Egypt’s public broadcaster, the Egyptian Radio & Television Union (ERTU), has been technically bankrupt for many years. It has been kept afloat by annual handouts from the Egyptian government. Rumours have circulated that the government is contemplating placing a supplementary tax on electricity bills in order to fund the broadcaster, and pay for expansion and […]
India’s telecoms regulator (TRAI) has lodged an application before the Bombay High Court for a New Tariff Order. This is the second attempt by TRAI to see consumers protected from what it alleges could be “deceptive” practices by cable operators. TRAI had initiated a similar action a year ago but was thwarted by local cable […]
FreeWheel, a Comcast company, has appointed Yuling Ma as its new chief technology officer. In her new position, Ma will lead the development and operation of FreeWheel’s technology platform and network operations and the company’s global engineering team spanning the US, Europe and China. She will also play a vital role in accelerating the company’s […]
A report from investment bank Jefferies says that despite Vivendi’s plan to spin-off its Universal Music Group (UMG) before the end of the year – and to distribute 60 per cent of the new share capital to existing Vivendi shareholders – their overall view is that Vivendi’s current share price is “fully valued”. “Even adopting […]
Plume, the company behind the smart home service offerings of more than 170 Communications Service Providers (CSPs) served to more than 22 million households across the globe, today announced that it has closed a $270 million minority investment from global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners. This Series E round at a $1.35 billion […]
Discovery, the multichannel programmer, has reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31st 2020. Total revenues for 2020 were $10.6 billion (€8.7bn), down 4 per cent. US advertising revenues decreased 5 per cent and distribution revenues increased 4 per cent (or increased 3 per cent excluding certain non-recurring items recognised in the […]
For telecom operators and service providers seeking to roll out future-proofed fibre-grade services, open standards development organisation Broadband Forum has published its latest technical report to help ensure that homes and businesses have access to faster, more reliable broadband connectivity by harnessing the copper infrastructure. The TR-419 (Fiber Access Extension over Existing Copper Infrastructure) report […]
DVB has approved an update to the DVB Targeted Advertising spec to include watermarking as an alternative way to signal where content can be inserted in a broadcast, and a solution to enable in-home redistribution of broadcast TV services to IP devices called DVB Home Broadcast. The watermark spec was created as a way for […]
California Democrat Representatives Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney have written to cable, satellite and streaming companies calling on them to better combat disinformation – and they name Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network as culprits. Both signatories are both on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee. The letter doesn’t call for the […]
US pay-TV broadcaster DISH Network has reported revenue totalling $4.56 billion (€3.7bn) for the quarter ending December 31st 2020, compared to $3.24 billion for the corresponding period in 2019. Net income attributable to DISH Network totalled $733 million for the fourth quarter 2020, compared to $389 million from the year-ago quarter. Net pay-TV subscribers decreased […]