Advanced Television

Policy

BSkyB wins BT ad argument

BSKyB has won its long-running battle with BT after Ofcom ruled it was right to refuse to broadcast BT Sport ads on its own sports channels. Ofcom says Sky has the right to protect its brand and was not unduly discriminating against its rival. BT’s complaint was lodged in April after Sky Media refused to […]

June 20, 2013

Intelsat suspends Iranian TV channels

Intelsat says it is recognising a US ruling in favour of formal sanctions against Iran, and in particular against the president of Iran’s national broadcasting corporation (IRIB).  The decision also means that Press TV, an English-language news channel broadcast from Tehran, is also curtailed. Intelsat says that it has been ordered by the US government […]

June 20, 2013By Chris Forrester

Ofcom investigates Sky Sports YouView deal

Ofcom has confirmed it will launch an investigation into BSkyB over the wholesale supply of its sports channels after a complaint from rival BT. Ofcom said the probe would centre on BT’s claims that the terms on which Sky offered its sports channels, Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, to BT’s YouView platform amounted […]

June 19, 2013

EC: Spain DTT must pay back €260m subsidies

The Spanish DTT platform operators must pay back €260 million in state subsidies following the European Commission ruling that the financial aid scheme approved by the Spanish Government to extend DTT across the whole country is in breach of the European legislation. Brussels has concluded that the DTT subsides are illegal as they favoured the […]

June 19, 2013From David Del Valle in Madrid

Portugal: Football League opposes Sport TV structure

The Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) is considering filing a complaint to the European Union against the joint control of Sport TV by Portugal Telecom and Zon Multimedia. The move was announced by LPFP president, Mário Figueiredo, during a Parliamentary hearing with the members of the Committee for Ethics, Citizenship and Communication. During the meeting, […]

June 19, 2013From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Cut ‘Baba and Guru’ shows, rules India regulator

Indian TV contains very many shows where the ‘anchor’ is a holy man, or guru, and who claim a special ability to make mystical forecasts. Baba Ramdev is one such figure with his own regular TV shows and the ability to draw thousands of devotees to public appearances. His TV ratings measure as high as […]

June 19, 2013By Chris Forrester

ERT back on air, probably

Greek public broadcaster ERT is expected to be back on the air before June 19th. An Athens court ruled that the closure action by one of the members of the coalition government was illegal. ERT’s three channels went off the air a week ago but web-based ‘broadcasts’ have continued. The court said a plan by […]

June 18, 2013By Chris Forrester

France seeks movies, digital media free trade exclusion

France has threatened to block the start of free trade talks between the European Union and the United States if movies and digital media are not kept out the negotiations. On the eve of EU countries supposedly giving the go-ahead for the talks, France said it would veto them unless the sector, which it sees […]

June 17, 2013By Colin Mann

Belarus bans satellite dishes

Belarus has banned satellite dishes on apartment blocks and city buildings.  A letter was sent out last week to citizens of its capital city Minsk, reminding them that in accordance with a ruling of May 16th and adopted by the Council of Ministers individual are forbidden to install satellite equipment. A fine of up to […]

June 17, 2013By Chris Forrester

EBU gets ERT back on air

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has taken the step of putting Greek broadcaster ERT’s news coverage back on air, allowing Greek satellite subscribers to watch NET, the station’s news channel, on television. Until the afternoon of June 13, ERT’s output was only available via a live stream on the EBU website, redirected from ERT’s signal, […]

June 14, 2013