Advanced Television

Rights

Glee is Sky bound

E4’s biggest hit, US high school musical drama Glee, is heading for one of BSkyB’s subscription channels. A bidding war has been taking place between the satellite broadcaster and Channel 4 over the third series. Channel 4 executives are said to be resigned to losing the show to Sky. According to reports, Sky have offered […]

May 17, 2011

Geodesic launches IPL cricket mobile TV service

Geodesic Limited, a provider of mobile and desktop solutions for messaging and entertainment, has announced the availability of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket on its mobile TV service, Mundu TV. Mundu TV’s IPL LIVE mobile TV service enables cricket fans to follow every aspect of the Indian Premier League on their mobile or desktop device […]

May 17, 2011

Netflix adds Miramax titles

Netflix and Miramax have confirmed a multi-year agreement under which Netflix members in the US will be able to instantly watch motion pictures from the Miramax film library. It is the first time Miramax titles have become available through a digital subscription service. Beginning in June, Netflix members will be able to instantly watch several […]

May 16, 2011

Hargreaves to recommend online ‘rights’ exchange

An independent review into how the intellectual property system can better drive growth and innovation is set to recommend that a revolution in copyright law could make the UK as important a centre for the distribution of digital content as it became in financial services after the Big Bang, according to the Financial Times. The […]

May 16, 2011By Colin Mann

Competition issues for News Corp F1 bid?

A leading UK competition lawyer has suggested that a takeover of Formula One by News Corporation would face “concerns” because of a conflict of interest. Paul Stone, head of competition and regulation for law firm Charles Russell says that “News Corporation’s involvement in the bid for Formula One could attract scrutiny from the competition regulators, […]

May 16, 2011By Colin Mann

IP protection bill returns to Senate

US senators have re-introduced a bill aimed at giving US authorities more tools to crack down on websites selling pirated movies, television shows and music and counterfeit goods. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, said the legislation would protect the investment American companies make in developing brands and creating content and protect the jobs […]

May 13, 2011By Colin Mann

FIFA, UEFA challenge UK FTA rules

World soccer’s governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have appealed against a European ruling that the World Cup and European Championships must be on free-to-air TV in the UK. In February, the European Court ruled the UK could keep the events on a of “a protected list” of events shown for free. It means the two […]

May 12, 2011

F1 chief: Pay-TV suicidal

Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has warned Grand Prix teams that it would be “suicidal” for them if the sport moved to News Corporation’s subscription channels as part of a takeover deal. According to Ecclestone, who holds the sport’s commercial rights, teams would lose huge sponsorship interest if coverage was no longer on mass […]

May 9, 2011By Colin Mann

Anonymous threatens Viacom disruption

Alongside its statement denying responsibility for the Sony data theft, hacker group Anonymous issued a warning to Viacom. It said that because of Viacom, “thousands of people have undergone the unfortunate experience of receiving falsely-claimed copyright infringements”. “Anonymous demands from Viacom a public press release to admit and apologise for the fraud and crimes that […]

May 6, 2011

Viacom, Endemol launch global women’s channel

Viacom International and production group Endemol have partnered to launch an entertainment channel with a global brand to target the female market. Viacom Blink! will debut in Poland later this summer on pay-TV platforms Multimedia Polska and N, offering more than a million Polish households a schedule filled with Endemol programmes. Overseen by Viacom International […]

May 6, 2011