Harmonic has revealed that SKY Italia, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp, has deployed Harmonic's compression and IP-based statistical multiplexing solutions for its direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service. Serving 4.5 million subscribers, SKY Italia is Italy’s leading payTV operator and the fifth largest satellite provider worldwide. The new headend architecture encompasses Harmonic’s DiviCom Electra […]
From Colin Mann in Cologne Media and entertainment technologist has unveiled its SmartVision video services platform for cable operators launching On Demand services. Previously available for IPTV platforms, the solution has extended its supported infrastructures to include cable. “Thomson brings to cable operators a comprehensive solution for Video On Demand that benefits from the rich […]
Channel 4 Radio is hoping a new electronic device that enables mobile phone users to plug into digital radio will rescue digital audio broadcasting. The broadcaster, set to launch digital station E4 Radio this year, is in talks with electronics manufacturers to create a branded plug-in DAB device for iPods and mobile phones. The broadcaster […]
Cable TV and satellite operator Turksat has chosen to deploy a Conax CAS7 conditional access solution for the new Turksat DTV platform. The unique cable operator in Turkey, Turksat serves over 1.7 million homes across the region. Partnering between Broadcast Group Turkey and Conax to deploy a content security solution will enable Turksat to focus […]
From Colin Mann in Cologne The German cable industry is going through “seismic shifts” and will need to consolidate, according to Unitymedia Group CEO Parm Sandhu. Participating in the CEO Strategy Summit at the ANGA Cable Congress, he told delegates that the industry needed to face up to a very different reality. “We're competing with […]
German pay-TV station Premiere has named two investment banks to represent the interest of all shareholders should News Corp make a takeover offer. Chief Executive Michael Boernicke said while News has raised its stake to 25.01 per cent he had no indication whether they intended to lift their stake to 30 per cent and trigger […]
Hardware makers are meeting politicians and copyright societies to discuss introducing a Europe-wide levy on media devices, offsetting revenue apparently lost from personal copying. Since 2001, 22 of Europe's 27 countries have made technology manufacturers pay the surcharge on products that allow music, books, movies and other copyrighted content to be copied. Now the European […]
A $1 billion dollar lawsuit against YouTube threatens Internet freedom, according to its owner Google. Viacom is suing the video sharing service for its inability to keep copyrighted material off its' site, it says it has identified 150,000 unauthorised clips on YouTube. In court documents Google’s lawyers say the action “threatens the way hundreds of […]
Northern & Shell's adult channels saw profits dip from £11.5 million to £8.26 million (E10.3m) as its channels faced competiton from so-called 'Babe' channels where FTA programmes encourage premium rate phone calls. The company says it expects Ofcom's forthcoming crackdown on these channels will see revenues recover. The group also said a flotation of the […]
South Africa's MTN is considering a reverse takeover of India's Reliance Communications as part of talks to combine the pair and create an emerging markets telecoms giant. The proposal would follow the same structure as one abruptly rejected at the weekend by Bharti Airtel, India's biggest mobile operator by sales, which until last week was […]