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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 18th June
Football rights war sees Mediapro file for bankruptcy protection
Google TV box branded ‘Revue’
Sky Sports News becomes pay channel
25,000 3D TV sets sold
Equipment recession over?
Malone steps down as DirecTV chairman
Mobile TV set for accelerated adoption after 2012
Bebo sale
SARFT prepares for IPTV
Conax, Espial hybrid IP TV solution
IP Vision inks deal with Betfair TV
Sezmi expands market availability
New CFO for Netgem
Football rights war sees Mediapro file for bankruptcy protection
From David Del Valle in MadridMediapro, which holds the rights to Spain's Football League and controls commercial channel La Sexta, is seeking bankruptcy protection for its subsidiary company Mediaproducion and has requested a formal suspension of its payment in the latest round of a football rights war with Sogecable, owner of Digital Plus and Cuatro.
Difficulties in meeting its financial commitments, which amount to E2.58 billion in football TV rights up to the 2014-2015 season, are behind the decision, according to the company. The main creditors are the Spanish football teams and Sogecable. Last week Sogecable requested the Court to force Mediapro to pay it E105 million for a breach of contract going back to 2006.
The CEO of Mediapro, Jaume Roures, pointed out that the bankruptcy move is aimed at defending Mediapro against Sogecable. Mediapro blamed its inability to meet its near term commitments on Sogecable's not paying E90 million owned by June 15 for rights to air some matches from the first half of the 2010-2011 soccer season on its pay TV channels Canal Plus and Canal Plus Liga.
"The decision to request suspension of payment does not cast doubt on the profitability or viability of Mediaproduccion SL, [the request] has been motivated solely by the decision of Sogecable to not meet its payment obligations," the company said in a statement. Mediapro also threatened to take legal action against its rival for damages.For its part, Sogecable has accused Mediapro of blocking payment of the E105 million and declaring it would pay up for the season when it had a guarantee on this money.Mediapro owns most of the professional league's broadcast rights including the rights to Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Mediapro airs games on its free-to-air channel La Sexta and its successful pay DTT channel GolTV. Sogecable broadcasts one match on its pay channel Canal Plus on Sunday nights and airs other games on Canal Plus Liga.Mediapro was forced to re-sell certain football rights to its rivals after the regulator, CIC, found its original exclusive deal anti-competitive.
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Google TV box branded ‘Revue’Logitech has confirmed that its Google TV set-top box will officially be called "Logitech Revue with Google TV", or Logitech Revue for short, according to Logitech Digital Home Group VP and General Manager Ashish Arora.
Arora says that more details about the Logitech Revue with Google TV will be announced "this fall". Google TV is Android based and is aimed primarily at TVs and set-top boxes. The company says that it hopes that the new platform will seamlessly bring the best of the web to the "high-quality viewing experience that TV offers".
See Google’s explanation of Google TV here
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Sky Sports News becomes pay channelSky has revealed plans to develop its Sky Sports News channel through increased editorial investment and the launch of Europe’s first HD sports news service.
The investment plans will be supported by a move later this year for Sky Sports News to become exclusively a pay-TV channel. From that point, Sky Sports News will be available to Sky, Virgin Media and Talk Talk TV customers, as well as online and on mobile. Sky Sports News will be replaced on Freeview by Sky3+1, a time-shifted version of the existing Freeview channel, Sky3.
Ofcom has approved requests from Arqiva Services Limited and British Sky Broadcasting Limited for licence changes to replace Sky Sports News with Sky 3+ 1. Ofcom found that the change to Arqiva’s multiplex licence would not unacceptably diminish the capacity of the services broadcast to appeal to a variety of tastes and interests. This seems a very sympathetic assessment given a unique sports news service is being replaced by more of the kind of recycled material found on most channels.
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25,000 3D TV sets soldAccording to new figures from GfK 25,000 3D sets had been sold by the end of May. GfK says that consumer spending on consumer electronics is recovering. It forecasts sales of 252 million televisions in 2010, up 5 per cent from 238 million in 2009. The company also reported that 90 per cent of retailers said that internet TV interested customers.
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In the broadcast and media technology sector the worst of the recession appears to be over, and vendors are feeling increasingly optimistic about the future, according to a study by Ernst & Young in association with IABM, the body which represents the supply side of the industry.
The report is based on the IABM’s Industry Trends Survey carried out in May 2010, immediately following the NAB exhibition. Suppliers returning from NAB reported that the event had been a turning point, seeing a new confidence returning to the sector.
Central to the positive view was a 74per cent response anticipating better business next year than last. 47per cent of those surveyed are already reporting better order volumes than expected and, in a clear indication of the global nature of the industry, export orders – wherever the home country of the manufacturer – are largely outstripping domestic growth.
One challenging trend for the industry is that fierce competition has led to pressure on prices, and while order volumes are better for 47per cent, when asked to compare order values against expectations only 38per cent saw rises. When asked about unit prices, 78per cent of manufacturers said that they were either maintained or increased over the last quarter.
Malone steps down as DirecTV chairman
John Malone has stepped down as chairman at DirecTV and slashed his control over the company in a previously announced stock swap meant to satisfy the Federal Communications CommissionGreg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media Corp, and investment banker Paul Gould, a director at the Malone-chaired Liberty Global cable TV giant, also have left the DirecTV board.
The FCC had expressed concern about potential overlap between part of Malone’s media empire, specifically DirecTV’s Puerto Rican business and Liberty Global’s cable operations there. Michael White, DirecTV president and CEO, replaces Malone as chairman of the DirecTV board.
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Mobile TV set for accelerated adoption after 2012Market inhibitors are being addressed and worldwide adoption will accelerate starting in 2012 through 2015 when total market revenues are forecast to exceed $20 billion says AIB research.
The three most important market barriers have been:
- The lack of free and simulcast local and national TV programs as a primer for fee-based premium content in most countries outside of Japan and South Korea.
- Limited analogue-to-digital TV transitions in most regions that would allow broadcasters to simulcast mobile and terrestrial TV services. Most developed countries will complete that transition by 2012.
- 3G cellular service throughput and latency performance are inadequate for mobile TV. The deployment of 4G networks over the next few years will enable a significantly improved mobile TV experience.According to ABI Research principal analyst Fritz Jordan, "Mobile network operators have been hampered by their lack of media industry experience, by mobile broadcasting rights, and premium content. Also, there are still few mobile devices containing the chipset required to pick up free-to-air mobile broadcast TV services. On the bright side, however, once the analog-to-digital TV conversion is complete, the barriers-to-entry for broadcasters will be low; they will leverage existing content licenses and rights and invest just $100,000 or so per tower to provide mobile TV services."
A further disruptive influence on the direction of the market is the proliferation of new types of mobile devices with larger, high resolution displays and richer multimedia capabilities than cellular handsets. Says Jordan, "Since mobile TV won't be just the province of cellular operators but also of broadcast TV providers, we will see more TV-centric mobile devices: automotive infotainment systems, media tablets, MIDs, and netbooks. Mobile consumers won't be forced to go through a mobile operator and have to pay for voice, messaging, email and Internet plans first, just to get mobile TV."
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Bebo saleAOL has confirmed the sale of Bebo to Criterion Capital Partners, which argues that the young user base and revenue history continue to make the business an "attractive media platform".
It has been rumoured that Bebo may have been sold for $5 million or less. It paid $850 million just over two years ago. Adam Levin, the managing partner at CCP who led the deal, said that Bebo remained attractive as both a "standalone entity and in the context of our broader investment objectives".
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SARFT prepares for IPTVAfter winning control over IPTV content and broadcasting in the turf wars over network convergence, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) will step up preparations for a national cable network company according to reports.
The national-level cable company, to be launched with RMB 80 billion in capital, will be the operating body for next-generation broadcasting (NGB) in China, and will be responsible for the operations of all cable television networks throughout the country.
Under SARFT's plans, all provincial cable companies will be taken on directly as subsidiaries, but will retain a certain degree of autonomy. The current recommendation inside SARFT is to copy television content and some premium content from cable to IPTV, allowing for users to view the same content whether watching over IPTV networks or over cable subscriptions through set-top boxes.
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Conax, Espial hybrid IP TV solution
Espial and Conax, have introduced a Hybrid-IP TV solution for cable, satellite, terrestrial and telecom operators. They say they will provide a proven on-demand services platform for secure delivery of broadcast TV, interactive applications, Video-On-Demand, local and network digital video recording, time shift TV, over-the-top video services to TVs, PCs and mobile devices.
The solution features Espial IPTV Middleware, Espial Video On-Demand and Espial Content Workflow Management products working with Conax Content Security technology. Espial and Conax plan to offer multiple hybrid-IP set-top boxes and residential gateway units to Pay-TV operators.
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IP Vision inks deal with Betfair TVUK IPTV innovator IP Vision has signed a deal with Betfair TV to bring a live betting application to its FetchTV platform. The application will launch in time for the start of the English Premier League in August 2010.
When launched FetchTV customers will be able to use the Betfair TV application on screen to bet on sporting events as they watch them live on TV through a broadband connection and a user interface. The deal signifies the first time that interactive betting will be made available via a Freeview set top box.
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Sezmi expands market availabilitySezmi, an all-in-one personalised television service, has announced plans for expanded market availability of the Sezmi Select product. This market expansion builds on the successful service introduction in Los Angeles and a recent major service upgrade for Sezmi subscribers. The new upgrade includes new Entertainment Zones, online browsing of the Sezmi on-demand catalogue and many other new features and performance enhancements.
In response to strong consumer demand across the US, Sezmi is launching its entry-level Sezmi Select offering in Boston, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Phoenix, Portland, Miami, Orlando and San Francisco.
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New CFO for NetgemNetgem have confirmed the appointment of Charles-Henri Dutray as Chief Financial Officer. Dutray joins Netgem with more than 13 years of experience in the Corporate Finance world. Prior to the move to Netgem, he was director at Oddo Corporate Finance where for the past five years he was in charge of equity capital market transactions.
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Thursday 17th June
Mediaset to appeal STB subsidy verdict
UK DSO campaign has £55m surplus
Unitymedia to close down DTH platform
Rogers: TiVo can unite industry
N24 MBO
"Second, third screens boost ESPN audience"
Global broadband hits 484m subs
Web-enabled CE devices open TV widget floodgate
US: 1.7m net added multi-channel video in 1 year
Broadband Forum and HomeGrid Forum collaboration
MoCA 2.0 ratified
Rovi advertising network
Ericsson chosen for DishTv upgrade
Alticast IPO to expand in Americas
Astro streaming World Cup with Irdeto
Mediaset to appeal STB subsidy verdictMediaset, which has been ordered to repay millions of Euros it had received in state aid relating to DTT set-top box subsidies (see ATV 16/06/10), will appeal the European General Court’s decision.
Mediaset will appeal to the European Court of Justice and say that the subsidies were provided direct to consumers and not to broadcasters, and that therefore Mediaset did not benefit from them. Spurred by a complaint from News Corp-backed Sky Italia, the European Union ruled in 2007 that the subsidies offered by Italian authorities for set-tops must be repaid as they were not technology neutral and amounted to state aid. Mediaset originally appealed to the General Court which upheld the EU’s verdict.
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UK DSO campaign has £55m surplusAbout £55 million (E66m) is the forecast surplus from the £200m set aside of the BBC license fee for Digital UK to promote DSO. The switch has gone more smoothly than expected, leaving the company responsible for informing customers, Digital UK, with a projected £55 million surplus that will be handed back to the government in 2012.
This surplus is in addition to the £250 million expected to be left over from the so-called "digital help scheme", a pot of money set aside to pay for the most vulnerable in society to get digital TV. The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed last week that the government has already set aside that extra cash to finance the rollout of broadband in rural areas.
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Unitymedia to close down DTH platformGermany’s second largest cable operator Unitymedia has confirmed it will close down its DTH satellite platform arenaSAT on September 30th. The company said it wants to focus on its core business of triple play services for cable households.
Since Sky Deutschland became the exclusive rights holder for Bundesliga football, subscriber numbers have dropped considerably. At the end of March, arenaSAT only just 51,000 subscribers compared to 184,000 a year previously.
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Rogers: TiVo can unite industryTom Rogers wants marketers, cable operators and networks to unite behind the solutions TiVo offers to what ails their industry during a time of incessant digital change and disruption. TiVo is no longer just about revolutionising audience control and choice, he said. "We're about figuring how that contributes to a business model on the industry side, so there's something for them to participate in without feeling these issues will overwhelm them."
What's in it for ad agencies, networks and cable operators that work with TIVO? "For cable, it's being able to have a stunning user experience that makes clear that finding what you want to watch and searching for anything out there can be as much fun as watching TV itself," Rogers insists.
For advertisers, TIVO offers new ways to market and sell products. "Commercials aren't dead. You just have to find another way to present it (advertising) and express it. And we have a way to do that."
With product placement Rogers sees his digital device allowing consumers to purchase products within minutes, rather than days or weeks after an initial TV impression.
And for broadcasters, TiVo can help them both sell advertising and attract viewers with a better user experience. "They (networks) have to figure out how advertising can succeed for them, while the user experience is not one that overwhelms how a brand gets through as people watch TV and find TV shows differently," Rogers argued.
He added that, while TV industry players are playing with TiVo, they aren't playing fast enough. "The issues that I'm pointing to are not just ones that we have said look where the world is going, we have a product for it."
ProSiebenSat.1 has sold its news channel N24 to management. The disposal will cost the Group over E50 million in write downs. The new N24 Media company has a contract to deliver all the news programming to Sat.1 until the end of 2016.
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"Second, third screens boost ESPN audience"Mobile devices and home computers are creating a bigger audience for ESPN's sports content rather than cannibalising its television programming, the president of the company has said. "Second and third screens" like personal computers, smart phones and newer devices like Apple’s iPad are giving sports fans more viewing options, George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN, said at the Nielsen Consumer 360 conference in Las Vegas.
"People want to watch sports live and these devices ... are enabling access to sports like never before in our history," said Bodenheimer. To that end, he said that nearly 10 per cent of ESPN's audience that has viewed World Cup content has done so on a device other than a television.
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Global broadband hits 484m subs
Broadband subscription growth took an upswing during the first quarter of 2010, supported in part by healthy DSL growth in every region, strong fibre rollouts in Asia and aggressive IPTV service offerings.
Figures from the Broadband Forum show that global broadband lines now top 484 million lines (484,788,597), representing a 3.12 per cent growth in the quarter and 12.41 per cent in the last 12 months to end of Q1 2010. The first quarter growth rate increase shows a swelling of positive growth for worldwide broadband. At the same time the number of IPTV subscribers grew to 36.3 million. China and the USA are the top two countries for both broadband and IPTV.
Based on the research by Point Topic GBS database, Asia was responsible for more than 53 per cent of the broadband lines added, with mainland China alone accounting for 45 per cent of the total lines added worldwide in Q1 2010. China continues to be at the top of the table in terms of broadband with continued healthy growth at 5.67 per cent in the quarter and 20.96 per cent in the twelve month period, taking it to 112,594,000 subscribers. This made China the fastest growing country in both percentage and in absolute terms in the first three months of 2010.
Six of the top ten countries improved their performance in Q1 2010 compared to Q4 2009; China, the USA, Germany, the UK, South Korea and Brazil all grew more quickly in the first quarter of 2010 against Q4 2009.
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Web-enabled CE devices open TV widget floodgateA growing set of consumer electronics devices, ranging from web-enabled TVs, to Blu-ray players and over-the-top set-top boxes support TV widgets. The rapid growth of web-enabled CE devices, which market research firm, In-Stat , projects will to 83.4 million by 2014, is the foundation for a vibrant TV Widget Market.
Most consumer electronics (CE) device manufacturers are introducing software platforms that support widgets. However, In-Stat research indicates only a modest consumer interest in performing PC-centric applications on the TV. Consumers have higher interest in TV applications that enhance and/or augment the viewing experience, rather than simply provide information that is readily accessible via other screens.
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US: 1.7m net added multi-channel video in 1 yearLeichtman Research Group (LRG) has found that the largest cable, satellite, and Telco TV providers in the US acquired over 1.7 million net additional multi-channel video subscribers over the past year.
While the top ten cable companies cumulatively lost about 1.4 million cable TV subscribers in the year-long period through the end of the first quarter of 2010, these losses were more than offset by a gain of 1.33 million satellite TV subscribers (from DirecTV and Dish Network), and 1.78 million subscribers to Telco TV services (from Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse). In the first quarter of 2010 alone, the multi-channel video industry as a whole added about 580,000 subscribers.
"The number of US households subscribing to some form of multi-channel video service is at an all-time high," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. "Multi-channel video industry gains will likely be slower in the coming year than they were in the past year, due to the saturated market, coupled with tepid new housing growth, and a slowdown in the rollout of Telco TV services. Consumers' decisions to disconnect from multi-channel video services to only watch video from other sources are unlikely to have a substantial impact on the market in the near-term."
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Broadband Forum and HomeGrid Forum collaboration
HomeGrid Forum, the non-profit trade group promoting the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU-T) G.hn standardisation efforts, has signed an agreement with Broadband Forum, the consortium of approximately 200 leading telecommunications service providers, network equipment manufacturers and software companies driving broadband wireline solutions around the world. As part of this agreement, the two organisations will collaborate to deliver to the market later this year a global compliance and interoperability testing programme for products using G.hn technology – ITU-T’s unified wired home networking standard.The Broadband Forum will support HomeGrid Forum's validation of G.hn products, their promotion of product conformance and interoperability, and help expedite the total time to market for HomeGrid Forum Certified products of all types.
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MoCA 2.0 ratifiedMoCA, the worldwide standard for home entertainment networking, has ratified its next-generation specification, MoCA 2.0.
MoCA 2.0 offers two performance modes, Basic and Enhanced, with 400 Mbps and 800 Mbps net throughputs (MAC), using 700 Mbps and 1.4 Gbps PHY rates, respectively. For point-to-point WAN applications, performance can be optimized for two node networks with Basic mode delivering 500 Mbps net throughput (MAC) and Enhanced mode providing 1 Gbps net throughput.
The new specification also features an expanded operating frequency range to serve an even broader array of use cases and two network wide, low power-saving modes. Essential to the specification is its full backward interoperability with MoCA 1.1/1.0, enabling operators to capitalize on their MoCA investment and future proof their networks to deliver the next level in high performance and highly reliable home networking.
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Rovi advertising networkRovi Corporation announced its new offering for advertisers and agencies, the Rovi Advertising Network. The Network bundles guide advertising on the Rovi ad platform and third-party interactive TV platforms to extend audience reach even further under one integrated and scalable ad buy. Rovi Ad Network enables marketers to launch, manage and measure campaigns across leading interactive TV platforms in up to 15.8 million U.S. households currently. When combined with the distribution of Rovi technology through third parties, Rovi reaches over 30 million households in North America, one of the largest interactive TV advertising footprints on the market today.
The Rovi Ad Network aggregates advertising units across multiple guide platforms--Rovi and others--extending distribution and reach under one ad buy. The creative for this advertising purchase comes in multiple content forms -- standard portals, video portals and dynamic portals designed to provide an immersive consumer experience. Supported with static banners, long and short form video content, graphics, text, interactive content and microsites, the Rovi Ad Network portals can link to direct purchase, response and consumption right from the guide.
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Ericsson chosen for DishTv upgradeEricsson is enabling DishTv, India’s largest direct-to-home satellite operator, to improve its satellite bandwidth efficiency, increase channel capacity and offer more choice to its subscribers in HD and SD. The head-end upgrade enables DishTv’s 7 million subscribers to enjoy new HD services. Viewers can also access new SD channels without the need to swap existing MPEG-2 STBs.
DishTv has selected Ericsson’s high performance EN8100 MPEG-2 and EN8190 MPEG-4 AVC encoders, and is launching a combined SD MPEG-2 and HD MPEG-4 AVC system in the same transponder space. The EN8100 and EN8190 optimise bitrates and deliver greater performance to strengthen DishTv’s business case by maximising current bandwidth capacity.
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Alticast IPO to expand in AmericasAlticast, a South Korean maker of software that connects televisions to the Internet, is planning an initial public offering in the first half of next year to help fund its expansion in the Americas.
Alticast, based in Seoul, would be listed either on the Korean Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Stock Market, Alticast Americas Chief Executive Officer David Housman confirmed in an interview. The size of the IPO and where the shares will be listed hasn’t been determined, he said. PineBridge Investments, which recently was purchased by Pacific Century Group, is an adviser.
Alticast built its business on technology that makes cable set-top boxes, video players, TVs and cable systems compatible with each other and Internet connections. The company is developing an application that allows customers to use the Twitter messaging service on their TVs and has signed Time Warner Cable. and Cablevision Systems as clients.
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Astro streaming World Cup with IrdetoIrdeto has announced that Astro , Malaysia’s leading cross-media broadcaster and direct-to-home satellite pay-TV operator, has selected the company’s content management solution to power the live streaming and on-demand broadband delivery of all 64 FIFA World Cup 2010 matches on the Astro B.yond Player. Additionally, Irdeto will power mobile access to live matches via Astro sister company Maxis, offering exclusive streaming of all matches, replays and highlights.
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Wednesday 16th June
Sky rejects Murdoch control bid
OP ED: Murdoch makes each way bet on the Murdoch effect
SeeSaw captures 0.5% of VOD market
EU rejects digital-TV subsidy appeal from Berlusconi
PrimaCom files for insolvency
France Telecom quad-play clearance
Singapore 3D TV trial
News Corp buys Skiff
UK entertainment & media recovery
ESPN on Xbox
Chunghwa Telecom chooses Envivio for mobile TV service
StarHub offers mobile TV with SeaChange
Sky rejects Murdoch control bidDirectors of British Sky Broadcasting have rejected a £7 (E8.4) a share bid from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to take full control of the pay TV platform. The bid for the 61 per cent it does not already control valued the company at £12 billion. Last night’s close was at 600.5p, shares in BSkyB opened 21 per cent up at 727p. By Tuesday afternoon they’d climbed another 19 per cent.
In a statement that reflects the fact that News Corp’s 39 per cent holding means there will be no other bids, the board has said that it will engage in the process but that it expects a price of £8 a share (about £13 billion) for full value. It has also said it will proceed and cooperate with the regulatory process even if the bids success looks unlikely on the basis News may come back at a later stage. It has also agreed it will not, therefore, enact the six month ‘put up or shut up’ rule available to any public company that is subject to a bid. It has also built in some (small) penalties to cover BskyB expenses should the bid be blocked or not go ahead.
The bid is being led by Chase Carey long time News exec and former head of DirecTV. James Murdoch, head of News Europe and Asia, has to take a back seat because of his role as chair of BskyB.
News is able to make the bid as it has hoarded cash through the recession and has $8.2 billion to hand. While some News shareholders will be disappointed it’s not going on a stock buyback many will be happy the bid this time is for a business they know well and that has strong and proven cashflows.
As well as accepting no other buyer will emerge while News has such a big stake, other holders know that while News has that stake there will always be a share premium discount, partly because of the holding, and partly for Murdoch’s taste for expensive development investment – digital, HD, 3D, etc.
Will regulators allow the bid? News has probably taken the view that as regulators clearly already treat BskyB as if News controls it, then this might not be as big a hurdle as some expect. It’s another reason – as is the fact the regulator’s consideration will doubtless be time consuming - other shareholders will cheerfully sell up if their price demands are met.
Most recent figures show that BSkyB made a pre-tax profit of £707 million in the nine months to March, up from £339 million a year earlier.
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OP ED: Murdoch makes each way bet on the Murdoch effect
By Nick Snow
Rumours of a bid by News for BskyB come and go like the seasons. But there was never much doubt that when he judged the time was right Rupert Murdoch would try and retake control of Sky.It is twenty years ago that he lost control and he has wanted back ever since. When Sky, with its better more aggressive marketing and ruthless cross promotion in News newspapers, fought BSB to a standstill in 1990 many saw it as a victory. But senior Sky executives were actually quite bitter that Murdoch, on the very verge of bankruptcy in America, gave up half the company to BSB shareholders in the peace deal.
At the time Murdoch had ‘bet the farm’ (the usual modus operandi of modern times’ most risk orientated media baron) on The Fox Network and had been caught short by a US advertising recession. Massive debts meant he was held to ransom by some small Mid West bank holding a note for a few million dollars and the casualty was control of BskyB.
Through this recession (though still prepared to take on the risk others fear – he bought Dow Jones last year) he’s hoarded the cash from his now resilient Fox Network and blockbuster movie successes. And now he’s betting he can prise off the other BskyB shareholders, not least because they realise that as a fellow shareholder he’s their best friend and their worst enemy.
This is always the conundrum for Murdoch partners or, indeed, shareholders in News itself. The business you’re in wouldn’t be there if they weren’t involved but, because they are involved, there’s always a discount to other media firms, including many that have demonstrably less valuable assets. This is partly because News seems to be in a perpetual battle with regulators – it’s a boundary pusher par excellence – and partly because Murdoch is always likely to ‘bet the farm’ on his next great idea. He treats a public company like a private empire and you either accept that or sell up. The chances he’d build an $8bn+ cash pile and then spend it on a stock buyback were nil.
And it is the Murdoch effect that will make the other BskyB shareholders sell once the price is right, or right enough. No one is going to make them a better offer (or any offer at all) while Murdoch holds 39% (can you imagine how high the offer would have to be for Murdoch to accept?) And he’s made his move as new anxieties crowd in; the Ofcom / Competition Commission ructions, the uncertain evolution of OTT (including the involvement of giants like Google), and 3D. Shareholders will be nervous BskyB is on the brink of another round of dividend sapping investment and will decide this is a good time to get off what has been an exhilarating and lucrative ride. The only caveat is Murdoch will have to come up with the cash (and therefore take on substantial debt again); it is rumoured they’d like to make part of the offer in News shares, not something, for all the reasons above, many other shareholders are likely to accept.
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SeeSaw captures 0.5% of VOD market
VOD platform SeeSaw has yet to make a significant impact in the UK, reaching less than 1 per cent of the VOD market, according to figures released by UKOM.The VOD platform, created from the remnants of Project Kangaroo, launched in February and currently offers over 3,000 hours of programming. However, the first official figures for the platform shows it only attracted 200,000 users, accounting for 0.51 per cent of the VOD market.
According to April's UKOM figures, SeeSaw is behind ITV Player that has 3 per cent of the market and 1.3 million viewers and 4OD that has 4 per cent of the market and 1.4 million users. In contrast, Google-owned YouTube is now the seventh-biggest site in the UK overtaking Amazon and Microsoft for the first time this month.
YouTube, which shows long-form content from Channel 4 and Five, accounts for 45 per cent of the VoD market, attracting 17 million users followed by BBC's iPlayer at 17 per cent with 6.6 million users and MSN Video at 5 per cent with 1.8 million users.
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EU rejects digital-TV subsidy appeal from BerlusconiThe European Union's court has thrown out an appeal from a digital-TV company owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, ordering it and other broadcasters to pay back possibly millions of Euros in illegal state aid. The ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) orders his government to claim money back from his family's company, Mediaset.
The General Court, the ECJ's lower chamber, "dismisses the action in its entirety" and holds that the state aid in question "confers an indirect advantage on digital terrestrial broadcasters to the detriment of satellite broadcasters," a court statement said.
The case dates back to 2004, when the Italian government offered a subsidy of E150 to anyone who bought or rented a TV-top box for DTT.
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PrimaCom files for insolvencyGerman cable operator PrimaCom has confirmed it will file for insolvency protection, after its shareholders failed to come to an agreement with creditors regarding repayment of a E29.2 million loan. Following rejection of a repayment proposal by creditors, PrimaCom’s shareholders have said they are no longer willing to negotiate and therefore the board will prepare a bankruptcy petition.
The firm’s creditors and major shareholders have been negotiating the restructuring of the debt and credit position of PrimaCom since April. The company has stressed that the day-to-day running of the cable business is not affected.
German cable network operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) said it is interested in buying assets from PrimaCom.
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France Telecom quad-play clearanceFrance's Autorité de la Concurrence has removed restrictions which previously barred France Telecom (FT) selling ‘quadruple-play’ bundles of fixed and mobile services. The conditions were originally placed on the state company more than ten years ago when the market was being opened up to competition.
As a result of the relaxation of rules, FT will be able to compete with the likes of SFR and Bouygues Telecom which already offer bundles of broadband internet, fixed telephony, TV and mobile calls. The former monopoly will also be able to cross-market by combining client databases once kept separate by law. It is understood FT is readying itself to enter the quadruple-play market as early as mid-August.
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Singapore 3D TV trialSingapore is holding a 3D TV trial, commencing this week, which will start with terrestrial TV, cable TV and IPTV in partnership with MediaCorp, Starhub and SingTel. As part of the initiatives, this year's National Day Parade will be recorded in 3D. In addition to the broadcasters, technology partners such as Panasonic, Ross Video, and Evertz will also join in the trial.
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News Corp buys SkiffNews Corp has made its latest move in digital content exploitation by acquiring e-reader platform Skiff and investing in a company that develops paid content models for publishers.
News Corporation, which is close to charging customers for access to the Times and Sunday Times online, said that the two deals represented "key building blocks" in the company's strategy to transform publishing with pay models.
Rupert Murdoch's company has acquired Skiff, established by magazine publisher Hearst last year to develop an online store and e-reader for its publications, which delivers "visually appealing layouts" of content to tablets, smartphones, e-readers such as Kindle and netbooks.
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UK entertainment & media recoveryFollowing a decline last year, the UK Entertainment & Media (E&M) market will grow by nearly four percent compound annually from 2009 to 2014 – powered in part by widespread internet access, an advertising recovery, and the explosion of mobile.
The UK E&M market dropped in 2008 and a further 3.8 per cent in 2009 to $73.2 billion. The latest PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2010 – 2014 forecasts an incline in 2010, that gathers pace in 2012/2013 and is estimated to reach $87.7bn in 2014 – a 20 per cent overall rise in five years.
Economic uncertainty took hold of the global E&M industry in 2009, with some notable exceptions, particularly China and India. Recession in countries such as the UK led to steep declines in advertising. However the downturn did nothing to slow the pace of change – which, in some areas, has been even faster than predicted 12 months ago.
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ESPN on XboxESPN made another move to bolster its broadband network, ESPN3.com, and has struck an exclusive deal with software giant Microsoft that will deliver over 3,500 live events from ESPN3.com, as well as on-demand clips from ESPN.com, to Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console.
As in other ESPN3.com distribution deals, consumers will need to receive their Internet connection from an affiliated service provider; they also need to subscribe to the Xbox LIVE Gold service. The service will start in November.
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Chunghwa Telecom chooses Envivio for mobile TV serviceEnvivio has announced that N-Type, a leading systems integrator in Taiwan, is deploying a multi-channel Envivio Mobile TV Headend that will enhance the capabilities of Taiwan's largest telecommunications company, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT). The all-IP Envivio Mobile TV head-end featuring the 4Caster C4 Three Screens encoder/transcoder replaces CHT's existing software-based infrastructure, enabling CHT to support today's most exciting Android smartphones and the Apple iPhone. The headend will deliver both 3GPP and HTTP live streaming services. CHT presently serves over 9.4 million mobile subscribers, with more than half of those (4.9 million) receiving 3G services.
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StarHub offers mobile TV with SeaChange
Singapore’s fully-integrated info-communications provider StarHub has deployed SeaChange International’s Intelligent Video Platform in support of its mobile TV service. Providing a unified and open back office software solution for high-quality streaming over StarHub’s mobile network to any mobile device, the Intelligent Video Platform was implemented on the "StarHub TV on Mobile" service this month. StarHub TV on Mobile offers users the ability to view 24 branded premium pay channels on their mobile handsets.
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Tuesday 15th June
Virgin: ‘Canvas doesn’t look open to us’
Prisa to take over US channel V-me Media
ITV drops World Cup ball
Nielsen: New devices drive viewing up and up
Cablevision acquires Bresnan Communications
Ofcom grants BBC restrictions on HD
Inverto Digital Labs launches Volksbox
Virgin: ‘Canvas doesn’t look open to us’Neil Berkett CEO has issued a warning on the openness of the BBC lead Canvas project. He said it wasn’t clear the Canvas partners rhetoric – in terms of a common standard and open access for an Internet-to-TV platform – was being delivered in practice. The comments come as the BBC Trust considers its conclusions as to whether and how the BBC should take forward its involvement with partners ITV, C4, 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arquiva.
Berkett said Virgin definitely backed the stated aims and is bemused that Canvas has rejected the opportunity to be in Virgin STBs; "we have offered to work commercially with Canvas to explore mutually beneficial ways in which we could incorporate them as a self-contained service in the next generation of Virgin Media set-top boxes. This would help establish the standard by quickly getting Canvas-enabled devices to more than 3.7 million living rooms up and down the UK. It is a tried and tested formula that we have applied with both Freeview and, in particular, the BBC’s iPlayer."
"The Canvas consortium has rejected the opportunity to incorporate Canvas into the Virgin Media customer experience, insisting that if we want to use their standards we must also accept that the entire Virgin Media entertainment service be accessed by our subscribers via a Canvas-imposed interface, including the Canvas channel listing and search facility. This "shop window" to services would be entirely controlled by the joint venture partners and would allow the Canvas partners to give preference and prominence to their own channel content above that of any other content provider."
Berkett complaimned: "At this point, Canvas starts to look less like a set of genuinely "open" standards and more like a fully-fledged competing distribution platform from which established pay TV operators are effectively excluded, along with other innovative platforms offering a differentiated user experience, such as the PS3 and the Xbox. Unless we accept the Canvas consortium’s conditions, people who want both Canvas and a pay TV service will have to buy two set-top boxes. Far from simplifying the digital world, Canvas will complicate it.
Quite rightly, much attention has been focused on whether the BBC should be using the licence fee to bank-roll such a controversial intervention in a dynamic market. And it’s true that many private sector companies are already investing precious capital in "connected TV".
But it’s the closed nature of the Canvas platform which gives the BBC’s involvement significance. A set of standards that are genuinely open to all and to which the BBC has contributed is one thing. A proprietary gateway to the digital world, underpinned by the formidable brand and marketing muscle of the BBC, is quite another."
Berkett signed off with a warning: "Unless the consortium modifies its approach, rather than harnessing the full potential of digital technology, it will emerge as a restrictive and anti-competitive attempt to hijack the future of home entertainment."
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Prisa to take over US channel V-me Media
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish media group that controls Digital Plus and Cuatro TV is investing E31.5 million to acquire a 51 per cent of the US Spanish-speaking US TV channel V-me Media.
Initially, Prisa will invest E3.3 million to control a 23 per cent stake; another investment of E8.2 will be made later on this year to reach 35 per cent and E19.8 million in 2011 to acquire 51 per cent.Prisa will provide the TV channel with content "to speed up the development" of the channel in the Hispanic market of the States, according to the company.
This move comes at a time when the company is selling out its stakes in Portuguese Media Capital, and part of its stakes in the pay-TV business and integrating commercial TV channel Cuatro into Tele 5.
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ITV drops World Cup ballRobert Green, England’s clumsy keeper, wasn’t the only one fumbling the basics in the USA game; viewers to ITV’s new HD channel got a Hyundai car ad three minutes in and, therefore, missed the opening goal. No such luck with the disastrous second goal. Last year, ITV viewers missed the winning goal in a Liverpool-Everton FA Cup tie when coverage cut to an advert.
Meanwhile ITV's interactive "watch and chat" service ITV Live letting fans keep up with the opening match of the World Cup online also ran into problems, with some unable to log on.
The number of online viewers watching ITV.com's live streaming for the 1-1 draw between South Africa and Mexico grew rapidly to 90,000, picking up quickly soon after half time, ITV said. But ITV Live ran into problems. The initiative allows viewers with laptops to customise the ITV.com live stream with a range of interactive elements from a chat service – which can link to Facebook – to polls, quizzes and statistics on teams and players.
"We had a problem with our CDN [content distribution network] which was preventing new members joining the stream," said ITV.
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Nielsen: New devices drive viewing up and upThe amount of video Americans consume continues to rise, according to the latest edition of The Nielsen Company’s Three Screen Report. Over the last two years, ownership of HDTVs, DVRs and smartphones have increased at double- and triple-digit rates. "Consumers are driven by the convenience and quality that today’s technology now enables," said Matt O’Grady, Executive Vice President, Audience Measurement.
More than half of US TV households now have HDTV, up 189 per cent from the first quarter of 2008, and more than one-third now have DVRs, up 51 per cent. High-speed broadband Internet access, now in 63.5 per cent of homes, has created a better user experience for watching online videos and nearly a quarter of households have smartphones, enabling consumers to "place shift" and watch video wherever they are. Despite the common perception that viewers of videos on mobile phones are predominantly teens, more than half (55 per cent) are adults aged 25-49. While mobile online video viewing is still fairly limited, year over year growth is notable at 51.2 per cent.
TV still remains the preferred screen of choice: viewers watched 2 more hours of TV per month in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year prior (158:25 vs. 156:24). They are also continuing to simultaneously use the Internet while watching TV, with the average time spent doing both activities up 9.8 per cent to 3 hours and 41 minutes.
As of Q1 2010 the 292 million people in the US with TVs spend on average 158 hours, 25 minutes each month tuning into television. Q1 2010 data shows that 138 million people watching video on the Internet spent on average 3 hours, 10 minutes during the month doing so. As of 1Q10 the 20.3 million people who watch mobile video in the US spend on average 3 hrs, 37 minutes each month watching video on a mobile phone.
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Cablevision acquires Bresnan Communications
Cablevision Systems has bought Bresnan Communications, which is majority owned by Providence Equity Partners, for $1.365 billion.Bresnan is the thirteenth largest MSO in the US with cable operating systems in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah that pass more than 630,000 homes and serve more than 300,000 basic subscribers.
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Ofcom grants BBC restrictions on HDOfcom has agreed to allow the BBC to restrict access to the EPG for Freeview HD programming. The BBC plans to restrict access to manufacturers of STBs and integrated Freeview HD TV’s that include copy protection technology. This technology will allow broadcasters to control the multiple copying of HD content and its retransmission over the Internet.
Freeview HD is being rolled out in line with the existing digital switchover schedule and will eventually be available to 98.5 per cent of UK households by the end of 2012.
In response to a public consultation on this issue, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 provided evidence that without a content management framework in place the range of HD content available on the Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) platform - in particular high value film and drama content – would be compromised.
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Inverto Digital Labs launches VolksboxInverto Digital Labs, the pioneering designer and vendor of broadcast technologies and equipment, has unveiled the Volksbox, a set top box platform for the reception of HD+ satellite services. This product, now available in Germany, Austria and Luxembourg, is an advanced hybrid satellite receiver compliant with the HD+ specifications, and incorporates Nagravision’s Conditional Access System (CAS), a WiFi interface and a built-in browser for easy access to internet services based on and beyond those offered by the new HbbTV standard.
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Monday 14th June
Jowell: BBC on borrowed time
TVCatchup, fresh legal pressure
Virgin Media cuts Sky channel prices
‘Adult content boosts Smart TV'
Fixed broadband revenue to top $184bn this year
Motorola eyes more TV acquisitions
MyTF1 on Orange TV
PwC: UK digital divide will play out in World Cup
Toben joins Virgin board
BBC World News expands Intelsat contract
Ericsson brings 3D World Cup to South Korean cinemas
Jowell: BBC on borrowed timeTessa Jowell, the long-serving culture secretary in the Labour Government and main architect of the BBC’s 10-year licence fee settlement in 2007, has said the BBC is on borrowed time and its behaviour, and that of its regulator the BBC Trust, is endangering its existence.
Jowell, who claims she had fight deep scepticism in government to get the 2007 settlement, accused the BBC of "wanting the benefits of the private sector with none of the risk." She predicted today that the BBC will face "the fight of its life" to preserve the licence fee under the new coalition government.
Jowell said that "the BBC has backed off in terms of its accountability" and implied that the BBC Trust is not doing the job it was set up to do. "The conception of the BBC Trust was essentially to put the licence fee payer in charge," Jowell said. "It is for those who are members of the trust, the chairman of the trust, to exercise the imagination and to understand the mood of the moment." She implied that even though the BBC is funded by a mandatory licence, in effect a national tax, it essentially doesn’t buy in to being part of public service and having to justify its actions and expenses on that basis. "The BBC could become the biggest mutual in the country, but it requires drive, focus, organisation and a love of the public realm," she said.
The BBC Trust responded: "The BBC Trust consults with licence fee payers wherever possible to get their views...the BBC has introduced measures such as a 25 per cent cut in the senior manager pay bill, tough efficiency targets and greater transparency in pay and expenses."
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TVCatchup, fresh legal pressureTVCatchup, the UK site that plays out national FTA channels, is facing fresh legal challenges from broadcasters as the World Cup is set to hugely increase online viewing.
ITV, Channel 4 and Five have issued legal proceedings against TVCatchup that could disrupt its service. "TVCatchup does not have a content distribution agreement in place to stream content from any of our channels. We reserve the right to pursue any site or service we believe to be infringing our copyright or using our content in an unlicensed, illegal capacity," the broadcasters said.
The BBC, which has had its content removed from similar online services in recent months, is also "in correspondence" with TVCatchup.
TVCatchup claims to be the most popular live video streaming service in the UK. As well as PC access, it allows viewing on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad over both 3G and WiFi networks, capabilities that many broadcasters are still developing.
TVCatchup said it had applied for court approval of its service before the broadcasters launched their dispute. In spite of the legal action, TVCatchup said it would be "business as usual" during the World Cup.
A PwC survey found that sever per cent of British viewers plan to watch England matches online (see story below).
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Virgin Media cuts Sky channel pricesFollowing UK comms regulator Ofcom’s March ruling on the wholesale price that BSkyB could charge rival operators, and the recent deal between carriage and channel sale agreement between Sky and Virgin Media, the cable operator is to pass on savings to customers this summer, by offering Sky’s premium channels at simple, newly reduced prices.
From the 1st July, Virgin Media customers – both new and existing - will be able to save up to £108 per year on Sky Sports and Sky Movies packages. Subscribers wishing to add or keep a single Sky Sports (Sky Sports 1 or 2) or Sky Movies (Sky Movies 1 or 2) package, the cost is now only £13.50 for Virgin Media TV customers on M+, L or XL TV packages – offering regular savings of up to £9 per month.
Ofcom ordered Sky to offer Sky Sports 1 and 2 to rival operators for £10.63 per subscriber per month for each channel on a standalone basis, representing a reduction of 23.4 per cent. A bundle of both channels was reduced by 10.5 per cent from £19.15 to £17.14.Despite the agreement, Virgin Media has lodged a legal challenge at the Court of Appeal against Ofcom's pricing model for not directly including Sky Sports 3, 4 and the Sky Movies channels. Sky has also appealed the findings, but reached an interim agreement in April with Virgin Media, BT Vision and Top Up TV for the new pricing arrangement to come into force.
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‘Adult content boosts Smart TV'
Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of adult content firm Vivid Entertainment, has told film and digital media industry executives that adult entertainment can lead to consumer acceptance of the new "Smart TV" era—just as it did with VHS, DVD and VOD.
Hirsch revealed that Vivid is developing new tools to distribute its adult films, celebrity sex tapes and sex education videos through the web, mobile and VOD, channels that "will be crucial to the future of our company and for the entire adult industry."
"Because at this point an entire generation of consumers is used to getting so much adult content free, we are studying whether or not to change our online subscription model. We believe that we need to offer our consumers a variety of content that cannot be pirated."
"We've been preparing for Smart TV or true convergence for some time and we're making deals now that will position us for this development. This means working with TV manufacturers, cable companies, and other key players. The future of the adult industry is at stake and we are determined to make this work. In addition, since we were the first in the industry to create a profitable mobile programme we will continue to develop this effort. We've been on top of 3D developments and are fully involved in this technology as a growing number of consumers gain access to 3D at home.
"Because of our size and position in the industry, inventors of new technology come to us first. At any given time we have several pilot programmes running that explore the feasibility of the latest innovations for the way we do business. Vivid has been a key driver for all types of technology—from VHS and early web-based content, to interactive DVDs, on to a full function interactive website to burning your own DVD. Today we are in a position to be early adopters of delivery vehicles and concepts that are not even off the drawing boards as yet," he said.
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Fixed broadband revenue to top $184bn this yearGlobal fixed broadband service revenue totalled $170 billion by the end of 2009, with year on year growth of 14 per cent. DSL remains the largest broadband revenue generator with 62 per cent of total global broadband service revenue. ABI research predicts it will top $184bn in 2010.
Broadband fibre service revenue is the fastest growing among the various platforms, primarily stimulated by subscriber adoption. The Asia-Pacific region is spearheading fibre installation, with 80 per cent of the global broadband fibre market. In order to satisfy the need for high-speed advanced services such as IPTV, operators in Western European countries are accelerating the rollout of broadband fibre. Recently, British Telecom set a target to provide fibre broadband to 40 per cent of homes by 2012.
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Motorola eyes more TV acquisitionsMotorola may well target more acquisitions in the broadcast technology sector. The company’s Motorola Home division –due to be split from the mobile business later this year – has already purchased a digital rights management developer and a content management systems firm. BitBand was bought in November 2009 with DRM specialist SecureMedia following soon after in January 2010.
"We are putting a great deal of emphasis on end-to-end delivery something that the acquisitions have helped a great deal," said Steve McCaffery. VP and GM, Motorola Home EMEA. "I wouldn’t say there was anything immediate coming up but it is certainly something we are not averse to looking at if the right opportunity comes along."
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MyTF1 on Orange TVOrange has announced that MyTF1, TF1's IPTV portal is being launched on Orange TV. With MyTF1, Orange TV's 2.9 million subscribers in France will be able to enjoy access to the VOD programmes on offer from TF1. A range of services making it possible to interact with the channel's programmes will also be available soon.
The content can be accessed directly from the TF1 channel by simply pressing the OK button on the remote control, or from the TV on demand service with Orange TV.
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PwC: UK digital divide will play out in World CupLondoners are twice as likely as their fellow UK football fans to watch the FIFA World Cup 2010 via the Internet – redrawing the lines of the UK digital divide.
A poll conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows while only seven per cent of the UK expects to watch England matches online, 14 per cent of Londoners think they will view live or repeated matches on the net – compared with only four per cent in the East of England.
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Toben joins Virgin boardUK cable operator has appointed former Verizon chief financial officer Doreen Toben as an independent non-executive director. She will join Virgin Media's board this month and will become a member of the company's audit committee. Toben currently serves as a director on the boards of The New York Times Co and fashion company Liz Claiborne.
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BBC World News expands Intelsat contractIntelsat, the world's leading provider of fixed satellite services, has revealed that BBC World News has signed a renewal and expansion contract for satellite and teleport services to distribute its programming to its audiences throughout Asia-Pacific and the Americas regions. Intelsat's distribution solution includes satellite capacity on four satellites plus teleport and fibre services via its Intelsat ONESM terrestrial network.
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Ericsson brings 3D World Cup to South Korean cinemasEricsson has supplied CJ Golden Village (CGV), South Korea’s largest multiplex cinema chain, with high quality compression solutions that will enable CGV to show World Cup action in 3D – the first live event ever to be shown in 3D in digital cinemas in the country.
South Korean football fans will be able to watch World Cup action in 3D at 50 cinema screens across the country using 3D glasses. Ericsson has supplied CGV with its EN8090 MPEG-4 AVC HD encoder and RX1290 receiver solutions, with video being distributed over an LG Telecom fibre network.
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