Discovery Networks International has announced a new senior management structure for its operations in Europe, Middle East & Africa. The new structure organises the European operation geographically into two businesses which cluster those markets in similar stages of development. The Western Europe operation covers 16 markets including the UK, Germany, Southern Europe, Nordic and Benelux […]
UK-based IPTV services provider Vision IPTV will launch its fully featured Internet TV platform at Mipcom. The platform enables broadcasters to create fully interactive television channels online where viewers can view programmes ahead of schedule and catch up on previous programmes, skipping items, while being guided by a scheduled TV channel. Broadcasters can customise the […]
Qatari telco Qtel is running a pilot project that will make HD channels available for free on its IPTV service ‘Mozaic TV+’. The HD channels will be delivered over the fibre-based network which Qtel has installed in the West Bay area, and the first to be offered will be Al Kass Sports HD, Luxe HD, […]
On Demand Group have completed a deal with MBC to provide hundreds of hours of Arabic TV content to UAE’s integrated telecom service provider du’s VOD TV service. In the first subscription VOD and Catch-Up TV deal by MBC – a major free-to-air Middle Eastern TV broadcaster – top TV series will be available to […]
Verizon Communications chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg said he sees parallels between the onset of declining cable TV subscriptions and consumers cutting their phone company landlines. “Cable is probably starting to experience what we experienced five to six years ago (with voice lines), which is the low end is disappearing into other alternatives,” said Seidenberg, […]
News Corp Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey has downplayed the threat of OTT services calling it just “flavour of the month” for investment analysis. Major TV companies have been barraged by questions about the threat of online video after Credit Suisse last week downgraded the entertainment sector, citing the potential for Netflix and other web […]
The European Parliament has adopted a non-legislative report on enforcement of intellectual property rights, calling for tougher application of intellectual rights and copyright harmonisation at the EU level. Meanwhile, civil liberties activists warn that such moves would undermine fundamental freedoms in the bloc. “Online piracy is an infringement of copyright and causes serious economic damage […]
Cable operators say studios are carving out a new and expensive window for 3D, something the TV, DVD and console makers welcome as it helps them sell devices, but which minimises the upside of dedicated 3D channels for operators. In discussions at the CTAM EuroSummit in Budapest, operators said the mass market for 3D content […]
Blockbuster, the world’s biggest movie-rental company, has filed for bankruptcy after failing to adapt its storefront model to online technology pioneered by rivals such as Netflix The company listed assets of $1.02 billion against debt of $1.46 billion on a Chapter 11 petition filed in US Bankruptcy Court in New York. The company said it […]
MTV Networks will launch a high-definition version of Nickelodeon and expand HD services across its portfolio of channels. Nickelodeon HD will launch on October 5th as a simulcast 24-hour channel on the Sky platform. It follows the introduction of an HD version of Comedy Central earlier this year. The UK version of Nickelodeon HD will […]