A group comprising members of the House of Lords, academics, campaigners and trade unionists has written an open letter to the Financial Times urging Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, to refer News Corp’s bid to acquire the 61 per cent of BSkyB that it does not already own to the Competition Commission. The letter’s signatories […]
In the latest move to bring its widely recognised and trusted classifications to the world of digitally distributed content, every VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray title classified by film classification body the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) since 1985 has been given a digital certificate. Since 2008, the BBFC has been working with the UK […]
Irdeto, the global expert in securing and delivering content and digital assets, has been awarded the latest Class A certification from the State Administration for Radio Film and Television (SARFT). Irdeto is the first international technology company to receive this certification, which mandates increased levels of specification for providers of conditional access (CA) systems in […]
A report from the European Commission (EC) has suggested that rates of intellectual property infringement in the EU are “alarming”, and accepts that while an EU law on IP rights has had some effect, the legal measure was not designed to deal with online piracy. According to the EC, current laws are not strong enough […]
Video-sharing sites such as YouTube could be subject to the same regulations as traditional broadcast television, according to controversial rulings by the Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM). Two rulings published by the Communications Authority state that some streaming and on-demand video sites would require a government licence to operate and be subject to similar editorial controls […]
BT’s New Year introduction of Content Connect has come under immediate fire from Internet groups who claim it implements a two tier service which is anti- net neutrality. The new service allows Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that use BT’s network to charge content firms for high-speed delivery of video. “This is a sea change in […]
Spain’s Supreme Court has come down in favour of the tax imposed on telcos to finance national public broadcaster RTVE a year after it was stopped from selling commercial advertising. Telefónica, Vodafone and Ono had petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the telco tax – 0.9 per cent of turnover – on the basis it […]
American voters believe free market competition will protect Internet users more than government regulation and fear that regulation will be used to push a political agenda. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 21 per cent of Likely US Voters want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the Internet as it […]
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has revealed that he will vote to approve the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal as long as certain conditions are met. Julius Genachowski December 23 issued a draft order of approval for the merger on the condition that the companies promise to share TV shows not […]
We all have moments we wish we had kept out thoughts to ourselves rather letting their assumed importance persuade us to share them with the world in general. Over sharing is an affliction common to politicians (and, of course, bloggers and columnists – but then that is rather their point). Vince Cable is paying a […]