Verizon Communications, Time Warner Cable and AT&T have all told a Senate Commerce Committee that they support an opt-in system for targeted online advertising and pledged to hold to basic best practices.Opting in means that companies that want to track Web surfers' movements and use that data to target ads to them must get their […]
The proportion of its subscribers accessing Virgin Media's on demand service has passed 50% for the first time. Virgin announced that the number of views had increased from 34 million in January to 45 million views in August 2008. The figure compares favourably with other international providers such as UPC Netherlands, which has reached 40%.The […]
Ofcom proposals on how to plug a gap of up to £235 million (E289m) in the funding of public service broadcasting (PSB), published this week, include handing over the BBC's commercial arm in its entirety to Channel 4.The idea is likely to provoke horror at the BBC, which has been at pains to develop BBC […]
Discovery Communications and YouTube have debuted nine YouTube Channels, featuring a robust collection of clips from Discovery’s family of world-class network brands. Tailoring content to the global YouTube community, Discovery will also roll out a series of targeted international Channels showcasing localized and native language content for specific regions around the world. The partnership also […]
Google co-founder Larry Page called on the Federal Communications Commission to give companies unlicensed access to television airwaves before the November election. Page also said the multiple rounds of tests conducted by FCC engineers are highly unusual, and he accused broadcasters and wireless microphone manufacturers who oppose the proposal of creating unneeded controversy.Broadcasters and wireless […]
The French video on demand market may double in value this year, according to a joint study published by research group GfK and French media consultants NPA Conseil. The survey found that there were around six million VOD downloads across all platforms in the first six months of this year, an increase of nearly 61 […]
In the first half of 2008, UPC's Dutch digital TV customers generated more than 14 million Video On Demand (VOD) streams. This interactive TV application is now used by over 40% of the digital customer base on a monthly basis, which is high compared to international benchmarks. Interactive advertising is another successful application for TV: […]
From Branislav Pekic in RomeBroadband operator Clix, owned by Sonaecom, has commercially launched its TV, internet and telephony offer via fibre optic cable. Although there is still no regulatory framework regarding Next Generation Networks, Sonaecom is planning to invest E240 million over the next three years, to bring fibre optics to the homes of one […]
The European cable lobby group Cable Europe has issued a cautious welcome for the EU's promotion of infrastructure based competition, (Daily News 25.09.08), but it has warned against mandating competitive access to ‘ducts' and is particularly resistant to any extension of ‘must carry' rules to include on demand material.Cable Europe says networks in Europe pass […]
In a five-year deal with Showtime Arabia Globecast is to provide content management and delivery services for 13 of its global channels, with services provided ranging from multiplexing, uplink, and aggregation to playout from GlobeCast's central London Technical Operations Centre. Dubai-based Showtime Arabia, the leading Pay TV network in the Middle East and North Africa, […]