Although no official announcement is made until this morning, the BBC Trust is giving a provisional go-ahead for Project Canvas. Set-top boxes using Canvas software are expected to be available late next year for about £200 (E220), allowing people to access the BBC's iPlayer and other web services via the TV. Partners are the BBC, […]
Cable Europe Labs has announced the launch of its European Middleware Initiative, a project aimed at developing a next generation middleware specification for the European cable market. The move will accelerate the development of an open middleware platform for evolving applications and services. Building scale and while upping the speed of new interactive services will […]
BT plans to fast track the roll-out of its super-fast broadband network to 10 million households by the summer of 2012, a company spokesman has confirmed. Early trials have “proved very successful and the lessons are helping us accelerate our roll-out plans,” he added. Four million homes will have access to fibre by the end […]
The rise of video-on-demand viewing and online TV catch-up services will not kill the advertising-funded business models of traditional TV broadcasters over the next decade, according to a report by Enders Analysis. The research company said that despite the concern about viewing figures for watching TV via computers, 99 per cent of total viewing of […]
Humax and ANT have partnered to deliver the first Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) set-top boxes to the market. Humax selected the ANT Galio HbbTV Platform for its new iCord HD+ set-top box, which began shipping to German retail outlets this month to become the first HbbTV set-top box to be deployed. The iCord HD+ […]
French pay TV operator Canal Plus has secured exclusive broadcasting rights for Italy’s Serie A football championship for the next two seasons. The deal includes all 20 Serie A clubs, all matches, the 38 championship days for each season and all broadcasting formats (TV, internet, mobile, catch-up, podcast). Canal Plus’s football offering already includes the […]
France's mobile phone market is set for a shake-up after ARCEP, the country's telecoms regulator, awarded a fourth licence to broadband operator Free. Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, are the three incumbent operators in what is one of Europe's least competitive markets. Free, which is owned by French telcop Illiad, has vowed to halve the […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid Two TV mergers between Mediaset-controlled Tele 5 and Prisa-owned Cuatro and between Antena 3 and La Sexta will reshape the Spanish TV market as digital switch over is underway to meet the April deadline. Tele 5 and Cuatro will be the first in the consolidation process with the imminent […]
The UK showed the biggest increase in TV viewing last year across 11 western countries including France, Germany and the US, with each person watching an average of 3.75 hours a day, according to research published by Ofcom. The UK had the highest average increase in TV watching in 2008, up 3.2 per cent year […]
Vodafone Portugal has launched Vodafone Casa TV for Xbox 360 games console, bringing together all the content and functionality of its Casa TV service with the functionality of Xbox 360. Casa TV for Xbox 360 gives customers access all their live channels and on-demand programming. Customers will also be able to access recorded shows stored […]