Advanced Television

Regulation

BBC Chair warns off Ofcom

The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons fired a shot across the bows of regulator Ofcom over the proposals laid out in the regulator’s second review of public service broadcasting. Lyons warned against a “quick fix” and pointed out that it was not in Ofcom’s remit to help plug Channel 4’s funding gap by giving the […]

October 16, 2008

Currie: "Ofcom should rule online"

Outgoing Ofcom chairman David Currie has said that his successor should expect the communications regulator to have an expanded remit with responsibility for stricter control over internet content. Currie said there was an appetite among legislators for putting a tighter rein on the internet now the medium had moved beyond its formative stages. Echoing comments […]

October 16, 2008

BBC Chair warns off Ofcom

The BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons fired a shot across the bows of regulator Ofcom over the proposals laid out in the regulator’s second review of public service broadcasting. Lyons warned against a “quick fix” and pointed out that it was not in Ofcom’s remit to help plug Channel 4’s funding gap by giving the […]

October 16, 2008

Ofcom: TV can run more ads

Ofcom has reiterated it will consider relaxing UK rules governing how many advertisements can be shown in peak time. In its most recent directive on the subject, the European Commission said countries could relax restrictions on advertising "minutage" to permit a maximum of 12 minutes an hour. Ofcom currently allows the PSBs to run seven […]

October 10, 2008

EC: CA is indispensable but should be cross border

In a changing market, it remains essential for the roll-out of pay-TV services that conditional-access systems be protected at European level against piracy. This is the verdict of a new report published from the European Commission. Such protection is also a vital precondition for the growth of new content distribution services like video on demand, […]

October 10, 2008

Ofcom: BSkyB is dominant

Ofcom has said that BSkyB has "market power" over live Premier League football and Hollywood films and has launched a consultation that could force it to make the content available to all other pay TV operators at more competitive prices.Publishing the findings of its review of the UK pay-TV market, Ofcom said that BSkyB has […]

October 1, 2008

BSkyB ITV appeal – they should sell more

In more bad news for BSkyB, the company may have to sell even more of its stake in ITV than it was expecting after the Competition Appeal said an original antitrust ruling may not have been tough enough.With ITV's share price at record lows this would crystallize yet more losses on the deal for BSkyB. […]

October 1, 2008

EC: Telcos must give superfast access

Leading European telecoms companies should give rivals access to their superfast broadband networks, the European Commission has said. But in a draft recommendation for national telecoms regulators, the Commission also highlighted the importance of ensuring that Europe's former fixed-line phone monopolies are able to secure appropriate returns on their high-speed broadband investments.Viviane Reding, European telecoms […]

September 23, 2008

Comcast details shaping

Comcast has provided U.S. regulators details of how it plans to change the way it manages Web traffic over its high speed Internet network without blocking any applications or content.Comcast said that under the plan designed to give all users their “fair share” of bandwidth it would focus on managing the traffic of customers who […]

September 23, 2008

Tiscali latest to slam Kangaroo

Tiscali UK is the latest to see "significant issues and competition concerns" in Project Kangaroo. UK CEO Mary Turner told the Competition Commission's Like other correspondents, Tiscali said TV producers could be forced to grant Kangaroo exclusive VOD rights to their shows or to accept low prices, because the Kangaroo JV partners hold all the […]

September 17, 2008