Advanced Television

Articles

Croatia’s Iskon launches TV player

Croatian telecommunications operator Iskon has introduced the Iskon.TV Player which enables reception of TV channels on PCs, as well as on mobile devices connected to the Internet via WiFi or the T-Mobile 3G network, such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices. During the test phase, a total of six TV channels will […]

February 4, 2011From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Sky and Desmond resume news talks

Negotiations between Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell and BSkyB over the Channel 5 news service have recommenced after rival news organisations apparently bid to take over the news supply contract and undercut Sky News. Desmond has indicated he wants to end Sky’s five-year contract to supply the broadcaster’s news bulletins before it expires in 2012 […]

February 4, 2011

Softbank invests in Synacast

Softbank has become the leading shareholder in Synacast, the operator of a leading online television service in China, adding to the list of its investments in Chinese Internet companies. The Japanese mobile carrier has acquired a 35 per cent equity stake in Synacast for about 20 billion yen (€2.2bn) via a private placement. Softbank and […]

February 4, 2011

Humax TV Portal on Freeview+ HD boxes

A new Humax TV Portal will be available on all Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview+ HD boxes, following an over-the-air download running from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th February. The TV Portal offers a gateway to a range of on-demand and Internet TV services, including Flickr, BBC iPlayer, Wiki@TV and Internet radio. Sky Player is expected […]

February 4, 2011

Denmark manager for Fox

Fox International Channels (FIC) Europe, has announced today the promotion of Theis Heitmann as Country Manager for Denmark. In his new post Heitmann will continue to be based in Copenhagen and will be in charge of FIC’s daily operatons and further development in Denmark. He will assume new responsibilities as the main person on this […]

February 4, 2011

EU: No more exclusive territory rights

The European Court of Justice has been advised that BSkyB (and other pay operators across Europe) or rights holders cannot stop pubs (or anyone else) subscribing to foreign TV channels no matter they may carry programmes that another broadcaster has the domestic rights to. The immediate implication is that BSkyB and the English Premier League […]

February 3, 2011

MTV pay catch-up TV

MTV has launched a dedicated UK VOD portal, MTV OD, costing £1 (€1.16) a day or £2 a week with payment options coming via SMS, PayPal and debit card. In the US, viewers can catch up with full MTV episodes on MTV.com for free. At the Digital Content Monetisation conference, MTV Networks International’s digital SVP […]

February 3, 2011

Hulu chief trashes traditional TV

Jason Kilar, the chief executive of Hulu has criticised their traditional television business model. In a blog Kilar said “traditional TV has too many ads” while Hulu’s advertising is “twice as effective as traditional TV video advertising”. Kilar continued “In the near to mid term, we anticipate being able to generate higher advertising returns than […]

February 3, 2011

Buy-out group in ProSieben channels bid

US private equity group Hellman & Friedman has teamed up with Patrick Tillieux, the former head of SBS Broadcasting, to bid for the Benelux and Nordic television channels he used to run, which are being sold by Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1. The €2 billion+ auction is still in its early stages, according to ProSieben. As many as […]

February 3, 2011

Viacom earnings sink

In contrast to the growth at News Corp and Time Warner, Viacom’s 1st quarter earnings fell.  Net earnings were $610 million, down 12 per cent from $694 million. Revenues fell 5 per cent to $3.8 billion. Viacom’s Media Networks group, which includes MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Nickelodeon, reported a 7 per cent increase in […]

February 3, 2011