The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Communications and Technology is to hold a hearing on ‘The Future of Video’ on Wednesday June 27. Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden said that since the passage of the 1992 Cable Act there had been a sea change in the way that consumers gain access to video content. “The […]
The Middle East has some of the highest concentrations of satellite dishes anywhere in the world. But now Sharjah emirate, which is alongside that of Dubai on the Arabian Gulf, has banned satellite dishes that are fixed to balconies and terraces. Sultan Al Muallah, Director-General of the Sharjah Municipality, says residents can instead subscribe to […]
The intended digitalisation of cable TV services in four Indian ‘metros’ will now be extended four months beyond the scheduled July 1 introduction, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has confirmed. The decision to defer the plan for switchover from analogue to digitalised signals follows the realisation that the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and […]
Ed Vaizey, the Culture Minister, has suggested that concerns surrounding content will play a leading role in the ongoing review of the regulatory framework supporting the UK communications sector. “In an age focused on Internet piracy, content is more important,” he told delegates at the Future of Entertainment Summit in London. He accepted that this […]
Ofcom has come out in favour of ‘plurality checks’ of the UK news media every four or five years. And it believes the reviews should include the BBC and online news. So far, so interesting. But Ofcom doesn’t regulate the BBC – it would like to as this policy suggestion indicates – and certainly someone […]
Global, cross-media project the Linked Content Coalition (LCC), launched back in April to address challenges of managing Intellectual Property in the digital age, is holding its first Plenary meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, 20 June. Technical work is being undertaken by executives from news media, publishing, TV, film, music, IT and internet media businesses (including […]
The UK government should review the media landscape “every four or five years” to check that there is a plurality of voices, and this review should include the BBC, says a new report by Ofcom. Alongside the BBC, Ofcom also wants online news to be included in the periodic review, which would aim to prevent […]
Zimbabwean TV viewers are about to lose some of their most popular TV channels. The signals come from neighbouring South Africa, and are broadcast onto satellite by Sentech, South Africa’s state-owned signal carrier. Zimbabwe is claimed to have Africa’s highest broadcast piracy rate. A 3 month transmission ‘grace period’ ended in May following a Johannesburg […]
Controversial TV channel Press TV has had its broadcasting ban lifted by a German court. Press TV had been banned by Munich’s BLM Regulatory office. Press TV had applied to the court to get the ban lifted. Munich’s BLM had applied the ban in early March ruling that Press TV did not have a valid […]
The US Department of Justice is to probe cable providers’ power over how and where consumers can access television over the Internet, according to the WSJ. The investigation has been sparked by cable cos control of the last mile, which will be enhanced if Verizon ceases to be a fixed line competitor in the deal […]