People who illegally stream copyrighted movies, music, and TV shows online should face stricter punishment, the US register of copyrights and industry representatives told a House subcommittee. Current laws are insufficient to successfully prosecute some online copyright infringement, said Maria Pallante, the acting registra. Laws often target those who download or copy content, and websites […]
SES Astra has revealed that Nickelodeon HD and Comedy Central HD are now also available via HD+ in Germany following an agreement between MTV Networks, HD+ and SES. Consequently, the HD+ offer now comprises ten free TV HD channels, which are transmitted in encrypted form. HD+ is a technical platform from SES Astra for encrypted […]
Vue Entertainment, one of the UK’s biggest cinema chains, is in talks to allow Hollywood studios to shorten the release window for a limited number of films each year. Vue wants both major and independent to sign up to mid- to long-term agreements of more than three years, during which time each studio will only […]
Film studio Miramax and Hulu have signed a multi-year agreement to bring films made by the studio to Hulu Plus subscribers. “Making our films available via premium digital distribution channels is extremely important to Miramax,” Mike Lang, CEO of Miramax, said. Earlier this month, Miramax signed a similar deal with movie rental service Netflix.
Foxtel chief Kim Williams has hit back at claims made May 31 by telco Optus that the pay-TV group’s proposed A$1.9 billion merger with Austar could threaten competitive access to content. Optus CEO Paul O’Sullivan used a keynote speech at a the CeBIT conference to call on the competition regulator to consider creating “must-share provisions” […]
HBO Central Europe has launched HBO GO in Romania. HBO GO is the Internet streaming service available to HBO subscribers with a broadband connection. The service in Romania will be accessible to customers that have broadband Internet and an HBO Maxpak subscription. In Romania HBO GO will be available initially to iNES IPTV clients. iNES […]
Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has confirmed a July 2nd launch date for its new free-to-air digital terrestrial TV channel Italia 2. Directed by Luca Tiraboschi, the new channel will have a target audience of young males aged 15 to 35 years, with a programme schedule relying heavily on American TV series. In the afternoon, Italia […]
Telekom Austria Group has confirmed that A1 Kabel TV, the IPTV offering of its Austrian subsidiary A1, will be expanding its service to include more regional and foreign-language channels. Effective immediately, A1 Kabel TV will provide additional Serbian and Turkish channels, as well as 10 new foreign-language stations. The number of channels in A1 Kabel […]
Although the US Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or PROTECT IP Act on May 26, its progress was halted within hours after Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, put a hold on the bill preventing it from going to the […]
Police have closed down one of France’s most popular websites for downloading pirated content and arrested three men who ran it. Liberty Land, set up in September 2009, was one of the most visited sites in France, claiming 800,000 users accessing and sharing pirated music, films and software. Jean-Philippe Vidal, chief of the Rennes gendarmerie […]