A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers has introduced legislation aimed at curbing online piracy and counterfeiting on foreign websites, following the May 2011 introduction of similar legislation by the Senate. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (Republican, Texas) along with ranking member John Conyers (Democrat, Michigan) and Bob Goodlatte (Republican, Virginia), Chairman of […]
Paramount Pictures has inked a multi-year content deal for Germany with LOVEFiLM, Europe’s leading online entertainment subscription service. The agreement provides LOVEFiLM subscribers in Germany exclusive streaming access to Paramount titles during the first subscription TV window beginning this autumn. The deal gives LOVEFiLM members in Germany access to Paramount’s upcoming titles before any other […]
Warner Brothers has stopped supplying discs of its latest releases to Blockbuster after the DVD rental chain refused to agree to a 28-day delay between the films going on sale and their availability to rent. The move is the first step taken by Warner Bros to stimulate retail sales and make owning film content more […]
Italy’s Marche Region has asked for a postponement of the transition to Digital Terrestrial Television until at least 2012. The request was made by the Region’s president, Gian Mario Spacca, in a letter addressed to the Minister for Economic Development, Paolo Romani, and to the president of the Communications Authority (AgCom), Corrado Calibre. The postponement, […]
BBC Sport has agreed a three-year extension to its current contract as host broadcaster and UK rights holder, extending its relationship with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to 90 years. The new deal will continue to give audiences access to the tournament across all platforms including TV, radio, online, red button, mobile and tablet. […]
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) has confirmed the launch of High TV 3D, a 24/7 channel for the Nordic region, on TSBc’s THOR 6 satellite, located at 1 degree West, one of Europe’s fastest-growing orbital hotspots. High TV 3D will initially reach audiences in Norway only and will distributed to viewers via Canal Digital’s DTH satellite-TV […]
French set-top box maker Technicolor, (which used to trade as Thomson) saw revenues fall back significantly in Q3, at €837 million, down nine per cent y-o-y. Technicolor’s technology-based revenues slumped 25 per cent when compared to last year’s same quarter. Its Entertainment division, which includes elements such as digital cinema, grew 6.2 per cent, helped […]
Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has called on the technology and creative communities to build on their partnership to keep the movie industry strong and combat the threat of piracy. Delivering the keynote address at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ (SMPTE) Annual […]
Sony and Ericsson have revealed that Sony will acquire Ericsson’s 50 per cent stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, making the mobile handset business a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. The transaction gives Sony an opportunity rapidly to integrate smartphones into its broad array of network-connected consumer electronics devices – including tablets, televisions and personal […]
BigBand Networks has unveiled its IP-based targeted advertising application. Operators using the application can increase advertising revenue generated from live TV that is delivered to both STBs and IP-connected devices. With its patented virtual zoning technique, BigBand has created a method for digital TV service providers to deliver ads based on targeting criteria most attractive […]