The membership of the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) has been reinforced by the addition of four significant new members. British Telecom, Pirelli, Netgem and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) have joined the effort to develop open, end-to-end specifications for IPTV; based on existing technologies and open standards
Eight per cent of consumers across the UK, France, Germany and the USA admitted to downloading video content illegally from file sharing websites, a consumer research study by Futuresource Consulting reveals. The study, 'Living With Digital: Consumer Insights into Entertainment Consumption', used a representative sample in each country and provided respondents with a list of […]
UK communications minister Lord Carter has defended plans to levy a £6-a-year tax (E7.1) on every phone line to raise up to £1.5 billion to help pay for the next generation of super-fast internet networks, as the most transparent way of investing in a critical part of Britain’s infrastructure. Having looked at the investment plans […]
Despite receiving some money against the £35m (E41m) it is owed, the English Premier League has told Setanta if it does not pay the balance by Friday, 19 June, it will put its remaining games – 46 live matches in the 09-10 season – out to tender. “In view of the shortage of time before […]
Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) has selected Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson Group, to provide the encoding, multiplexing and modulation for ten HD and 32 standard-definition channels that are simultaneously played out over satellite and digital terrestrial networks. The Vietnamese broadcaster and platform operator combines MPEG-2 SD and MPEG-4 AVC HDTV channels in the same […]
Foreshadowing the publication of the 'Digital Britain' report, Prime Minister Gordon Brown described a fast Internet connection as "an essential service, as indispensable as electricity, gas and water". Writing in The Times, Brown said the digital revolution was changing lives beyond recognition and that investment now in the information and communications industries could underpin the […]
The Broadband Forum has published the latest broadband and IPTV statistics, which show impressive growth in the face of the global economic downturn. Its report, prepared for the Forum by industry analysts Point Topic, shows that global broadband grew by 16.6 million lines in the first quarter 2009 alone, while IPTV subscribers approach 24 million, […]
Brightcove, the online video platform, and UK broadcaster, Five, have launched an initiative that will allow five's viewers to embed episodes of TV shows on their websites, social networks and blogs. Five becomes the first UK broadcaster to syndicate full episodes of popular programmes for catch-up viewing on third-party websites. The initiative, which utilises the […]
Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM), the largest multiple system operator (MSO) in Japan based on the number of customers served, has announced that the total subscribing households as of May 31st, 2009 served by J:COM's 23 consolidated franchises reached approximately 3.21 million, up 461,500, or 16.8 per cent since May 31st, 2008. Combined revenue generating units (RGUs) […]
Signalling an increased emphasis on intellectual property rights, NBC Universal is moving one of its senior communication executives, Cory Shields, to a newly created position of executive vice president for global policy strategies. For the past three years, Shields has been the main public relations adviser to the NBC Universal chief executive, Jeff Zucker. “One […]