The Commission has moved to the second phase of an infringement proceeding against the UK over failure to provide its citizens with the full protection of EU rules on privacy and personal data protection when using electronic communications. The action stems from complaints over BT's trial of the Phorm targeted advertising system. "People’s privacy and […]
Cox Communications is expected to command close to a billion dollars for the Travel Channel. The company is entertaining bids from a number of media companies, including the News Corporation and Scripps Networks and, reportedly, at least one of the offers exceeds $900 million. When Cox was first approached about a potential sale in June, […]
The head of a company that tracks online piracy has suggested that the motion picture industry’s own policies are at least partially to blame for the surge in illegal downloading — especially overseas, where films are often released weeks – sometimes months – after they are available in the US. Eric Garland, the CEO of […]
The Kudelski Group has issued a letter to OpenTV shareholders regarding the tender offer commenced by Kudelski in October valuing Open at $215 million. It states: "We firmly believe that our cash offer provides OpenTV shareholders immediate liquidity at a superior value to OpenTV's future prospects, particularly given the Company's current scale and R&D challenges […]
Apple has launched its new Apple TV 3.0 software featuring a redesigned main menu that makes navigating content simpler, and makes accessing the selection of on-demand HD movie rentals and purchases, HD TV shows, music and podcasts from the iTunes Store even faster through their TV. Users can now watch iTunes Extras and iTunes LP […]
By 2014, 50 per cent of households in France will subscribe to a triple-play offer as operators invest in FTTH to stay competitive, according to a report from Pyramid Research, the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network. “Pyramid forecasts that 30 per cent of households in France will subscribe to a triple-play […]
Conax is planning to launch its security hosting model, already successful in Europe, in Latin America. The security hosting model, geared towards all segments, provides TV operations with an easy way to "go digital". Through the Conax model, approved hosting partners are able to offer full-scale security advantages at favourable pricing models to smaller operators, […]
BSkyB has launched its High Court appeal against the Competition Commission ruling forcing it to reduce its 17.9 percent stake in free-to-air broadcaster ITV to below 7.5%. BSkyB’s counsel told the Court of Appeal it will dispute the scope and depth of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (where Sky already lost one appeal) review, and questioned […]
Virgin Media beat analysts’ forecasts for the third quarter, adding 8,100 net new cable TV households and boosting revenues by 1.3 per cent to £953 million (E1.06bn). The cable operator reported a year-on-year increase in operating cash flow of 6.8 per cent to £348 million for the quarter. Virgin Media added 37,000 customers to its […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid Pirates are targeting Spanish pay DTT. The Spanish police have seized 21,000 illegal DTT devices in the port of Algeciras, in the south of Spain. Imported from China the decoders could theoretically have cost operators E630,890 of subscriptions. Two companies, one Chinese and the other Spanish, have been targeted […]