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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 9th July
Deutsche Telekom launching 3DTV in September
Google launches YouTube Leanback
BT and TalkTalk challenge Digital Economy Act
FT wants to sell Orange TV?
Millionaire producers win $269m from Disney
Sirius turns in more subs
Baseball and cricket going 3D
Foxtel shelves Telstra deal
Meo subs up
BT signs deal with CNBC
SES Astra delivers Dance TV HD
France 24 on Digiturk
Deutsche Telekom launching 3DTV in SeptemberDeutsche Telekom plans to launch 3D content on-demand through its IPTV service 'T-Home Entertain' from September. The new content will be launched during the international consumer electronics fair IFA held in Berlin the same month. Initially, only 3D movies will be available, but the German telco has already started discussions with the national football association DFL and plans to add Bundesliga football matches at a later date.
The STBs used to receive the T-Home Entertain service are already capable of supporting 3DTV transmissions.
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Google launches YouTube Leanback
YouTube's latest attempt to get people to watch more videos is a service called Leanback, which keeps on playing a selection of full-screen clips until users tell it to stop.YouTube calls it "effortless viewing" and users don't have to select anything. Instead, the non-stop line-up is determined by a users' "settings and preferences," including their subscriptions on the site and videos friends have recommended on Facebook.
The Leanback service – which is in beta - is also available in HD.
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BT and TalkTalk challenge Digital Economy ActISPs BT and TalkTalk are seeking a judicial review of the UK Digital Economy Act. They want the High Court to clarify the legality of the act before it is implemented as they claim it was "rushed through" before the general election with insufficient scrutiny and they question whether its proposals to curb illegal file-sharing harm "basic rights and freedoms".
Among the Acts most controversial measures are proposals to disconnect persistent illegal file-sharers from the web and give copyright holders the power to block access to websites hosting illegal content. A caveat added to the act at the last minute stipulates that new legislation would be required before such measures are implemented.Ofcom drew up the policy to deal with illegal file-sharers, it requires ISPs to send warning letters to customers who illegally download films, music and TV programmes, persistent pirates will be put on a blacklist and their details can be passed to relevant copyright owners to pursue the case through the courts should they wish to. The code of practice currently only applies to larger ISPs with more than 400,000 subscribers.
This puts BT, TalkTalk and the other large ISPs at a business disadvantage, said Andrew Heaney, executive director of TalkTalk. "It means we could have huge swathes of customers moving to smaller ISPs to avoid detection."
TalkTalk and BT are seeking clarity as to whether the act conflicts with EU legislation, they believe it could conflict with Europe's e-commerce directive which states that ISPs are "mere conduits" of content and should not be held responsible for the traffic on their networks. It may also be in contravention of the privacy and electronic communications directive, said Heaney.
Welcoming BT and TalkTalk's challenge to the Digital Economy Act, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said: "This is exactly what we and 20,000 supporters warned their MPs. The Act was rushed through and is already working extremely badly. It threatens basic rights and large chunks need to be repealed."
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FT wants to sell Orange TV?France Telecom is looking for buyers for its Orange-branded IPTV channels, and News Corp is among the companies said to be potential buyers and the French football league is also reported to be interested.
Orange operates the most successful IPTV service in Europe with some 2.9 million customers. The service, which also includes VOD, carries several channels but includes own-brand Orange Cinema and Orange Sport packages, the latter carrying the lucrative football matches from France’s Ligue 1.
But new CEO Stéphane Richard said yesterday: "Our goal is not to remain the only shareholder of these TV channels, because it is no longer in line with our new content strategy."The channels have 713,000 subscribers and generated 2.7 million paid VOD impressions in the first quarter of the year, France Telecom said in April. But the prices for the soccer rights have begun to put Orange off.
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Millionaire producers win $269m from DisneyCelador, creators of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has won a multi-million dollar legal battle against Disney over unpaid profits. A Los Angeles jury awarded $269 million after ruling it failed to get a fair share of profits from screenings of the show in the US.
Celador chairman Paul Smith described the verdict as "justice" after an eight-year "David and Goliath" fight. The Walt Disney Company said it would "aggressively" seek to reverse it.
The jury agreed that Disney's Buena Vista Television and ABC had breached an agreement that entitled Celador to half of the profits.
Celador sold its TV division more than three years ago and now concentrates on films, radio stations and theatre productions.
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Sirius XM closed its second quarter 2010 with net adds of 583,249. That's against a decline of -185,999 in 2Q09 and it brings Sirius' first half adds to 754,690 net new subs. The company has boosted its 2010 guidance to approximately 1.1 million net sub additions. Full details of the company's second quarter performance.
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Baseball and cricket going 3DThis weekend, a Major League Baseball game will air in 3D for the first time. The game between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners will air via YES Network 3D. Subscribers with 3DTVs will be able to watch it live.
Eight different TV providers have agreed to carry YES's 3D broadcast of the game: DirecTV, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, Verizon, Blue Ridge and Service Electric Broadband Cable.
In addition, Best Buy and other retailers are expected to show the games in 3D at select outlets as part of an effort to boost sales of the new format.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports is broadcasting its first 3D cricket game featuring England and Bangladesh this week. The One Day International is being shown live on Sky 3D to around 1,000 pubs throughout the UK and Ireland.
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Foxtel shelves Telstra dealFoxtel has scrapped a controversial plan to enter the Internet television market in Australia through an exclusive deal with Telstra. It has been reported that Foxtel withdrew a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission seeking permission to supply video content "via the Internet" through its iQ STBs "on the condition that the customer uses a Telstra BigPond broadband connection".
It is believed that Telstra had pushed for the exclusive deal - as a means of growing its 2.1 million-strong retail broadband customer base - even though Foxtel did not want to limit its ability to deliver on-demand programs through a broadband tuner in iQ boxes.
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Meo subs upPortugal Telecom has reported that it now has over 700,000 customers for its pay-TV service 'Meo', giving the telco a 27 per cent share of the Portuguese pay-TV market.
Portugal Telecom has this week launched a new VOD service called 'Meo Séries', which will offer the best TV services from the producers Warner and HBO.
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BT signs deal with CNBCBT has signed a five year contract with the global broadcaster CNBC, the leading business and financial news channel, to distribute the channel’s content from its London headquarters to its sister sites in the US and Europe.
BT will use its UK Media Network and Global Media Network to distribute CNBC’s video content from its London studio to its US broadcasting hub in New Jersey and six European sites, including Frankfurt, Brussels, Madrid, Paris, Milan and Zurich. CNBC's regional EMEA network is available to approximately 130 million homes, 1,400 banks and financial institutions and leading hotels across the region.
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SES Astra delivers Dance TV HD
SES Astra has signed an agreement with Netherlands-based Dance TV HD for the delivery of its programme to HD bouquets throughout Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, SES ASTRA will provide capacity on its 23.5 degrees East orbital position and deliver uplink services from its playout centre in Munich, Germany.
The agreement with SES ASTRA will allow Dance TV HD to deliver its programme to various HD bouquets throughout Europe. Dance TV HD is a full HD lifestyle channel focusing on the international dance scene.
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France 24 on DigiturkThe number 1 satellite platform in Turkey with 2.5 million subscribers across the country, Diguturk will allow France 24 to expand its coverage throughout the region and increase its number of viewers. The channel is available immediately through the Digiturk basic package.
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Thursday 8th July
Canvas CA, DRM options revealed
China Mobile to adopt CMMB for mobile TV in Hong Kong
Italy proposes acceleration of ASO to 2011
MPs want debate on Murdoch move for BSkyB
HDTV households opt for HD VOD
BRIC countries to expand global mobile TV subs base
UK retailers stop sales of analogue TV
FetchTV locks in Hollywood studios for Australia launch
Bartlett to leave ITV
Nagravision secures ONO
MobiTV expanding on the Android platform
Arris and Vector jointly market portfolios
Canvas CA, DRM options revealedProject Canvas has revealed the content protection options for content providers to the connected TV service. Producers will be able to make content available ‘in the clear’, or adopt transport encryption, file encryption, device authentication or digital rights management. Conditional access upgrades will also be provided for premium material.
For those requiring DRM, Canvas will support the Marlin DRM technology developed by Intertrust, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Sony. "The selection of Marlin follows widespread industry engagement with content owners, content distributors, device manufacturers and internet service providers, from which it was concluded that a common DRM solution present on all devices at launch and widely supported by content providers would benefit all industry participants."
Canvas says imposing one system (rather than letting content owners choose) will reduce costs and provide a standard for device makers to spec. It will also aid implementation of a range of services; live, VoD and download. It points out Marlin is referenced by the Open IPTV Forum and has the potential to be widely adopted.
Canvas will make further technical specifications available through the Digital Television Group on July 30th and August 19th.
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China Mobile to adopt CMMB for mobile TV in Hong KongChina Mobile Communications' subsidiary China Mobile Hong Kong has won the only mobile TV operating licence in Hong Kong through a HK$175 million ($22.5 million) bid, and is likely to adopt the China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB), mobile TV standard.
China Mobile Hong Kong outbid two Hong Kong-based competitors, Pacific Century CyberWorks and City Telecom (HK), to win the franchise to operate mobile TV service at a 678-686MHz frequency band for 15 years. The company is required to set up a network to cover 50 per cent of Hong Kong's population in 18 months, with at least 75 per cent of the network's capacity dedicated for delivering TV content.
While China Mobile has not yet announced the mobile TV standard(s) to be adopted for the project, CMMB will be the most likely candidate.
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Italy proposes acceleration of ASO to 2011
From Branislav Pekic in RomeThe completion of the transition to digital terrestrial TV could be completed by 2011, claims the president of Italy’s telecommunications sector regulator (AgCom), Corrado Calabro.
In its annual report, the AgCom indicates that there are already six "all-digital" regions in Italy and during the course of the year it is expected the complete digitalisation of Northern Italy. In 2011, the analogue switch-off (ASO) will occur in the regions of the Adriatic coast, while finally Tuscany, Umbria, Sicily and Calabria will go digital in 2012. According to Calabro’, "with an effort, the digitalisation could be completed by 2011, as indicated by a recent European recommendation.''
At the end of 2010 70 per cent of Italian households will be digital. Already the viewing figures of digital TV on all platforms (terrestrial, satellite, IPTV) has surpassed, with a 51.2 per cent share, the figure for analogue TV. The number of households with at least one DTT receiver rose in January this year to over 15 million, while a large proportion of the new decoders is purchased to adapt to digital the second and third TV sets in the home.
The new frequency plan approved last month by AgCom frees resources for national TV (with 5 new digital multiplexes which will be awarded via a "beauty contest"), for High Definition, for local TV (with at least 13 multiplexes, corresponding to 65 local channels for each region), for radio, and also frees up nine TV channels to be allocated to wireless broadband access.
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MPs want debate on Murdoch move for BSkyBUK MPs have called for a debate and regulatory investigation into Rupert Murdoch's proposed takeover of BSkyB. An Early Day Motion entitled Media Ownership has been submitted by Labour backbencher, and perennial Murdoch watcher, Austin Mitchell. The call for "regulatory scrutiny of the deal" has attracted 21 signatures so far.
The motion proposes: "That this House... urges the Government not to enable further excessive concentrations of ownership; supports the Trades Union Congress and the National Union of Journalists' calls for full scrutiny of the proposed deal; and calls on the UK regulators and European competition authorities to carry out reviews."
BSkyB's board has itself reportedly sought assurances about the continued editorial independence, particularly of its news channel, if a deal is agreed.
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HDTV households opt for HD VODAbout 50 per cent of households with a HD television will watch VOD in HD and other premium channels, according to a report by Centris Research. Centris found that 68 million US households have at least one HDTV, triple the number of homes since the first quarter of 2007. The research company reported that HDTV households had an average monthly cable bill $17 higher than comparative homes without HDTV.
Centris believes the higher bill is due to HDTV households being more inclined to subscribe to premium cable channels and access transactional VOD, among other services.
Digital movie revenue, including downloads and online rentals, reached $617 million in the first quarter this year, up 27 per cent from the same period last year, according to DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.
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BRIC countries to expand global mobile TV subs baseBRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries are projected to account for more than 15 per cent of global mobile subscriber base by the end of 2013, according to a research report from RNCOS.
With the rapidly growing economy and huge young population base, the mobile market in these countries has surged. The rollout of advanced technologies such as 3G, 4G and rapid acceptance of these technologies have paved the way for tremendous growth of the mobile TV market. Mobile TV subscriber base of BRIC countries will account for more than 15 per cent of the global mobile TV subscriber base, says our new research report "Global Mobile TV Forecast to 2013".
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UK retailers stop sales of analogue TVAll the major high street electronics retailers in the UK have now stopped selling analogue sets after running down their stocks in recent months, in preparation for the switch to DTT by 2012.
Last month, for the first time, there were no sales of analogue TV sets in the UK, according to figures published by the organisation responsible for helping viewers switch, Digital UK.
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FetchTV locks in Hollywood studios for Australia launchFetchTV has signed a series of deals with the major Hollywood studios as it looks to take on Telstra and Foxtel in the Austrlian IPTV market. The fledgling Internet broadcaster has signed up Warner Bros, Disney and Universal to support its movie content as part of a soft launch with Internet service provider iiNet.
FetchTV is based around an STB with a 1 terabyte hard drive , and does not aim to compete directly for the 30 per cent of Australians that have access to established pay-TV providers.
iiNet chief technology officer Greg Bader said its partnership with FetchTV was part of a strategy "to disrupt" and reduce customer churn. He said Telstra and its $299 T-Box, launched last month, was his competition.
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Lee Bartlett, the former managing director of ITV Studios, is to leave the broadcaster as part of a management shake-up in the production division. Remy Blumenfeld, who was appointed by Bartlett as director of global formats, is also leaving.
Meanwhile, ITV has hired senior Disney executive Maria Kyriacou to the role of managing director of global entertainment.
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Nagravision secures ONONagravision has been selected by ONO, Spain’s leading broadband communication and entertainment provider, to secure its next generation, hybrid television platform. The platform will be the first broadband/broadcast content delivery network in Spain, combining traditional Pay-TV services with the power of the Internet and delivered over ONO’s fibre-optic network.
Nagravision’s conditional access will secure all of ONO’s next generation services which are expected to feature existing value-added services such as video-on-demand and pay-per-view as well as new and advanced PVR functionality. The offer will combine ONO’s Pay-TV service with access to Internet-based content enabling ONO viewers to benefit from more content choices.
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MobiTV expanding on the Android platformMobiTV is expanding its core live TV and video-on-demand service to more Android based devices. Currently delivering live and video-on-demand programming to the Android-based Sprint EVO 4G and HTC Hero devices, as well as the AT&T Motorola Backflip, MobiTV is expanding its Android availability beginning with the T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant available July 21st, 2010.
Among its more than 10 million subscribers, MobiTV viewers on the Android platform watch 23 per cent more minutes per active viewer versus all other mobile operating platforms.
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Arris and Vector jointly market portfoliosArris has announced that it and European Broadband equipment supplier Vector have signed an Agreement of Cooperation to jointly market their Access and Transport product portfolios to offer European cable operators a one-stop source for their HFC and fibre infrastructure needs. The two companies will create a portfolio of HFC, RFoG and EPON products that both sales teams will promote in their respective markets to assure a more thorough and focused response to European cable operators’ architectural needs and challenges.
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Wednesday 7th July
Vodafone Germany plans new TV service
Sky Italia TV sales outstrip Mediaset again
DSO boosts confidence in new technology
WiFi to bring mobile TV to the masses
Radio switchover to be revealed
ESPN Star Sports unveils ESPN Player
Freesat adds two new channels
Netflix and Relativity ink streaming deal
Hiltron for Abu Dhabi IPTV head end
itfc selects AmberFin
Vodafone Germany plans new TV serviceVodafone Germany plans to launch a new TV service for its fixed broadband customers later this year, CEO Fritz Joussen told the newspaper FAZ. He said the service will rely on a mix of satellite, cable and IPTV. The service will be "completely different" to what Deutsche Telekom offers, and overcome the disadvantages of IPTV, he added.
Joussen said the company has been focusing more investment on its mobile activities, which have twice the margin of the fixed-line activities. He blamed the low fixed margins on the regulatory structure, which makes it difficult to earn money on products leased from the incumbent operator. However, fixed remains a necessity in order to have converged service offerings, he said. For mobile broadband, the company is working on extending services to rural areas, in the hopes of getting a first mover advantage.
Joussen also confirmed plans to roll out LTE over the next three years, saying the company will upgrade existing base stations for the service, first rolling out in 'white spot' areas and then in cities. The recently acquired 800MHz spectrum is expected to prove useful in cities, to increase indoor coverage.
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Sky Italia TV sales outstrip Mediaset againNews Corp’s Sky Italia generated higher television revenue in 2009 than rival Mediaset SpA for a second year, the communications regulator said. Sky Italia had revenue of E2.71 billion last year, compared with Mediaset’s E2.51 billion. State-owned broadcaster RAI had sales of E2.73 billion.
Revenue in the Italian TV industry rose 1.7 per cent in 2009 as pay-TV sales jumped 7.4 per cent to E2.88 billion. Ad sales dropped 9.3 per cent to E3.54 billion.
Mediaset runs three free-to-air TV channels and is expanding in digital-terrestrial broadcasting, where it has free channels as well as a pay-TV offering called Premium, which generated about 12 per cent of its revenue in 2009. About 60 per cent of RAI’s revenue comes from licence fees, while 90 per cent of sales at Rupert Murdoch’s satellite broadcaster Sky Italia come from pay subscriptions.
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DSO boosts confidence in new technology
From Colin Mann in London
An unexpected benefit of the digital switchover in the UK is that viewers are gaining confidence in new technology. One-in-three older viewers say that getting ready for digital TV switchover has boosted their confidence with new technology.
Research published by Digital UK – the body leading the implementation of digital switchover - found that 31 per cent of over-65s in areas where analogue TV has been switched off, felt more tech-savvy as a result of converting to digital. Among all ages, 26 per cent said they felt more confident.
Most late converters to digital TV (64 per cent) said they now want to try other gadgets, from the latest TV recorders to surfing the web. The full list of devices and proportions of people keen to give them a try was:
- Digital TV recorder: 36 per cent
- Digital camera: 29 per cent
- Internet: 28 per cent
- Mobile phone: 28 per cent
- Red button service: 25 per cent
- MP3 player: 21 per cent
- Computer games: 13 per cent
- Sat-nav: 12 per cent
Nearly eight out of ten (78 per cent) said they were confident making the switch to digital TV and ninety per cent said that digital TV was better or as good as analogue. One-in-three said they wished they had made the switch sooner. Most people (53 per cent) said the main benefit of digital TV is having additional channels. Other benefits include improved reception, with nearly two thirds (60 per cent) saying that they have noticed this, and nearly one in three (30 per cent) saying that they were enjoying improved picture and sound quality.
When asked to rate the importance of digital TV as a source of entertainment, most said that if forced to choose, they would rather give up going to the cinema, listening to the radio or having a mobile phone than lose digital television.
Digital UK revealed that the switchover has now reached around five million homes. By the time the project is completed in 2012, a further 20 million households will have been through switchover.
David Scott, Chief Executive of Digital UK, said that although it was still early days for TV switchover but there was clear evidence that the benefits of digital TV were welcomed by the vast majority of those who have upgraded, with most having found it a straightforward process. "It’s also pleasing to see evidence that switchover leaves a positive legacy with significant numbers of viewers gaining the confidence to try other technologies," he noted.
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WiFi to bring mobile TV to the massesA new report by Juniper Research has found that a surge in applications which can take advantage of the increasing availability of free WiFi services are set to boost a mobile TV industry with anticipated revenues of nearly $7 billion by 2015.
According to the report, mobile TV traffic over WiFi is expected to increase by 25x over the 2010-2015 period as streamed service penetration and usage levels – also fuelled by consumer smartphone adoption – rise sharply. However, the report notes that despite the capacity relief that WiFi offers to mobile networks, greater mobile TV usage will still place the 3G and 3.5G networks under stress.
As report author Dr Windsor Holden pointed out, "Cellular networks are finding it increasingly difficult to deliver high quality mobile TV services at times of peak usage: thus, the World Cup has posed particular problems with large spikes in viewing figures. WiFi can ameliorate this in the short term, but this is only a partial remedy."
The report suggests that while the deployment of LTE networks should reduce congestion, the use of unpaired spectrum – as in the forthcoming IMB trials by Vodafone, Orange and O2 – might be an alternative or complementary solution.
However, Juniper is less sanguine about the prospects for dedicated mobile broadcast technologies such as DVB-H, citing the availability of handsets capable of receiving analogue or digital terrestrial signals, the economic downturn and changing consumer viewing habits among the reasons why such networks are widely perceived as being financially unviable.
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Radio switchover to be revealed
From Colin Mann in LondonEd Vaizey, the UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, has revealed that a timetable for the switchover of the UK’s analogue radio will be set out on Thursday 8 July.
Speaking at a progress briefing on the UK’s digital TV signal switchover, Vaizey confirmed that he would be presenting his plans to parliament. In the Digital Britain report, published in June 2009 by the previous Labour administration, the government targeted an end-date of 2015, some three years after the TV switchover.
Executives from Digital UK - the body responsible for implementing the digital TV switchover – have revealed that the five-year project is forecast to be under budget by £55 million (E66.4 million). Vaizey anticipates any under spend being used towards ensuring universal broadband access.
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ESPN Star Sports unveils ESPN PlayerESPN Star Sports, Asia's biggest sports content provider, has launched ESPN Player, providing consumers with on-demand access to international sports content, while offering an engaging online experience.
Launched in Singapore with SingTel, one of Asia's leading communications groups, the new broadband service is the region's first online multi-sports service to combine video, scores, and community within a single interactive experience. ESPN Player provides fans on-demand online access to sports and programming, and allows fans to control to decide what, where, when and how they want to watch their favourite sports.
Offering both live and library events throughout the year, ESPN Player delivers sports programming available online to fans through an interactive, easy-to-use experience and access to the sports action with in-game statistics and scoreboards. In addition, consumers can share comments with their friends on social networking platforms like Facebook whilst watching
ESPN Player will feature coverage of Formula One racing, FA Cup football, MotoGP and NCAA Basketball among others. ESPN Star will launch the player in other Asian markets in the upcoming months.
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Freesat adds two new channelsFreesat has confirmed that two new channels - True Entertainment and Showcase - have today joined the subscription-free satellite platform.
CSC Media-owned True Entertainment, which was formerly Showcase TV, will offer a schedule of 'true to life' programming, including films and dramatised documentaries. Showcase, which is a new channel from Information TV, will offer a broad mix of drama, music and science fiction programming.
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Netflix and Relativity ink streaming dealNetflix and Relativity Media have announced a long term agreement through which major theatrically released films owned by Relativity will be licensed directly and exclusively to Netflix for streaming to its subscribers during the "pay TV window." Traditionally, these films have flowed through Relativity's studio releasing partners to output deals with premium TV channels.
It will be the first time that studio quality theatrical feature films will be streamed via subscription by Netflix instead of being broadcast by the traditional pay providers, and it opens up a new revenue stream for such movies.
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Hiltron for Abu Dhabi IPTV head endHiltron Communications has won a major satellite-receive system contract as part of a large IPTV headend installation together with the German broadcast system integrator Wellen+Noethen.
Located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the new installation will include two 4.7 metre rotatable antennas with Ku-band/C-band combi feeds, two 4.5 metre fixed antennas (one for C-band, the other with a combi feed) and 3.7 metre fixed antennas for Ku-band.
The system being supplied by Hiltron will also incorporate L-band distribution equipment for feeding the integrated receiver/decoders, plus an Intorel Visonic network management system.
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itfc selects AmberFinAmberFin has announced that itfc, a London-based provider of content management services for broadcasters and content providers, has selected AmberFin iCR Version 5.5 to efficiently ingest, manage and deliver digital assets. itfc has been established in the film and TV industry for over 30 years providing post-production services to some of the industry’s leading broadcasters.
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Tuesday 6th July
BBC Worldwide profits up 36.5%, losses online
DTG consults on interoperability and innovation on DTT
Global IPTV revenue to hit $46bn by 2014
MTS goes content shopping
Airwaves auctions less lucrative in UK than Europe
Japanese not keen on 3D TV
UKTV and C4 agree 10-year ad sales deal
Freeview Australia launches MHEG-powered EPG
KidsCo partners with MultiChoice
BBC Worldwide profits up 36.5%, losses onlineBBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC saw sales rise by 7 per cent to £1.074 billion (E1.3bn) in the 12 months to 31 March 2010. Operating profits increased 36.5 per cent to £145.2 million, with dividend payments to the BBC of £73.6 million. This helped lift the overall cash return to the BBC to more than £150 million for the second year running.
However digital and online activities returned a loss. Sales of advertising on the international news site BBC.com grew 41.7 per cent to £14.5 million. But the annual loss widened eight per cent £13 million after what the company says was "additional co-investment with the BBC in the technology infrastructure and investment in sales capability."
BBCWW is planning more regionalised BBC.com editions against which to sell more local ads it also maintains it will internationalise iPlayer and is planning "a travel site within BBC.com" presumably a merger with LonelyPlanet.com. It also wants to get into mobile and Internet apps.
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DTG consults on interoperability and innovation on DTTThe consultation, Delivering an Interoperable, Efficient, Stable and Innovating Horizontal Digital TV Market, is open to any organisation or individual with an interest in digital television in the UK.
Richard Lindsay-Davies, Director General of the DTG, said: "For over a decade the DTG has played a pivotal role in the success of the Freeview platform. Last year we published the 6th edition of the D-Book, the technical specification for UK DTT, paving the way for the launch of high definition services on the platform. Later this year we will publish the 7th edition of the specification, making hybrid Connected TV devices a reality for viewers.
"Against this backdrop of continuous technical development, we believe that it falls to the DTG, as the only independent and fully representative organisation in our sector, to ensure that the horizontal market continues to exist in an environment where innovation can thrive and where the consumer is safeguarded. This consultation will play a key role in ensuring the Group is able to produce a roadmap for the ongoing interoperability, stability and technical development of the platform."
The consultation opened on July 2ndand will close on September 20th. Details of how to respond are available on the DTG's website
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Global IPTV revenue to hit $46bn by 2014
A report from MRG reveals global annual growth of IPTV subscribers of 25 per cent CAGR in 2010-2014. Despite economic hardship in some countries, robust Broadband and IPTV investments drive growth as a means to meet and outperform Cable and Satellite competition.
IPTV Operators are using fibre in high-competition markets and advanced DSL such as channel bonding and VDSL2 in other (less competitive) markets. In this way, Telcos can discreetly improve their IPTV bandwidth capacity to sub-markets that need upgrades without overspending in markets that don’t require immediate upgrading.
The Eastern European IPTV market is moving quickly to early maturity, while RoW markets showing faster gains than other regions. "As late as 2007, Eastern Europe had only a few IPTV trials or startups. Now, there are 16 fully operating IPTV Operators and another 3-6 in trial," says Jose Alvear, MRG Analyst. "These Operators continue to grow their service base, due mainly to the fact that they have much greater technical and creative control over their service than their Cable competition does." Of the 102 million IPTV subscribers in 2014, Europe will maintain 45 per cent of the global market, Asia 31 per cent, North America 19 per cent and ROW about 5 per cent. IPTV Operators are using "discreet upgrades" to match and surpass Cable competition.
High ARPUs still favour Europe and US IPTV markets, with largest service and systems revenues also coming from these regions. Of the specific CapEx items tracked by the report, expenditures will grow from US$3.1 billion in 2010 to US$5.1 billion in 2014, and Service revenue will grow from US$17.5 billion to US$46 billion. Over 50 companies are profiled from emerging markets. Despite the obstacles, by 2014, at least 23 SPs (mostly in China and Europe) will have exceeded the million-subscriber mark. Also, while STBs make up over 70 per cent of the CapEx expenditures, expect integrated hybrid, IPTV, and OTT STBs (including connected TVs or "I-STBs" embedded in TV Sets) to account for increasing portions of that CapEx growth. An estimated 125 per cent additional CapEx growth is related to backbone, NID/gateway and VOD Encoder sales not tracked in this report.
In the North American markets, all eyes have recently turned to Verizon and AT&T, each adding about 1 million subscribers in 2009. Since Verizon stopped signing new franchise agreements outside its existing footprint, speculation is growing that Verizon will switch from its QAM/IPTV architecture to an all IPTV (fibre-based) architecture for future franchises in 2011. Meantime AT&T, with no such technical constraints, is free to use a "discreet upgrade" approach to growing bandwidth using a mix of advanced DSL or FTTX as needed. Furthermore, its continued success with new Apple products—despite network slowdowns—continues to drive new revenues its way.
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MTS goes content shopping
Mobile Tele Systems, Russia’s largest mobile operator, is in talks with media companies including News Corp’s Fox and Sony to acquire more films and television programmes for its online entertainment service.
Its Omlet.ru, the Moscow-based operator’s portal that is available on broadband-connected computers and mobile phones, has become Russia’s largest legal online source for entertainment content. MTS has already secured deals with Walt Disney and NBC Universal.
Omlet.ru, which was launched late last year, offers a growing collection of content with 1m music tracks, more than 750 film titles, 90 TV series, 400 episodes of TV programmes, and 10,000 music videos.
Mobile operators such as MTS are also focused on expanding access to 3G wireless services, which are anticipated to encourage heavier consumption of entertainment services on smartphones.
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Airwaves auctions less lucrative in UK than EuropeFollowing reports that the new UK government will announce the £5 billion-rated auction of the UK’s 800MHz airwaves spectrum, Simon Harris, director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, warned: "The auction of 800MHz spectrum in the UK is vital to the telecoms and broadcasting sectors, and therefore the economy as a whole. This is prime real estate of the airwaves and will enable the awaited provision of high speed mobile and broadcasting services.
This spectrum is particularly valuable as it enables operators to roll out high-speed networks at the lowest possible cost, and makes rural access to high speed services more realistic.
We've seen E4.4 billion recently raised in Germany, and estimate that this spectrum and the 2.6GHz band, also due to be sold off, has a value of some E40 billion across Europe. However, the situation in the UK is more complicated, due to the current uneven distribution of spectrum and the merger of T-Mobile and Orange.
Spectrum caps could be applied to operators which may mean any auction is less competitive here. Another possible outcome is that lower sums are generated per head of population relative to some other European markets. The design of any auction in the UK, and the ability and willingness of new entrants to get involved, will have a significant impact on the funds raised."
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Japanese not keen on 3D TVTelevision manufacturers might be waging a 3D battle but Japanese consumers are not entering the fray with almost 70 per cent saying they have no plans to buy a 3D TV for their home. Respondents said they were turned off by the special viewing glasses and also blamed steep price tags and scarcity of available content for their lack of interest, a survey by the price comparison website operator Kakaku.com showed.
"Television makers' expectations for 3D are high but looking at the degree of interest among consumers, there is a big gap with the enthusiasm of manufacturers," Tsuyoshi Kamada, head of Kakaku.com's media-creative section, commented.Of those who have no plans to buy a 3D TV, nearly 70 per cent cited the hassle of wearing special glasses, 57 per cent said prices were too high and close to 40 per cent said there was not enough 3D content.
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UKTV and C4 agree 10-year ad sales dealUKTV and Channel 4 have reached agreement for Channel 4 Sales to become the exclusive advertising representative for the UKTV portfolio. Under the terms of the 10-year agreement, Channel 4 Sales will represent UKTV as its sole advertising sales agent across its full portfolio of services including 10 linear channels, VOD services and websites.
The portfolio includes four of the top 10 pay entertainment channels and the UK’s leading lifestyle and factual channels.
In addition to the 10 linear channels which include Good Food, Dave and Eden, Channel 4 Sales will also sell advertising across all UKTV websites.
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Freeview Australia launches MHEG-powered EPG
IMPALA, the International MHEG Promotion Alliance, has welcomed the announcement from Freeview Australia that it has commenced broadcasting its platform-wide EPG, powered by MHEG.
The new service collates programme data from all networks for simultaneous transmission in a consistent format by all broadcasters. The MHEG application allows viewers to continue watching TV while using the EPG. From July, all STBs, PVRs and integrated digital TVs that conform to Freeview Australia’s specification will feature the new Freeview EPG logo.
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KidsCo partners with MultiChoiceKidsCo, the international children’s channel, has announced that it has secured an agreement with MultiChoice DStv, the African DTH operator. The channel will be available to DStv subscribers in South Africa from July 12th on MultiChoice.
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Monday 5th July
BT Vision: VOD ads and targeting
Apple homes in on living room
ITV: Broadcasting reform is urgent
Lagardere pursues IPO for Canal Plus stake
TalkTalk hires Chakkara
Reliance buys Digicable Network
Group finalises MHL spec
DirecTV, Panasonic 3D channel details
Penetration of 3D CE to grow swiftly
Ivey leaves Sky
Seat Pagine to unveil Sky Italia ad deal
Irdeto secures Orion Express
BT Vision: VOD ads and targetingBT Vision aims to introduce video on demand advertising in the first half of next year and is likely to appoint an external sales house to sell it. The BT Vision platform offers 10,000 programmes and a library of 600 to 700 films, as well as music videos on demand at a range of different price points.
Marc Watson, chief executive of TV and online services at BT Vision/BT Retail, said: "We will not show ads on our children’s programming, and our customers want to experience movies without ads. However, we do want to install an ad system and we are very interested in targeting advertisers."
Watson said BT could also introduce behavioural targeting."What broadband enables us to do is know our customers very well. We know their likes and dislikes and what they want to watch. This is subject to privacy laws, but there are commercial opportunities there." BT, as an ISP, flirted with Phorm the behavioural targeting system but backed away after privacy concerns were expressed by the European Commission.
BT Vision had 467,000 subscribers on March 31st this year.
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Apple homes in on living roomA rare failure for Steve Jobs and Apple was Apple TV, the 2007 STB and TV service that failed to fly. But now Apple is working on an entirely new system based on the iPad/iPod iOS operating system, according to US news reports.
If Apple does use the iOS software, it presages a flood of apps for the living room from the likes of Netflix, Hulu and ABC TV player.
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ITV: Broadcasting reform is urgent
ITV has launched a plea to the government to overhaul the "archaic" regulatory system it says is strangling the industry. Chairman Archie Norman used the firm’s annual Parliamentary Reception to appeal to MPs."We are working under an archaic regulatory system. We are the second biggest investor in programming after the BBC and we want to be able to continue to invest in quality drama, sports and entertainment programming," Norman said.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "The regulatory framework in place was developed in a time before Google had a higher turnover than ITV. It is a changing media landscape and we will look at ways of updating regulation to allow outlets like ITV to continue to produce quality programming."
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Lagardere pursues IPO for Canal Plus stakeLagardere has confirmed it will pursue an initial public offering for its 20 per cent holding in French pay-TV broadcaster Canal Plus France, after failing to sell the stake to Vivendi.
Some reports think it may be a feint to test the market appetite and pressure Vivendi into raising its offer. Vivendi controls 80 per cent of Canal Plus France, a unit of its Canal Plus Groupe. Vivendi wasn't prepared to pay the E1.35 billion price Lagardere has asked for the stake.
Under the conditions of a Canal Plus France shareholder agreement, Lagardere would have to first offer the stake to Vivendi, but it can sell its holding in the market if the two group fail to agree.
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TalkTalk hires ChakkaraRahul Chakkara, the controller of TV platforms at the BBC and a leading exec on the iPlayer and Project Canvas, has been hired by the broadband company TalkTalk.
At TalkTalk he takes the newly created title of director of online and will be responsible for online properties including talktalk.co.uk, the member’s forum and sales sites.
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Reliance buys Digicable NetworkReliance Communications has acquired Indian cable network Digicable. Reliance will merge its direct-to-home services, IPTV services and retail broadband services with Digicable. The new entity will be named Reliance DigiCom.
By acquiring Digicable Network Reliance Communications will add cable operations to its existing satellite TV and nascent internet TV businesses. The move will also be a chance for Reliance to integrate TV distribution with its entertainment content.
Mumbai-based Digicable has a subscriber base of 8.5 million across its range of services such as analogue cable, digital cable services and broadband offerings.
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Group finalises MHL specThe MHL Consortium has finalised its Mobile HD Link 1.0 specification, intended to standardise a HD video and multichannel-audio connection between mobile devices and TVs.
The five-pin interface would deliver 5-volt 500mA power to a connected mobile phone, portable media player or tablet-style portable device to charge their batteries. The cable connection would also carry HD video up to 1080p/60Hz from the portable device to the TV or display, using High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) to protect audio and video content from unauthorised copying. The connector will also transport up to 7.1 channels of LPCM and compressed audio and let users access their portable device's content via the display's remote.
The standard was developed by Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony and Toshiba.
DirecTV, Panasonic 3D channel details
DirecTV and Panasonic have launched three 3D channels, including n3D powered by Panasonic – a linear channel dedicated exclusively to 3D programming and viewable on 3D television sets including Panasonic’s line of VIERA Full HD 3D TVs.
n3D powered by Panasonic, is now available at no additional cost to millions of DirecTV HD customers on channel 103. Throughout the month of July, n3D customers will have access to exclusive, original 3D programming.
n3D will also offer special events such as the the NASCAR Coke Zero 400, the local broadcast of the Yankees-Mariners series and DirecTV’s exclusive, national broadcast of FOX Sports 2010 MLB All-Star Game in 3D.
In addition to n3D, DirecTV is also launching DirecTV Cinema in 3D, which is currently offering IMAX titles Deep Sea 3D and Under the Sea 3D and n3D On Demand, which is currently delivering replays of ESPN’s 3D coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches. DirecTV also launched ESPN 3D in June.
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Penetration of 3D CE to grow swiftlyMany CE suppliers are deploying strategies that will result in quick proliferation of 3D devices into consumers‚ homes. IMS Research estimates that 5.99 million 3D TV sets will ship worldwide in 2010 and forecasts that over 218 million 3D TV sets will ship cumulatively from 2010 to 2015.
IMS Research identifies popularity of 3D theatrical releases and intense competition in the home entertainment space as some of the key drivers behind the deployment and aggressive pricing of 3D TV sets. Anna Hunt, principal analyst at IMS Research, states, "Within five years, the majority of high-end large-screen TV sets and Blu-ray Disc players are likely to offer 3D capability. The price premium of 3D models in these markets over similar 2D products is expected to diminish quickly. Without a significant price premium, consumers are likely to future proof their purchases by opting for devices with 3D."
IMS Research forecasts that by the end of 2015, over 241 million homes will have a 3D Blu-ray Disc player and over 280 million TV households will have an HD set-top box.
Hunt adds, "Aside from Blu-ray, many HD set-top boxes can facilitate delivery of 3D service from operators that use a frame compatible format. With such a large installed base of 3D-capable devices, content makers should see enough of an incentive to aggressively pursue 3D content creation." Numerous pay-TV operators are offering or planning to offer 3D content to HDTV subscribers at no additional cost over the existing HDTV package pricing. Initially, this may be a common practice until more 3D content is available.
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Ivey leaves SkyGiles Ivey head of digital sales is leaving as part of a wider review that will result in Sky's digital sales becoming more aligned with its above-the-line offering. The digital sales director role is now thought to be in the process of being disbanded, at least in the short-term.
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Seat Pagine to unveil Sky Italia ad deal
Seat Pagine Gialle, the Italian directories company, has an agreement that will allow small businesses to advertise during Serie B football matches.
The deal, expected to attract about E10 million in revenues in this first campaign, signals the intention of the heavily indebted Turin-based company to achieve growth through attracting small and medium enterprises.Packages will be offered from about E3,000 up to some E21,000 for a season-long advertising campaign. Pricing will vary depending on the region and team playing.
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Irdeto secures Orion ExpressOrion Express, the Russian satellite TV operator, says it has eliminated card sharing piracy attacks to its DTH service by implementing a secure chipset solution from Irdeto, the global expert in securing and delivering premium content and digital assets. The service is received by more than 100,000 consumers throughout Russian Federation.
Orion Express has implemented the Irdeto Secure Chipset to Continent TV, the company's new platform, enabling greater protection of content, plus the ability to offer new packages and enhanced services to customers.
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