From David Del Valle in Madrid The Spanish Competition authority's inquiry into pay-TV football rights has forced Mediapro, shareholder in La Sexta and holder of the majority of football TV rights in Spain, to reach a last-minute agreement with Sogecable, owner of Digital Plus and its main rival, to share pay-per-view football TV rights to […]
From Davie Del Valle in Madrid Spanish competition watchdog the CNC has launched an inquiry into media group Mediapro and its pay-TV football channel Gol TV over possible anti-trust practices. The CNC argues that Mediapro may be breaking the competition legislation, damaging the pay-TV market by not reselling its football TV rights to the Spanish […]
The valuations of Asia's leading pay-TV operators are set to climb strongly amid rapid profit growth over the next five years, according to a study by Media Partners Asia (MPA). Profit growth of more than 10 per cent each year until 2015 will be driven by an increase in subscribers and higher revenues from a […]
The English Premier League's latest efforts to block unauthorised streaming of matches in Israel have failed, following a court ruling in favour of free coverage. The EPL was hoping to put a stop to online piracy. However, Israel's Tel Aviv District Court ruled that the website in question was functioning under the principle of "fair […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid While technology companies like Nagravision take up positions in the Spanish pay-TV market following Abertis Telecom’s decision to choose its CAS to secure its DTT platform, pay-DTT content is conspicuous by its absence. The lack of a real pay-DTT offer and the confusion about how to implement it technologically […]
YouTube is reportedly in negotiations with major Hollywood studios for a deal that would see full-length movies on the service. It would put YouTube, owned by Google, in direct competition with services from Netflix, Amazon and Apple, which allow users to buy or rent movies online. YouTube, which already offers some older movies on its […]
ESPN announced it has secured the rights to broadcast the UEFA Europa League for the next three seasons. Formerly known as the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Europa League has a group stage that includes 48 clubs, 10 of which were eliminated in the playoff round of UEFA Champions League qualifiers. The ties will begin on […]
Trender Research, a consumer technology market research and consulting firm, has released a strategic analysis of the over the top (OTT) video industry and its impact on the Pay TV market. The report, entitled "Pay TV and the Growing Over the Top Video Threat", analyses the major trends of online video consumption and how they […]
From Branislav Pekic in Rome Pay-TV subscribers in Western Europe grew by almost 13 per cent to more than 62 million during the year ending March 2009, or over 36 per cent of total TV households, according to the latest market research by Milan-based e-Media consultancy. The fastest growing platform was IPTV, which was up […]
Time Warner Cable and Verizon plan to test systems to offer shows on the Web to their pay TV subscribers following Comcast's example in the TV Everywhere initiative. Pay-TV companies are concerned that the recession-resistant subscription revenue of cable television could be undermined if cable shows became widely available over the Web, effectively cutting out […]