Disney has struck a deal with Google’s online video network YouTube to distribute short-form content from ESPN and ABC. The agreement would extend the Internet reach for ESPN’s sports highlights and ABC News updates and provide another outlet for video snippets taken from the ABC broadcast network and ABC Family cable channel shows. Disney hopes […]

From Colin Mann in Cannes FRAPA, the Format Recognition and Protection Association, is undertaking a comprehensive report on the global format industry. The report – TV Formats To The World – is being compiled in association with the global TV research agency The WIT and TV Sisters, a journalistic office that provides international programme research […]

France’s culture minister has defended a new bill clamping down on Internet piracy that is backed by music artists but opposed by consumer groups. The proposed “creation and Internet law” has stirred controversy over a provision allowing a state agency to cut off Internet access for up to a year to those caught illegally downloading […]

Oxford Economics institute in UK says online piracy cost the industry £235 million (E253m) in 2008 – that's nearly half of the £531 million the group says was lost to piracy of all kinds. But the annual online loss could be reduced to £83.2 million if downloaders received an ISP warning and if detection technologies […]

The report from the body which represents the film industry has called for new measures – including tighter regulations on car boot sales, bans on cameras in cinemas and legislation to tackle illegal file-sharing. The study, carried out by Oxford Economics, found the changes could cut piracy losses to £268 million (E290m) a year. Lavinia […]

Google’s online video site, YouTube, has confirmed it will block all music videos to British users after it was unable to reach a rights deal with the main songwriters’ collection society. The world’s largest video sharing site said PRS for Music, a British collection society that collects royalties on behalf of nearly 50,000 composers, was […]

The rising tide of piracy of live video streams of major sporting action, using peer-to-peer technologies, has prompted MLB Advanced Media, among others, to mount a coordinated defence strategy. Several major US sports properties, including the NFL, NBA, NHL and NCAA, and major media outlets including Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and NBC Universal, have […]

BSkyB is lobbying to have the list of sporting events reserved for free-to-air television abolished in an ongoing government review. Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said Sky would argue for a situation where the World Cup or the Olympics could be shown on pay TV, with sports bodies free to decide where to sell their rights […]

Google ‘s YouTube and Universal Music are in talks to create a premium online music video service. If they reach a deal, the service could mark a significant step forward in Google’s attempt to generate revenue from YouTube, which it acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006. They are in talks to create a stand-alone site […]

Content security provider Conax, has reported 36 per cent revenue growth in 2008 based on global sales of its smart card security solutions. Conax‚ success is highlighted by strong growth in leading industry markets Europe, India, China and Latin America. Conax is today the third largest provider of content security globally for digital TV. In […]