Advanced Television

Broadcast

Oliart, new president of RTVE

From David Del Valle in Madrid A former minister of Defense, Alberto Oliart, aged 81, will be the new president of the state-owned TV group RTVE following the resignation next Friday of Luis Fernandez, the first president of the pubcaster elected by Parliament in 2007. One of his main challenges at the helm of RTVE […]

November 13, 2009

Disney wants pay TV Everywhere

Speaking on the company's fourth quarter earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger outlined his his disagreements with TV Everywhere. "What we've heard suggests that interest in charging the consumer for greater access isn't a priority and we think it should be," he added that, "if we go to a world of authentication we shouldn't be […]

November 13, 2009

MTV extends relationship with BSkyB

MTV Networks International (MTVNI), and BSkyB have concluded two agreements which further strengthen the relationship between the two companies. MTVNI has appointed Sky Media as its exclusive advertising sales representative. Under the agreement, Sky Media will manage MTVNI's advertising sales in the UK and Ireland for all its pay TV services across music, kids and […]

November 13, 2009

Telefonica ups pay-TV 15%

Telefónica increased its pay-TV subscriber base by 15% to 2.5 million in the 12 months to the end of September. The bulk of its pay-TV business remains in Latin America where it has over 1.7 million TV customers, up 15.9% year-on-year with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. In Spain, the operator […]

November 13, 2009

Sky Deutschland losses widen

Slow subscriber growth hit shares in Sky Deutschland even as the German pay-TV broadcaster reiterated it aimed to be profitable by 2011 after a sweeping restructuring. The company rebranded itself from Premiere to Sky Deutschland in July and launched a huge marketing campaign to win more customers in Europe’s largest TV market. That drive, as […]

November 13, 2009

Highfield: MSN Video to be available after Christmas

MSN Video, Microsoft’s long-form video platform, will come out of its testing phase and be fully available to consumers after Christmas. Ashley Highfield, Microsoft’s managing director and vice- president consumer and online, UK, said he planned a full rollout of MSN Video after Christmas, in response to “a real demand for MSN Video from agencies […]

November 13, 2009

Online movie and TV viewing doubles in 2009

The number of US broadband households watching premium online content, including movies and TV shows via the Internet, doubled in the last year, according to a study from Parks Associates. Currently over 25 million US broadband households regularly watch full-length TV shows online, while over 20 million watch movies online. It says this shift highlights […]

November 13, 2009

ITV and Hulu content and equity deal?

ITV and Hulu are to sign a deal allowing the platform to distribute full-length ITV shows- some exclusively. As part of the deal ITV will gain an equity stake in Hulu UK, understood to be about 25%. Hulu’s parent company is owned equally by Disney, NBC Universal, Providence Equity and News Corp. ITV is the […]

November 13, 2009

Dish tries to trademark ‘TV Everywhere’

Dish Network has filed for trademark protection on “TV Everywhere,” which the satellite operator plans to use for its forthcoming Slingbox-enabled set-top box. Dish filed the “TV Everywhere” trademark application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Among other things, the filing covers “television transmission services” as well as “providing access to electronic sites for […]

November 13, 2009

RTL reports 6.4% fall in revenue – ads improve

RTL, owner of Channel Five, has reported that revenue declined 6.4 per cent to E1.1 billion in the three months to the end of September. Despite the decline, the pan-European broadcaster and producer – which is majority-owned by German media group Bertelsmann – said that the TV advertising outlook has been improving since late summer. […]

November 13, 2009