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Our Latest Issues
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
Tuesday
Friday 21st May
SeeSaw pay-TV site launches
HbbTV set for commercial launch
Internet video to topple broadcast TV by 2020
Bouygues to upgrade platform and launch quad play package
Europe needs a true single digital market
Pay-TV revenue will grow 7% in 2010
Asia comprises over 50% of global pay TV subs
PLDT stops myTV service
Social Networks become ‘Social Entertainment’
NeuLion agrees to acquire TransVideo
Brightcove launches operations in France
Astra 3B satellite scheduled for launch
Philips Freeview+ HD PVR
SeeSaw pay-TV site launchesSeeSaw, the VOD website born from the ashes of the failed Project Kangaroo, has launched a paid-for service with 1,000 hours of programming from 99p per episode up to £17.99 for a series.
SeeSaw has unveiled 1,000 hours of new content as part of its subscription offering, including new deals with Comedy Central and BBC Worldwide for programmes It is also being reported that a deal has been struck with Disney to allow users to rent programming including Lost and Ugly Betty.
The company has launched a rental model that will allow single programmes to be rented for up to 30 days with 48 hours for viewing to be completed once a show has started to be watched. For whole series, viewers will have 90 days rental and 48 hours to complete the viewing of each episode.
Charges are between 99p and £1.19 per episode. For a series, prices will vary widely from £3.99 to £17.99 depending on the number of episodes in the series and how recently the programme has aired on TV.
The VOD operator, which is owned by Arqiva, officially launched in February offering 3,000 hours of free programming including Home and Away, Neighbours and Hollyoaks. This programming will remain free.
SeeSaw, which aims to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for online TV programming, is planning to increase the amount of content to 5,000 hours and is already looking at widening its distribution beyond PCs.
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HbbTV set for commercial launch
From Colin Mann in LondonHybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) devices are likely to be launched commercially at the end of the summer, according to Thomas Wrede, VP Product Management Media at SES Astra. The HbbTV initiative is aimed at harmonising the broadcast and broadband delivery of entertainment to the end consumer through connected TVs and set-top boxes.
Wrede told delegates at the Broadcast and Beyond Conference that hybrid flat screen TVs were already available. In the short term, there would be implementation of an HbbTV standard by standards body ETSI, followed by the development of test beds for devices. "There will be a consumer market introduction in September at the IFA consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin," he said.
He noted that Humax and Videoweb both had conformant products and that at the recent ANGA Cable trade fair in Cologne, 12 manufacturers exhibited HbbTV devices, with another six working on product introduction. There will come onto the market between June 2010 and the first quarter of 2011," he predicted.
Internet video to topple broadcast TV by 2020
Research from The Diffusion Group (TDG) predicts that by 2020, the consumption of Internet video will eclipse the consumption of broadcast TV programming.According to TDG data, while the amount of time spent viewing TV has remained relatively stable, the amount of time consumers spent watching online video increased 84 per cent between 2008 and 2009. When extrapolated across the entire TV-viewing population, the average time spent viewing online video in 2009 was 52 per cent more than in 2008. TDG expects that this rate of growth will actually increase during the next 5-7 years due primarily to the increased use of the television as the platform of choice for web video viewing.
According to Colin Dixon, senior partner and co-author of TDG's report, "The total amount of time spent watching video from all sources, including Pay TV and Internet video, will hold constant during the next 10 years at around 32 hours a week. With online video usage accelerating we expect the amount of Internet video watched to eclipse the amount of live broadcast TV around 2020."
Though this forecast may appear shocking to some, Dixon says there is good reason to believe that this estimate is realistic. "Keep in mind that during this period, Internet and broadcast delivery of video content will become blended in such a way that consumers will be unaware of which conduit serves which content. Because so much of their audience will be consuming online, it is more important than ever that cable and broadcast channels increase their presence online."
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Bouygues to upgrade platform and launch quad play package
From Sotires Eleftheriou in ParisTwo years after launching its broadband service, which now has 428,000 subscribers, Bouygues Telecom is to carry out a major software upgrade before the end of the summer to its modem and set-top-box combination called Bbox. Bbox costs E29.90 per month, providing up to 20 MB broadband, around 100 IPTV channels and unlimited landline VOIP calls to 100 destinations.
Bouygues Telecom is the number three mobile telephone operator in France and part of the Bouygues construction group that also owns TF1. The new Bbox software will be based on the Linux operating and incorporate a range of new features as well as even more fluid navigation, which is already claimed to be the fastest on the market according to Bouygues’ head of marketing Frederic Ruciak. Further upgrades to transform the box into a fully-fledged media centre will be deployed before the end of the year.
As for the delay in deploying such features compared to other French IPTV operators, Ruciak said that it was important that the system should be easy to operate out of the box by non-technically inclined users, which is sometimes far from the case with the competition. The operator is also providing support for new subscribers to switch operator, including paying any termination penalty (up to E90).
Bouygues is also about to launch a new mobile package available only to Bbox subscribers: unlimited 24x24 mobile calls to any operator for E69.90 a month, making the total bundle E99.80 a month, which Ruciak fully expects to cause a stir in the mobile phone market.
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Europe needs a true single digital marketThe European Commission’s plan to accelerate the EU’s single digital market will need to address commercial challenges to roll out ultra high speed broadband across Europe more quickly and facilitate consumer access to legal content in order to have concrete positive effects on the European economy, according to Europe’s broadband cable industry.
"We are actually delivering ultra high speed broadband networks today and see a quickly expanding reach among our 72 million customers across Europe. We want to reach more citizens and the EU wants us to, as well," said Cable Europe President, Manuel Kohnstamm. "We share these strategic goals with the Commission, and we'll keep up the pace for Europe’s digitisation. Our continued network investments keep pushing the competition."With Europe’s ICT sector responsible for five per cent of EU GDP, the Commission recognises that information and communications technologies have driven half of the growth in productivity among the European Union's member states in the last 15 years and that nearly a quarter of Europeans are reported to have a ‘fixed’ broadband subscription. The EU has set a goal for all its citizens to have access to high-speed Internet service of 30 Mbps or higher by the next decade.
"Our industry is executing on the 2020 goals for high speed Internet service already today. While only eighteen per cent of European broadband subscribers have service above 10Mbps, we would naturally like to bring more customers on to our high speed networks that serve as world class gateways to premium content," added Cable Europe’s Managing Director, Caroline Van Weede.
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Pay-TV revenue will grow 7% in 2010Pay-TV market growth slowed in 2009 due to the recession. However, 2010 is expected to be a better year as operators have been signing up new subscribers, and existing subscribers are migrating to premium channels and advanced services. "As a result of the positive market outlook for pay TV," says ABI Research practice director Jason Blackwell, "Global pay TV revenue will net more than $312 billion for cable and telecom carriers in 2010."
Among the different pay TV platforms, telco TV service revenue is growing the fastest as broadband penetration and Internet speeds ramp up. For example, Deutsche Telekom's IPTV subscriber base essentially doubled within a year, to one million. As fibre broadband deployment expands its footprint, operators will have the opportunity to offer High Definition IPTV that should help to boost ARPU and service revenue. ABI Research anticipates that telco TV service revenue will top $17 billion in 2010.
In terms of telco TV service revenue, Western Europe captures the largest market share with 59 per cent. North America and Asia Pacific are the second and third largest telco TV markets. In the Asia Pacific region, telco TV service revenue is expected to grow rapidly during the next few years. In 2009, Asia Pacific telco TV service revenue comprised 10 per cent of the total market, and it is expected to achieve 25 per cent by 2015.
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Asia comprises over 50% of global pay TV subsAsia dominates worldwide Pay TV, accounting for slightly more than 50 per cent of subscribers in 2010, reports In-Stat. China alone will encompass 26.3 per cent of the total, followed by the rest of Asia Pacific at 22.3 per cent, North America 15.3 per cent and W. Europe 15.6 per cent. While IPTV grew faster than cable and satellite in 4Q09, consistent growth is expected for all Pay TV platforms over the next five years.
"By 2012, there will be nearly three-quarters of a billion pay-TV subscribers worldwide," says Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. "Asia will continue to represent over 50 per cent of pay-TV subscribers through 2014 when we expect total subscribers to reach 855 million."
Research by In-Stat found the following:
- IPTV subscribers increased 9.1 per cent over the previous quarter and 46.1 per cent over the previous year, reaching 33.3 million subscribers in 4Q09.
- E. Europe and W. Europe combined accounted for 49 per cent of IPTV subscribers in 2009.
- Worldwide cable subscribers grew 4.4 per cent in 2009.
- Worldwide satellite subscribers will reach a quarter billion by 2014.
- In 2010, Asia Pacific will overtake North America as the largest satellite market.
- Asia Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean regions show the greatest growth rate in satellite subscribers from 2009–2014.
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PLDT stops myTV serviceThe mobile television service brand of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone co (PLDT) Group has ceased to be offered on trial basis--and for free--to mobile subscribers of PLDT subsidiary, Smart Communications.
The PLDT Group has been awaiting government rules on the provision of mobile television services before going full blast with the business. The commercial offering of myTV has been put on hold pending issuance by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of its rules on mobile TV services.
The end of myTV's free offering was triggered by a complaint filed by the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA), a group of around 300 cable TV operators nationwide.
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Social Networks become ‘Social Entertainment’Research by PR agency Edelman shows that consumers believe social networks provide a higher value experience compared with other forms of entertainment. The survey of 1,000 18 to 54 year olds in the US and UK analyses the issues that influence consumer trust in entertainment companies.
In the US, the rise of the Internet as a frequent source of entertainment is most dramatic in the 18 to 34 group, rising from 27 per cent in 2009 to 42 per cent in 2010. In the US, 32 per cent of 18 to 54 year olds look most frequently to the web for entertainment (compared with 58 per cent watching TV). The Internet also ranked second in the UK, with 30 per cent turning to the web most frequently, compared with 57 per cent watching TV.
Seventy-three per cent of 18 to 24 year olds in the US and 61 per cent in the UK see social networks as a form of entertainment. Fifty per cent (US) and 56 per cent (UK) of respondents aged 35 to 49 also consider social networking sites as a form of entertainment. Despite the growth of social entertainment, consumers do not currently identify Internet brands as entertainment companies.
Whilst social networking sites may not yet be recognised as entertainment companies, they are leading the way in terms of adding value to the consumer experience of entertainment. The majority of respondents in both the UK and US felt that social networking sites provide better value than music, gaming and television companies.
Gail Becker, President of Edelman’s Western region comments, "While not surprising that TV tops the list, seeing the internet rank second as a source of entertainment - evolving from its origins as a source of information - is significant. We believe that all companies today exist in this new era that we call social entertainment and we will continue to see its influence on how consumers and companies engage with entertainment and with each other."
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NeuLion agrees to acquire TransVideoNeuLion, an end-to-end IPTV service provider, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the operating interests of TransVideo, a manufacturer of set top boxes utilised by the company, in exchange for 22,000,802 Company common shares. TransVideo shareholders will own approximately 15 per cent of the company, on a fully diluted basis, upon the consummation of the transaction.
The proposed transaction, if consummated, will provide the company with greater control over the future development of TransVideo's set top boxes. TransVideo's existing relationships in China will also afford the company with substantial opportunities for marketing its IPTV services.
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Brightcove launches operations in FranceBrightcove, the online video platform, has continued its expansion in Europe with the official launch of company operations in France. Brightcove’s increased investment and commitment to the French market includes a new office in Paris, as well as the appointment of industry veteran, Henri Hallynck, to director of regional sales for France. Brightcove has also announced a strategic partnership with market-leading solutions provider, Hub’Sales, and major new customer wins with Société Générale, Audi France, and Roche.
Astra 3B satellite scheduled for launch
SES Astra has announced that the launch of its new satellite Astra 3B is scheduled for today. The satellite will be launched into space from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The launch had been postponed in order to replace a defective component in the launch vehicle's pressurisation system. Astra 3B will allow SES Astra to extend its geographical coverage and its service, and offer DTH TV reception from Spain to the Black Sea.
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STB specialist Pace has announced the availability of what it claims is the first Freeview+ HD PVR to be available to consumers in the UK. The Philips-branded box, designed by Pace, is now available to buy from retail outlets in good time for the start of the World Cup in June.
The Freeview HD signal began transmitting in December 2009 from Crystal Palace in London and Winter Hill in the Manchester area, and will have reached 50 per cent coverage of the UK population by June, for the start of the World Cup.
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Thursday 20th May
Project Canvas OFT approval
Ofcom will consider net neutrality
Ono raises profit and subs
blinkx doubles revenue, still losses
Blip raises another $10m
ASA makes first ruling against VOD ad
US online video ad revenues to hit $ 1.3bn this year
Russia leads Eastern Europe in STB shipment growth
First UKTV online only show
Dish improves as IPTV scores highest in satisfaction
QuickPlay PrimeTime2Go on Motorola devices
PureScreens HD for Orange TV
FetchTV selects Envivio to deliver IPTV
Project Canvas OFT approval
The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has given the green light to Project Canvas, ruling that the joint venture backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five does not constitute a merger. The OFT said that the initiative, which also includes BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva, "does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002."
The ruling means the BBC led venture finally has the go-ahead if the BBC Trust, which gave its provisional approval to the plan in December, waves it through. Project Kangaroo, the BBC predecessor to Canvas was blocked last year after the OFT referred it to the Competition Commission, the difference this time, said the regulator, is that the partners will not be the aggregators or dominant content suppliers to the platform.
"In the context of a start-up joint venture such as Project Canvas, the merger control provisions are designed to capture arrangements leading to the transfer of a pre-existing business," said OFT director of mergers Sheldon Mills.
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Ofcom will consider net neutrality
From Colin Mann in LondonUK regulator Ofcom has said it will address net neutrality in the coming months describing the issue as of ‘significant resonance’ in the era of digital deregulation.
Ofcom board member Tim Gardam, now an academic but former C4 programme director, told the Broadcasting and Beyond conference "it is becoming increasingly apparent that a debate is necessary on the topic."
"There has been disruption caused by new business models with rights holders seeking to deliver direct to consumers. Matters that need discussing include whether there should be regulation of tools that network operators can employ to manage their relationship with users of content, and assessment of technologies now available to manage traffic."
Gardam made a point of stressing that Ofcom was not a policy body and such consultation would be used to generate recommendations that Government may or may not choose to make policy. This marks a rowing a back from previous Ofcom regimes which have acted more as though both rule makers and enforcers.
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Ono raises profit and subs
From David Del Valle in MadridSpain’s largest cable company, ONO, ended the first quarter of the year with a net profit of E17 million, up 39.4 per cent, on a lower total turnover of E372 million, down 4.1 per cent.
As of March 31st, ONO had 1.904 million clients, of which 1.7 million are telephony clients, up 9,000 with a penetration rate of 23.9 per cent. Internet subs grew by 16,000 with a penetration rate of 19.1 per cent. TV subscribers amounted to 970,000 (down 5,000), representing 53.2 per cent of all its customers.
The company has just over 7 million passed homes and increased its Capex by 21.8 per cent up to E62 million in the first quarter deploying DOCSIS 3.0.
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blinkx doubles revenue, still lossesVideo search-and-ads firm blinkx nearly doubled its income last year - but cost still outpaced revenue for a significant loss. Suranga Chandratillake CEO and founder says blinkx is well-positioned in the fast-growing space - it’s got 720 content providers, its video searches are up 169 per cent to 22.6 million a day and the number of brands advertising through its AdHoc system grew 112 per cent.
Revenue grew 142 per cent to $33.6 million in the year to March 31st but it still recorded an $8.5 million loss marginally down on last year as costs grew 15 per cent to $10.6 million.
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Blip.tv, the video Web site, said that it had raised another $10.1 million in funding, its third round of venture investment since it debuted in 2005. The company said it would use the latest funding to "accelerate the growth of the independent Web shows that Blip.tv hosts and distributes." The company also hopes to expand its sales force for international advertising and build new products for its producers and video community.
The latest round of funding is led by Canaan Partners and also involved Bain Capital Ventures, Blip.tv’s earlier backers, who invested $5.2 million in the company in late 2008.
Mike Hudack, Blip.tv’s chief executive and co-founder, said that the additional capital would help the company push ahead with its vision of creating audience-specific content and sharing the revenue with video producers. "We take half of the money from an advertisement that play alongside a video and we kick half of it back to the video producers of that show," he said. According to Hudack, some of the producers on Blip.tv are making six-figure incomes from videos they create and share.
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ASA makes first ruling against VOD adASA, the UK advertising watchdog, has made its first ruling against a VOD ad, banning a zombie film trailer that ran in The X Factor final on the ITV Player. The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the ad was frightening and inappropriate for display during a family programme because it had distressed young children. Paramount's ad for the 15-rated film Carriers had been given a post-9pm watershed ban on linear TV.
The watchdog banned the ad, concluding that younger children were likely to be frightened by some scenes. It noted that VOD programming had safeguards so that ITV could make sure only over-18s could access adult content, and there was also an on-screen warning. "However, we understood that X Factor itself on the ITV Player was not protected by a restricted content warning, nor was there any warning about the scenes in the trailer," the watchdog said.
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US online video ad revenues to hit $ 1.3bn this yearA steady growth in viewing of online video, combined with the ability to target specific viewers based on their preferences and viewing history, will push US revenues for online video advertising to over $ 1.3 billion in 2010, according to a report from Parks Associates.
The report finds that large percentages of consumers, especially younger consumers, have yet to form a strong opinion regarding targeted advertising. Among US broadband households, nearly 50 per cent of heads-of-household aged 18-34 are "indifferent" to targeted advertising, while 42 per cent aged 25-54 and 25 per cent aged 55 or older are similarly neutral, the report adds.
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Russia leads Eastern Europe in STB shipment growthPreliminary results from IMS Research’s forthcoming 2010 study on The World Market for Set-top Boxes and iDTVs has revealed that nearly 26 per cent of EMEA’s digital STB shipments were deployed into Eastern Europe in 2009. By 2012, IMS Research estimates that Eastern Europe will comprise nearly 33 per cent of EMEA’s digital STB shipments.
According to Rebecca Kurlak, co-author of the study, the top five markets contributing the most to digital STB shipment growth are Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary. Russia alone comprises 58 per cent of Eastern Europe’s shipments and 15 per cent of EMEA’s 2009 STB shipments, while the remaining top four countries account for 7.25 per cent of EMEA’s 2009 STB shipments and 28 per cent of Eastern Europe’s STB shipments.
Kurlak states, "As of Q4 2009, a few Russian pay-TV operators had announced the availability of HD DVRs which is propelling the pay-TV market forward more than ever before. Satellite operator Orion Express and telco Vimpelcom are the first to offer HD DVR STBs and are expected to experience subscriber growth because they are making the first move towards advanced services. Orion is expected to experience a 10.5 per cent growth and Vimpelcom a 39 per cent growth by year end 2010."
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First UKTV online only showUKTV is launching its first online-only series, FC Dave, on joindave.co.uk, the portal for its Dave channel brand. The mockumentary series, hosted by David Baddiel, will follow the misfortunes of a five-a-side football team called FC Dave. It will launch on June 3rd to capitalise on the build-up to the World Cup, which kicks off the week after.
An online competition will run alongside the series encouraging real five-a-side football teams to apply for Dave sponsorship and gain exposure on the site.
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Dish improves as IPTV scores highest in satisfactionDish Network scored a 71 for customer satisfaction - a seven-point increase from 2009 and well above the 2010 pay-TV industry average of 66. Phone companies Verizon and AT&T rated highest in the category with scores of 73 and 72, respectively.
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QuickPlay PrimeTime2Go on Motorola devicesQuickPlay Media has confirmed the availability of PrimeTime2Go for Android-powered Motorola devices, including Cliq, Clix and Droid. The mobile TV service will be accessible to Motorola consumers in the US via download from Android Market, and will be extended to additional Motorola Android-powered devices in the coming months. PrimeTime2Go is a monthly subscription service that enables consumers to watch TV shows from major networks and cable providers on compatible mobile devices.
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PureScreens HD for Orange TVPureScreens has confirmed a distribution agreement with France Telecom for the launch of a new HD channel on Orange’s IPTV platform in France. The channel will be available in Orange TV’s basic package to all HD eligible subscribers (about 600,000 subscribers to date). The 24/7 service, entirely free of advertising, will broadcast home-grown and exclusive programming shot in native HD.
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FetchTV selects Envivio to deliver IPTVFetchTV has selected Envivio’s Three Screens solution as the delivery platform for its subscription TV offering. The FetchTV service employs Envivio 4Caster C42 video encoders, featuring Extreme codec technology, to deliver standard and HD content over capacity restricted broadband networ high quality alternative to incumbent services that can be delivered by Australian ISPs over consumers’ existing broadband connections.
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Wednesday 19th May
Ofcom: 3 strikes will not apply to mini ISPs, mobile
Consumers will pay for over 250m TV apps by 2015
Canoe announces partners
SES will dodge ‘Zombie’ satellite
NDS to triple investment in China in 2010
Tektronix acquires Mixed Signals
Google to buy Global IP solutions
Cisco buys MOTO for consumer build
LOVEFiLM streaming to Samsung TVs
Best Buy On Demand
Ofcom: 3 strikes will not apply to mini ISPs, mobileOfcom has confirmed that only fixed line ISPs with more than 400,000 subscribers will be forced to comply with the Digital Economy Act's controversial anti-file sharing provisions. The communications regulator has informed the Internet Service Providers' Association of the benchmark, and said it intends to publish rules within the next two weeks. It means mobile broadband operators will be exempt from the system.
Ofcom's move will be welcomed by smaller ISPs that target niche and business markets who said the administration of 3 strikes was too burdensome. Rights holder organisations such as the BPI want to address mainstream consumers who may be persuaded to revert to accessing copyright works lawfully. The seven ISPs that Ofcom's code of practice will target control more than 95 per cent of the home broadband market. However, if downloaders migrate to smaller ISPs, presumably Ofcom will have to rethink.
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Consumers will pay for over 250m TV apps by 2015By 2015, 6 in 10 TVs shipped worldwide will have a network connection and 70 per cent of those units will ship with an embedded app platform and app store, according to a report from Gigaom Pro.
In all, some 3.7 million apps will be downloaded in 2010 and that number will grow to 965 million by 2015, according to GigaOM analyst Michael Wolf. Consumers will pay for one in four of the apps, including those that enable paid services such as Netflix Watch Instantly. The majority of the apps will be entertainment-related, including online video, gaming and communication apps.
Although 75 per cent of apps will be downloaded for free, the remainder will fetch about $1.9 billion by 2015, according to Wolf’s analysis. That compares to just under $10 million in 2010.
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Canoe announces partnersCanoe Ventures has announced Comcast Networks, Discovery Communications, NBC Universal and Rainbow Media as its initial partners who have separately agreed to launch Canoe’s national interactive television (ITV) solutions across their individual programming networks. Once integrated with Canoe’s national platform for advanced television, these network partners can offer the company’s suite of standards-based ITV marketing solutions beginning with a "Request-for-Information" (RFI) application that enhances the value of thirty-second ads through viewer interactivity.
These programmers represent the first network partners for Canoe Ventures, a company created in 2008 by leading US cable operators to enhance national networks’ broadcast television advertising and content through advanced technologies such as interactivity. Canoe’s first ITV application, RFI, is scheduled to begin deploying later this quarter.
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SES will dodge ‘Zombie’ satelliteSES World Skies has unveiled plans for an intricate set of orbital manoeuvres later this month aimed at steering its AMC-11 satellite clear of interference from Intelsat's ‘free falling’ Galaxy 15 spacecraft, now known as Zombie, or living dead, satellite.
As the stricken satellite nears AMC-11's orbital location at 131 degrees west, SES plans to have AMC-11 match the eastward drift of Galaxy 15 in order to maintain a minimum separation between the two satellites. This synchronised drift is designed to protect AMC-11 services from interference caused by Galaxy 15’s still on transponders – attempts to power them down have failed.
At the same time, SES World Skies will move its new SES-1 satellite to the opposite side of Galaxy 15, thereby enabling some customers, including cable television networks, to leapfrog their broadcasts over interference caused by the wandering spacecraft.
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NDS to triple investment in China in 2010NDS plans to triple its investment in local people and infrastructure in 2010 as it increases development of solutions, partnerships and services for customers in China and the rest of the world.
Earlier this year NDS announced it had increased its headcount by 73 per cent in China in 12 months, reflecting strong demand for its products and services locally. Staff numbers will increase further in 2010, with local hires as well as the relocation of a percentage of existing NDS R&D resource from India and Israel.
NDS has identified a key growth opportunity through partnerships with Chinese companies in the consumer electronics space, semiconductors, systems integration, and digital-TV applications markets. For example, NDS has already partnered with Changhong, a leading set-top box and CE manufacturer, to develop a range of interactive applications for the Chinese market, targeted at convergence and the Next Generation Broadband (NGB) initiative. NDS will market these applications to other regions, as part of a drive to increase export opportunities for Chinese CE and STB manufacturers. NDS is also partnering with leading value-added TV service provider DOXTV, to bring DVR and push VOD functionality in China.
Just over a year ago, NDS opened an R&D centre in China, engineering and customer support facility in Shenzhen. With this new investment, NDS will increase employee numbers at the R&D facility as well as increasing its presence in locations that are close to customers, including in Beijing and Shanghai.
"We believe that Chinese digital-TV technology will have a major impact on the global pay-TV market, as other countries start to seek out Chinese knowledge, experience and products. We already have significant resources in China, and accelerating our investment now and in the future allows us to rapidly increase our support for the dynamic and growing Chinese digital-TV market," said Sue Taylor, Chairman, NDS China, Senior Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific.
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Tektronix acquires Mixed SignalsTektronix, supplier of test, measurement, and monitoring products and solutions, have acquired Mixed Signals. The details of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.
"The acquisition of Mixed Signals brings to Tektronix a strong team that has delivered leading innovation to the video monitoring market," said Eben Jenkins, General Manager of the Tektronix Video Business. "The combination of Mixed Signals and Tektronix accelerates our ability to provide unmatched next-generation video test and monitoring solutions to our customers."
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Google to buy Global IP solutionsGoogle is paying $68.2 million to buy up publicly-traded Global IP Solutions, a San Francisco-based company which sells technology used to deliver voice and video over IP networks. Google is a long-time Global IP Solutions customer. Other customers include include Yahoo, which licenses the technology to power voice chat on Yahoo Messenger, as well as Nortel, Samsung and AOL.
Global IP Solutions says it expects to continue to support its current customers but doesn't offer specific details about where it will fit at Google, saying simply that it will "continue to enhance and extend our products and technology."
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Cisco buys MOTO for consumer buildCisco has confirmed its intent to acquire privately held MOTO Development Group, a design consulting firm that develops products and product strategies for the consumer industry. Based in San Francisco, MOTO's talent base will enable Cisco to rapidly enhance its consumer product development road map.
"Consumers have embraced our Flip VideoValet and Linksys product lines because they deliver on the promise of making video and home networking simple, affordable and fun," said Jonathan Kaplan, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Consumer Products. "MOTO's design and engineering teams have deep consumer expertise that will accelerate our ability to continue to deliver great products and expand Cisco's consumer business."
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LOVEFiLM streaming to Samsung TVs
Samsung and LOVEFiLM have launched the latest extension of its service in the direct-to-TV market on new ranges of Samsung TVs.
The LOVEFiLM service is now available through a user interface on all Internet TV Samsung TV models, with Blu-ray players and Home Cinema Systems to follow at a later date. Members of LOVEFiLM on unlimited subscription packages can access movie titles instantly via their remote control, in addition to the rental by post and existing watch online services.
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Best Buy On DemandBest Buy said it will sell on-demand access to movies and TV shows through some Blu-ray players, high-definition TVs and personal computers. The biggest US consumer-electronic seller said its new CinemaNow service will offer same-day instant access to new-release movies and TV shows beginning this month through all new connected Blu-ray Disc players and home-theatre systems from LG Electronics. The service is expected to launch on devices from various other manufacturers, including Insignia, later this year.
"With the introduction of CinemaNow, Best Buy continues our commitment to evolve with our customers as their demand for digital entertainment grows," said Chris Homeister, senior vice president of entertainment for Best Buy. Best Buy said the initial product will be followed by an improved and updated version later this year.
CinemaNow is the product of a collaboration between Best Buy and Sonic Solutions, which had traditionally provided software used to format, press and distribute about 90 per cent of DVD and Blu-ray discs but recently teamed up with Best Buy for the transition to downloadable content.
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Tuesday 18th May
YouTube 2bn uses a day ‘will deliver billions of dollars to producers’
Irish DTT facing uncertain future
Movistar Imagenio gains momentum
Dish reprieve in TiVo case
Brits don’t value unpackaged media
Sky narrows free calls
SeeSaw responds to feedback
Oz 3D trials
On Demand Group brings HBO content to 3 UK
Inter joins AMOS satellite neighbourhood
Playcast Media HD games-on-demand
YouTube 2bn uses a day ‘will deliver billions of dollars to producers’YouTube has revealed that it streams over two billion videos a day as it pitches content providers that it can offer "TV-size audiences." YouTube owner Google has struggled with monetising the site but said last year that it would be "very profitable ... in the not too distant future." No financial details are provided but Barclays Capital has estimated that YouTube would contribute to Google’s earnings this year, and forecast revenues of $700 million for the video site.
Speaking on YouTube's fifth birthday, Hunter Walk, director of product management, said its business model had "caught up with the consumer phenomenon" and was set to develop into a diverse product capable of paying "billions of dollars" to growing numbers of professional content partners. With more than a thousand professional content partners, "it’s going to start to look like the cable TV networks of the 70s, 80s and 90s", Walk added.
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Irish DTT facing uncertain futurePlans to launch the DTT platform in Ireland are in disarray after the final bidder for the multi-million Euro contract bowed out. Easy TV, the joint venture between RTE and Liberty Global, was offered the contract for commercial DTT two weeks ago when negotiations with an Eircom-led consortium collapsed.
An RTE spokesman confirmed that Easy TV had told the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) it was "declining their offer to pursue negotiations" on the DTT contract. He added that Liberty and RTE had "carefully considered" the contract but had agreed not to proceed "due to the significant lapse in time and the altered circumstances since Easy TV's original application in 2008".
The development leaves the BAI in a major quandary, since all three groups who battled it out in the 2008 DTT beauty parade have now withdrawn from the process.
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Movistar Imagenio gains momentum
From David Del Valle in MadridTelefonica's IPTV service, now under the brand of Movistar Imagenio, is gaining momentum with the addition of 30,000 new subs in the first quarter of the year.
With a market share of 18 per cent in the pay-TV business, Movistar Imagenio now has 733,000 subscribers in Spain, up 21.2 per cent in comparison with the same period last year.
The company is gaining subscribers at a time when competition is intensifying in the Spanish pay-TV market with the launch of new pay DTT services over the next few months.
In the meantime, the FTA DTT platform in the country is adding new TV services. Music channel MTV is going on DTT from June following its agreement with media group Vocento, which operates a multiplex with four channels.
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Dish reprieve in TiVo caseA federal appeals court has granted Dish Network a rare, full-court (so-called ‘en banc’") review of a ruling it had earlier lost to TiVo, that could have resulted in the satellite TV company disabling millions of digital video recorders.
However, the US Court of Appeals review is a last straw effort as damages mounted. TiVo first sued Dish in 2004 for patent infringement over technology that stores and retrieves video on DVRs. Dish has already lost one case on appeal and paid TiVo $104.6 million in damages.
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Brits don’t value unpackaged mediaAn HP survey of over 1000 British consumers, aged between 16 and 60, shows that people of all ages are still wedded to physical formats such as CDs and DVDs. They also currently attach little monetary or emotional value to the digital content they own.
While 86 per cent of the population access some form of digital media, 68 per cent still prefer photographs to be physical rather than digital, 64 per cent for music, 75 per cent for films and a massive 95 per cent for books. While the 16-24 and 25-34 age groups are the most enthusiastic when it comes to digital media, many of them (39 per cent) are still purchasing CDs and DVDs alongside digital formats. The move to subscription based models is even more far out, with 73 per cent of the sample saying that they can never see a time when they’d move to a 100 per cent subscription model for their music and films (such as Spotify).
"In this technologically driven age it is easy to get carried away and think that everybody is embracing digital and leaving physical behind," says Shaun Hobbs, Home Server Manager for HP PSG UK and Ireland. "Our survey shows that this isn’t the case. Britons are on an evolutionary journey with media still being bought on multiple formats and enjoyed using a variety of devices."
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Sky narrows free callsSky has become the latest big telephone operator to start charging for making early evening weekday calls. Customers on Sky Talk Freetime package will now pay for calls between 0700 and 1900, rather than between 0600 and 1800. It is following the recent example of BT and TalkTalk, who have both announced similar tariff changes.
The new Sky charges, which start on June 1st, involve a 12 per cent rise in the cost of daytime calls to 5.9 pence per minute. Sky has about 2.3 million customers for both its Freetime and Unlimited landline packages.
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SeeSaw responds to feedbackOnline TV service SeeSaw is ramping up content and adding features in response to feedback from users on Twitter. TV series such as Doctor Who, Life On Mars, The Mighty Boosh and Spooks will be added to the line-up, as well as dramas from the US.
The platform has been monitoring feedback since its launch in February and claims it has improved the service to meet users’ requirements. This includes enabling viewers to resume watching a programme from where they last got to.
It has also improved its registration service so users don’t have to repeat information such as age when watching age-restricted movies, and has revamped its catch-up area.
The social elements of the site will be developed further so users can post links directly from the SeeSaw site to social networks.
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Oz 3D trialsThe Australian Communications and Media Authority has issued licences which allow the Nine Network and the SBS to conduct scientific trials of 3D TV in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle and Wollongong.
The licences allow the trial operators to test new radiocommunications technologies between May 19th and 19 July 19th 2010 by broadcasting 3D HD television to viewers with access to 3D-enabled digital television receivers. The trials will include live telecasts of the three State of Origin rugby league matches.
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On Demand Group brings HBO content to 3 UKOn Demand Group and HBO have announced a deal to provide on-demand access to full episodes television shows from HBO via 3 UK’s TV: On Demand TV subscription VOD service. Under the terms of the deal, 3 UK’s SVOD subscribers will be able to watch episodes of HBO hit series.
The SVOD mobile service called TV: On Demand is fully managed and operated by On Demand Group and has been designed in response to the unique desires of 3 UK subscribers, who will be able to watch the programme of their choice, on-demand, as often as they want, with complete control to pause, resume, fast forward, rewind and watch over again – all for one monthly subscription.
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Inter joins AMOS satellite neighbourhoodSpacecom, the operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, has confirmed that U.A. Inter Media Group, the Ukraine's national broadcaster and leading channel network, has signed a long term agreement to move its satellite TV service to the AMOS-3 satellite. Led by the country’s most popular channel, ITV, Inter is shifting nine channels including Inter+, Enter, Enter Film, NTN, K1, K2, Mega and MTV Ukraine to the AMOS platform.
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Playcast Media HD games-on-demandPlaycast Media Systems, the video-game streaming technology, has announced its first HD system. The new version enables Playcast to match the video and graphics quality of next-generation games consoles and to align itself firmly with the ubiquitous take-up of HD television. Put simply, this means playing video games in HD through the cable or IPTV set-top box - without the need for any console. The first live HD integration is scheduled for later this month with a leading European operator.
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Monday 17th May
Spain puts Mobile TV and Interactive TV on hold
Online viewing up in UK
TV ad revenue in Asia overtakes Europe
US Web TV homes spend 31% of viewing time online
Telefonica Q1 profits up, 2.6m pay-TV customers
SK Telecom inks Disney deal
Harmonic/Omneon acquisition likely to lead to further deals
MTS Allstream sees IPTV subs rise
ESPN Star Sports chooses GlobeCast for ICC broadcast
Spain puts Mobile TV and Interactive TV on hold
From David Del Valle in MadridThe Spanish Government has put DVB-H Mobile TV and Interactive TV on the back burner because, it says, "there isn't sufficient demand and it lacks an adequate business model [for mobile TV]." For Interactive TV it says "it has very little or nil presence" in the market. The comments were made by General Director of Telecommunications at the Ministry of Industry, Bernardo Lorenzo.
As a consequence, the multiplex allocated to mobile TV will not be awarded unless it is proved there is enough demand for the service, non-existent at the present time. "We do not want to be part of the fiasco (of mobile TV) in Europe," said Lorenzo.On Interactive TV, Lorenzo pointed out that there is a long way to go for its introduction in the market as its presence is effectively non existant. This is in contrast to the view of the Pro Interactive TV Association, AEDETI, whose president Jose Luis Vazquez said that around 20 per cent of all TV sets will have a return channel by the end of the year.
This Association has urged the Government to approve a common standard in interactive TV and proposed to set up a Government-sponsored working group, formed by electronic manufacturers, broadcasters and network operators, to carry it out.Lorenzo, though, is a fan of HDTV and announced that the Government is to approve a Royal Decree to regulate HD TV paving the way for its development. Lorenzo also revealed that the Administration will pay the bill for the broadcasters migration to new frequencies answering the demands of broadcasters which had refused to pay the costs.
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Online viewing up in UKOnline TV viewing has increased by 54 per cent since last year, with 55 per cent of 18-24-year-olds watching TV on their PCs at least once a week, according to YouGov research. YouGov’s media consulting team found 36 per cent of 18-24s and 30 per cent of 25-34s said they expect to watch more TV via the web in the future.
The survey also found that 56 per cent of 18-24s go online to follow breaking news stories, with 13 per cent opting for newpaper sites and 43 per cent online-only news sites.
Some 54 per cent of respondents mistakenly believed it was necessary to own a TV licence to watch catch-up programmes legally in the UK.
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TV ad revenue in Asia overtakes Europe
TV advertising revenue in the Asia Pacific region overtook that in Western Europe for the first time last year, as India and China grew and established markets suffered. Total net TV advertising for Asia Pacific was $27.9 billion according to a report from the media analysts Informa.
The value of the western European TV ad market was $26.7 billion. North America remained by some margin the biggest TV ad market globally, at $38.9 billion. Western Europe had been expected to stay ahead of the Asia Pacific region in terms of total ad revenue for several more years.
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US Web TV homes spend 31% of viewing time online
Consumer research from One Touch Intelligence has revealed detailed observations about an emerging sector within the US television marketplace – households in which adult viewers routinely watch long-form, scripted TV shows and movies from the Internet.
Based on a survey of 1,007 households in which respondents watched full-length TV shows or movies within the past month, One Touch Intelligence found that:
- Viewing of full-length content from the Internet occupies 31 per cent of the total time these viewers spend with various at-home television sources. That’s more than twice the amount of time spent watching DVD or Blu-ray discs and 5x the amount of time spent watching On Demand or pay-per-view content.
- Hulu is the most-watched Internet video site, with 53 per cent of Internet video households watching long-form content from Hulu at least once a month. The percentage of long-form Internet video households that watch Hulu is higher than the percentage watching YouTube.
- Viewers who watch Internet video on TV screens are significantly less likely to watch short-form content than those who watch over PCs, and are more likely to use a videogame console to connect Internet video to the TV screen than a PC or Internet-connected TV set.
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Telefonica Q1 profits up, 2.6m pay-TV customersTelefonica has reported its first quarter net profit rose 2 per cent to E1.65 billion as revenue increased in Europe and Latin America. Overall revenue rose 1.7 per cent to E13.93 billion from E13.69 billion.
The Spanish telco reported a total of 2.6 million customers worldwide for its pay-TV services by the end of the first quarter of this year, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year. The telco added 30,000 new pay-TV customers in Spain, bringing the total to 733,000 subscribers, and also added 102,000 broadband customers during the period, describing the combined gains as an "excellent evolution" which helped to reverse the net losses seen in the last quarter of 2009.
Telefónica also reported 1.7 millon pay-TV customers in Latin America, up 4.9 per cent year-on-year, including 470,000 pay-TV customers in Brazil. Telefónica O2 Czech Republic reached 138,000 customers for its IPTV service 'O2 TV', up 7.8 per cent year-on-year.
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SK Telecom inks Disney dealSK Telekom has formed a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company to launch Korean-language Disney channels in South Korea in standard- and high-definition on IPTV, cable and satellite TV platforms.
Under the terms of the deal, Disney will launch Korean-language versions of Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney Channel targeted at children and families in South Korea. Launch of the channels is slated for spring 2011, pending regulatory approval from the Korea Communications Commission.
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Harmonic/Omneon acquisition likely to lead to further dealsHarmonic’s planned $274 million acquisition of media server and storage specialist Omneon confirms forecasts that the recovery in the professional media industry is under way, according to a report published by Strategy Analytics and D. I. S. Consulting. The report also concludes that further deals should be expected from Harmonic as it seeks to add further capabilities.
"Regardless of Harmonic’s clear leadership position in encoding, they could have still been viewed pretty narrowly as a solutions provider for only a relatively small slice of the broadcast and professional work flow," says Douglas I. Sheer, Chief Analyst at D. I. S. Consulting. "With the addition of Omneon, they are able to greatly broaden their solutions offerings in a very – no pun intended – harmonious way, that builds on their already established strengths in the post-production part of their customers’ operations."
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MTS Allstream sees IPTV subs riseIn Q1 results, Canadian telco MTS Allstream has reported it now has close to 90,000 subscribers for its IPTV service 'MTS TV', up from 86,520 customers at the end of 2009, while TV revenues for the period rose 6.9 per cent year-on-year.
The company also reported that it now has more than 21,000 customers for its new enhanced IPTV service 'MTS Ultimate TV'.
Total revenues across all operations for the first quarter of this year reached CA$ 442 million, down 5.9 per cent year-on-year, while EBITDA fell 11 per cent by the same comparison to reach CA$ 145.3 million.
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ESPN Star Sports chooses GlobeCast for ICC broadcastAsian sports content provider, ESPN Star Sports has chosen GlobeCast as its technical broadcast partner to deliver world-class cricket from the ICC World Twenty20 from the West Indies to the rest of the world. Close to 40 broadcast and syndication partners of ESPN Star Sports will show the action in over 181 territories across the world.
For the world feed, the signal is sent from the various locations in the West Indies to GlobeCast’s partner teleport in London, where it is uplinked to several international satellites reaching audiences in North America, Western Europe, South Africa, Oceania, Middle East and Asia.
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