Eutelsat has confirmed that Thales Alenia Space has been commissioned to build the W3B satellite which will provide Eutelsat with significant new capacity for broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband services. These additional resources will enable Eutelsat to support the expansion of existing customers, notably broadcasters now launching their first HDTV channels, and will also bring fresh […]

Cedar Point Communications, player in integrated Voice over IP (VoIP) switching technologies for service provider and enterprise telecommunications, has announced an expansion of its European footprint with an initial deployment in Germany with TKS Telepost Kabel-Service, a subsidiary of Kabel Deutschland. TKS Telepost Kabel-Service, a provider of English-language telecommunication services throughout Germany, has integrated Cedar […]

Consumer research firm Parks Associates and entertainment technology think tank Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) have released a new study suggesting that content owners should offer more free content on mobile devices in order to aggressively promote movies and programming on traditional media. They say free content is essential to prime the pump for future premium […]

The planned video-on-demand joint venture service from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, is set for a June launch. The news leaked after the BBC asked DoubleClick, the online advertising technology provider, to ask its aency clients to attend a briefing. ITV or Channel 4 will sell the ads for the venture that will act […]

BBC iPlayer is already looking dominant in the UK download market. Traffic for ITV’s broadband TV service has remained flat over the past two months, while the BBC’s rival iPlayer offering has seen massive growth following a major marketing push. ITV.com’s video traffic hit a peak in November but has dropped off slightly since then. […]

Sirius Satellite Radio says a surge in subs helped it narrow losses in Q4 to $166m down from $245m a year ago. It ended the quarter with 8.3m subs, up 2.3m on a year ago. This pushed revenue higher to $249.8m. The company is still waiting for a regulatory ruling on its bid to buy […]

NBC is running tests to see what viewers remember even when they watch ads speeded up on their DVR. The bottom line seems to be viewers still remember the spots — or at least some elements of them — even when they’re watching at up to six times the speed of live TV. Tracking biometric […]

Disney-ABC Television Group announced a deal with its Affiliate Association that expands the network’s ability to make content available on an on-demand basis through cable, DBS and Telco distributors. The agreement allows local affiliates to participate in the “fast-forwarding disabled” VOD offering through local advertising sales opportunities. Additionally, this landmark agreement lifts ABC’s re-purposing restrictions, […]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced an agreement with SKY Italia for the broadcast rights within Italy for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games. SKY Italia acquired the rights across all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile phone.

Intelsat announced that Russian TV Times (RTVT) has signed a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement on the Intelsat system, expanding its programme offering into Europe. Through its contract on the Intelsat 12 satellite located at 45 degrees East, RTVT will provide up to 30 channels of Russian news, film and sports programming to the estimated six million […]