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NEWS Monday 20th-Monday 27th May 2002
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
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Sweden subsidises
broadband |
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Sweden
subsidises broadband
"Broadband for everyone" has been a war-cry in Sweden for the last few
years, and now seems to have been revitalised at the highest government
levels.
This week the 'super minister' for the Department of Industrial Affairs,
Bjoern Rosengren, launched the idea of a massive system of state support
for individuals wanting to get access to broadband - similar to the giant
tax subsidy programme launched in 1997, which gave millions of Swedes
the ability to buy home PCs at tax-rebated prices through their employers.
That policy rapidly resulted in Sweden being one of the most frequent
PC using nations in the world. A year ago more than 50 per cent of the
Swedish population was using the Internet on a regular basis from their
homes (office and school use not included), and that figure has gone up
considerably since then.
Now Rosengren wants to further stimulate broadband transition of the Swedish
society. "In my view no one should have to pay more than E22 to E33 Ì
per month for broadband access, the rest should be covered by state subsidies,"
the minister commented.
When broadband was introduced in the late Nineties the monthly fee of
E22 was established by pioneer Jonas Birgersson, the enthusiastic young
founder of IT consultancy Framtidsfabriken (the Future Factory) and its
sister Bredbandsbolaget (the Broadband Company). Both took the Swedish
stock-market by storm in the late Nineties, and made Birgersson an immediate
multimillionaire. When the IT bubble burst some years ago Birgerssson
was among the most spectacular victims. Today he is back to square one,
his fortune gone, but not his enthusiasm. And broadband now is offered
by a several operators, such as UPC (using its cable systems in the greater
Stockholm area), Telia and Telenordia (formerly with BT as an active partner,
today wholly-owned by Norwegian Telenor), both using ADSL technology,
plus 'real broadband' suppliers, like Bredbandsbolaget and Bostream.
But the E22 per month fee is now history. UPC has gradually increased
its fees and is now charging E30 per month, Bredbandsbolaget wants E33
for its fibre-LAN technology, and Telia recently announced another price
increase, demanding E38 per month. Telenordia is expected to follow suit
shortly.
Marianne Nivert, the departing MD of Telia, recently claimed that the
Swedish price level for broadband access is 'unrealistic', pointing at
price levels in the UK and in continental Europe, and stated that monthly
fees in Sweden would ideally land at some E66 per month. Rosengren is
thus now lobbying Nivert, as the state is still a majority owner of Telia.
"The original price levels were far too low; when you launch a new service
it might be difficult to find the right levels from the very beginning,"
a representative of Telia comments.
Broadband is also becoming a hot issue in Norway. A recent survey by the
Norwegian branch of Gallup shows that 38 per cent of the inhabitants of
Norway's four biggest cities (Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim) have
made up their minds to have broadband installed in their homes.
"This shows, without doubt, that broadband in Norway has grown into a
mass market," Magne Rideng from Norwegian Gallup comments.
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UPC
in US over-counter trade
European cableco UPC, which was dropped from the US Nasdaq share market
due to the collapse in value of its shares, has confirmed that its ordinary
shares, which currently trade on the Nasdaq National Market in the form
of American Depositary Receipts ('ADRs') will, as expected, trade on the
Over The Counter Bulletin Board ('OTC BB') from the opening of business
today (May 24, 2002). UPC's ticker symbol on the OTC BB will remain 'UPCOY'.
UPC received notification from Nasdaq on May 16, 2002, indicating that
UPC did not comply with Marketplace Rule 4450(b) (4) (ie the bid price
of the ADRs has closed at less than $3.00 per share over 30 consecutive
trading days and the ADRs did not regain compliance with the rule within
the 90 calendar days before May 15, 2002).
As expected, the company's ADRs will be delisted from the Nasdaq National
Market at the opening of business on May 24, 2002.
UPC's shares continue to trade on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange under
the symbol UPC.
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Japanese
seek multiple revenues
Japan's broadcasters are coming under pressure to find alternative sources
of income at the same time as they prepare for the launch of digital terrestrial
TV (DTT) at the start of 2003.
Japan's TV industry takes $15.6 billion in advertising annually, yet pay
TV accounts for only 0.4 per cent of the total national ad spend of $50
billion. But this sum is set to grow and the Japanese Association of National
Broadcasters has warned that the free to airs' share will fall from the
current 90 per cent of the TV take, to 84 per cent by 2012.
Now the broadcasters are being urged to diversify their income base into
the Internet and broadband in order to safeguard revenues and pay for
the cost of digitising their operations. Three of the 'big five' terrestrials
- Fuji TV, Tokyo Broadcasting System and Asahi Broadcasting Corp created
a joint venture, Tresola, to deliver content earlier this year.
Fuji has also been experimenting with mobile TV and successfully held
an experiment to relay signals to fixed receivers, and an MPEG stream
to mobile receivers.
The Japanese Association of National Broadcasters estimates that it will
take a decade for DTT to dominate the market ahead of analogue.
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ANT's
Macromedia offer
Communications software and services providers ANT Limited and Macromedia
Inc have integrated Macromedia Flash Player with the ANT Fresco browser.
This newly developed plug-in application is designed to enable the viewing
of Macromedia Flash content and applications on any ANT-enabled device,
such as a set top box (STB) delivering interactive games or visually-rich
electronic programming guides, navigation menus or other user interfaces
to the television. The partnership between ANT and Macromedia enables
service providers to deliver enriched content to subscribers, greatly
enhancing the viewing experience.
The integration of Macromedia Flash Player directly within ANT's software
architecture simplifies the process of porting Macromedia Flash Player
onto a new product, reducing OEM development times and costs, says the
company. In addition, the player enables some million Macromedia Flash
developers to create compelling interactive content and applications for
delivery to TV appliances using the ANT Fresco browser and platform architecture.
Macromedia Flash MX simplifies the authoring process for visually rich
applications, which bring new possibilities to the consumer electronics
sector.
With a greater range of presentation methods including animation, sound
and sophisticated interactivity, Macromedia Flash content is suitable
for branded user interfaces, portals, advertising, games, e-commerce,
navigational menus, information services and a other applications for
TV and other home entertainment devices. With ANT Fresco supporting the
delivery of such content, ANT's OEM and service provider customers are
now able to deliver a richer, more sophisticated interactive experience.
"Offering Macromedia Flash support to our customers is integral to ANT's
strategy of delivering an advanced browser with the functionality to render
the widest possible range of content and interactive services, which is
something that service providers depend upon for their business," said
Simon Woodward, CEO & President of ANT Limited. "ANT is committed to delivering
powerful and reliable rendering technology for use in consumer electronics
devices. We are delighted to work with Macromedia in this partnership
which will considerably reinforce this commitment."
"Macromedia Flash is defining the user experience on devices through its
compact delivery format, lightweight client, and ability to deliver unparalleled
user experiences," said Peter Meechan, Vice President, Macromedia. "Working
together with ANT, we will benefit developers, service providers, and
consumers, advancing the availability of standards-based multimedia content
for TV and other embedded devices."
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First
French iTV shopping channel
France's first TV shopping channel is now totally interactive. Canal Club,
the CanalSatellite TV-shopping channel is now broadcast with an interactive
service allowing subscribers to order the product being demonstrated on
the channel instantly, using their remote control.
Products on offer range from DIY tools to fitness gear, from kitchen equipment
and beauty care, to household goods and fishing tackle.
The supporting RegieLine, technology - IDP's software package - synchronises
the purchase with the product currently being demonstrated, and uses a
secure payment system whereby the purchaser's credit card is inserted
into the second card reader in the set-top box. It manages the database
holding the different products, and pilots a sophisticated synchronisation
system which enables the product presentation to coincide with the corresponding
interactive programme broadcast.
More than 70 permanent interactive services are now being offered to subscribers.
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UK
Bill needs more detail
UK TV regulator, The Independent Television Commission (ITC) says that
the the proposed new Communications Bill needs to provide a more detailed
definition of public service broadcasting, which at the moment is taken
from the BBC's licence fee agreement.
In a submission to the parliamentary committee scrutinising the bill,
it suggests that Ofcom, the proposed communications super-regulator, should
report to parliament every 12 months instead of every three years.
The ITC also said that the benchmarks for ITV and Channel 5 were too vague
and could lead to their public service obligations being dropped altogether.
"It is difficult to see how remits as general as those proposed in the
bill for Channels 3 and 5 could sensibly be amended, short of giving up
public service status altogether," said the ITC.
"Where public service licensees enjoy a high share of revenue, this should
sustain an appropriate share of responsibilities. We believe ITV would,
currently, accept a remit which captures their commitment to investment
in original production (including well-funded landmark programmes), to
investment in the nations and regions and to the provision of news, as
well as to quality and diversity," said the ITC.
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All
in one control from Universal
Universal Remote Control has lunched its new infrared remote 'Home Theatre
Master MX-700 System' at Mediacast 2002. The device incorporates two remote
controls in one.
MX-700 master remote automates up to twenty different home theatre components
via its IR database and its macro capability. It can perform over 900
macros.
URC also introduced SideKick remote control specifically designed for
children. The small and colourful remote is designed to give kids and
casual users of complex, custom installed systems a simple remote for
watching TV.
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NTL
resumes Pace box supplies
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NTL resumes Pace box supplies
Prospects for set top technology company Pace Microtechnology have had a sudden upturn as the company announced last night conclusion of negotiations with UK cableco NTL Group Ltd with an agreement to resume the supply of existing orders of 300,000 boxes over a thirteen month period ending in May 2003. This will have minimal impact on current year revenues.
The agreement also includes enhanced service and repair provision as well as additional software projects. "Notwithstanding this agreement, the Board continues to acknowledge the difficulties created by the current market conditions and does not anticipate changing its expectations for the 2002/03 financial year."
Brunei Darussalam in the Far East has commissioned an initial study to examine the feasibility of implementing digital terrestrial television (DTT) for Radio Television Brunei (RTB) across the country
NTL Asia Pacific is to conduct an initial transmission consultancy study for the project which is designed to assess the feasibility of implementing a digital system - the first step in the process of delivering digital TV to the nation.
NTL won a competitive pitch to provide the consultancy project, which involves an initial transmission coverage study and frequency planning. Based on the findings, NTL will provide recommendations on the transmission and distribution network system that will need to be used to implement digital TV, taking in to account the existing RTB infrastructure.
NTL reports that the Brunei consultancy project follows a series of successful broadcast projects for NTL in the Asia Pacific region, including the development of the world"s first digital mobile TV network in Singapore in 2001 and trials for digital terrestrial TV in Thailand in 2000.
Patrick Duffy, managing director of NTL Asia Pacific said, "We are extremely proud to be associated with this project with Radio Television Brunei. It is further evidence that our work with key broadcasters in Asia Pacific places NTL and its partners at the forefront of developing digital technology in the region. The work that we are carrying out today stems from NTL's pioneering work on digital transmission in the UK in the 1990s. We are building on that heritage to help Brunei introduce digital TV in the near future."
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Noos Internet success
Noos, the largest French cable operator, part of the Lyonnaise group, has revealed that over 35,000 people have taken up its special offer called of unlimited Internet access for E15 a month since its launch in March.
Called Primo, this gives access at a moderate speed (64 kbps) which is nevertheless faster than a dial-up modem, without tying up the phone line and includes rental of the cable modem and free installation. Noos added that 30 per cent of the uptake is by people who did not already have Internet access.
In a survey of 508 Primo users it found that 69 per cent chose it because of the competitive price and 40 per cent because of unlimited connect time. Some 58 per cent use it more than 30 hours a month.
Noos has also done much to improve its client relations, which had been much criticised in the past. It has expanded and reorganised the service, appointing a new head of client services in March and considerably expanding the call centre.
Based in Le Mans, it has a staff of 600 call operators answering up to 15,000 calls a day. Staff are trained for three months in the details of the Noos products and tariffs and are backed up by managers for answering more specific questions. Maintenance now operates seven days a week, from 8 am to 11 pm and guarantees a repair within 48 hours.
The Noos service is believed to be widely pirated although no figures are available. It has created a new anti-piracy unit and instigated a policy of prosecuting all pirates.
Subscribers to the high speed Internet service (Rapido and Pro, but not Primo which is only 64 kbps) have access to a range of VOD and multicast services. The Mon Video Club service which Noos began in February in co-operation with Moviesystem now has a catalogue of 200 films on VOD for rental for a 24 hour period, comprising a virtual video club. Subscribers can also buy films in a higher quality, downloading them and storing them locally.
Maxime Japy, President of Moviesystem, said that the purpose of the service was to initiate the public to the new mode of consuming VOD via broadband. It is too early to draw conclusions but users who have discovered the system keep coming back. There is considerable room for growth as the broadband rolls out and the video club service gets more widely known.
VOD is still in its early stages, he said, both in Europe and the USA, although the USA has a slight lead. The main developments over the last year have been in the technology with improvements in compression and copy protection. This makes it easier for content suppliers to get interested in this means of distribution and so the catalogue of films available will increase, leading to increased uptake.
As rights owners get more revenue from this sort of distribution, it helps to speed up its deployment. The aim for 2003 is to make the service into one that appeals to the general public rather than an experimental service, with features similar to those of DVD, available directly via the cable box and remote control.
The Noos video portal also includes streaming access to news and sports channels and will feature a World Cup special.
Construction of the 'Sipperec' all-digital network in the Paris North, South and East suburbs is continuing. As of March 31 some 153,115 outlets had been installed.
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Teracom crunch arrives
The recent crisis at Teracom, Sweden's state-controlled owner-operator of all terrestrial television and radio transmitters and Sweden's DTT platform, has now come to a climax, with dramatic effects on many of the company's operations.
The management of Teracom has now made public a series of cost-cutting operations, including mass redundancies, to secure the future of the much criticised company.
Some months ago the management of Teracom turned in desperation to its principal with a request for multi-million Euro state support to avoid an imminent bankruptcy. The government, however, did not respond to Teracom's cry for help, and the cool response - and even open criticism - from the Conservative-Liberal opposition against Teracom in general and the DTT project in particular did not help. Teracom only recieved an extra credit guarantee for a mere E22 million).
So now Teracom has had to find its own solutions to its plethora of problems. A cost cutting programme has been decided and will be implemented with immediate effect. Together with previously agreed measures, MD Jan Danielsson and his crew intend to achieve an annual cost reduction of some E16.50 million. But the decisions now taken will not show their full effect until 2004.
There are 174 positions within the company that will be affected; 55 positions in Teracom's national network will be moved to the Stockholm headquarters. Just over 90 per cent of Teracom's revenues come from operation's in the greater Stockholm area so, "our sales resources will be concentrated to where our customers are," commented Jan Danielssons. Nonetheless some 120 positions will be made redundant.
The government department of culture has also ordered Teracom to focus on its core operations. Some affiliates have already been sold off, and Danielsson & Co has announced further sales, like the Kaknaes Tower, the landmark teletower in the very centre of Stockholm. Also Boxer, the DTT STB distributor, in which insurance giant Skandia and its affiliate Skandia Invest (a 30 per cent shareholder), is putting 19 per cent of its shares onto the public market.
Jan Danielsson also comments on recent developments with a certain bitterness, "we used to lead the technical development; in the future we'll have just to follow it."
Boxer, after more than three years in operation, has so far only managed to attract some 100,000 DTT subscribers. Recent information states that the compnay's churn is greater than the figures for newly recruited subscribers.
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UBC additions on target
Thai pay TV operator United Broadcasting Corp (UBC) is set to meet its target of adding 60,000 subscribers by the end of the year after revealing new customer sign ups in the first quarter of 2002 were four times greater than the same period in 2001.
A report by the Bangkok-based arm of Merrill Lynch, Phatra Securities, detailed that UBC had gained 6,439 subscribers in Q1 2002, compared to 1,524 in the first three months of 2001. It meant that the platform ended the period to March 31 with 413,028 subscribers, compared to 406,589 at the start of the year and compares to the March 31, 2001 total of 382,480.
The report follows the announcement by the company that it lost $673,000 for the same quarter, massively lower than the $12 million loss recorded 12 months earlier. UBC said churn rates fell from a January high of 1.3 per cent, to 1.2 in February and 0.8 in March with the yearly average projected to be one per cent.
The upward trends reflect the cost cutting programme and the 20 per cent rise in subscriber fees for the basic package last year. In addition, the Thai economy is on the mend after the devastating recession that started in 1997.
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Lagardere denies Canal Plus rumours
French media group Lagardere has denied suggestions that E700 million being raised by a bond issue is not to be used to finance the acquisition of Vivendi Universal's Canal Plus pay-television operation.
Vivendi Universal shares rose 5.4 per cent to almost E34 - believed to be partly due to this speculation. Liberation newspaper had suggested that the French directors of Vivendi Universal want to split the business in two, with the telephone business Cegetal in one part alongside 63 per cent-owned utility business Vivendi Environnement and the largely US-based media operation focused on Universal in the second.
market rumour".
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Kirch struggles to the end
ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group's main shareholder, Kirch Media, has said that during its insolvency it will not support the group's aim of transferring the preferred listed public stock into common stock at the forthcoming general shareholder's meeting, consequently this issue has been removed from the agenda.
Financial analysts have always considered this to be the main obstacle against a significant rise in the stock's value. Kirch Media owns about 53 per cent of the ProSieben shares but has a 70 per cent voting share. However, the proposed multi-million Euro consulting contracts for the 75 year old founder Leo Kirch and his deputy Dieter Hahn were not signed. Both individuals did not accept the paragraph stating that they would not be allowed to launch other commercial activities while under this contract. Wolfgang van Batterey, Managing Director for Kirch Media's insolvency, said that this would not cause any problem since all questions on details within the group had been solved without such a contract existing. For that reason he said he did not see why such a consulting contract would be necessary at all.
Moreover the timeframe for the digital platform Premiere World, whose parent Kirch Pay TV followed its sister Kirch Media into insolvency only last week, has become very tight. Negotiations with new investors need to be closed by early June since by then the financial resources of Premiere would also be all used up.
In the meantime the entire conglomerate under Taurus Holding is struggling to escape its fate. It told Kirch Pay TV's 22 per cent shareholder BSkyB that it would not be willing to pay the E1.7 billion that the Murdoch controlled pay TV platform was expecting to receive from its put option. Kirch says the conditions under which the option would have applied expired when insolvency for Kirch Pay TV was filed.
ProSieben's share price dropped some 17 per cent when the news came out. However, during the insolvency of its parent company over the last few weeks, analysts had hoped the group would gain more independence from Kirch Media and the company gained almost 80 per cent at its peak.
* Insolvent Kirch Pay TV has sold its 40 per cent stake in the Swiss pay TV venture Teleclup to its co-shareholders including Swiss media conglomerate Ringier. Neither side reported the price paid, but media estimates put the cost at some SFR 6 million.
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Digital terrestrial TV tests
Prior to a re-tendering of the failed ITV Digital company's broadcast licence, it is reported that
The Digital TV Group, advised by IT company Logica, has begun conducting tests on the UK digital terrestrial signal at the Crystal Palace mast to try and overcome poor reach and coverage.
The ITC extended the application period for the licence period from closing this Thursday to 13 June to allow testing to be carried out after the licence was returned by parent companies Carlton and Granada following the venture's closure last month. The new licences, for three DTT multiplexes, are now due to be announced on 4 July.
A consortium of the BBC, ITV and Channel 5 are now saying that their delay in bidding for the licence is due to waiting for the testing to be completed. According to a Guardian report, they want to see whether a reduction in the number of channels supported by the platform improves the signal quality. It has also been reported that the parties had failed to agree terms and that was the primary reason that they had not bid as a consortium.
A surprise bidder for the licence is Sirius Retail Television, a private company that runs a home shopping channel and a chat channel on BSkyB. The company has put in an expression of interest and is reported to be preparing a full bid, which could be a stand-alone proposal or in conjunction with the free-to-air broadcasters.
Expressions of interest believed to have been made by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and SDN, the Welsh service, Scottish call centre group MGt, and TV transmitter company Crown Castle.
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Liberty
eyes FT Dutch cable Mediacast news Two
Way TV games is launching on UPC digital networks in Europe. |
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Liberty eyes FT Dutch cable
Liberty Media is reported to be in exclusive negotiations with France Telecom for the purchase of the latter's Dutch cable TV operations, Casema. The deal could be worth E800 million according to a report in French financial newspaper La Tribune and the AFP.
Liberty Media has been wanting to extend its European cable operations but was thwarted by the German competition authorities when it tried to buy Deutsche Telekom's cable activity.
France Telecom had stated during the presentation of its annual results that it intended to clinch the deal before the end of June and had already considered it non-strategic last September and up for sale as part of its plan to reduce its very heavy debt, currently some E60 billion. France Telecom had originally acquired Casema in 1997 for E410 million.
Acquiring Casema will bring Liberty Media a further 1.3 million European subscribers. It already controls UPC via United Global Com, and has a minority stake in UK cable operator Telewest.
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Austar endorses programme share
Austar United Communications has endorsed the proposed programme sharing
agreement between its fellow Australian pay TV providers Foxtel and Optus.
In a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) Austar said the deal "will not lead to a substantial lessening
of the competition in any relevant market."
The document also criticised opponents of the accord that was announced
in February for calling it a merger, saying that it did not have an anti-competitive
impact on the market for pay TV content, or telephony.
Terrestrials Ten and Seven have been strong opponents of the Foxtel/ Optus
axis, although print media company Fairfax has also voiced its opposition,
along with rural subscription TV operators.
The latter is the ACCC's main concern about the agreement that will see
Foxtel and Optus share channels, and dominant telco Telstra, 50 per cent
owners of Foxtel, offering the platform as part of a bundled offering
similar to that of Optus.
Austar CEO, the author of the submission, said critics of the accord do
not understand how pay TV channels are sourced. "Of the 41 different video
channels provided by Austar, Foxtel controls only nine, or 22 per cent.
This hardly equates to Austar 'controlling' Austar programming," he said.
Austar and Foxtel have a joint venture that operates several channels
common to both platforms.
The ACCC is expected to give formal notice to Foxtel and Optus about its
concerns over the link up between the two this week. The pay TV sector
said it is essential to stem losses among all three platforms, to drive
down programme acquisition costs and drive penetration beyond the current
22 per cent.
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to top
A cable TV operation in China has been raided as the country's regulators
crack down on private and foreign ownership of the broadcasting sector.
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft) officials in
Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, ordered Nanchang Broadcasting
TV Network to shut down, according to a Chinese businessman whose company,
Union Friend Group, owns 29 per cent of the joint venture.
Ironically the Jiangxi arm of Sarft owns 20 per cent, with the state-run
Nanchang Broadcasting Bureau taking 51 per cent of the venture formed
in 2000 with registered capital of $13 million.
According to Jiangxi Sarft, the administration issued rules at the end
of 2001 that forbid broadcasters from being owned by anyone other than
the state. Lin Naizha, the department secretary for the ruling Communist
Party within Sarft, said that Jiangxi was not the only province enforcing
the laws, and that he was only following instructions for above.
The raids were prompted when Union Friend Group refused to sell its stake,
although Lin said the company will be compensated.
The media was placed beyond the sectors China was willing to open to foreign
investment under the conditions of its membership of the WTO that were
approved last October.
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to top
BBC attack on ITV
BBC Director-General Greg Dyke has attacked the heads of UK terrestrials Carlton and Granada Television for not taking responsibility for DTT provider ITV Digital's collapse.
The BBC's proposals for replacing ITV Digital with a free-to-air service were also outlined. Dyke also obliquely criticised the forced departure of Stuart Prebble, former chief executive of ITV.
Dyke suggested that the ITV Digital collapse demonstrated that DTT should be a free-to-air service, proposing the model of offering viewers an extra 10 to 15 channels through a receiver costing £99. He also said the collapse demonstrated that there was not room for three competing pay-TV systems.
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Kirch
rejects BSkyB's cash demand
It comes as no surprise that German media giant Kirch has rejected BSkyB's
demands for £1.7bn cash under a 'put' agreement which has been brought
forward to sell back its stake in the insolvent KirchPayTV business.
Although Sky has written off the money, the demand has been made strengthen
its negotiating position if Kirch goes bankrupt.
Taurus Holding, Kirch's umbrella holding company, disputed Sky's claim
that the conditions existed to trigger an early use of the put option.
BSkyB is owed £1.06 billion for the 22 per cent stake it bought in December
1999 and had a right to sell it back from this October, said it wanted
to sell the shares to Taurus earlier than expected.
Although Sky had said it was "unlikely to receive a significant amount,
if any" as a result of its exercise of the option, the company's shares
still dropped two per cent (15p) to 729p.
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to top
Two
Way TV games is launching on UPC digital networks in Europe.
Viewers in Austria and Holland will now have interactive access to games
like With It and TacTiles. The deal gives Two Way TV its first presence
in Europe and more territories will follow soon, says the company.
Meantime Two Way TV' Ark cross-platform interactive technology is being
used in a range of UK programmes including the recent BBCi 'Test The Nation'
national IQ special. On Telewest the BBC's World Cup coverage will feature
a choice of video and audio streams enabled by Two Way.
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to top
Set
top box fest at show
As usual product news at Mediacast focussed on the latest set top boxes
- how clever they are and how cheap.
Pace announced its home digital gateway, its new modular upgradeable set
top box suite that will handle voice, video and data functionality for
the staggered deployment of triple play digital services.
The product has what Pace calls a 'siblings' approach with units added
side by side by operators and helping avoid 'over investment' ahead of
new services and customer demand.
Grundig has also unveiled its new family of budget set top boxes for free-to-air
channels and the company says they should be in the shops by the end of
the month at a retail prices starting at £99 matching Pace's basic price.
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to top
'Complex'
German market is Open
On day one of Mediacast, Juergen Brautmeier, Deputy Director of the German
Media Regulator LfR, told 140 attendees crowded into the advanced-television
panel on the German Media Industry, "From a legal point of view the German
market is open - with no limits for foreign investors - but with more
than seven public service broadcasters, seven regional regulators - all
with their own strong political support - plus national TV and telecoms
regulation, and a tendancy of the public service broadcasters to launch
in competition with any new channel entrants, it is a complex and difficult
market - especially for niche channels seeking to compete with the 33
analogue channels and 30 digital channels.
Wolfram Winter, MD of Universal's channel Subsidiary, Universal Studios
Network Germany GmbH concurred, commenting, "The failure of Libery Media
was more a result of how they went about entering the market, rather than
what they did. People are not even aware that they have a cable provider
and are dependent on the local sates - which have their own self interest
in terms of what channels are shown - with very little reference to the
consumer. As a result, the biggest problem cable operators face, coming
from outside with models from the UK or US, is that there are no 'basic
tiers' etc - its all about deals with the giants such as Kirch or the
public broadcasters. Within Kirch there are two completely different interest
groups, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Kirch as two or three completely
different organisations in two months time."
Walter Neuuauser, CEO, RTL Channel's advertising broker, IP Deutschland
GMbh agreed, but said that there were still opportunities for new Pay
TV channels - but the business model would have to be just 15 per cent
or less revenue coming from advertising and the rest from subscriptions.
But the total private TV market in Germany is still negative in terms
of return on investment.
When the problems of Level 3 and 4 cable structures, and the fact that
the debate in Germany is either against the consumer, or without the consumer,
it was made abundantly clear that the German market is not for the faint
hearted. But with 33 million TV homes - in Europe's most affluent market
- it is one that global players cannot ignore.
The session was introduced by advanced-television's Tony Morbin, and chaired
by Dieter Brockmeyer, Advanced-television's German correspondent.
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to top
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Middelhoff
- UK expansion forecast |
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Middelhoff - UK expansion forecast
Speculation that News that Germany's Bertelsmann plans to expand its UK holdings increased following reports that Chief Executive Thomas Middelhoff, whose company owns 65 per cent of Channel 5 via RTL, is making high-profile speeches in Britain ahead of the UK communications bill being presented to Parliament.
Middelhoff is expected to outline Bertelsmann's plans for European expansion via the World View speech at the Edinburgh Television Festival in August and on September 10 at a Royal Television Society conference in London entitled Europe: The New Battleground.
UK foreign ownership rules are being relaxed, and a merger of the two main terrestrials no longer opposed: Bertelsmann is reportedly targeting 10 per cent of the British television market and has held takeover talks with both Carlton and Granada - which would be a more attractive target as a single ITV company.
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Mediacast
opens with firsts
Mediacast 2002 exhibition opens in London today 21/5/02), and includes
an array of speakers and panel sessions - including the advanced-television
sponsored Germany panel - with exhibitors announcing several new products
at the show.
Cabot Communications will demonstrate what it says is its latest 'world
first' - an embedded digital TV and set-top-box game pack. Cabot's founder
and director, Kenneth Helps is presenting details of the new game pack,
and in addition to the new product demonstration, is reporting on Cabot's
latest pioneering activity within the DTV market in the UK and in emerging
markets.
Pace Micro Technology plans to unveil the "world's first in digital home
gateway (set-top box) technology."
Nello Genovese Chief Executive Officer of Fracarro Radioindustrie Spa
of Italy will discuss the company's agreement to buy Royal Philips Electronics
of the Netherlands' business unit Satellite Master Antenna Television
(SMATV). Philips SMATV will be 100 per cent acquired by Fracarro France,
a new company of Gruppo Fracarro. All employees of Philips SMATV will
be taken over by Fracarro.
Europe's largest OEM consumer electronics manufacturer Vestel is introducing
its latest equipment, including what it says is the world's first prototype
in the digital television sector - a digital LCD TV.
A demonstration of this and other company developments (including free-to-air
DTT products) will be made by Alp Somyurek, deputy Managing Director of
Vestel UK, and Murat Sarpel, head of Vestel's digital R&D.
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TVB
seeks sale delay
Television Broadcasts, (TVB) the dominant Hong Kong terrestrial network,
continues to send mixed signals about the fate of its Galaxy Satellite
Broadcasting project with news it has asked the officials for an extension
of its compulsory sale of 50 per cent of the venture.
TVB wants to delay the deadline for the sale of Galaxy from the June 6
deadline to February 28, 2003 and lodged an official request to the Hong
Kong government this week.
Officials imposed the sale condition when they granted TVB a pay TV licence
in July 2000 because of its overwhelming domination of the Hong Kong free
to air market over its only rival, Asia TV.
But while TVB has been linked with a number of suitors, notably Malaysia
direct to home satellite TV operator Astro, it has failed to find a buyer.
In April, days after saying it would launch with a reduced service in
June, TVB leaked the news that it was about to scrap the $675 million
Galaxy venture because it was unable to find a partner. Earlier this month,
reports in Hong Kong suggested that Asia Satellite was prepared to take
a stake in Galaxy, although CEO Peter Jackson said his company did not
have the resources to take the entire stake.
The Hong Kong regulator, the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau,
said it would consider TVB's request and make recommendations to the Broadcasting
Authority as quickly as possible.
Incumbent pay TV operator i-Cable and licence holder Pacific Digital Media
both criticised TVB's attempt to extend the sale period, saying it was
unfair to the existing regulatory regime.
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DTT
consortium fails
A consortium of the UK's terrestrial broadcasters planning to run a new
free-to-air Digital Terrestrial TV service (see ATV news 20/5/02), collapsed
because the BBC insisted that capacity should be set aside in the new
venture for UKTV channels such as UK Gold and UK Living according to the
Times newspaper.
ITV companies Carlton and Granada are said to have refused to fund pay
channels in the joint venture between the BBC and Telewest production
arm Flextech as it would help develop a rival to their own output.
The consortium (the BBC, Carlton, Granada, Channel 4, Channel 5 and the
Welsh Fourth Channel) had intended to submit a joint expression of interest
to the Independent Television Commission. Instead individual expressions
of interest were made as there was no agreement on a full, properly financed
plan - which now needs to be finalised within a fortnight.
Other sources of friction include Channel 4 wanting capacity for its pay
channels, E4 and FilmFour, and Channel 5 unwilling to provide finance
for the venture.
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Bertelsmann
buys Napster assets
Leading German media group Bertelsmann is to acquire the assets (the brand
and products) of US online music swapping service Napster, paying $8 million
and waive $85 million of loans to Napster, which will file for chapter
11 bankruptcy protection. Just a week ago Bertelsmann, offered to buy
Napster for $16 million, but internal disputes caused the deal to fail.
Konrad Hilbers resigned as chief executive of Napster last week as did
Shawn Fanning, co-founder and chief technology officer; both will now
rejoin the group.
The service, which had some 67 million registered users, was shut down
by order of a US Federal court after the five big recording companies,
including Bertelsmann, complained that the peer-to-peer technology infringed
copyright. It is intended that by filing for chapter 11, claims for damages
will be voided.
Hilbers will become chief executive and chairman under the new ownership.
Fanning, who founded the company four years ago at the age of 19, will
become chief technology officer again.
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DTT future prospects
Digital terrestrial television (DTT) has better prospects than might be
suggested by the failures of ITV Digital in the UK and Quiero in Spain,
according to a new study published by the European Broadcasting Union
(EBU).
Key findings of the study include:
* Almost all European countries will have launched DTT by2005.
* Other countries are looking beyond the pay-TV model adopted by ITV and
Quiero.
* Interactivity, Internet, portability, and mobility will not be strong
drivers.
* Equipment prices are reaching mass adoption level.
* Public service broadcasters are at the forefront of DTT developments.
* Most government target dates for analogue shut-off do not reflect realistic
market conditions.
Quiero TV has been shut down with estimated losses of more than E500 million.
ITV Digital has ceased operations and its licence will revert to UK regulators.
"The failure of ITV Digital and Quiero are failures of two business models
under specific market conditions," says EBU Secretary General Jean Stock.
"But this report makes clear there are a number of innovative approaches
elsewhere in Europe that may result in happier endings."
Finland will have a strong DTT offer by autumn 2002 based on an open market
for set-top-boxes, a common technical standard, and strong cooperation
among broadcasters.
France will launch a rich line-up of 33 DTT channels in autumn 2003, including
many free-to-air.
Sweden is considering a variety of new approaches including vouchers for
free set-top-boxes distributed to TV households paying licence fee.
The Netherlands and Portugal will be on-air with DTT before the end of
2002 with platforms backed by a broad coalition of key market players.
Norway and Denmark may consider accelerated switch-off plans for analogue
broadcasting that could leapfrog the countries ahead in DTT development.
The report also says new ventures will have learned from Quiero and ITV
Digital to avoid direct competition with cable and satellite pay operators,
and to steer clear of the set-top-box business.
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BBC
leads UK DTT bid
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BBC
leads UK DTT bid
The British Broadcasting Corporation is seen as leading the field of six
bidders for the three surrendered Digital Terrestrial licences of liquidating
ITV Digital.
The corporation issued a statement saying, "The BBC has expressed interest
in the three digital terrestrial multiplex licences formerly owned by
ITV Digital. This is not a bid but a holding position. It was not realistic
for us to reach agreement in the time available (by 5.0pm 16/5/02) before
the deadline for submissions so we will be entering into discussions with
other interested parties very soon.
The BBC is reported to be leading a consortium of broadcasters which includes
ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and SDN, which already holds a digital terrestrial
spectrum licence.
The five broadcasters had planned a consortium bid but said there was
insufficient time to agree details, and so made separate expressions of
interest to the awarding regulator, the Independent Television Commission
(ITC). Over the next two weeks, these bidders will be working together
to formulate their consortium bid to take over some or all of ITV Digital's
three spectrum licences.
The other confirmed bidder for ITV Digital's licences is MGt, a Scottish
subscriber management company which plans to launch a digital terrestrial
pay TV business to replace ITV Digital. An MGt spokesman was quoted as
saying that, "MGt would be the platform operator but would acquire content
from other broadcasters," in addition to using its own subscriber management
capability.
The BBC-led consortium is reported to want to improve the transmission
quality of the existing free to air channels - such as BBC1 and ITV1 -
on digital terrestrial and could also use the extra spectrum to launch
free to air channels and enhanced interactive services.
BSkyB, which had been expected to by many to be a bidder, confirmed it
is not bidding, but is keen to talking to any licence bidders about supplying
programming to any new digital terrestrial broadcasting outfit.
*UK high
court judge Justice Thomas has agreed to a court date in July for the
Football League's hearing against Carlton and Granada over the £178.5
million the League is owed following the collapse of ITV Digital. This
allows a finding to be made ahead of the start of the football season
and prior to the next £89 million instalment falling due on August 1.
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Lachlan Murdoch defends Foxtel/Optus
Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan has intervened for the second time in attempts by Foxtel to share a programming platform with fellow Australian pay TV platform Optus.
The heir apparent to the News Corp throne blasted what he called, "the extraordinarily and mischieviously misleading" criticisms of the deal announced in February. Speaking in Sydney Lachlan Murdoch said that he, "wanted to set the record straight" about Foxtel, in which News Corp has a 25 per cent stake and Optus, adding "I blame myself for not having corrected the gross mistakes and misleading comments that have been made up to now."
It is the second time that the younger Murdoch has publicly spoken out against criticisms of the deal that both sides say is vital to cut programming costs and steer the Australian pay TV industry towards profitability. There has been almost universal condemnation of the deal by other sections of the media industry.
The free-to-airs are concerned that the pact will drive up programme acquisition costs, while others are worried that it would give 50 per cent Foxtel owner Telstra, the nation's dominant telco and broadband services provider too much control of telephony, TV, data and Internet delivery. This latter fear is thought to the be main concern of Australian regulators who have to approve the deal, although they are already certain to miss Foxtel's unilateral deadline of mid-May for the proposal to get the go-ahead or risk the two parties' threat to pull out.
Murdoch said, "We're realistic that there might have to be some concessions that have to be made. Obviously there are other issues circling this deal in telecommunications and other things that are really outside of Foxtel's control."
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Grundig launches £100 box
During the Mediacast exhibition in London this week, Grundig will be announcing its roadmap in digital technologies. Koen van Driel, Chairman of Grundig UK and Senior Vice President of Digital InterMedia Systems for all of Grundig will give a presentation on the current structure of the company and how it will move forward into the digital age.
Van Driel will also show the first of the company's new family of free-to-view digital terrestrial set-top-boxes which will be available in high street stores at the end of May. This will be the entry price-level product retailing at approximately £100 (E160).
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UPC Poland in Discovery deal
UPC Telewizja Kablowa, a leading cable operator on the Polish market, and Discovery Networks Europe, have announced what they describe as a significant deal. This includes the launch of Discovery Civilisation, Discovery Sci-Trek and Discovery Travel & Adventure for the first time, plus the continued carriage of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet in UPC Telewizja Kablowa cable networks.
Under the agreement signed with Discovery Networks Europe (DNE), subscribers of the majority of UPC Telewizja Kablowa systems will receive three additional Discovery channels: Discovery Civilization, Discovery Sci-Trek, Discovery Travel & Adventure. These channels - in addition to Discovery Channel and Animal planet which have been available to all UPC Telewizja Kablowa customers for many years - are flagship products of Discovery Networks Europe. Because of their universal character, the new channels are intended to be appreciated both by adult and younger viewers.
The introduction of the channels is a continuation of UPC's programming strategy, which is providing a variety of channels a reasonable price.
"I am convinced that the three introduced Discovery channels will find faithful viewers among our subscribers. We make every effort to include in UPC Telewizja Kablowa's programming offer channels which will satisfy even the most demanding viewers," said Ewa Visan, Sales and Marketing Director UPC Telewizja Kablowa.
"We are delighted to announce the completion of this deal with UPC Poland and we look forward to continuing building our business relationship in the future. This deal further strengthens the very strong relationship between DNE and UPC who are one of our key partners across Europe," said Maria Kassova, DNE"s Sales Account Director for Central and Eastern Europe.
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HK price cutting moves
Hong Kong pay TV leader i-Cable has launched a price-cut offering for its broadband service as the sector embarks on a price-cutting war.
Existing users will get a $19 a month (E21) rebate on their monthly subscription of $25 (E27) for every new customer they bring to i-Cable. There are six other companies competing for customers among Hong Kong's 6.8 million population and broadband penetration is close to 700,000 homes, according to government figures.
i-Cable has around 180,000 subscribers and it wants to capture a third of the market. The 'bring a friend' promotion will also mean savings on the $65 commission it pays to agents for every new customer they sign on.
Benjamin Tong, Executive Director of multimedia services with i-Cable, said he expected there would be between 960,000 and one million broadband users by the end of 2002.
Analysts said the move would decrease the average revenue per user (ARPU) from the current $27.13 to $25.71, but that this fall would be offset by an increase in subscribers. Projections now predict that the year-end total of 230,000 could be exceeded by a further 30,000 subscribers.
The Internet arm of i-Cable is expected to generate 23 per cent of the company's turnover in the current financial year, an estimated $300 million.
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AOL
Time Warner shareholders angry
AOL Time Warner's annual shareholder management meeting on Thursday 16/5/02
saw shareholders demand improvements AOL that would bump up the stockprice,
The stock is 40 per cent down this year, remaining below $20, and hit
a 52 week low earlier in last week. CEO Richard Parsons told shareholders
"It's a sort of deep disappointment to us, in all candor,"
CEO Gerald Levin and other executives had vowed that the merger between
America Online and Time Warner in January 2001 would generate $40 billion
in revenue by the end of the year but the prolonged advertising slump
followed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shattered these optimistic
projections. AOL effectively 'bought' Time Warner with inflated dot.com
valued stock, and as dot.com mania has subsided, the real world values
resulted in AOL Time Warner taking a E60 billion charge related to the
merger.
Parsons declined to say whether AOL Time Warner would bid for any of troubled
cable giant Adelphia's assets.
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