On-demand TV solutions specialist Espial Group has revealed that its Board of Directors has initiated a process to review a range of potential strategic alternatives available to Espial for enhancing shareholder value. A Special Committee has been established to lead this process and has retained Morgan Keegan as its financial advisor to provide independent advice. […]
Sony says its PlayStation Network service will be up and running again within a week after its recent security breach. Users will be asked to register new passwords when the service relaunches with an updated security system, following the cyber attack ten days ago. Sony also claimed there’s still no proof that any of its […]
Leading European telecoms companies want to levy significant charges on Google and other online content providers through an overhaul of the regime governing how data travel over the Internet, reports the Financial Times. The telcos complain that they are contending with an explosion of data on their networks, much of which comes from US sites […]
The world online movies market is forecast to reach $4.44 billion by the year 2017, according to new report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA). Growth in the post recession period will be driven by continued penetration of broadband Internet, rising consumer spending on digital rentals, and introduction of advanced 3D to home markets. The report […]
Googles’s YouTube is about to launch a pay VoD service streaming mainstream movies to compete with iTunes. The service could start as early as next week according to Hollywood insider newsletter The Wrap. Major studios including Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Brothers and Universal have made deals for the new service, as have independent studios, including […]
IMS Research goes against the grain on OTT and cord cutting for cable MSOs. It is forecasting that digital cable TV subscribers in the US will increase by 7.8 million from the end of 2010 to the end of 2015, even as the platform as a whole is forecast to drop by 2.75 million subscribers […]
Netflix added more than three million subs to its DVD delivery and film streaming service and promised more exclusive content deals as it reported a doubling of first-quarter profits. The additions mean the company has drawn level with Comcast, the largest cable television operator, with 23.6 million subscribers to its video service. And it is […]
Yahoo has bought IntoNow, a start-up that enables users to identify and share television programmes with their online friends. IntoNow, which is led by Adam Cahan, a former executive with Google and MTV, works with an app on a user’s phone which scans the audio waves from TV sets and identifies the programmes being aired. […]
The emergence of over-the-top (OTT) television platforms will not result in a widespread increase in cable subscription cancellations (i.e. cutting the cord), and will not affect the credit ratings of the US content providers, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch estimates that only 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the overall US population is […]
TV streaming service Hulu is preparing to launch in Australia with reports suggesting the project flagging it might launch with or without the support of the commercial free-to-air TV networks. Hulu, which offers free ad-supported on-demand streaming of TV shows and movies, has been a runaway hit in the US, where it garners hundreds of […]