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NEWS Monday 4th - Monday 11th November 2002
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
| Tuesday | |||||
Friday 8th November 2002
Viasat losing millions to pirates
BBC job cuts
BT's broad-promotion
TV over the Web
Vodafone changes its mind
Netgem's new iPlayer
News Corp profits up
Viacom knocking at UK's door
e-TV and Zonavi on DTV betting
Arris's Atoga in Cable MSO Market
Viasat losing millions to pirates
By Goran Sellgren
Swedish media giant Modern Times Group (MTG) has been fighting against piracy for a long time, but now its efforts have been significantly strengthened. During the first nine months of this year MTG lost 50,000 subscribers to pirate card peddlers on its DTH platform Viasat alone, resulting in over E10 million lost revenues.
MTG will have to invest over E5 million to find a safer alternative to prevent piracy apart from its present Viaccess CAM system. It is reported that competitor Norwegian DTH operator, Canal Digital, does not have the same problem with its competing Conax-system based boxes.
The Viaccess codes are claimed to be very easy to break, as quite a few people seem to have discovered - a quick Google search in Sweden immediately shows dozens of generous 'offers' to buy illegal Viasat cards. A leading Swedish business paper, Dagens Industri, reported that due to piracy the Viasat Nordic subscriber stock has fallen from 1,125,000 at the beginning of this year to 1,017,000 in October.
Premium tier subscribers, all digitised since last year, have gone down from 500,000 to some 453,000 in the same period. Meanwhile rival Canal Digital keeps reporting increasing figures. Canal Digital recently reported a total of 828,000 Nordic digital subscribers, of which 664,000 took premium tiers.
According to MTG vice president Anders Nilsson the company is still considering, "several alternatives to combat piracy," but it is aiming at launching a solution, and a new system, "at the beginning of next year." "We are chasing pirate card distributors in all four Nordic territories, and we are going to take them all to court," Nilsson comments. So far a mere 10 culprits have been identified in Sweden and three in Denmark.
MTG is also working on Sweden's current very liberal laws concerning possession of pirate cards, to get them 'harmonised' with the stricter laws of the EU.
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BBC job cuts
The UK public broadcaster, the BBC is being forced to cut costs and lay off staff because of a E314 million budget shortfall.
Journalists in the BBC's news and current affairs departments have been asked to take voluntary redundancy as part of a cost-cutting exercise at the corporation, however the BBC's board of management has ordered a clampdown on costs across the corporation reports the Guardian.
The BBC Director General, Greg Dyke, is looking to get E251 million in savings in the next two years. He is also said to believe that staffing levels are too high and must be reduced to a sustainable long term level.
The E314 million mismatch in the corporation's finances arises from an arcane BBC accounting privilege which allows it to borrow centrally against the BBC's assets. This cash has been used historically to smooth out budgetary peaks and troughs between one accounting period and the next.
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BT's broad-promotion
Despite earlier criticism for dragging its heels over broadband deployment and pricing, UK telecoms giant BT is now becoming a broadband evangelist. It is currently considering launching a channel on Sky television to educate viewers on broadband.
However, BT would not provide any content for such a channel and has no plans to turn itself into a broadcaster, using the channel purely as a marketing and education tool. BT's bottom line is to attract more subscribers and hit its target of getting a million high-speed Internet customers by the middle of next year. Two months ago it launched an E52 million advertising campaign to promote broadband.
Ben Verwaayen, BT's Chief Executive, was reported as saying, "BT has accelerated on all fronts during the past year to make broadband available to more customers across the UK. Now we want to do all we can to make broadband as attractive as possible to potential customers, residential and business."
BT efforts don't stay only in the local market. The company has signed a new strategic alliance with US giant Microsoft in which the two companies will collaborate to provide broadband applications for residential and business customers. This moves Microsoft's relationship with BT onto the same footing as its other alliances in the global telecom sector - Korea Telecom in Asia and Verizon in the US.
The alliance combines BT's broadband capability and Microsoft's .Net technology. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer commented, "Microsoft is strongly committed to speeding up the adoption of broadband in the UK."
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TV over the Web
Worldart Media Television (Wam TV), believed to be the UK's first broadband TV station, has been launched over the Internet.
The channel, which is available over ISDN or broadband connections, will transmit 24 hours a day showing alternative arts from around the world. Wam TV has developed from the Edinburgh Festival Revue, which has been transmitting the Fringe in August each year since 1998 to a worldwide audience.
Wam TV CEO Paul Blyth was reported as saying, "It has taken many years for us to gather and produce over 5,000 hours of original material. Wam TV is a great example of how new technology allows the distribution of television on a scale previously impossible."
"We are the UK's first Internet TV station and I am sure we are the first of many. It gives the viewer a truly different approach to television."
www.worldart.com
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Vodafone changes its mind
At the beginning of this week it was said that UK mobile operator Vodafone had dropped its bid for Vivendi Universal's stake in Cegetel. Now Vodafone has renewed its E6.77 billion cash offer for French-American media conglomerate's 44 per cent stake in Cegetel.
Vodafone's original deadline for Vivendi to either reject or accept its offer was October 30th, but the board of the French media giant rejected the bid as being too low. Vodafone has not change its offer. Vivendi was also supposed to have until this Sunday to pre-empt Vodafone's offer for the BT and SBC stakes in Cegetel.
Debt-laden Vivendi is struggling to cut its E19 billion debt whilst trying to raise money to make its own bid to take control of the cash-generative telecoms business. There have been talks with Belgacom and the Belgian government and with Vivendi's banks to win their support of the venture.
Vodafone is determined to win Cegetel, as it would fill the biggest gap in its European portfolio. However, it might have to wait until December for Vivendi's decision after a French court granted the company an extra month to make its bid.
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Netgem's new iPlayer
Netgem has launched iPlayer digital set-top box, which converts digital terrestrial signals on analogue televisions, and uses a built in modem to connect the TV to the Internet.
The iPlayer claims its powerful components mean even those who live in areas of poor reception will get a clear digital image. It can also be upgraded to include further services as more free-to-air digital terrestrial channels are turned on.
Connectivity comes via twin SCART sockets which allows the iPlayer to be hooked up to a video recorder as well as the television. An optical and phono audio-out sends audio to an external speaker system.
A built-in modem allows basic Internet browsing and emailing, with Web pages being reformatted for viewing on a television by the HTML 4.0-compatible Linux browser.
The Internet connection is 'pay as you go' through Netgem's partner ISP, but the device will allow users to choose ISP and upgrade to broadband in the future.
It also has a USB port to connect up peripherals, such as a printer or a Web cam.
The Netgem iPlayer is now available for E234.
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News Corp profits up
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has said its profits in the first quarter had more than doubled thanks to a rebound in advertising, particularly at its US television business. But the figures masked a strong decline in the UK on earnings at the group's newspaper division.
Group-wide profits rose to E162 million from E73 million a year ago. Chief financial officer, David DeVoe offered encouraging signs that the upturn would continue and Murdoch said the company's 35 US TV stations had now witnessed "four solid months" of improvements.
Murdoch was also reported as saying that he would be interested in buying 30 per cent of US satellite broadcaster DirecTV owned by General Motors but he would not be making a full bid for the company if its current deal with Echostar falls apart. A federal judge has already refused to hold an expedited trial in the Justice Department's challenge to EchoStar Communications Corp's acquisition of DirecTV, and instead put the trial off until March.
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Viacom knocking at UK's door
The UK broadcasting industry is said to have plans to open up to non-EU companies next year, a move seen as behind mind Chairman Sumner Redstone's meeting with UK premier Tony Blair, the Guardian reported.
A Viacom spokesperson confirmed the forthcoming UK communications bill would be discussed in the meeting with the Prime Minister. The communications bill will remove the ban on non-EU companies owning TV or radio broadcast licences when it becomes law at the end of 2003.
With an annual turnover of over E22 billion, Viacom has the firepower to snap up Granada and Carlton Communications if they complete their E4 billion merger next year. This is particularly true for 2002 when the company has seen sales grow for all of its divisions.
Redstone's empire comprises MTV, the CBS network in the US, the Paramount film studio and the Blockbuster Video business. In the UK, Viacom also controls the UCI cinema chain, the Paramount Comedy Channel and is responsible for all poster advertising on the London Underground through Viacom Outdoor.
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e-TV and Zonavi on DTV betting
Telenor's company Zonavi and eTV Solutions, a Nordic developer of iTV technology will jointly develop betting solutions for digital TV, TV meets the web reported.
eTV Solutions will deliver the technical solution for an agreement between Norway's largest betting operator, Norsk Tipping, and Zonavi. The venture involves distribution of games such as Lotto, Football odds and other interactive betting products by DTV through satellite, cable and TV-platforms of the future.
In the first phase, the games will be launched on Canal Digital's and Telenor Avidi's digital platforms. Initially the betting-service is scheduled for broadcast early next year. The launch follows on from a pilot project this year that established a new distribution channel of betting services over digital television in Scandinavia.
"Betting is already the most successful revenue generator on DTV and will have a major impact on the whole industry as well as the viewers." says Krister Nilsson, Managing Director of eTV Solutions.
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Arris's Atoga in Cable MSO Market
ARRIS's Atoga Optical Routing Platforms, the OAR 30 and OAR 5, have concluded successful video-on-demand (VOD) interoperability testing with VOD systems providers SeaChange International Inc and with Concurrent Computer Corporation.
The Atoga platforms were tested in conjunction with the SeaChange VOD platform to simulate a deployment supporting hundreds of simultaneous VOD streams. The OAR 30 then delivered a full Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) output down an OC-48 SONET ring with full wire-speed GigE output into hub-based QAMs which then fed multiple set-top boxes. The quality of the video streams at the end user device were tested for jitter, tiling, latency and other degradation over a full day of rigorous, field quality testing.
"The Atoga solution allows Cable MSOs to evolve their networks into true multi-service networks delivering voice, data and video at a fraction of todayˇs costs with increased flexibility," said ARRIS Network Technologies President Bryant Isaacs.
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RTL
gets green light
Swedish TV4 launches new digital
channel
Canal
Plus reveals Pilotime
Visionik
delivers UPC games
EM.TV
head in court
Logica
and CMG merge
Cablevision
still short of cash
Pace
signs deal with Philips' CryptoWorks
Foxtel
subscribers up
Samsung
set-top box exclusive in Japan
RTL
gets green light
Europe's biggest private broadcaster, RTL Group Plc of Germany, has the
go ahead from the European Commission to buy a stake in German television
channel, n-tv.
RTL, which is 90 per cent owned by Bertelsmann, is paying E170 million
for the TV and radio assets of privately owned German publishing group
Georg von Holtzbrinck, including 47.3 per cent of n-tv and the group's
assets in 12 German radio stations.
Berlin-based, n-tv had revenues of E72 million in 2001 and has a market
share of 0.7 per cent of the total German television audience, RTL was
reported as saying.
The Commission said that n-tv was a very small player on the German free
TV market. "The operation will only have a minor impact on and will not
lead to the creation or strengthening of a dominant position," the European
Union's executive said in statement.
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Swedish
TV4 launches new digital channel
By Goran Sellgren
TV4, Sweden's biggest commercial station, is now officially confirming
that the station will soon launch another major digital channel, with
the working-title TV4Plus.
So far speculation has been that the new service would be focused on sports,
games and bettting. But now Jan Scherman, MD of TV4, reveals that TV4
Plus' schedules will also contain major elements of movies, life style,
leisure and fiction series.
The launch of the new service will, according to Scherman, be as soon
as, "some time during the first quarter of 2003."
The launch of TV4Plus is already causing controversy in the Swedish media
industry. When it became known last week that TV4 was very close to a
distribution deal with Com.hem, Telia's cable operator division, Sweden's
two biggest satellite operators TV3 and Kanal5, joined forces and threatened
to sue Com.hem for 'unfair patronising.' Telia is a clear market leader
with 1.4 million households subscribing, some 65 per cent of the total
Swedish cable market.
Scherman, however, is brushing these protests aside, "I find it strange
that my colleagues are protesting against negotiations they do not know
the details of. And I find it strange, too that those who normally are
fighting so hard for 'free competition' get so upset when they themselves
are facing it."
TV4 already operates three digital services. Apart from the main channel
TV4 also runs a news service in partnership with CNN and last spring Mediteve,
an interactive service focusing on young SMS chatters, was introduced.
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Canal
Plus reveals Pilotime
By Sotires Eleftheriou
Canal Plus showed its second generation, or G2, satellite decoders, now
named Pilotime, at the annual distributors' convention. It flew its best
distributors to Marakech to show the new boxes, but so far information
for the press has been very scarce.
While some subscribers will get the new terminal before Christmas, Canal
Plus will not begin promoting the decoders until after the Christmas selling
period. The presentation for the press is planned for early December.
The features of the new box are as follows:
Twin tuners, twin decoder, USB port for link to ADSL modem, scanner or
printer, 30 minute buffer memory for going back on direct viewing, 80
GB hard disc for 40 hours of record time, 64 MB RAM, built-in modem, two
card readers (viewing card and bank card), Java DBB MHP HTML MP3, digital
audio (SPDIF) connector.
Connection to the telephone is obligatory when the box is installed, and
installation is only by approved installers. The rental of the box is
E8 a month (the same as the existing Canal Satellite decoders) but an
additional 'service fee' of E20 a month is charged plus a one-time E40
access fee and a E115 returnable deposit. The point of splitting the monthly
fee into a separate rental and service fee is that a lower tax rate is
applicable (for Canal Plus) on the service fee.
An infra-red keyboard will be available on option for E60. The new program
guide is reported to be much faster and more complete. Satellite Internet
is planned for next year.
Although a twin output LNB is recommended, it will not be necessary as
Canal intends to organise all its channels into the high band and vertical
polarity.
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Visionik
delivers UPC games
Danish iTV developer Visionik is to extend the games offering on UPC Digital's
OpenTV-based cable franchises in the Dutch cities of Rotterdam and Gelderland.
The rest of UPC's Dutch network is based on Liberate middleware.
Visionik will leverage its games experience on the UK's Sky platform where
it works with Cartoon Network and Sky Gamestar.
The UPC games channel comprises a wide range of games from children's
to general use.
Peter Schroder, Commercial Director, Games, Visonik said, "This commitment
from UPC Digital is a testament to our ability to deliver state-of-the
art, high-quality games that appeal to a large audience. The successful
relationship with Dutch Mediakabel paved the way for this opportunity,
and we are enormously pleased that UPC has chosen to take this relationship
to the next level."
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EM.TV
head in court
The founder of media-rights company EM.TV and its former Finance Chief
appeared in a German court on Monday (5/11/02) to answer charges in a
precedent-setting shareholder rights lawsuit. They both denied charges
of manipulating the company's share price.
State prosecutors accuse Thomas Haffa, the company's founder who quit
as Chief Executive last year, and his brother Florian, the former Finance
Chief, of knowingly publishing misleading corporate figures in August
2000, and manipulated forecasts.
In their heyday, the Haffa brothers made handsome profits with the broadcasting
and advertising rights to such popular programs as 'The Muppet Show' and
'Sesame Street' as well as Formula One racing. At its peak, EM.TV's shares
rose to E120, but currently trades at less than a Euro.
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Logica
and CMG merge
Logica and CMG. two of Europe's biggest computer services companies, merged
this week to create the second biggest player behind Cap Gemini.
The new company, valued at E1.5 billion, will be split 60/40 between Logica
and CMG shareholders. With combined sales of E3 billion, both companies
have ridden particularly high on provision of mobile services platforms,
particularly SMS centres, and both have suffered recently from that market's
saturation.
The market gave a cool reception yesterday to what was seen as a logical
but largely defensive move.
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Cablevision
still short of cash
Cablevision closed the deal to sell Bravo to NBC for E1.2 billion, but
it is still in search of further funds and received a new E75 million
cash injection from Quadrangle, the private equity house yesterday. Steven
Rattner, Quadrangle's Managing Principal, will join the cable group's
board.
Despite the liquidity questions and the long running wrangle over the
ownership of Madison Square Gardens, the company has said it still plans
to press ahead with plans to launch a satllite TV system to compete with
Echostar and DirecTV. Cablevision had been touted by Echostar as a competitor
to whom it would lease capacity in an effort to get around regulatory
objections to its takeover of DirecTV. However the deal was finally blocked
last week.
Cablevision is also concerned because later this year Rupert Murdoch's
News Corporation is expected to exercise its right to sell a 40 per cent
stake in MSG, the company which owns the New York Knicks basketball team
and the Madison Square Garden stadium complex, back to Cable-vision.
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Pace
signs deal with Philips' CryptoWorks
Pace Micro Technology is adding CryptoWorks to its range of available
conditional access (CA) technologies following the signing of a global
licence agreement with Philips.
The agreement, which applies to all Pace satellite, cable and terrestrial
products, will initially see the CryptoWorks CA ported onto Pace's CDTV.410
and Digital TV Adapter product groups. Philips' CryptoWorks CA has been
designed for digital payTV operators to provide content security and functionality
features.
The combination of Pace's gateways with Philips' CryptoWorks CA solution
is a new option for payTV operators seeking to launch new or extend existing
DVB-based services.
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Foxtel
subscribers up
By Owen Hughes
Australia's pay TV leader Foxtel has been reducing its losses for the
first quarter of its financial year while boosting its subscriber numbers
upwards.
It announced a net loss of E9.51 million for the three months to September
30, compared to E10 million for the same period in 2001 in a statement
of results issued by Foxtel's 25 per cent owners, News Corp.
At the same time it pushed its subscriber totals to 805,000, an increase
of six per cent on the same period a year earlier with four out of 10
subscribers connected by direct to home satellite receivers. Sales for
the first quarter of the Australian financial year grew to E77.49 from
E69.63 the same period in 2001.
The improved results on the perennial loss-maker come as the company is
waiting to hear whether government regulators will permit its proposed
content sharing agreement with third-ranked Optus amid reports that officials
are unhappy with the strength of Foxtel's undertakings network by third
parties.
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Samsung
set-top box exclusive in Japan
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's IP set-top box will be used exclusively in
what it describes as the world's first interactive digital video broadcasting
service being launched this month in Japan, EBN reported.
Samsung received an initial E30 million contract for its SMT-F240 set-top
boxes from Softbank Broadmedia, which is launching the service first in
Tokyo and later expanding it throughout the country.
The IP digital broadcasting service employs ADSL broadband links to carry
interactive video over the Internet. Samsung said it is negotiating to
sell its IP set-top boxes to other Asian countries, as well as to companies
offering broadcast services in Germany and Sweden.
Back to top
Nordic TV soccer war
Dutch
RTL cuts staff by 15%
Scientific-Atlanta
wins Gemstar again
NBC
to buy Cablevision's Bravo
Sky
on the move
SeaChange
in On Demand deal
New
Media Development Authority in Asia
EW
Scripps enters TV shopping market
Nordic TV soccer war
By Goran Sellgren
The Champions League European soccer tournament, is about to cause a media war in Norway, and throughout Scandinavia. For several years the Scandinavian rights to this major sports event have been held by Modern Times Group (MTG) the aggressively expansive Swedish media group. But as the rights are now about to expire, a major media war seems to be occurring between MTG and Telenor.
Norway's still mainly state-controlled telco, Telenor is a tough competitor for MTG. Telenor has a heavy involvement in most parts of the media world. It's a major satellite operator and a leading cable TV operator, both in Norway and Sweden, owner of one of the leading Nordic DTH platforms, Canal Digital, also big in new media operations such as the Internet and interactive services.
Recent press reports claim that at a meeting in Monte-Carlo representatives for all major Scandinavian TV companies gathered to discuss the issue of future rights to Champions League. And apparently MTG will now be challenged in a big way, with Telenor in the driving seat.
Telenor is certainly a leading force in the Nordic market. In last summer's football championships Telenor secured broadband rights for itself and shared television rights with pay TV rights to Canal Digital (where Telenor, handily, is now the 100 per cent owner) and free TV rights were distributed to a number of Scandinavian stations.
Telenor is now creating a consortium comprising itself, for broadbands rights, plus Canal Digital, Scandinavia's leading public service broadcasters, NRK (Norway), Sweden's SVT Denmarks DR-TV, and the leading commercial stations, Norwegian and Danish TV2 and Sweden's TV4. Also SBS Broadcasting, the owner of satellite rivals to MTG's pan-Scandinavian TV3 in all three Scandinavian countries (TVDanmark, TVNorge and Sweden's Kanal5) is now reported to want to enter the arena.
"If MTG and its TV3 lost the rights to the Champions League it would mean a total disaster for TV3," Knut Kristian Hauger, a leading columnist at Kampanje, one of Norways's most influential media magazines, comments.
MTG is said to be willing to spend 'fortunes' on the renewal of Champions League rights. The question now is, will this be enough?
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Dutch
RTL cuts staff by 15%
Dutch RTL Group subsidiary 'De Holland Media Groep' (HMG) which operates
three of the country's main commercial TV channels, RTL 4, RTL 5 and Yorin,
will cut 120 out 800 jobs and reduce its programming and housing budgets.
The operation, which will be combined with a relocation of its premises,
and accompanied by unspecified cuts in the programming budget, is expected
to save the broadcaster 'several million Euro' annually.
Over the first six months of 2002, HMG turned E10 million in profits over
2001 into a lost of E8 million over the six month period. The loss primarily
resulted from write-offs on two failed reality-tv projects, 'The Bar'
and 'Starmaker', and sliding advertising shares.
Last month HMG filed a complaint with the European Commission, against
the public broadcasters' and the government funding they receive. It was
followed by a public campaign against the public Broadcasters' and their
'market perverting privilege', of receiving both government funding and
selling advertising space.
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Scientific-Atlanta
wins Gemstar again
A US Federal Court granted a summary judgment in Scientific-Atlanta Inc's
favour and against Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.
The American cable television set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta said
the court ruled the company's Explorer 3000 and 8600x set-top boxes do
not infringe on two patents held by Gemstar, which makes interactive television
programming guides.
That same court previously threw out claims made by Gemstar on the same
two patents against a different Scientific-Atlanta set-top series.
Scientific-Atlanta's additional patents remain under contention in the
same Georgia suit. Gemstar, which is under formal investigation by the
US Securities and Exchange Commission and in the process of restating
some past results, replaced Chief Executive Henry Yuen last month with
Jeff Shell, a former executive of Gemstar's largest shareholder, News
Corp Ltd.
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NBC
to buy Cablevision's Bravo
US broadcaster NBC is to buy Cablevision's arts-focused cable TV network,
Bravo. The deal, which will give NBC its first cable entertainment channel,
has been valued at E1.25 billion. Bravo reaches 68 million American homes.
NBC plans to swap its 16 per cent stake in Cablevision and between E328
million and E552 million of its stock from its parent company, General
Electric - which is expected to be sold for cash - for Cablevision's 80
per cent stake in Bravo. It will also pay E250 million in cash to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Inc for its 20 per cent stake in the channel.
Company Chairman Charles Dolan created Bravo 22 years ago. For Cablevision,
the sale of the network is its first transfer of a major cable network
since he launched the Rainbow programming unit in 1980.
"Bravo is a strong fit with NBC across all functions," Andrew Lack, President
of NBC was reported as saying and he added, "We are always looking for
smart, strategic and financially savvy ways to grow." Last year Lack bought
Telemundo for nearly E2 billion in cash and stock and he also owns minority
stakes in the A&E and History channels.
The deal could help Cablevision to close a E900 million funding gap by
2003. The company is also trying to reduce the E9 million debt it incurred
from expanding its network systems.
The move also increases speculation that Cablevision may sell its other
networks, especially American Movie Classics, in which Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and CBS parent Viacom have expressed interest.
NBC Chairman Bob Wright is said to predict that Bravo will provide E70
million of operating income and E160 million in revenue next year.
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Sky
on the move
This Friday UK satellite operator BSkyB is set to announce its Q1 results
for the financial year in which it's expected to returnto profit, gaining
from the demise of rival ITV Digital and the start of the football season.
Preparing for Christmas, Sky Active has launched a new shopping service,
The 'Christmas Gifts' channel, Sky's first dedicated shopping channel,
available to 6.1million digital subscribers. The portal stocks items from
60 plus UK high street retailers, expected to increase to over 150 by
the end of the year.
Viewers will be able to shop while watching another channel, and have
a choice from over 25,000 items, which they can select by product, retailer
or category. Sky will also make discount vouchers available. Currently,
about 2.5 millions viewers use Sky Active services once a week.
The portal was developed by Sky Active, with collaboration from Altura
International and Fernhart New Media.
BSkyB has also named Lester Mordue as its first Head of Music Television
ahead of the launch of three BSkyB-owned music channels next year.
Mordue, 36, is currently Head of Programming at MTV's VH1. He has worked
at MTV for twelve years having previously programmed and scheduled MTV
Europe, VH1 UK and VH1 Classic channels and oversaw last week's launch
of The Music Factory on Freeview.
Finally, BSkyB has reportedly closed a deal to deliver interactive services
to the UK's largest commercial broadcaster ITV. An announcement is expected
later in November.
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SeaChange
in On Demand deal
US video-on-demand server manufacturer SeaChange International and UK-based
On Demand Group have teamed up to develop VOD services in Europe.
The two companies have signed a business development agreement whereby
On Demand will exclusively promote and use SeaChange's VOD systems and
software.
As part of their agreement, SeaChange has invested E2.3 million in On
Demand and has agreed to further investments of up to E13.3 million if
required
Andy Birchall, Chairman of The ON Demand Group said, "We looked carefully
at all the major VOD server systems companies and SeaChange came out on
top in terms of functionality, support, performance and customer satisfaction.
We are therefore especially pleased that SeaChange is joining us as a
strategic investor in our plans to aggressively develop video on demand
throughout Europe."
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New
Media Development Authority in Asia
By Owen Hughes
Singapore has continued the trend among south Asian nations of creating
a regulator with the powers to oversee the country's broadcasting and
media sectors, following in the footsteps of Thailand, China, India and
the Philippines.
Singapore's legislators have passed a bill that allows for the creation
of the Media Development Authority (MDA) that is set to begin work early
next year. The new body will encompass the existing TV regulator, the
Singapore Broadcasting Authority, the Films and Publications Department,
and the Singapore Film Commission.
According the government, the new body is empowered to govern the content
and future development of broadcasting and media organisations in the
city state of 3.5 million that is also an operations hub for several international
satellite broadcasters, including CNBC, ESPN Star Sports, Discovery Channel,
MTV and Channel News Asia.
Over the last three years other Asian nations have allowed for the creation
of broadcasting and media regulators, although the actual rollout of the
bodies has in some cases been less than complete. The problem to date
is that while most parties agree on the need for a such a body, the organisations
with overlapping powers that currently police the sector are unwilling
to sacrifice any of their influence.
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EW
Scripps enters TV shopping market
US media conglomerate EW Scripps Co entered the home-shopping market after
buying 70 per cent stake in Shop At Home Inc, the fourth largest US TV
retailer
Shop At Home Shareholders last week approved an E46 million sale for the
70 per cent stake. The network's 500 Nashville-based employees will become
Scripps, Shop At Home spokesperson Kearstin Patterson said.
Shareholders agreed to change Shop At Home's corporate name to Summit
America Television Inc.
The deal will also provide Shop At Home with a E48million loan to help
the company pay off some E93 million in debt obligations. Shop At Home
will keep a 30 per cent stake in the TV network and ownership of five
TV stations.
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US investigates Vivendi
Eutelsat rolls out satellite broadband
More Sky iTV betting
Foxtel, Australian government favourite?
MILIA 2003 changes
Advertisers oppose Carlton-Granada tie-up
Last London BCE numbers in
Freeview enthusiasm?
Hutchison could miss 3G launch
New German regional emerges
US investigates Vivendi
United States authorities have launched two new investigations into French-American media group Vivendi Universal.
Vivendi was reported as saying on Monday (4/11/02) that the US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York had opened a preliminary criminal investigation into the company and was coordinating with the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Miami, Florida office, which has been conducting an informal inquiry.
The investigations started as it emerged that Vivendi's new CEO Jean-Rene Fourtou, had sent a letter to Vivendi Universal's 11 bank lenders proposing how it hopes to fund a bid to take control of Cegetel, the French telecommunications company.
Fourtou detailed in the letter, sent last Thursday, what the debt-laden media company would need to fund a special purpose vehicle it would use to make the acquisition. Such a structure would allow Vivendi to keep the additional debt off its balance sheet as it continues to look for ways to lower its existing E19 billion of debt.
The company is already facing a class action lawsuit in the US, and is being investigated by the French bourse regulator COB and French justice officials, who are looking into whether the company issued misleading statements on its financial condition during the tenure of ousted CEO Jean-Marie Messier.
Messier and his team also face several other lawsuits in the United States, where some individual shareholders are seeking class-action status.
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Eutelsat
rolls out satellite broadband
Eutelsat has signed an agreement this month with ISP Everywhere! Broadband,
facilitating roll out of the company's OPENSKY broadband satellite service
throughout the UK.
Everywhere! Broadband and Eutelsat are working with partners - including
MGt for subscriber management services, DTS (Digital Television Services)
for nation-wide installation services and Hauppauge for the supply of
USB DVB-IP set-top boxes - to support delivery of the service to end users.
More than 44 per cent of the UK population is unable to access broadband
through terrestrial means according to telecoms regulator Oftel, whereas
OPENSKY will provide access a satellite broadband service throughout the
country regardless of local infrastructure.
OPENSKY is an open standard service platform for both PC and Apple Macintosh
users and offers access to a range of streamed video and audio content,
high-speed internet and fast file delivery - up to 1 Mbps, with starting
prices of E31 per month.
Graham Roberts, Managing Director of Everywhere! Broadband comments, "This
is the solution to the problems of providing the next generation of Internet
services throughout the UK. It tackles the discriminating nature of ADSL
- if the cables don't reach your area you are stuck. Now anyone, anywhere,
can take full advantage of this next generation of communications with
the convenience and extended choice it offers."
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More
Sky iTV betting
BskyB's UK digital satellite service has added the interactive attheraces
channel (418) enabling viewers to watch and bet on exclusive and live
racing through the TV.
Thousands of users can bet simultaneously using their remote control,
while watching the the race on screen.
Special features include access to constantly updated and detailed form
guides, odds and racing information without the need to dial-up via the
viewer's telephone.
Ability to connect to the service and place bets quickly - on average
20 to 30 seconds.
The first stage of the attheraces launch will be using Tote (pool) betting
with the second stage, due to be launched in the New Year, including fixed
odds betting provided by Sky Bet, Ladbrokes, and Bet Direct.
Technology for the service has been developed by a team comprising Arena
Online, (the technology division of Arena Leisure Plc), BSkyB and tentendigital.
The secure service ensure that only the account holder accesses his/her
account information, and Sky says that the deposit and withdrawal of funds,
whether via debit or credit cards, will be processed within a wholly secure
environment.
Ian Hogg, Chief Operating Officer of attheraces, commented, "Our market
research has consistently told us and we have always stated that attheraces
idTV will revolutionise the way we bet. It is quick, easy, secure and
available at home through your television with live pictures all the time.
Now it is up to our customers, growing day by day and available through
more than six million Sky homes and, soon to be added, around two million
cable homes.
Mark Kent, Chief Operating Officer of Arena Online adds, "Our brief was
to make the system user friendly, secure, quick and feature-rich, (and
we have developed) a unique solution, which will set the standard for
future interactive betting platforms."
Betting has proven to be one of the most lucrative iTV services in those
jurisdictions which allow it.
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Foxtel,
Australian government favourite?
By Owen Hughes
The increasingly complex negotiations surrounding the future of Australia's
pay TV industry have been highlighted with legislators claiming that the
government has tried to use a back door method to give market leader Foxtel
the right to block access to its digital network.
The administration of Prime Minister John Howard has been accused of using
the Telecommunications Competition Bill now going through the two-tier
legislature to allow Foxtel to restrict access to the E302 million digital
network it wants to build. The bill is designed for telecommunications
providers and gives them an access holiday to recoup the costs of construction
before it is open to competitors.
But the construction of the network is dependent on the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission (ACCC) giving the go ahead to Foxtel's plans for
a content-sharing agreement with Optus that both sides say will cut acquisition
costs, cut subscriptions and boost customer numbers because of what it
claims will be lower monthly fees beyond the current 23 per cent penetration.
Reports last week suggested that the ACCC is still unwilling to sanction
the deal. The commission is concerned that it will create a de facto pay
TV monopoly in terms of service to consumers and programme acquisition.
It is also unhappy that Foxtel's 50 per cent owner, the dominant national
telco Telstra, has linked the deal with its own plans to bundle the platform
with telephony and Internet access. Telstra also owns the network along
which Foxtel's cable customers currently view the service and the ACCC
is concerned about Telstra limiting access to outsiders.
Australian opposition politicians have accused the ruling coalition government
of introducing the Telecommunications Competition Bill without first circulating
draft legislation and inviting comment from interested parties.
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MILIA
2003 changes
Interactive content exhibition and confrence MILIA, is to be held from
March 26 to 28 next year - instead of February - and will occur alongside
MIPTV, the international television programming event which is also organised
in Cannes, France by parent company Reed MIDEM.
MIPTV runs from March 24 to 28 in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
The aim is to ensure cross-over and exchange between visitors from the
interactive content, games, telecom and electronic distribution industries
attending MILIA and MIPTV's global TV audience.
The new MILIA aims to facilitate and stimulate strategic contacts between
developers and publishers of interactive content, rights holders, broadcasters
and key decision-makers from TV, broadband media and mobile networks.
Laurine Garaude, Executive Director of MILIA said, "The future of digital
media and interactive content is increasingly centred on television. TV
is the most important medium for mass-market entertainment and therefore
offers tremendous synergy for MILIA's partners, visitors and exhibitors.
Furthermore, the future of TV programming is increasingly linked to new
interactive formats that are delivered via multiple platforms over new
digital networks.'
Paul Zilk, Managing Director of Reed MIDEM, adds, "Our clients are looking
to optimise their time and resources while they do business. We are responding
to their needs by reshaping MILIA and moving it next to MIPTV. This strengthens
MILIA's core focus on interactive and digital entertainment while building
bridges between MILIA and MIPTV participants.
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Advertisers
oppose Carlton-Granada tie-up
UK television advertisers have described merger plans for the country's
dominant terrestrial broadcasters Carlton and Granada as being, "hopelessly
unrealistic" and they oppose the deal as it stands.
ISBA, the advertising trade body that represents more than 300 UK advertising
companies, has expressed new doubts over the merger, which would bring
together most of the ITV network, and with it more than 50 per cent of
the TV ads market. The advertiser's position might have an impact on competition
authorities' decisions when judging the merger, even if the media giants
have political support.
ISBA Director of Public Affairs, Ian Twinn, was reported in the Independent
as saying that even if one of the sales houses were to be separated, advertisers
would still fight the deal. "To keep one [sales house] and sell one would
not give us sufficient comfort. And keeping them both is a non-starter,"
he said.
When the two main ITV companies announced the planned merger last month
they said that their starting position would be to try to persuade the
authorities to allow them to keep both sales houses. That would add E31
million a year in synergies to the deal.
Otherwise Carlton and Granada indicated that separating one sales house
would be offered as a concession to get the deal through. The Carlton
ad sales operation would be put under independent management and ownership,
selling airtime for existing Carlton franchises.
Charles Allen, Granada's chairman, has said the group is not considering
going as far as separating both sales houses.
Procter & Gamble, Britain's biggest TV advertiser, has warned that it
may take its business away from ITV if the merger goes ahead.
The main competition issue is the huge share of airtime sales that Carlton
and Granada together would command. Channel 4 and Channel 5 will also
argue against the deal.
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to top
Attendance
figures for the last BCE (Broadband Communicaitons Europe) exhibition
and conference to be held in London (in October) have been announced and
few will be surprised they record a downturn with 1,954 attending in 2002
against 3,579 in 2001. Nonetheless several exhibitors have reported having
a good show with 'quality contacts' being made and BCE is upbeat saying
repeat booking is brisk for Maastricht 2003.
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Hutchison
could miss 3G launch
Hong Kong owned mobile operator Hutchison 3G, the most bullish proponent
of third-generation telecommunications services, says it may not meet
its launch target of delivering 3G handsets to UK consumers before the
end of the year, with reports suggesting 'numerous' minor technical hitches.
Some weeks ago the mobile operator, controlled by Hong Kong's Hutchison
Whampoa, said it was on target to have paying customers in the UK and
Italy before the end of the year.
"While we are making good progress with the (UK and Italy) trials, so
far we are taking a cautious and realistic approach. We are doing this
because our customers deserve a 100 per cent service. Therefore, we cannot
be absolutely certain we will be able to deliver handsets by December,"
a Hutchison 3G UK spokesperson was reported by the FT as saying.
But in a bid to meet its launch date, Hutchison has switched to 24-hour
working days in the UK and remains committed to launching stores in the
country later this month to showcase its phones and services. It is not
clear if it is ready to reveal its tariffs or take formal orders for phones.
It will be possible to order phones via the company's website in Italy
later this month.
Among hitches delaying a formal launch are 'dropped calls' when users
move from a 3G to a 2G coverage. Battery life for live video conference
calls is also reported to be causing problems as current battery strengths
only allow for about one hour of video calls, mainly because of the high
power drain from the 'backlight' function. Video calls between handsets
are said to be working well even when conducted on the move.
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A new regional
German broadcaster will emerge from the merger of ORB and SFB. The public
broadcaster, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) will launch next June following
approval by the Berlin parliament. Under the ARD umbrella the new station
will have about a seven percent share.
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Telewest
sued as debt swap continues
Germany
welcoms stability
Vodafone
drops bid for Cegetel
Hughes and EchoStar tie-up
stoped
Mini set-top box
HK
channels start legal battle
UK
Government's digital TV plans
Australian
pay TV deal could be abandoned
E100m lawsuit against
Canadian pirates
Telewest sued as debt swap continues
UK cablecoTelewest released a statement last Friday (1/11/02) outlining progress on its plans to restructure, after falling into default on its credit facilities and deferring payment on a E99 million coupon payment on Thursday (31/10/02).
Telewest said it is close to reaching an agreement with its senior lenders and the Bondholder Committee regarding its amended bank facilities which are expected to provide the company with sufficient liquidity to meet its funding needs. The provision of the facilities has several conditions attached, including completion of the restructuring on terms acceptable to Telewest's senior lenders.
Under the restructuring deal creditors would take control of 97 per cent of the company, leaving just three per cent for shareholders.
The decision to defer such payments, made already at the end of September, has resulted in defaults under the group's bank facilities and a number of other financing arrangements, the company reported.
Because of this, one of its creditors, the French Bank Credit Agricole, filed a petition for the winding up of Telewest as a result of non-payment of amounts due (E16.4 million).
Telewest played down the legal action and said it should have, "no impact on customer service", and that the company will, "deal with this claim as part of the overall restructuring of its unsecured debt obligations." Telewest says it does not believe the action will, "delay or significantly impede" its restructuring process, but it is nevertheless a mark of just how precarious a financial position Telewest is in at the current time.
The cableco confirmed that it will continue to meet its obligations to its suppliers and trade creditors and this legal action will have no impact on customer service.
However the restructuring plans need to be approved by Liberty Media, the investment vehicle of US cable tycoon John Malone, which owns 15 per cent of the company's stock and 10 per cent of its bonds.
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Germany welcomes stability
By Dieter Brockmeyer
Germany's media authorities and competing media groups hope that the takeover of Kirch Media (which controls commercial TV holding ProSiebenSat.1 Media) by the Hamburg-based Bauer publishing group will stabilise the German 'dual TV system' of public and commercial TV channels.
The regional media authorities last week welcomed the outcome of the insolvency procedures. However it recommended that it take a close look at the links Bauer holds, especially in the field of printed TV guides, as, after the take over, he will be the second strongest integrated media player in Germany after to Bertelsmann.
The German antitrust watchdogs have already hinted at the likelihood of Bauer having to sell its stake in the TV channel RTL 2 in which Bertelsmann - via RTL Group - is on of the co-shareholders. The authority says that there was a rule in the past to keep both families strictly separated and too close a link between the two German TV players is not to be desired in the future either.
So far, the German TV map is divided between the public broadcasting conglomerate of ARD and ZDF, the Bertelsmann controlled RTL Group and Kirch Media which hold about one third each of the viewing market share. The speaker of the director's assembly of the regional media authorities, Norbert Schneider, says that in general it would be good that the instability caused by the Kirch insolvency is given the chance to regain balance again. His colleague from the regional Bavarian authority BLM, Wolf-Dieter Ring, points out that he would be happy if a potent domestic investor was found.
Bauer's intended integration of its traditional activities in print with Kirch's film library is seen as a promising idea. The General Director of the public ZDF, Markus Schachter is also said to be in favour of the stabilisation of the dual system. He says he did not detect any danger that Bauer would use his power in the field of TV programme guides to only promote his own channels. However, the market leader RTL is quite careful about its comments. It will only be possible to say something specific when the conditions of the contracts have been overseen says RTL.
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Vodafone drops bid for Cegetel
UK mobilecom company Vodafone has scrapped its bid for a controlling stake in French group Cegetel owned by media giant Vivendi Universal, pinning its hopes on separate offers for two minority stakes in Cegetel to win control of the company, reported News.com.
Vodafone said in a statement that its cash offer of E6.77 billion for Vivendi Universal's 44 per cent stake in Cegetel had lapsed without being accepted.
A spokeswoman for Vodafone ruled out the possibility of the British company making a higher offer for Vivendi Universal's stake in Cegetel, France's leading private telecoms group which owns the lucrative mobile telephone operator SFR.
"We've made an offer which had a deadline of yesterday (Wednesday 30/10/02). We've seen that Vivendi has rejected that offer and that offer has now lapsed, so that's it," the spokeswoman said.
Vodafone's agreed bids for a 26 per cent stake in Cegetel owned by BT Group of Britain and a 15 per cent interest owned by SBC Communications of the United States were still on the table, she added.
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Hughes and EchoStar tie-up stoped
The US Justice Department and 23 states filed suit in federal court against the proposed E19.5 billion merger of satellite TV operators rivals Hughes Electronics and EchoStar Communications, saying it would harm consumers in the pay television market.
However, it's been reported that the companies are considering a legal challenge against the Justice Department. A court case is one of few options open to Charlie Ergen, EchoStar's Chairman and Chief Executive, as he attempts to salvage more than a year of lobbying for the merger after having amended the deal proposing the sale of satellite spectrum and making an offer for Cablevision Systems Corp.
Attorneys at the antitrust division concluded that Cablevision's satellite service, "was unlikely to become a sufficient replacement for the vigorous competition that now exists between Hughes and EchoStar within a reasonable period of time."
Hughes and General Motors were reported as saying that they were "disappointed" by the decision, which would have created a US satellite TV operator with a subscriber base to rival the largest cable operators. Ergen said his company would, "consider all means to be allowed to compete against the cable giants and for more choice to all consumers."
If the deal finally fails General Motors's Hughes Electronics unit, which owns DirecTV, has the right to walk away from the merger by January 21. Under the terms of the deal EchoStar will have to pay a E600 million break-up fee.
Ergen is expected to challenge the fee and may also seek to lower the E2.7 billion he agreed to pay for Panamsat, the satellite operator that is 80 per cent owned by Hughes, as a consolation if the merger failed.
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Mini set-top box
UK-based Amino Communications' has switched from being a technology leasing company, to a product supplier with the launch of its new mini set-top-box, the AmiNET100.
Mike Greenall, Marketing Manager at Amino explained to advanced-television, "We were looking to use the set tops to prove our IP technology, but the feedback from customers was that we really had something special and they wanted us to supply the set tops themselves, so that's what we did, in response to customer demand."
As a result the company now both continues to licence its technology, while also supplying product, through a manufacturing partner in China
Measuring 75 x 75 x 9 mm, the AmiNET100 is the first in a new series of integrated multimedia distribution set-top boxes and includes interactive on-line audio, video and data services, and Internet access.
The box will be supplied to network operators in the broadband market as well as specialised vertical sectors such as hotels and hospitality markets, education, healthcare and retail - though it is not expected to be a retail product until such time as STBs are generally sold via the retail channel.
Bob Giddy, Amino's CEO said, "Our new AmiNET range of set-top boxes is a superior offering that meets the needs of multimedia distribution and we firmly believe that Amino is accelerating the market for content delivery over IP networks."
The AmiNET100 is an Ethernet-based set-top box for use in networked environments, implementing Linux as the operating system of choice. It provides a common starting point for other products in the AmiNET series that may have different network interfaces, user interfaces or service delivery mechanisms. The unit is available as a licensed design or volume product, and can be customised to meet the specific needs of key customers.
While cost varies with volume, and Amino was releasing no specific figures, Greenall said that implementations with trialists has show a 50 per cent reduction in network expenditure to roll out, as well as speeding up the deployment period. "The broadband market has been primarily one of high end boxes, which has inhibited the market," comments Greenall, pointing out that this is an entry level product with relatively low cost. Current trials underway, including commercial trials, are expected to result in sales, with units to be shipped over the coming years described as, "in the tens of thousands," though subject to vast revision dependent on the market, as well as licensing agreements. It was hinted that the Far East was proving a particularly receptive market, including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, as well as both Southern Europe and Scandinavia being targeted.
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HK channels start legal battle
By Owen Hughes
Five pay TV channel providers have joined forces in a legal battle against Hong Kong set top box vendors that have allegedly been selling householders access to satellite delivered platforms in neighbouring Asian markets.
Writs have been filed against five companies, according to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasters Association of Asia (Casbaa) that is supporting the action by STAR, CNN, Turner Entertainment, ESPN STAR Sports and the National Geographic Channel.
Householders in Hong Kong have been signing up to receive services provided by Thailand's UBC and Malaysia's Astro using receiving equipment sourced from these markets under what is known as the 'grey market.' The Hong Kong companies are facing a civil action by the channel providers because while the equipment is said to be unlicensed, they are not breaking any current laws - either in the country of origin or in Hong Kong.
The channels are demanding damages, arguing that the companies have made money by retailing their service without any agreement. They also want the importation of the set top boxes to he halted and the companies to hand over any equipment that allows the foreign services to be seen.
The vendors have been successful retailing their services to householders in the more remote or hilly parts of Hong Kong where dominant pay TV provider i-Cable Communications has not yet built its distribution network.
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UK Government's digital TV plans
The UK government has detailed new plans for providing e-government services over digital TV, net imperative reports.
Coinciding with the launch of new digital terrestrial service Freeview, the Office of the e-Envoy has released a consultation paper outlining plans to set up a "one stop shop" for the delivery of all public sector services on digital TV.
The government's UK Online portal has already been placed on Sky Digital's interactive platform, and it intends to use the technology to overcome, "the issues of social exclusion currently experienced by the delivery of e-government services over the internet." The consultation period is set to last three months.
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Australian pay TV deal could be abandoned
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Foxtel are likely to abandon negotiations over a radical pay TV deal if they are unable to resolve the major competition issues by next week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
In June the ACCC blocked the original proposal for pay TV rivals Foxtel and Optus to share programming because it was likely to breach the Trade Practices Act. The regulator has promised it will give Foxtel and Optus a formal answer on their revised proposal by mid-November.
It is understood that the ACCC and Foxtel partners Telstra, News and PBL have agreed to walk away from the deal for good if they are unable to resolve the outstanding competition issues by next week.
The commission said the deal created four main areas of concern - the acquisition of pay TV content, the supply of pay TV services, the likely dominance of the Foxtel network, and third party access to the Foxtel network to broadcast competing pay TV services.
The ACCC feared the deal would create a virtual monopoly over pay TV in Australia. But in September Foxtel promised to resell its pay TV service to infrastructure providers, and has already struck commercial deals to do so with broadband network operators TransACT and Neighbourhood Cable.
Foxtel also promised to give aspiring pay TV players access to its network to broadcast competing services - for a minimum E1.25 million cost per channel. Some industry insiders have described it as "Clayton's access," arguing that Foxtel has set the price so high so as to deter any potential competition.
There will be massive ramifications for Australia's media and telecommunications sectors if Foxtel is unable to satisfy the ACCC's concerns and the pay TV deal is scrapped. It might also result in the delay of the country on digitisation since Foxtel has made its commitment to spend E600 million upgrading its analogue cable network to digital conditional on the pay TV deal's being passed.
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E100m lawsuit against Canadian pirates
Canada's largest satellite television provider and three major broadcasters have launched a E100 million lawsuit over the piracy of satellite TV signals in the country.
The suit was launched in federal court by satellite television firm Bell ExpressVu, Astral Media Inc and Alliance Atlantis Communications Corp. It alleges that a number of dealers in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Brandon, MB and Surrey, BC, have violated the federal Radiocommunications Act by illegally selling equipment intended to be used to decrypt satellite programming without authorisation from either of Canada's two licensed satellite TV companies, Bell ExpressVu LP or Star Choice Communications Inc.
The suit demands the dealers to hand over all profits made from the sale of the illegal equipment, as well as significant damages. It also seeks injunctions to stop the sale of any gear intended to decrypt signals from American channels.
"Signal piracy is theft and we want to stop it," said Tim McGee, Bell ExpressVu President. "The law is clear, but obviously a number of these dealers continue to ignore it."
The companies state that the actions of these dealers have had a severe impact on their businesses. Each company has lost customers and revenue as a result of the illegal actions of these dealers.
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