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 Time Warner board has approved the acquisition of Indian entertainment channel NDTV Imagine Ltd. for $126.5 million. The purchase from NDTV Networks will be made through Turner Asia Pacific Ventures and will see it gain a 92 per cent stake in Imagine, and includes $50 million to fund the business after the sale has […]
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 […]
Blockbuster is planning to launch a new set-top-box that will allow it to stream movies according to reports, likely in conjunction with online film services firm Movielink, which Blockbuster acquired last year. Its OTT play is expected to be a stand-alone box that will compete head-to-head with the likes of Apple TV.
From Branislav Pekic in Rome Telecom Italia has launched the cuboVision, an innovative product that turns the traditional TV set at home into an online media centre that can offer multiple services and digital content using a single remote control. The broadband multimedia device can receive, via the TV set, the digital terrestrial TV channels […]
From Branislav Pekic in Rome The Italian Government is to limit advertising on all pay-TV broadcasters, including Sky Italia and Mediaset Premium. The decree, which has been prepared by Deputy Minister for Communications, Paolo Romani, could be approved by the Government today (December 17.) The draft foresees that the amount of hourly advertising on pay-TV […]
Channel 4 and ISP Talk Talk have signed up to join Project Canvas, with each committing to invest more than £16 million (E17.5m) to get the video-on-demand joint venture up and running. They are the fifth and sixth partners following the BBC, ITV, Channel Five and BT. The venture is now seeking “expressions of interest” […]
India is the fourth largest illegal downloader of online content, according to two reports released by the Motion Picture Distributors Association (MPDA). According to their findings, India trails only the US, Britain and Canada in online copyright infringement. Envisional’s report said online piracy of film and television content in India is mainly through file-sharing networks […]
Richard Branson has launched a 'geek squad' to help consumers with problems like computers that crash, wireless networks that won’t connect or games consoles that refuse to connect with other gear. The group’s first new company in Britain for three years will offer free online self-help guides for common problems and a range of automated […]
The Open IPTV Forum has signed liaison agreements with the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), the Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to further drive for an interoperable end-to-end IPTV solution for Managed Network and Open Internet deployments in a global market.