Spain’s Telefonica is still interested in being a minority partner in the pay-TV group Digital+ the company’s chief operating officer Julio Linares has said. Telefonica previously tabled an offer for Prisa’s Digital+ along with the French group in partnership with Viviendi, but the bid was rejected by Prisa as being too low. Linares said Telefonica […]
In contrast to rival ISPs Sky has backed the content industry's calls to introduce suspension of service for suspected file-sharers. In response to this week's government request for proposals about how it should tackle file-sharing, Sky said it would apply technical measures to file-sharers' internet accounts provided they could be proved guilty. "It makes sense […]
Italian public broadcaster RAI risks being fined up to E90 million, or about 3 per cent of its annual turnover, for irregularities in procedures following the exit from DTH platform Sky Italia. Under examination is the continued encryption of its programmes on satellite which is prohibited by the rules of public service. At the moment, […]
Following up James Murdoch's contention that the BBC's ubiquity online will threaten the pluralism of available news, Five CEO Dawn Airey has said the BBC should charge viewers for iPlayer and other online content otherwise commercial rivals will be crippled. Airey said, "perhaps the BBC should go back to having a couple of big broadcast […]
The strong performance of the Canal+ Group helped Vivendi beat first half forecasts. The premium channel group added 94,000 new subscriptions with the figures adjusted to take into account the merger with the TPS platform. The group has accelerated the migration of the remaining analogue subscribers, with 240,000 upgrades since January 2009 taking it ahead […]
Disney is betting on Content as King, paying $4bn for Marvel Entertainment in a shares and cash deal. Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, if the deal is approved by Marvel shareholders and competition regulators. “We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth […]
SeaChange International, provider of software and hardware solutions for VOD television, has confirmed the acquisition of eventIS Group – a privately owned Netherlands-based company that provides VOD and linear broadcast software and related services to cable television and telecommunication companies primarily in Europe.
ARRIS has acquired certain assets of EG Technology, an Atlanta-based company for approximately $6.5 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Arris acquired EGT patents and video processing technology for digital networks, and will employ approximately 20-25 of the existing employees. The acquisition complements ARRIS video offerings by adding multi-functional, flexible, and scalable video processors […]
German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) added 23,000 digital pay-TV subs during the 12 months to the end of June, a 2.8% increase on the previous year for a total of 842,000 digital pay-TV RGUs at the end of the first half of the year. The proportion of subscribers taking premium services, including pay-TV, DVR […]
The Kudelski Group owner of Nagravision and major shareholder in Open TV, has released its half year 2009 results. During this period, the Group says it started to reap the fruits of the migration of a significant share of its digital TV conditional access deployed base to the service model. In 2008, the Group delivered […]