A Judicial Review of the terms of the UK Digital Economy Act brought by BT and TalkTalk has been thrown out by the High Court. The Court rejected claims that Parliament had overstepped it powers with anti-piracy measures. The ISPs’ only win was that Justice Kenneth Parker upheld one of the objections, relating to who […]
In a move designed to position it for the next stage in the Internet-driven revolution in home entertainment, supermarket chain Tesco has acquired a majority stake in video-on-demand pioneer blinkbox. blinkbox is the UK’s leading movie streaming service, offering thousands of titles streamed on the internet to 2m users each month. Their catalogue of more […]
Virgin Media grew its turnover 5.7 per cent to £982 million (€1.13bn) in the first quarter and ARPU was up 2.6 per cent YonY to £46.16 (though this was down on Q4 2010). However the company added only 20,200 new subscribers, 47 per cent down on Q1 of 2010, and the TV service added just […]
Japan’s communications ministry has said it will delay a complete shift to digital terrestrial television broadcasts in the three prefectures most severely stricken by the March 11 quake and ensuing tsunami by up to one year from the initially planned July 24. The tsunami swept away numerous facilities for receiving such broadcasts in Iwate, Miyagi […]
German commercial broadcaster ProSieben/Sat1 has sold its Dutch and Belgian stations to a consortium led by Finnish media group Sanoma along with Endemol founder John de Mol. The consortium has paid €1.23bn ($1.76bn) for SBS6, Net5 and Veronica. Munich-based Pro7/Sat1 acquired the stations in 2007 when it bought SBS Broadcasting. The sale completes the asset […]
Virgin Media is to begin testing internet speeds of up to 1.5Gb in east London. Using Virgin Media’s unique cable network, the trials will begin this month in partnership with four companies in the vicinity of Old Street in London, dubbed the ‘Silicon Roundabout’. If successful the 1.5Gb download and 150Mb upload service will be […]
News Corp is understood to be considering joining a consortium bid for Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, reports the Financial Times, quoting people familiar with the matter. The sport has been owned since 2005 by CVC Capital Partners. Although there has been no indication that the private equity group is looking to sell, there […]
DirecTV has made its premium VoD plans official, becoming the first pay TV service in the US to offer early-release movies about 60 days after their theatrical debut. The company said it will launch its early release offering of films in partnership with four big studios with Sony’s Just Go With It this week. The […]
Sky’s technology focus this year will be on companion devices – tablets, smartphones etc, with road map of further apps. Speaking to TechRadar Sky technology chief Brian Lenz said the company sees companion devices as a great way of increasing viewer interaction without distracting from the main activity of TV viewing. “We have been learning […]
Consumers will spend more than $1 billion on Internet Radio and Connected Home Audio Devices (CHAD) in 2011, according to the latest study from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service. The report, “Internet Radio and Connected Home Audio Devices: Connecting Homes with Music,” found that total unit sales of global connected in-home audio device […]