new customers. In addition, Multimedia Polska will be able to leverage core capabilities of Safari C3 to expedite evolution to next-generation PacketCable 2.0/IMS services.
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Discovery channel on FLO TVFLO TV and Discovery Communications have announced the premiere of a new Discovery Mobile Channel on the FLO TV mobile TV service. The Discovery Mobile Channel on FLO TV will offer consumers full-length programming of popular series such as Discovery Channel's Cash Cab, Deadliest Catch and Man vs Wild and programming events like Shark Week. The channel also will spotlight series from Discovery Communications portfolio of networks.
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Vulkano platform for mobile media
Monsoon Multimedia is launching Vulkano, a tightly integrated hardware and software platform that has a powerful video processor and local storage. When connected to a set-top box and a TV, Vulkano enables a complete video experience across Android, Blackberry, iPhones, iPads, Macs, PCs and the living room TV. Vulkano allows users to experience their TV channels, videos and photos on whichever screen they want, when they want it.
By downloading a free software application on to their device, consumers can watch and control any home TV channel through a wired, Wi-Fi or 3G connection from anywhere in the world. They can schedule a recording through an included EPG and transfer and watch these recordings at any time on their TV, computers, smartphones or iPad type devices. Software players for PCs/Macs and iPads also come with Pause/Live functions.
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Wednesday 28th July
Virgin to trial ultrafast broadband over electricity poles
Francisco binding offer for Grass Valley
Novabase to set up R&D company in France
Wireless HD video-enabled product shipments to hit 13m by 2014
Increase in average UK broadband speed
"Future of TV will rest on stable global standards"
ZumoCast service launch
ScandiTV coming to US and Canada
Optus aids Australian switchover
Amino reports H1
Motorola delivers hosted SDVs
QVC selects Ensequence interactive TV
KidsCo on Vodafone Portugal
Virgin to trial ultrafast broadband over electricity polesVirgin Media has confirmed that residents of the Welsh village of Crumlin, Caerphilly, will be the first in the UK to trial ultrafast broadband delivered over existing electricity poles.
Following a agreement with Surf Telecoms, a Western Power Distribution company, homes in the village of Crumlin will be connected directly to Virgin Media’s fibre optic network, effectively increasing local broadband speeds ten-fold in a community that has previously relied on BT’s copper infrastructure. As well as 50Mb broadband, villagers will be offered Virgin Media's TV service, including around 5,000 hours of catch up TV and on demand content. The trial will start next month and is scheduled to run into 2011.
The agreement with Surf Telecoms marks the first use of existing commercial infrastructure to aerially deliver ultrafast broadband to a community currently beyond the reach of a fibre optic network. Virgin Media began trialling aerial deployment in the Berkshire village of Woolhampton in March this year using purpose-built infrastructure.
The trials are part of Virgin Media’s efforts to expand its network and identify ways of bringing next generation digital services to people who live in rural or harder to reach areas of the UK. Initial analysis suggests that ‘non-traditional’ approaches of the kind being explored in Crumlin and Woolhampton could, with some focused measures from government, significantly accelerate delivery of next generation broadband to millions of extra homes right across the UK.
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Francisco binding offer for Grass ValleyFrancisco Partners, a California-based private equity firm focused on investments in technology-based companies, has made a binding offer to Technicolor for the acquisition of the Grass Valley Broadcast & Professional business activities.
With nearly $5 billion of capital under management, Francisco Partners is one of the world’s largest technology-focused private equity funds. The firm was founded to pursue structured investments in technology and technology-based companies with a strong foundation and secure market position.
The binding offer from Francisco Partners is for 100 per cent ownership of the current Grass Valley Broadcast & Professional business, which would operate as ‘Grass Valley’ going forward. The offer values the Broadcast business at $100 million. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2010, subject to the relevant customary regulatory administrative approvals and consultations.
"This binding offer is a key step in the largest of the disposals we decided to make as part of the strategic refocus of our activity portfolio. This will clarify and solidify our financial profile. This is also positive news for Grass Valley Broadcast employees and customers who will benefit from the engagement of a new shareholder recognized as a leader in technology-based businesses," said Stephane Rougeot, Chief Financial Officer of Technicolor.
"This is positive news for the company and our customers," said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President and head of the Grass Valley Broadcast & Professional business. "We are encouraged that we are taking a major step towards completing the divestiture process with this binding offer from Francisco Partners. The opportunity to be part of Francisco Partner’s portfolio gives Grass Valley a solid foundation to continue to work tirelessly to maintain our core values of innovation, performance, and passion that have benefited our customers throughout the years. Our customers worldwide will continue to receive the high quality and service that they have come to expect from Grass Valley, with continued focus on raising the bar in our industry."
The Transmission and Headend businesses, which are in the process of being separated from the Grass Valley Broadcast & Professional business, are not included in the offer received. Technicolor will continue the planned divestiture of these businesses separately. These businesses plan to individually operate going forward.
Novabase to set up R&D company in France
From Branislav Pekic in RomePortuguese IT company Novabase is to set up a company in France which will be devoted to research and development of technologies in the area of digital TV.
Novabase Digital TV will be located in the region of Caen and foresees an investment of E600,000 by the end of the year, and of E1.2 million in 2011.
The company suggested that the basis for creating the enterprise was the recruitment of a highly specialised team of Trident Microsystems, a leading company on the residential market of digital entertainment and a partner of Novabase in the development of Chip-on-Board and of the System-in-Package.
For its part, Novabase is a leading European company in the introduction of digital TV, operating particularly in the area of High Definition TV and the provision of TV content on mobile devices/laptops.
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Wireless HD video-enabled product shipments to hit 13m by 2014
Although slow progress best describes the fate of wireless HD chip vendors in 2010, the five-year outlook is for a robust triple-digit growth rate of wireless HD video-enabled products through 2014 according to In-Stat. The number of shipments is projected to rise from the current levels of less than 1 million to nearly 13 million by 2014."The long term projection is for significant growth in wireless HD video-enabled product shipments. However, these technologies are likely several years away from hitting the sweet spot of the consumer electronics (CE) and PC markets," says Brian O’Rourke, Principal Analyst for In-Stat. "There are still significant price and performance issues that need to be overcome before device manufacturers fully adopt these technologies."
Some of the findings include:
- Alternative video transmission technologies, WHDI, WirelessHD, and WiGig Alliance, are vying for a dominant position. Among the differentiating factors are whole-home range, price, and performance issues, single source, and time-to-market issues.
- WHDI and WirelessHD chip ASPs will both fall over 25 per cent annually through 2014.
- WirelessHD, is championed by chipmaker SiBeam and backed by NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and LG.
- WHDI (backed by AMIMON) and WirelessHD (backed by SiBeam) device shipments will both grow at triple-digit annual percentage rates through 2014.
- WiGig Alliance members include: Broadcom, Dell, Intel, LG Electronics, Microsoft, NEC, Nokia, NXP, Panasonic, and Samsung.
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Increase in average UK broadband speedResearch into UK broadband speeds has revealed that the UK’s average actual fixed-line residential broadband speed has increased by over 25 per cent over the past year from 4.1Mbit/s to 5.2Mbit/s as Internet service providers increasingly move to offer higher speed broadband packages.
Ofcom’s broadband speeds research, conducted in partnership with broadband monitoring specialists SamKnows, shows that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of UK fixed-line residential broadband connections had a headline or advertised speed of above ‘up to’ 10Mbit/s in May 2010, compared to just 8 per cent in April 2009.
However, the move to faster headline speeds has led to a growing gap between the actual speeds delivered and the speeds that some ISPs use to advertise their services. Differences between headline and actual speeds are often caused by broadband being delivered over copper lines which were originally designed for phone calls; hence speeds slow down over long and poor quality lines, and because of electrical interference.
The research found that cable broadband services delivered significantly faster actual (or download) speeds than comparable DSL services:
Virgin Media’s ‘up to’ 10Mbit/s and ‘up to’ 20Mbit/s cable services delivered average download speeds around twice as fast as DSL packages with the same or similar headline speed. Virgin Media’s ‘up to’ 50Mbit/s cable service was the fastest service tested, delivering average download speeds of around 36Mbit/s with single thread tests and around 46Mbit/s with multi-thread tests conducted between 4 and 6am.
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"Future of TV will rest on stable global standards"The telecommunications industry sent out a strong message of support for ITU standards for IPTV at recent event held at ITU headquarters. Gathered in Geneva for the first of a new series of ‘ITU Interop’ events, IPTV manufacturers took part in a set of tests to demonstrate seamless global interoperability between their various IPTV devices, which have been manufactured to comply with ITU-developed standards, known as Recommendations.
ITU has been busy pioneering a raft of new standards for the technology, which is set to transform global viewing habits in coming years. Experts agreed that stable global standards will be key to take-up of IPTV, avoiding costly and confusing ‘format wars’ and reduced choice for consumers.
Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau said that proprietary solutions may offer fast deployment in the short term, but in the medium and longer term buyers would be subject to vendor lock-in, with the risk of costly upgrades and reduced content and hardware choice. "Industry consortia-based 'standards' are mostly region-specific with little or no implementation. This event proves that ITU global standards are ready to go, and in fact are already being implemented," he stated.
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The makers of ZumoDrive have unveiled ZumoCast, a new service that allows the enjoyment of a consumer’s entire personal video collection at home or on-the-go through applications on the iPad and iPhone and a web browser on any computer.
"Video is the killer app on the next generation devices like the iPad and iPhone," said David Zhao, creator of ZumoCast. "Just as the streaming services from Netflix and Hulu are transforming the way you watch subscribed video, ZumoCast is changing the way you consume your own personal content."
While ZumoDrive makes it simple to upload and stream content from the always-on hosted ZumoDrive cloud, ZumoCast turns users' computers into personal clouds that serve content directly to their mobile devices.
By using people's computer storage in this way, ZumoCast avoids the time it takes to upload content to the hosted ZumoDrive cloud and the cost incurred once it's stored there.
ZumoCast is currently available on the iPad and the iPhone and will be available on a host of additional mobile platforms shortly. Additional features like video sharing and enhanced music and photo interfaces will add to the richness of the service in the upcoming months.
The entire ZumoCast service, including its premium features, will be available for free during a beta period.
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ScandiTV coming to US and CanadaScandiTV, a new service and the top provider of Scandinavian television channels and movies for adults and children in North America, officially launches on August 1st. ScandiTV, based in California, is dedicated to providing the very best entertainment and to increase media and cultural exchanges between Scandinavia and the Americas.
ScandiTV will deliver programming to consumers’ TV sets via IPTV and has secured strategic partnerships with major Scandinavian media companies and will be constantly expanding its line-up of live television channels and VOD programming. The company will further expand its service to Latin America in the future.
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Optus aids Australian switchover
Optus has secured four multi-million-dollar deals to deliver digital free-to-air television services in Australia over its fleet of satellites. As the digital switchover gathers pace, it has made deals with the ABC, SBS, Southern Cross Media Group and Imparja Television.Each of the broadcasters have signed a 10-year deal with Optus to transmit digital television signals into black-spot-bound households where terrestrial digital TV signals cannot reach.
Optus director of satellite Paul Sheridan said the telco had begun delivery of digital television satellite signals and said TV viewers in Mildura were already receiving the signals since the government started its analogue switch-off programme earlier this month. The government plans to replace all analogue television signals with digital-only signals by the end of 2013.
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Amino reports H1Amino Technologies , the Cambridge-based specialist in digital entertainment solutions for IPTV, Internet TV and in-home multimedia distribution, has announced its unaudited consolidated results for the period ended 31 May 2010.
The company saw a 41.7 per cent increase in revenue to £18.14 million and an 18.5 per cent increase in gross profit to £5.38 million. An Order book of 250,000 units (H1 2009: 8,000 units) representing revenue of £21 million giving strong revenue visibility into H2 2010
Commenting on the results, Keith Todd, Non-Executive Chairman, said: "This has been an encouraging H1 performance, with record booked unit sales, that builds on the momentum from the second half of the previous year. Profitability has been impacted by foreign exchange movements, higher component prices and the adjustment of margins as the company scales into tier 1 and tier 2 markets, where important new contracts have been secured during the period.
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Motorola delivers hosted SDVsThe Mobile Devices and Home business of Motorola has confirmed that its switched digital video (SDV) portfolio will now be available to independent video operators as a hosted solution operated from Motorola’s Secure Operations Centre in San Diego. The hosted SDV solution will enable independent operators to achieve the same bandwidth efficiencies from SDV as their larger MSO counterparts who have onsite SDV operations.
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QVC selects Ensequence interactive TVEnsequence, the interactive TV company, has confirmed that QVC, one of the world’s largest multimedia retailers, has selected the Ensequence Managed Services Group and the Ensequence iTV Manager Programmer Edition to deliver its customers an interactive TV remote control shopping experience.
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KidsCo on Vodafone PortugalKidsCo, the international children’s channel, has signed an agreement with Vodafone Portugal and is set to go live in July 2010. KidsCo’s programming will be available 24 hours a day seven days a week on Vodafone’s Casa TV. The kids channel will air in both English and Portuguese.
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Tuesday 27th July
RTL confirms Channel 5 sale
Pace to buy US broadband company, profits up 46%
ISPs battle three-strikes rule
France Telecom, Vivendi to merge cinema channels?
Less than 1% of BitTorrent files confirmed legal
Tsai family eyes Carlyle's cable TV unit
ABC iView on Bravia
UFC subpoenas user-generated websites
Over 50% of Hong Kong households receiving DTT
Farncombe acquires Mirifice
Widevine for mgMEDIA
RTL confirms Channel 5 saleLate on the afternoon of July 23rd, RTL Group confirmed that it had signed an agreement for the sale of Channel 5 to the Northern & Shell company owned by British publisher Richard Desmond, with the £103.5 million deal (E125 million) closing "with immediate effect".
Gerhard Zeiler, Chief Executive Officer of RTL Group, said that with a significant recovery of the UK TV advertising market and Five performing well in the first half of 2010, RTL saw a window of opportunity to realise a transaction based on a fair evaluation of Five. "The disposal is in line with RTL Group’s strategy of being number one or two in each of our markets. I would like to thank the whole team at Five and CEO and Chair Dawn Airey for their passion and professionalism, especially in the difficult past 20 months which saw a comprehensive restructuring of the company."
"This is a major acquisition and a long-term project," stated Desmond, who said he would invest heavily in talent and content both in existing programming and in home-grown programming. He added that with the right investment, drive and leadership, the channel could go from strength to strength as a competitive broadcaster and a modern player in the digital world.
As anticipated, Desmond also confirmed that he would pay the £20 million cost of C5’s participation in IPTV open platform venture Project Canvas.
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Pace to buy US broadband company, profits up 46%UK digital TV technology specialist Pace is widening its US reach into the telco market with the proposed acquisition of 2Wire, a leading provider of advanced residential gateways and associated software and services for the broadband service provider market, in a $475 million deal. 2Wire has established customer relationships in the tier one telco market, in particular with service providers in North America.
Pace intends to finance the acquisition from existing cash resources, together with new bank facilities. The new bank facilities are currently under negotiation and the Acquisition is conditional, among other things, upon final agreement being reached on the terms of these facilities.
The Pace Board believes the deal will enhance its established position in cable and satellite markets in the US with entry into the tier one telco market. At the same time, 2Wire’s software and gateway expertise will support Pace’s development of its home entertainment convergence strategy.
Once the deal is complete, Pace, already the number one global digital set-top box company, would also become the number one provider of telco residential gateway devices in the US and the number three globally. Pace says the addition of 2Wire’s software and gateway expertise will strengthen the development of its own home entertainment convergence strategy.
The acquisition of Bewan in April 2010 extended Pace’s technology capability into gateways, and the proposed acquisition of 2Wire represents a further step in Pace’s overall strategy and development. Pace believes that in the world’s most developed markets, its customers’ TV-led home entertainment and broadband services are moving towards integrated, converged offerings, making gateway devices and the related software, applications and services increasingly important.
The 2Wire announcement comes as Pace revealed a 46 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profit, to £45.4 million.
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ISPs battle three-strikes ruleIrish ISP UPC has said that it will continue to vigorously defend itself against liability proceedings taken against it in the country's courts by music companies.
The company is the latest in a series of ISPs to take issue with copyright holders' insistence that they police customers' Internet traffic. Ireland's biggest ISP, Eircom, was successfully taken to court by the IRMA (Irish Recorded Music Association) and is currently sending warning letters to customers who have allegedly infringed copyright through illegal downloading. The IP addresses of those customers are supplied by IRMA, which is using a third-party firm, Dtecnet, to identify customers who are sharing a specific list of its members' copyright works on peer-to-peer networks.UPC said that it does not condone piracy, but considers that "there is no basis under Irish or European law requiring an ISP to monitor or block subscriber traffic on its network."
However, the so-called ‘three strikes’ rule - where customers receive three warnings before their Internet connection is cut off - features in French and UK legislation, where it has met with similar anger from ISPs. In France the HADOPI law has met with criticism from European Digital Rights (EDRI) and the French Data Network (FDN). The law allows a fine and the suspension of the users' Internet connection for one year.
Meanwhile in the UK, the Digital Economy Act adopted earlier this year leaves the door open for similar three-strikes action against Internet users suspected of illegal downloading or file-sharing, although it has not so far been enforced. Many consumer groups have been outraged, and the country's two largest ISPs, BT and TalkTalk, have asked the High Court to carry out a judicial review of the Act, in order to establish whether it contravenes existing privacy laws.
The Irish courts will rule on the UPC case on October 11th.
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France Telecom, Vivendi to merge cinema channels?France Telecom's Orange and Vivendi's Canal Plus are in talks over a merger of their cinema pay-TV channels, according to reports in French newspapers.
Canal Plus would bring its TPS Star movie channel and Orange at least one of the channels from its Orange Cinema Series platform to the 50-50 venture, dailies Le Figaro and La Tribune said.
The deal, if confirmed, would mark a truce between the two groups, which have been competing in French pay-TV for over two years.
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Less than 1% of BitTorrent files confirmed legalThe large majority of content found on BitTorrent is illegal, a study out of the University of Ballarat in Australia has confirmed. Researchers from the university's Internet Commerce Security Laboratory scraped torrents from 23 trackers and looked up the content to determine whether the file was confirmed to be copyrighted. They found that 89 per cent of the files they sampled were confirmed to be illegally shared, and most of the remaining ambiguous 11 per cent was likely to be infringing.
The total sample consisted of 1,000 torrent files—a random selection from the most active seeded files on the trackers they used. Each file was manually checked to see whether it was being legally distributed. Only three cases—0.3 per cent of the files—were determined to be definitely not infringing, while 890 files were confirmed to be illegal.
Additionally, 16 files were of ambiguous origin and 91 files were pornographic, which were unclear due to their oft-mislabelled nature. "[M]any files were tagged as amateur (suggesting no copyright infringement) but further inspection revealed that they were in fact infringing," wrote the researchers.
Basically, the 89 per cent is a baseline number when it came to infringing files, and the three most shared categories were movies, music, and TV shows—among those categories, there were zero legal files being shared. Assuming all 16 files of ambiguous legality were in fact legal, the researchers said that there was an overall figure of 97.9 per cent infringing content being distributed on BitTorrent.
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Tsai family eyes Carlyle's cable TV unitThe Tsai family, the controlling shareholder of Fubon Financial Holding and Taiwan Mobile, is in talks with Carlyle Group to buy its Taiwan cable TV unit Kbro in a private deal, after an attempt to buy Kbro through Taiwan Mobile failed to receive regulatory approval.
"Everyone knows we always wanted to buy the cable TV company, but the regulator didn't approve it. We want to expand into the content providing industry, so we are in discussions with Carlyle in the direction of private investment," Fubon Chairman Daniel Tsai commented. "It's not a hundred per cent done deal yet, and we hope to get regulatory approval this time by way of private investment."
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ABC iView on BraviaAustralian pubcaster ABC TV’s catch up television service, ABC iView has taken the next step, moving off the computer screen and onto an Internet-connected television service for the first time –going live on Bravia Internet Video, Sony’s IPTV service over the weekend.
ABC iView’s debut on Bravia Internet Video comes at a time of great growth for the catch up service. June was a record month, in which iView recorded 2.235 million visits - its highest number of monthly visits ever. 581,000 visitors came to the service, 55 per cent of whom visited once and 45 per cent visited more than once.
ABC TV’s Head of Multiplatform, Arul Baskaran, says the launch marks an exciting moment for ABC TV. "iView’s move to Sony’s IPTV service sees the merging of two great entertainment platforms – with lots of benefits. As more and more people are choosing iView as a way to enjoy ABC TV’s great content, we want to make accessing the service as easy as possible – which is what this joint project with Sony delivers."
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UFC subpoenas user-generated websites
The UFC’s (Ultimate Fighting Championship) parent company, Zuffa, has served subpoenas on Justin.tv and Ustream.tv — in its latest efforts on its anti-piracy campaign.The two websites allow members to broadcast live, streaming video, such as UFC pay-per-view events, to an unlimited Internet audience.
According to a statement released by the UFC, more than 36,000 people viewed the UFC 108 event on January 2nd that was uploaded from one IP address. More than 78,000 viewed the UFC 110 event from the same IP address on February 21st.
In serving the subpoenas, the UFC is demanding that the sites disclose the identities of those pirating its content.
The UFC earned an estimated $349 million in pay-per-views in 2009. The company has had nine pay-per-view cards in 2010. Each event costs $44.95.
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Over 50% of Hong Kong households receiving DTTAbout 53.3 per cent of the households in Hong Kong are receiving digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, according to the latest public survey conducted in June 2010. This represents approximately 1.23 million households and an increase of more than 300,000 as compared to a year ago.
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Farncombe acquires MirificeFarncombe Consulting Group, the privately-owned European TV services consultancy, has acquired Mirifice’s Professional Services business. The deal significantly enhances the scope and scale of the services Farncombe can offer its clients through its newly-created engineering services and testing practices.
"This agreement is a perfect fit for us," said Farncombe Managing Partner Dr Stephen Upton. "The Mirifice team complements and strengthens the skills and experience that Farncombe can offer its existing clients. Farncombe now has the capability to provide end-to-end consulting services to the digital video sector: from strategy and business planning through to implementation and testing."
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Widevine for mgMEDIAWidevine, a provider of digital entertainment solutions, has announced that mgMEDIA, a company specialising in digital content distribution technology, has selected Widevine to provide adaptive streaming, virtual DVD controls and digital rights management (DRM) for its mgMEDIA over-the-top delivery platform. Widevine's video optimisation and DRM technologies will ensure that users of the mgMEDIA platform will receive the highest quality viewing experience for both live and on-demand content.
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Monday 26th July
Kip Meek to chair Project Canvas
Desmond nears Five deal
Public Value Test not required for BBC apps
AT&T posts strong Q2
TF1 profits up 51%
India DTH players to offer pay channels on à la carte basis
Africa unlikely to meet switchover deadline
Consumer concerns over mobile security dwindling
Channel 4 tech chief departs
Alcatel-Lucent turnkey IPTV solution powered by Mediaroom
Clash of the Titans on Virgin Media before DVD release
Kip Meek to chair Project Canvas
From Colin Mann in LondonAs anticipated, communications industry veteran Kip Meek has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Project Canvas, the proposed joint venture between the BBC, ITV, BT, Channel 4, Talk Talk and Arqiva to build a standards based, open Internet-connected TV environment. The appointment had been widely rumoured following the BBC Trust’s approval of the BBC’s involvement in the venture in late June.
Meek will lead the Board of the new venture and oversee the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer, who will have day to day operational responsibility for the new organisation. He will step down from his full time role at Ingenious Media and his non-executive positions at the Broadband Stakeholder Group and Phorm.
He noted that Internet technology created unlimited choice and could also give people real control over what they watch, and when they watch it. "Project Canvas will integrate the broadcast and on-demand worlds to make this possible via the TV. It will also allow third-party business models to thrive through an open platform, bringing the benefits of next-generation TV to anyone who wants it," he added.
He suggested that with the backing of "these six substantial partners," Project Canvas had the opportunity to transform television. A seventh partner, UK broadcaster Channel 5, withdrew its involvement earlier in July pending a review of its digital investment strategy. The channel has been put up for sale by its owner, the RTL Group. Current speculation (see below) suggests that UK media tycoon Richard Desmond is close to acquiring Channel 5 in a deal which would see C5 return to the Canvas fold, with Desmond willing to pay up the estimated £20 million bill for being part of Canvas.
Meek’s career in British media and telecoms includes holding a variety of responsibilities at UK comms regulator Ofcom, including chairing the European Regulators Group, and was instrumental in the establishment of BT’s operationally independent infrastructure company Openreach. Before joining Ofcom, he was Managing Director of Spectrum Strategy Consultants.
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Desmond nears Five dealRichard Desmond reached an agreement with the owner of Bertelsmann to buy out Channel Five according to reports.
Gerhard Zeiler, the owner of Bertelsmann, and Richard Desmond are said to have shaken hands on an outline deal in the early hours of Friday morning which will see the broadcaster acquired by the head of Northern and Shell for just over £100 million.
The deal has to be ratified by the board of parent company Bertelsmann in Germany but expected to be nodded through, with Desmond subsequently confirmed as the "named bidder" by Bertelsmann, when an outline agreement is expected to be signed. He will then be granted a period of exclusivity to finalise the deal.
Desmond, the owner of Express newspapers and OK magazine and a raft of porn channels, has indicated that he will invest in TV content and is keen to expand its entertainment offering, possibly with an interest in Big Brother.
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Public Value Test not required for BBC appsThe BBC Trust has concluded that plans to launch dedicated BBC smartphone applications (Apps), for BBC News, Sport and iPlayer, do not require further scrutiny through a Public Value Test (PVT).
The decision follows an assessment of the proposals, including the commissioning of independent research into the Apps market. The Trust decided to carry out an assessment of the plans following representations received from the industry earlier this year.
BBC Trustee Diane Coyle, who led the review, said: "The Apps market is rapidly taking off as more people choose to get their news, sport and other online content while they're on the move. The Trust has a duty to represent the interests of licence fee payers, who will increasingly expect to access BBC content in this way, but also to listen to concerns raised by industry. In this case we have concluded that while the Apps market is developing quickly and we will monitor the launch of BBC Apps, a PVT is not required."
Erik Huggers, Director, Future Media and Technology at the BBC, said the News App was available immediately for the Apple iPhone, and would soon come to Blackberry and Android phones, in addition to other devices later in the year.
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AT&T posts strong Q2Among strong second-quarter results, AT&T grew U-verse TV subscribers 59 per cent year over year to stand at 2.5 million at the end of June.
In the second quarter, AT&T's revenue from U-verse TV, Internet and voice services exceeded $1 billion for the first time -- more than twice the U-verse revenue in the second quarter of 2009. Overall, the US telco raised its earnings outlook for the full year 2010, citing "improved revenue trends and strong execution."
U-verse TV subscribers increased by 209,000 in the quarter to reach 2.5 million. U-verse High Speed Internet attach rate continued to run above 90 per cent in the period, with about two-thirds of subscribers taking U-verse Voice.
Average revenue per unit (ARPU) for U-verse triple play customers was nearly $160, up 13.8 per cent year over year and up 6.8 per cent from the first quarter of 2010.
Meanwhile, satellite connections - via DirecTV and AT&T's now-expired reseller deal with Dish Network - dropped 7 per cent in the quarter, to 2.1 million.
AT&T's U-verse deployment now reaches 25 million living units, and the company is aiming to reach 30 million by the end of 2011.
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TF1 profits up 51%French broadcaster TF1 has reported a 51 per cent increase of its first-half net profit, but dropped its full-year earnings margin target of 20 per cent, citing changes in economic conditions between 2008 and 2010.
TF1's first-half net profit rose to E74 million from E49 million for the same period a year ago as the TF1 channel's advertising revenue rose 11 per cent to E765 million.
TF1's first-half revenue was up 14 per cent to E1.2 billion. TF1 said it now expects its full-year revenue to rise 7 per cent to E2.53 billion, after it had already upgraded its forecast to 4 per cent on May 11.
Advertising revenue for the TF1 channel was up 11 per cent to E765 million year-on-year, where as revenue from non-core operations came to E52 million, a year-on-year increase of 17 per cent, boosted by a E33 million income for the resale of 2010 FIFA world cup broadcasting rights.
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India DTH players to offer pay channels on à la carte basisTelevision subscribers of digital platforms such as DTH and IPTV in India will soon be able to pick and choose the pay channels they want to watch. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued a new tariff order that mandates service providers on digital platforms to offer pay channels on a-la-carte or individual basis, latest by January 2011.
"Every service provider providing broadcasting services or cable services to its subscribers using an addressable system shall offer all pay channels to its subscribers on a-la-carte basis and shall specify the maximum retail price for each pay channel," TRAI said. The order covers all digital addressable systems such as DTH, HITS, IPTV and cable service providers in conditional access system (CAS) areas.
Currently, pay-channels on digital platforms are not available on a la carte basis. According to the order that will come into effect from September 1st, TRAI said the monthly minimum subscription fee cannot exceed Rs 150. The operators can fix the subscriber tariff for each channel and have to compulsorily offer channels of Doordarshan. The operators have to publish the channel rates every three months.
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Africa unlikely to meet switchover deadlineAccording to new research from Balancing Act, over half of Africa's 52 countries are unlikely to make the 2015 deadline set by the ITU for the transition to digital broadcasting.
Twenty-nine countries appear to have not yet even started the policy and implementation process and although 2015 is four and half years away, the time remains tight to complete the process.
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Consumer concerns over mobile security dwindlingDespite major concerns over privacy and data security, people around the world are rapidly adopting the mobile Internet as an easy and convenient method of carrying out everyday transactions including banking and shopping, a global survey from KPMG has found.
"Compared with our last survey, which used data from late 2008, the 2010 survey shows conclusively that the mobile Internet is rapidly opening up an entirely new global marketplace," said Gary Matuszak, Global Chair, Information, Communications and Entertainment. "We have found that people are increasingly willing to pay for high-value content. Organisations that can provide high quality material in an imaginative and user-friendly way will be able to generate significant revenues.
A major challenge for content providers has been how to turn their Internet presence into revenue, but survey results suggest that consumers may be getting used to the idea that they should pay something for what they consume.Globally, 43 per cent of respondents said they are now willing to pay for access to frequently used online content. Among the Asia-Pacific countries, this rises to 59 per cent, with China and India the clear global leaders at 63 per cent and 65 per cent.
Least willing to pay are consumers in the Netherlands, at only 6 percent, followed by Ireland with 12 per cent, Canada with 15 per cent, and Germany with 17 per cent.
Among those willing to pay for access, the most popular types of content which people would pay for are video, chosen by 56 per cent, and music, chosen by 53 per cent. Paid-for music is especially popular among the young, with 61 per cent of 16-24 year-olds saying they would be prepared to pay.
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Jon Gisby, Channel 4's director of future media and technology, is the latest victim of the broadcaster's plans to reduce its senior management staffing levels by 25 per cent.
Gisby joined Channel 4 in 2007 as its first dedicated new media director, and was instrumental in the launch of Channel 4's video-on-demand service 4oD, and went on to secure a partnership with YouTube which sees much of the broadcaster's content hosted in full on the video-sharing site.
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Alcatel-Lucent turnkey IPTV solution powered by MediaroomAlcatel-Lucent has unveiled a turnkey, compact IPTV solution, powered by Microsoft Mediaroom, that is designed to cost-effectively support networks of between 1,000 and 100,000 STBs. The solution not only provides high-quality television programming, but also enables new consumer media services through the blending and personalisation of web and broadcasting content. This new offer, which uses a single equipment rack, supports more than three times as many households than previous versions of the Microsoft Mediaroom-based IPTV solution.
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Clash of the Titans on Virgin Media before DVD release
Virgin Media’s TV customers will be able to watch Clash of the Titans at home three days before the film is released on DVD in an exclusive deal with Warner Bros UK. The movie will be available via Virgin Media’s Movies on Demand service for £14.95. Customers will be able to watch the movie as many times as they like over a 48 hour period before receiving a DVD copy just a few days later. Back to top
