Advanced Television

Policy

£10K fine for Sky Sports infringements

Following successful legal action taken by Sky, a Designated Premises Manager (DPM) in Newmilns, East Ayrshire, Scotland, has been ordered to pay £10,000 (€11,500) in damages for infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky Sports programming illegally. Sky sought, and was awarded, a permanent interdict in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, which prevents the DPM, and […]

September 27, 2023By Colin Mann

FCC modernises satellite licensing process

The FCC is updating and modernising its satellite and teleport/Earth station licensing process. It says the move is designed to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the space industry. The FCC has approved a Report and Order to accelerate existing processes for licensing satellite and earth stations. Noting an “increase in complexity and number” […]

September 27, 2023By Chris Forrester

Court rules Netflix infringing Broadcom patent

Broadcom has announced that the District Court of Munich, Germany, ruled that Netflix is infringing a Broadcom patent related to HEVC/H.265 video coding. The court issued an injunction requiring Netflix to cease and desist all further infringement in Germany. Since 2018, Netflix and Broadcom have been engaged in a patent dispute whereby Broadcom has accused […]

September 26, 2023

Ofcom fines Islam Channel

Media regulator Ofcom has imposed a £40,000 (€46k) financial penalty on Islam Channel Ltd for serious and repeated breaches of its broadcasting rules. Islam Channel is an English-language satellite TV station airing religious instruction, current affairs, documentaries and entertainment programmes from an Islamic perspective. Ofcom said: “Our investigation found The Andinia Plan, a one-hour documentary […]

September 26, 2023

Breakthrough talks in Hollywood writers’ strike

A tentative deal with studios has reportedly been reached that could see the Hollywood writers’ strike, that has lasted nearly five months, come to an end. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said the proposed deal was “exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers,” reported the BBC. WGA members must still have a […]

September 25, 2023

MPs seek Media Bill changes

Obligations on smart TVs, firesticks and set-top boxes to ensure public service broadcasters (PSBs) are prominent on their platforms should be strengthened, according to the UK House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. In its report on the draft Media Bill, the Committee also wants to see current obligations on PSBs to provide programming […]

September 22, 2023By Colin Mann

CMA set to clear Microsoft, Activision deal

The sale of Activision’s cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft substantially addresses previous concerns and opens the door to Microsoft’s acquisition of the games maker being cleared, according to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). While the CMA has identified limited residual concerns with the new deal, Microsoft has put forward remedies which the CMA […]

September 22, 2023By Colin Mann

Rivada wins legal victory

Rivada Space Networks, based in Munich, has been facing something of a challenge lately from China and the threat from what are described as “hostile” interests over the frequencies formerly used by Kleo Connect and which Rivada is lawfully using for its mega-constellation of a total 600 satellites. Rivada has an order with Terran Orbital […]

September 22, 2023By Chris Forrester

ACE shuts down French video hosting services

Anti-piracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has shut down Uptobox and Uptostream, two of the digital piracy world’s most notorious illegal video hosts. The action, conducted in France and the United Arab Emirates, puts an end to a piracy operation that was well known for a decade among distributors of infringing content. […]

September 21, 2023By Colin Mann

Culture Secretary: ‘We’ll protect terrestrial TV’

Viewers of free-to-air terrestrial TV should not be “left behind” amid shifting viewing habits towards streaming services, the UK Culture Secretary will say in a major speech on the future of TV. Lucy Frazer will deliver a keynote speech at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Conference where she will outline her plan to maximise the […]

September 20, 2023By Colin Mann