John Smith, the chief executive of BBC Worldwide said the international iPlayer would open up the “under-exploited” market for UK shows but executives have yet to decide whether to include advertising or charge for access. The BBC estimates that global audiences would pay up to $10 for an episode of its most popular shows. Luke […]
It has been revealed BBC director-general Mark Thompson had to apologise to the BBC Trust for signing the open letter criticising News Corp’s bid for Sky and asking the UK government to intervene (as they now have). The BBC Trust “expressed concern” about whether it was “appropriate” for Thompson to sign the controversial letter which […]
Eutelsat Communications has confirmed that Nilesat, the Egyptian satellite company, has signed a 10-year contract for five transponders at the 7° West orbital position. The capacity will be activated in the first phase on Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 4A satellite, and subsequently transferred to Atlantic Bird 7 which is scheduled for launch and deployment at 7° […]
Platform ‘n’, the leading DTH service in Poland, has brought more viewing choice to its subscribers with the addition of AXN HD, a new channel featuring the AXN experience in high-definition. The news—announced today by Platform ‘n’ Chief Operating Officer Christian Anting—represents the operator’s continued commitment to expand its high-definition offerings. Owned by Sony Entertainment […]
Since last August 29, sports have a new window on the Spanish DTT with Marca TV. The FIBA World Championship opening ceremony was the starting signal for this new channel, which showed all the games on widescreen format, for free on open TV, offering daily full 24 hour coverage of the tournament. Marca TV has […]
US satellite broadcaster Dish Network reported total revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter ended September 30th, 2010, a 10.9 per cent increase compared with $2.89 billion for the corresponding period in 2009. Net income attributable to common shareholders totalled $245 million for the quarter compared with $81 million during the corresponding period in 2009. […]
In Q3-2010, net subscriber addition in the global pay-TV market increased 2 per cent over Q2-2010 according to ABI Research’s pay-TV market data. “The global number of pay-TV subscribers reached 692 million in the third quarter of 2010,” reported ABI Research practice director Jason Blackwell. “Pay-TV subscriber growth is holding steady in a number of […]
Results conferences have given media conglomerate chiefs to respond to analyst fears that OTT services will see their subscription bases decline because of cord cutting. Time Warner did allow that it predicted subscribers to HBO will fall by about 1.5 million by the end of 2010, but stressed that they did not believe the reason […]
By any measure Paris-based Eutelsat’s latest numbers (for its Q1 to Sept 30) are impressive. Overall revenues are up 12.9 per cent to €285.6 million, while all its divisional metrics are also in extremely positive territory. Video is up 8.1 per cent, Data and value-added revenues are up 23.5 per cent and Eutelsat’s “multi-usage” division […]
Vince Cable, the UK Business Secretary, has issued an intervention notice on News Corp’s bid to acquire the 61 per cent of BSkyB shares that it does not already own. The notice requires that Ofcom investigates the public interest consideration of media plurality and submits a report by December 31st. The European Commission will investigate […]