Advanced Television

Articles

Cartoon Network head stepping down

Time Warner’s Turner Animation president and COO Stu Snyder will leave his position at the end of the month. Snyder has overseen Cartoon Network and Time Warner’s animation division for six years. Snyder said: “It is with mixed emotions that I share with you the news that I will be leaving the company at the […]

March 7, 2014

RRsat building up sports transmissions

Israel-based RRsat Global Communications is expanding its sports and live events coverage. It recently bought a London facilities house (JCA TV) in order to boost its European contacts, and RRsat’s CEO Avi Cohen, talking to analysts on his company’s earnings call, said that the JCA deal “positioned us in the heart of content creators in […]

March 7, 2014By Chris Forrester

Satmex adopts Eutelsat brand

Eutelsat Communicationshas announced that Satmex, a provider of fixed satellites services in the Americas, that joined the group in January this year has been renamed Eutelsat Americas. With headquarters in Mexico City and satellite control facilities in Hermosillo and Mexico City, Eutelsat Americas is a key platform for growth across the region. As part of […]

March 7, 2014

Telefonica close to Canal Plus purchase

Telefonica is close to finalising a deal to buy Prisa’s controlling 56 per cent stake in pay-TV platform Canal Plus for around €800 million. Telefonica would become the largest pay-TV group in Spain with almost 2.3 million subscribers between Canal Plus (1.62 million) and Movistar TV (650,000). Telefonica would control a 78 per cent stake […]

March 6, 2014From David Del Valle in Madrid


Freesat plans IDTV

UK free-to-air DTH satellite platform Freesat is to build on recent innovations such as its launch of a mobile companion app and the September 2012 launch of its <Free Time> smart EPG by launching on Integrated Digital TV (IDTV) sets. Addressing a Westminster Forum Keynote Seminar on the prospects for the UK television market, Emma […]

March 6, 2014By Colin Mann

Bouygues bids for SFR

French construction and telecommunications group Bouygues, has offered €10.5 billion cash for Vivendi’s SFR unit, setting up a bidding war with billionaire Patrick Drahi’s Altice group and potentially creating a phone carrier to rival Orange. Bouygues said its offer, which includes assets at the Bouygues Telecom unit and is fully backed by financing from HSBC, […]

March 6, 2014

BBC3 to move online in 2015

The BBC has confirmed plans, subject to the approval of the BBC Trust, to close BBC Three as a broadcast TV channel in autumn 2015. If the plans go ahead, BBC Three would then be reinvented as a new online service, and the freed-up spectrum would be used to extend CBBC by an hour a night […]

March 6, 2014

Millennials expect digital media on their own terms

Verizon Digital Media Services has attempted to answer two key questions by undertaking a two-part research project about the entertainment habits of the millennial generation: What do millennials want when it comes to online viewing, and what should broadcasters know to improve their chances in this market? Among the findings: Millennials are extremely sensitive to […]

March 6, 2014

Zon Optimus gives up legal action on DTT licence

Portuguese telco Zon Optimus has decided to drop a lawsuit against the tender process to operate the fifth free-to-air DTT channel in Portugal. The court action was filed in 2009 against the decision of the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) to reject all bids submitted on the tender. At the time, the ERC ruled […]

March 6, 2014From Branislav Pekic in Rome

RTL profits up 45%

RTL Group has reported net profits up 45.7 per cent to €870 million for 2013. Europe’s largest broadcast network saw revenue drop 1.8 per cent to €5.89 billion as higher revenues from RTL Netherlands and RTL Germany were offset by lower revenue from FremantleMedia – its production arm which distributes talent shows including “Idol” and […]

March 6, 2014