Sling Media, owned by Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network, has agreed terms with Belkin International over Belken’s alleged infringements of SlingMedia’s ‘placeshifting’ technology. The agreement was contained in papers filed on May 19th with the US International Trade Commission. Sling has asked the Commission to dismiss Belkin from its investigation into whether various other manufacturers were […]
The BBC says it should start charging Sky for carrying its channels if it doesn’t drop retransmisson fees. Sky charges the BBC, and other public service broadcasters ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, to carry channels on its pay-TV platform. The BBC pays £5 million (€5.9m) a year, with the four others footing a combined […]
For some nine months India’s New Delhi TV (NDTV) a popular general entertainment channel, has been suing ratings agency Nielsen and ad agency WPP which jointly run India’s own ratings agency TAM Media Research. NDTV is arguing, in a $1 billion lawsuit, that it has lost “hundreds of millions of dollars” because of inaccuracies in […]
In the coming weeks, the European Union will set important parameters to transatlantic trade negotiations. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) stresses that the inclusion of audiovisual services in the negotiations would harm the European audiovisual industry and dent European cultural diversity. “The audiovisual industry should be explicitly excluded from the European Union’s mandate to negotiate […]
Uruguay last week cancelled the DTH transmission licence of Claro. Claro is ultimately owned by telco giant America Movil. At the time of the cancellation Claro said it would fight the Uruguayan decision. It has now changed it mind. Claro’s general manager Roberto Alvarellos now says that his company will do nothing, adding that the […]
YouTube owner Google has sent Microsoft a cease-and-desist order to try and stop it distributing its new YouTube app for Windows Phone. Google demands that Microsoft “immediately withdraw this application from the Windows Phone Store and disable existing downloads of the application.” Google claims Microsoft’s app violates YouTube’s terms of service by, among other things, […]
Ofcom is to preparing to crack down on the poor standard of subtitling of it says is common on UK TV by introducing a six-monthly quality check that will name and shame broadcasters into improving their services. Gaffes include asking for a “moment’s violence” during The Queen Mother’s funeral. Viewers are able to switch on […]
The French government is considering a 1 per cent tax on the sale of smartphones and tablets to help fund French film, music and images, it is estimated it could raise around €85 million. Broadcasters already pay fees to fund cultural projects but firms such as Google and Apple are currently exempt. The new proposal […]
The influential European Broadcasting Union, which counts Europe’s public broadcasters as its core membership, has severely criticised those governments which have or are planning to use some or all of the 700 MHz band for cellular services. The EBU also accuses the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG), an advisory group which assists the European Commission […]
The Italian Antitrust Authority (AGCM) has ruled that there is no evidence that Sky Italia’s acquisition of the UEFA Champions League TV rights (2012-2015) and FIFA World Cup TV rights (2010-2014) represents an abuse of dominant position. The Authority underlined that the exclusive TV rights for the Champions League were assigned through a competitive process […]