Advanced Television

Levira and Turner Broadcasting to expand cooperation

Levira and Turner Broadcasting have revised their contract for play-out services, renewed at the end of 2012, with a supplement, which will expand cooperation between the two companies even further. The amendment sets out the play-out of TNT Norway HD and the upgrade of TNT Sweden from SD to HD from March 2013. It foresees […]

June 25, 2013

Vodafone buys Kabel Deutschland

Vodafone is making an agreed public tender offer for 100 per cent of the share capital of Kabel Deutschland. Vodafone intends to deliver Kabel Deutschland shareholders a total value of €87 in cash for each share comprising €84.50 per share in cash pursuant to the voluntary public tender offer plus the payment of the €2.50 […]

June 24, 2013

BSkyB: “Early days” for Ultra-HD

Chris Johns, BSkyB’s chief engineer/broadcast strategy, has said that the pay-TV broadcaster has no imminent Ultra-HD plans but is examining closely its delivery options, and stressed the need for testing of the technology so that when Sky does launch 4K it is “done right”. “We’ve no plans to launch a U-HD service at this point […]

June 24, 2013By Chris Forrester

GfK: Cord-cutting on the rise in US

Research from GfK Media & Entertainment shows that the estimated number of Americans now relying exclusively on over-the-air (OTA) television broadcasting increased to 59.7 million, up from 54 million just a year ago. The percentage of TV households currently OTA reliant has now grown from 14 per cent in 2010 to 19.3 per cent in […]

June 24, 2013

Murdoch appointment dents Sky Deutschland shares

James Murdoch has been appointed head of Sky Deutschland’s supervisory board. However, the publicly quoted company’s shareholders didn’t much care for the announcement.  Murdoch is already a board member at the broadcaster (appointed in April), but his new appointment sees the departure of Chase Carey (COO at News Corp) who has held the position since […]

June 24, 2013By Chris Forrester

Spain: Our TV policy is a national embarrassment

“Instability”and “uncertainty” are the main words used by the Spanish private TV broadcasters to define the TV policy the Administration is implementing. UTECA, the private TV Association, has urged the government to clarify the TV map to avoid “sending out (outside of Spain) a message of instability, lack of definition and a clear regulation” to […]

June 24, 2013From David Del Valle in Madrid

Premier League seeks block on illegal streaming site

The Premier League is requesting a court order forcing Internet service providers to block a popular football streaming website before the next season. The League wants ISPs to cut off access to FirstRow1.eu, which operates from Sweden. Reports suggest that no ISPs plans to challenge the court order. If successful, the action will be the […]

June 24, 2013

US TV apps market to reach $14bn by 2017

The connected TV apps and services market is expected to explode in the next five years as new app frameworks in smart TVs, net-tops (i.e. Apple TV, Roku), Blu-ray devices and game consoles serve as the foundation for a new TV app economy. NextMarket Insights forecasts the US TV app economy to reach $14 billion […]

June 24, 2013

Italian operators in broadband push

Telecom Italia has launched its VDSL2 service based on Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) technology in 25 Italian cities. Currently, the operator is offering a 30 Mbps connection from €40 per month in the following cities: Monza, Bologna, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Milan, Rome, Turin, Varese, Venezia, Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Bologna, Reggio Emilia, Genoa, Florence, Pisa, […]

June 24, 2013From Branislav Pekic in Rome

CBS, Showtime content for LOVEFiLM

Amazon’s LOVEFiLM has signed a multi-year licensing deal with CBS Studios International that will expand the e range of TV content already available on LOVEFiLM Instant streaming service. Effective immediately, LOVEFiLM’s UK and German members will be able to stream popular US TV series from CBS and the premium television network Showtme.  The shows available […]

June 24, 2013