The European Commission is likely to propose collective copyright legislation that could lead to BSkyB and other digital TV operators being forced to make their programmes available to viewers across the EU. In a January 11th communication to government ministers and the European Parliament on ‘A coherent framework for building trust in the Digital Single […]
A Dutch court has ordered two major ISPs in the Netherlands to block their customers from accessing The Pirate Bay website or face large fines. The Swedish pirate website has helped millions of people download copyrighted music, movies and computer games. In 2010, a Swedish appeals court upheld the copyright infringement convictions of three men […]
Hulu plans to spend about $500 million on programming this year, up $200 million on the $300 million Hulu spent on programming in 2011. Jason Kilar, Hulu chief executive, says the dual revenue model of subs and advertising meant better content and earlier windows were now available. “We believe our approach will enable us to […]
While Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) author Lamar Smith is pressing ahead with the measure’s progress in the US House, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has said that he would remove a controversial provision from his Protect IP Act bill that aims to crack down on piracy and counterfeiting on foreign websites. Leahy told Vermont […]
The US lawmaker behind a bill to combat online piracy has vowed to press ahead with the measure despite criticism from Internet giants such as Google and Facebook, and threats from sites such as Reddit to go ‘dark’ for a day in protest. “It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don’t want to […]
Samsung is bringing the Verizon FiOS TV app to its line of Smart TVs and Smart Blu-ray Players in 2012. The app will allow Verizon FiOS TV subscribers to instantly access 26 live TV channels, including HD channels, directly through the subscribers’ connected Samsung Smart TV or Smart Blu-ray Player. No additional hardware is required. […]
castLabs, a mobile video technologies and services company, has announced a comprehensive solution providing an UltraViolet-compliant cloud service tailored to the requirements of content providers and retailers. The service provides all necessary features to enable business customers to set up their own content business utilising UltraViolet. The platform consists of an authoring tool for the […]
Six Hollywood studios have responded to the Competition Commission judgement that their deals with Sky are anti-competitive. The watchdog gave a provisional ruling in August that the exclusive pay-TV deals were anti-competitive. In responses published by the Commission, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal and Warner Bros attacked the Commission for failing […]
Writing an op-ed piece in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, has strongly criticised the intentions of Nevada Senator Harry Reid to introduce the Protect IP Act (PIPA) to the Senate floor this month, backing instead the Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN). Highlighting […]
Youku, China’s leading Internet television company, has signed a deal with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment under which Youku will license 250 titles of new release and library films. The titles will appear on Youku Premium – Youku’s on-demand platform which has processed more than one million orders since launching in beta a year ago. […]