From Branislav Pekic in Rome In order to boost the transition to digital terrestrial, Italy's Communications Ministry passed a new decree linked to the 2008 Budget. It establishes that the last analogue TV set in Italy will be sold in June 2009, although manufacturers will have to stop supplying analogue TV sets to distributers by […]
BSkyB could take legal action if it is forced into a loss-making sale of its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV after the Competition Commission said the shareholding was anti-competitive. Although it will be up to the business and regulatory reform minister to decide on what remedy to prescribe when he receives the final report, […]
From David del Valle in Madrid The Spanish football TV war is intensifying with regional TV channel TV3 suing Sogecable for having prevented it from broadcasting free to air a recent match between the teams Real Madrid and Betis. TV3 is a shareholder of Audiovisual Sport, the company controlled by Sogecable that manages and operates […]
As IPTV services emerge, telecom companies face a fairly saturated pay-TV market in the U.S, as 82 per cent of all US households reported having a pay-TV subscription in 2006. According to a recent survey by Gartner, this is forecast to increase to 84 per cent by the end of 2011. While there are a […]
The Motion Picture Assn. of America has filed suit against two Web sites that it claims are allowing Internet users to view pirated films, many of which are still in theatres. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the major studios, seeks to shut cinematube.net and ssupload.com from further infringing on the copyrights of the MPAA […]
Existing broadband networks would be unable to cope with future bandwidth-hungry applications such as high-definition television, Ofcom has warned, as it unveiled proposals to encourage investment in ultra-fast networks. Ed Richards, CEO, said that it was possible that companies other than BT, the former state fixed-line phone monopoly, and Virgin Media, the cable TV group, […]
Icstis, the UK's premium-rate phone regulator, has issued a record £250,000 (E360,050) fine over fraudulent phone-in competitions on ITV show GMTV that 18 million callers entered but had no chance of winning. Icstis imposed the maximum penalty on phone company Opera Telecom, after it found the revenue generated by callers who could not have won […]
Some cable subscribers are suing to get their programming a la carte. A multimillion-dollar class-action suit has been filed against the major cable programmers and operators for violating antitrust laws by bundling programming in expanded basic tiers. In a suit filed by veteran antitrust attorney Maxwell Blecher on behalf of 14 cable and satellite subscribers […]
Ofcom's Market Impact Assessment (MIA) has ruled that the BBC's plans to introduce a new mixed genre digital TV channel in high definition format, available free-to-view without advertising, is unlikely to have significant negative market impacts. Audiences would have the opportunity to access the BBC's proposed HD channel on all digital television platforms – digital […]
Canada’s broadcasting regulator should give more flexibility to cable operators and television stations on advertising, Canadian content and channel packages, according to a report commissioned by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The study will feed into the federal regulator’s public consultations next year on speciality and pay channels and cable and satellites services. Lawyers […]