From Colin Mann in London Free-market policy research body The Adam Smith Institute is proposing that the TV Licence Fee should be abolished, and that the BBC should instead become a subscription service. The think tank makes its arguments in a report – Global Player or Subsidy Junkie? Decision time for the BBC – written […]
I wonder if Rupert Murdoch allows himself an ironic chuckle that while the UK government (in common with virtually all its counterparts) is preparing legislation to punish consumers and distributors for stealing content rights, its regulator is forcing Sky to handover those rights (or the product of them) for a discounted price. I imagine Murdoch […]
By a party-line split vote of 3 to 2 the FCC has moved toward giving itself the authority to regulate the transmission component of broadband service, a power the commission's Democratic majority believes is central to expanding the availability of broadband. The next step is invite public comment on the proposal to overturn a previous […]
Mediaset, which has been ordered to repay millions of Euros it had received in state aid relating to DTT set-top box subsidies (see ATV 16/06/10), will appeal the European General Court's decision. Mediaset will appeal to the European Court of Justice and say that the subsidies were provided direct to consumers and not to broadcasters, […]
Broadband subscription growth took an upswing during the first quarter of 2010, supported in part by healthy DSL growth in every region, strong fibre rollouts in Asia and aggressive IPTV service offerings. Figures from the Broadband Forum show that global broadband lines now top 484 million lines (484,788,597), representing a 3.12 per cent growth in […]
The European Union’s court has thrown out an appeal from a digital-TV company owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, ordering it and other broadcasters to pay back possibly millions of Euros in illegal state aid. The ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) orders his government to claim money back from his family’s […]
France’s Autorité de la Concurrence has removed restrictions which previously barred France Telecom (FT) selling 'quadruple-play' bundles of fixed and mobile services. The conditions were originally placed on the state company more than ten years ago when the market was being opened up to competition. As a result of the relaxation of rules, FT will […]
Ofcom has agreed to allow the BBC to restrict access to the EPG for Freeview HD programming. The BBC plans to restrict access to manufacturers of STBs and integrated Freeview HD TV’s that include copy protection technology. This technology will allow broadcasters to control the multiple copying of HD content and its retransmission over the […]
TVCatchup, a website for watching live TV online, is facing a legal challenge from broadcasters as it prepares for the World Cup. Record numbers of people are expected to turn to the web to watch the football tournament, particularly those at work when matches are broadcast. But ITV, Channel 4 and Five have issued legal […]
Virgin Media says Ofcom has been too lenient with BskyB and has lodged an appeal against the broadcasting regulator's efforts to set fair prices for the market in Premier League football coverage. In its case to the Competition Appeals Tribunal, the cabler challenges Ofcom's wholesale pricing regime set for BSkyB's Sky Sports 1 and 2 […]