The acquisition by Digital Plus of pay-TV rights to the European Champions League from 2012 is a hard blow for Mediapro’s pay DTT channel Gol TV, current holder of the rights. Digital+ has acquired the rights to live and delayed action from all of the competition’s matches, with the exception of the Tuesday first-match pick. […]
BSkyB COO Mike Darcey implied the broadcaster and Virgin Media are still some way apart on price as they negotiate a carriage fee for the new Sky Atlantic channel. Darcey said “I think it was offered at a very reasonable price,” but clearly Virgin disagree. Sky Atlantic launched on satellite on February 1st, offering a […]
The European Court of Justice has been advised that BSkyB (and other pay operators across Europe) or rights holders cannot stop pubs (or anyone else) subscribing to foreign TV channels no matter they may carry programmes that another broadcaster has the domestic rights to. The immediate implication is that BSkyB and the English Premier League […]
Comcast and Time Warner have signed a long-term agreement that provides Comcast digital cable customers with access to TV shows and movies from Turner Broadcasting System, networks, including TNT, TBS, CNN, HLN, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. The content will appear shortly after initial airing at no additional cost to Comcast’s […]
Four groups have ‘friended’ ivi.tv, the Seattle company streaming TV signals online without broadcasters’ consent. Public Knowledge and three other organisations filed an amicus brief with the US District Court in New York backing ivi.tv. The streamer is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by broadcasters seeking to shut it down. Public Knowledge, […]
A coalition of UK rights holders including the Premier League and trade bodies representing the music, film and TV are preparing to oppose ISPs in the judicial review of legislation to tackle illegal downloading. The Premier League and eight other organisations, including the Producers’ Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact), the Motion Picture Association and […]
A trademark battle could mean Dave is forced to change its name after a legal challenge by a branding consultancy. Dave, a London agency owned by Engine, a marketing services group, successfully blocked the UKTV channel’s attempt to claim ownership of the Dave marque with the European Union’s trademark body. Both firms operate from offices […]
BBC Worldwide has made a deal with Dutch telco KPN for distribution of the BBC’s five main channels on the operator’s IPTV service as well as carriage of BBC 1 and BBC 2 on the Digitenne digital-terrestrial service. Under the terms of the deal, BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4 and BBC HD […]
Italy’s Lega Calcio Serie A could end up being the saviour of fledgling Italian pay-TV platform Dahlia TV, after Sweden’s Wallenberg Group decided to call it a day. According to local media reports, the Italian Football League has already obtained a positive opinion, in principle, of the Competition Authority, Ministry of Economic Development, and liquidator […]
Football’s governing body FIFA has confirmed the extension of its broadcast rights agreement with Al Jazeera Sport for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. The agreement is the first to be signed in FIFA’s media rights distribution process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, which it […]