 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
16,000
industry execs receive our Daily News. |
|
|
|
|
|
Free subscription |
|
|
|
|
NEWS Monday November 29th to Friday December 3rd 2004
Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
| Tuesday | |||||
ntl
raises E1.8bn in broadcast unit sale
From Colin Mann in London
ntl has sold its broadcast business to a consortium led by Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group (MCG) and including Macquarie Bank Limited, Industry Funds Management Limited and other third party investors for £1.27 billion (E1.8 billion). MCG acquired ntl’s Australian broadcast services unit in 2002 for £230 million.
Macquarie Communications said it would hold a 54 per cent interest in ntl:Broadcast. Macquarie Bank would own 13 per cent and the remaining 33 per cent would be divided among seven investors including Industry Funds Management and Challenger Financial Services. The acquisition would be funded by a A$920 million (£370 million pound) capital raising, comprising an A$800 million rights offer and a A$120 million placement.
The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2005. ntl and the broadcast business have also entered into certain agreements relating to the provision of future services.
The proceeds generated from the sale may form a special dividend to shareholders and/or stock repurchases, debt repayment and general corporate purposes. ntl says that the decision regarding use of proceeds, which will be designed to maximise shareholder value, will be made after the sale is completed, taking into account tax, legal and structural considerations.
The broadcast business provides tower site leasing, broadcast transmission, satellite, media, public safety communications and other network services in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The broadcast business has the second largest independent portfolio of wireless towers and sites available for lease in the UK. ntl took over the privatised assets of the former Independent Broadcasting Authority transmission network in 1991.
The sale comes shortly after UK communications regulator Ofcom announced that given the dominance of ntl and Crown Castle in the broadcast transmission market, it was likely to require certain conditions regarding costs and access be met. It had been feared that any future restrictions may have hindered the sale
Macquarie Communications
said that the purchase helped diversify its portfolio beyond Australia into
Europe, with Chief Executive Scott Davies revealing that the company would
keep a lookout for further similar acquisitions in Europe.
Back
to top
ISPs could soon
become public service broadcasters alongside the BBC, with Tiscali the first
to break cover and reveal ambitions to grab a slice of the proposed £300m
(E435m) fund for digital public service programming, reports New Media Age.
Tiscali launched a new broadband TV service, Tiscali.tv, last week, which
could become the vehicle for its involvement in the area. It has started with
an hour of new programming every day, based around music, film and sport.
It's already creating some original programming for this and says it wants
to get involved in content that might otherwise struggle to find mass exposure.
Media regulator Ofcom recently proposed to create a 'public service publisher'
that would have £300m to commission innovative public service programming
which could be distributed over digital channels. Richard Ayres, portal director
of Tiscali UK, said that the company was keen to exploit the potential opportunities
offered by this. 'Give us six months and we could be in a position to pitch
for a part of it,' he said.
The news comes as Luke Johnson, chair of C4, warned any new service as envisioned
by Ofcom could be an expensive cultural ghetto with tiny, heavily subsidized
audiences.
Back
to top
Racing UK, the
dedicated horseracing channel, has added Broadband to its portfolio of broadcast
platforms.
The new service which is available to an estimated 3.2 million Broadband users
in the UK and Ireland, will deliver coverage of the channel's quality schedule
of domestic and South African action, including its popular daily Racing Replay
programme, direct to laptops and PCs.
Racing UK Executive Chairman Simon Bazalgette said, "The growth of Broadband
is staggering, and its applications as an entertainment medium are becoming
increasingly widespread. By making Racing UK available to Broadband users
we are bringing top quality racing into environments where computers are more
likely to be accessible than televisions.”
A stand alone subscription to the Broadband service mirrors the digital satellite
rate of £20 per month, but is available to existing satellite subscribers
with a 50% discount. "We are also offering access to our existing satellite
subscribers at the discounted rate of just £10 per month, which we hope
to be able to extend to cable customers in time," added Bazalgette.
Back
to top
Warner Music
has underlined its ambitions in mobile telephony by agreeing a 28-country
distribution deal with Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications company.
The deal follows a raft of tie-ups and licensing contracts between the recorded
music industry and mobile operators, including Vodafone, T-Mobile, Verizon
and others. Under the Warner deal, Ericsson will distribute music tracks,
ringtones, artist logos and other content over wireless and broadband customers
across Europe.
The deal comes as the music industry, which has seen global sales fall from
$40bn to $32bn over the past four years, is trying to secure new revenue streams
from mobile operators. The market for ringtones is estimated to be worth $3.5bn
a year.
The Ericsson-Warner deal will be built around M-Use, the Swedish group's system
for distributing music recordings to mobile users.
Back
to top
Modern Times Group has announced the launch of its pay-TV services via broadband. The move follows an agreement with broadband network operator Bredbandsbolaget, to make Viasat Broadcasting’s pay-TV channels available to 300,000 households in 50 Swedish cities that are connected to Bredbandsbolaget’s fibre network.
The households can now place orders to subscribe to Viasat’s premium pay-TV package. The complete pay-TV-package will cost SEK 299 per month, which is the same price as for Viasat’s premium Gold package via the Viasat DTH platform.. Customers signing up for a twelve-month subscription will be offered the new set-top box that is needed to view the channels for SEK 1. The boxes are being supplied by Kreatel and are plugged directly into the broadband socket, making a broadband subscription or PC unnecessary. The offer will be extended to all Bredbandsbolaget DSL-connected households in 2005.
The pay TV package
consists of 29 channels, including Viasat’s TV3, ZTV, TV8, the six TV1000
movie channels, the three Viasat Sport channels, Viasat Explorer, Viasat Nature/Action
and the newly launched Viasat History; as well as BBC World, Hallmark, MTV,
VH1, Nickelodeon, Fox News, Bloomberg, the Travel Channel and the two Playboy
channels.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “The offer
is the first of its kind in Sweden and delivery of content via broadband is
expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. This new development opens
up the possibility of enhanced TV services in the future.”
Back
to top
A live three-day
Chinese TV gameshow in which companies vie to win TV advertising slots has
made E485m for its network China Central Television.
The Economic Olympics, which commenced with the firing of a starter pistol
and ended after 13 hours of bidding highlighted the country's advertising
boom. The event raised 27% more revenue this year than in 2003.
Household goods giant Procter & Gamble was crowned "bid king"
after spending E35m on advertising space for brands such as Head & Shoulders
and Pampers.
With 300 million Chinese households now owning a TV set, the country represents
a massive market. Companies spent E11bn on advertising in China last year,
according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.
Back
to top
Meanwhile, Discovery
Network Asia is launching two new channels Discovery Science and Discovery
Hobby & Leisure (H&L) in Taiwan. The channels will be available from
this month.
The channels will launch on the digital platforms of China Networks System
Co. (CNS), Taiwan Broadband Communications Co. (TBC), and Eastern Multimedia
Co. (EMC), three multi-system operators, which control over 60 percent of
Taiwan's cable operators. The new channels will strengthen current offering
comprising Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Knowledge Travel & Adventure
in Taiwan.
Back
to top
NPTV, the French iTV vendor, says it has rounded out its technology portfolio with the acquisition of Kinomaï, the leading company in live video signal transformation, indexing and information-tagging over all video platforms.
Kinomaï
has developed a set of products and solutions to automate video treatment
for the professional broadcast market. It holds a unique patent portfolio
and highly powerful technology in this area. Current clients use this technology
for video and image recognition over networks, automatic indexing for videos
stored on Personal Video Recorder set-top boxes, metadata insertion in videos
for archiving purposes or triggering events.
Back
to top
CANAL+ has just signed an agreement with Twentieth Century Fox covering the period 2007-2012 that will allow its subscribers to enjoy exclusive first broadcasts of all of the movies produced by the US studio.
CANAL+ currently
holds exclusive first-run rights from US studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal
(featuring rights to the entire catalogue), Sony/Columbia, DreamWorks, New
Line, Miramax and Spyglass. CANAL+ also holds rights to the exclusive broadcast
of recent feature films produced by The Walt Disney Company and Pixar animated
film studios.
Back
to top
Telenor has opened its new UMTS mobile network. Telenor Mobil's customers will have access to third generation mobile services such as video calls and Mobile TV. At the time of launch, the network covers 70 cities and densely populated areas in Norway.
"It is with a feeling of pride and excitement that we now embark upon a new era in Norwegian mobile history. Norwegians are among the world leaders in adopting advanced mobile services, and the potential of such services has now been made significantly greater. At the time of launch, the new network covers approximately half of Norway's population, and we are committed to continue our network rollout as planned," said CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas of Telenor.
By March 2005,
132 cities and densely populated areas will be covered, and all areas with
more than 200 people will have full coverage by 2007.
During an introductory phase, Telenor Mobil customers will be able to make
video calls free of charge. During the campaign period, customers in the consumer
market will not be charged more than NOK 5 per day for Mobile TV and other
Internet access.
Back
to top
SES Americom
has acquired Verestar for a total cash consideration of $18.5 million, completing
the transaction that was announced in April 2004. The necessary authority
for the transaction was received in an order from the FCC . AMERICOM plans
to fully integrate operations of the Fairfax, VA-based company, including
people, teleport facilities.
Back
to top
Viaccess announces
a partnership agreement with DTS Telecom to provide secure solutions for contribution
links and Brazilian business TV markets.
DTS Telecom, owned by Participacoes Mediacast Ltd, is a provider of broadcast
and broadband video solutions for the Broadcast, Cable, Satellite and Telecommunication
industries. The company is active in the three main businesses areas. First
of all, it represents leading digital video and SATCOM equipment manufacturers
wishing to penetrate the Brazilian market. Additionally, DTS Telecom delivers
turnkey solutions such as fixed satellite uplinks, DSNG, video terrestrial
link to customers all over the country. Finally, through various Brazilian
partners, DTS Telecom participates in the build-up of various value-added
services such as DSNG rental, conditional access operations, interactive distance
learning and IP Multicast services enabling its customers to create new revenue
streams while keeping operating costs low.
“DTS Telecom chose Viaccess primarily for its superiority in terms of
content protection technology. We believe Viaccess is the right conditional
access provider for contribution and business TV in Brazil as it offers a
very competitive product breeding high technology and flexibility at the best
price”, declared Billy Graham Neves, DTS Telecom CEO.
Back
to top
BT
back in the TV business
From Colin Mann in London
BT is creating a new division called BT Entertainment within its Retail consumer business to drive the company’s broadband activities in entertainment and education. The new business’s strategic brief is to enable content providers to reach broadband customers through platforms and services backed by the quality of the BT brand. It will develop, license and bring to market content value-added services such as on-demand music, gaming, TV and movies.
The unit - which will become operational on January 1 - will be headed by Andrew Burke, currently director of value added services at BT Retail. BT Entertainment will incorporate services such as Rich Media – BT’s content platform business, Click & Buy – BT’s online payment system and BT Learning Centre – BT’s online learning offering. Burke will be joined in the new venture by Dan Marks, currently President of Universal Studios Networks UK.
Pierre Danon, BT Retail chief executive – who is leaving the telco in January to head IT consultancy Cap Gemini – said that a focus on entertainment service was “the natural next step for BT in driving further value for new and existing broadband customers,” adding that the telco was about to cross the chasm from an early adopter market to one which would fully embrace the full potential of broadband, a fledgling mass market. “Our customers are telling us that they want more, that fast access alone is not enough, and they are demanding more entertainment and communications services,” he continued.
Marks suggested that the division’s creation showed BT's commitment to being at the leading edge of broadband developments in the UK and maximising the opportunities enabled within the home.
BT was a leading
player in providing entertainment content over broadband cable networks in
the latter part of the 1980s, when it ran a handful of cable networks via
subsidiary companies, and invested in music, film and children’s channels.
It progressively withdrew at the beginning of the 1990s to focus on core network
activities, and to await the regulatory freedom to provide entertainment services
over its own network.
Back
to top
Sony, Toshiba, IBM reveal ‘cell’
chips
Days after being opposite sides in the DVD standards war, Sony and Toshiba
have, together with IBM, revealed their plans for the powerful new "Cell"
processor the three are jointly producing to run next-generation computers,
game consoles and televisions.
Cloaked in secrecy and the object of much speculation since the three announced
the project in 2001, Cell is billed as being far more powerful than conventional
chips and able to shepherd large chunks of data over broadband networks. In
a joint release, the firms gave a glimpse of their plans for Cell-powered
products. Further details of the chip will be revealed in February at the
International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco.
Sony said it would launch home servers and high-definition televisions powered
by Cell in 2006, and reiterated plans to use the microchip to power the next-generation
PlayStation games console, a working version of which will be unveiled in
May. Toshiba said it planned to launch a high-definition TV using Cell in
2006.
IBM said it would start pilot production of the microprocessor in the first
half of 2005. IBM also announced plans to first use the chip in a workstation
it is developing with Sony, targeting the digital content and entertainment
industries.
Together, IBM, Sony and Toshiba are investing billions of dollars to develop
and prepare for mass production of Cell, which is a multicore semiconductor
composed of several processors that work together to handle multiple tasks
at the same time. "In the future, all forms of digital content will be
converged and fused onto the broadband network," Ken Kutaragi, executive
deputy president and COO of Sony, said in a statement. "Current PC architecture
is nearing its limits."
Back
to top
O2 UK and O2 Ireland will have exclusive use of i-mode branding and technology in their respective markets. In Germany, the company will launch the service based on i-mode technology under its own brand. In addition to its 800 retail outlets in the three countries, mmO2 has the right to sell the i-mode service and handsets through its existing independent retail channels.
Peter Erskine,
chief executive officer of mmO2 plc, noted the recent success of i-mode elsewhere
in Europe and its growing subscriber base, and revealed that the operator
had conducted a thorough evaluation of the opportunities offered by licensing
the technology. “Of particular significance is the ARPU increase experienced
by other i-mode licensees - largely driven by the combination of an intuitive,
easy to use interface with an impressive selection of handsets and a wide-ranging
content library,” he claimed.
The agreement marks DoCoMo's eleventh partnership for the i-mode service.
mmO2 joins an international base that includes: E-Plus Mobilfunk (Germany),
KPN Mobile (Netherlands), Far EasTone Telecommunications (Taiwan), BASE (Belgium),
Bouygues Telecom (France), Telefónica Móviles Espana (Spain),
Wind Telecomunicazioni (Italy), COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications (Greece),
as well as Telstra (Australia) and Cellcom Israel (Israel).
Back
to top
Foxtel has notched
up over 500,000 digital subscribers and regional pay TV operator, AUSTAR,
hit 260,000 subscribers to its new digital service. Two Way has an exclusive
licence agreement for interactive technology with UK-based Two Way Media,
giving it access to about 150 digital, interactive TV and mobile media applications.
Back
to top
The majority
of UK Internet users now have broadband connections at home, according to
figures released today. The number of high-speed broadband internet connections
has more than doubled in the past year to more than 11 million, meaning more
than half of the UK's online population of 22.8 million are now accessing
the internet at high speed, according to figures from ACNielsen NetRatings.
"Twelve months ago high-speed internet users made up less than one quarter
of the audience. Now they are more than 50% and we expect this number to keep
growing," said ACNielsen's European internet analyst, Gabrielle Prior.
Back
to top
Liberty links with Sumitomo to control J-Com
Liberty Media
International has entered into a contribution agreement with Sumitomo Corporation
whereby each party will contribute their shares in Jupiter Telecommunications
to a JV LMI/Sumisho Super Media, LLC (Super Media).
This will bring Super Media's total ownership interest in J-COM to approximately
65% as of the closing date. Subject to certain conditions, Sumitomo Corporation
has the obligation to contribute substantially all of its remaining 12% ownership
interest in J-COM to Super Media during the year following the closing date.
Super Media will be managed by a management committee consisting of two members,
one appointed by each of LMI and Sumitomo.
Back
to top
Viewers
to talk to Honda through TV
Zip Television is presenting viewers with direct access to Honda specialists
through their Digital TV sets. The first ever prototype of the service, known
as The Honda Dealer of the Future, is being revealed for the first time today.
Honda experts will interact with viewers that press red, demonstrating and
discussing on screen various highlights of the Honda Civic Type-R using video,
audio and graphics.
The Prototype, developed by Zip Television’s own creative production
team, demonstrates, live, how viewers will speak to a Honda specialist. The
specialist responds through the television in a picture-in-picture window
with the rest of the TV screen used to show video and images throughout the
conversation. The Honda specialists have a large amount of information available
and they browse and select appropriate images to highlight points in the discussion.
So a consumer particularly interested in safety, will be able to explore the
key safety features of the car through the TV.
Back
to top
Alcatel announced
that SFR, the French MNO has chosen Alcatel's 3G video solution to create
real-time video telephony and videoconferencing services between UMTS handsets
and PCs equipped with web cams or IP video terminals. Alcatel's solution was
tested by several hundred volunteer users in 2004 before commercial launching
of 3G services for professional and corporate users in May 2004.
"The use of such an innovative 3G video solution on our UMTS network
will
enable us to provide our subscribers with real added value and quickly
generate new user habits, thanks to the millions of PCs already deployed in
the office and the home", states Pierre Bardon, Chief Operating Officer
of
SFR.
Back
to top
Intelsat loss threatens $3.1bn sale
The $3.1 billion takeover of Intelsat may be threatened by an electrical problem that has ruined one of its satellites. Intelsat said private equity group Zeus Holdings Ltd had the right not to complete its takeover if the satellite was lost:
“Under the terms of the Transaction Agreement and Plan of Amalgamation for the sale of Intelsat, dated as of August 16, 2004, among Intelsat, Ltd., Intelsat (Bermuda), Ltd., Zeus Holdings Limited, Zeus Merger One Limited and Zeus Merger Two Limited, the total loss of the IA-7 satellite would give the purchasers the right not to consummate the acquisition of Intelsat. The purchaser, Zeus Holdings Limited, has advised Intelsat it is evaluating the impact of the IA-7 failure” said the satellite operator.
Zeus, an investment vehicle formed by private equity firms Apax Partners, Permira, Apollo Management and Madison Dearborn Partners, was evaluating the impact of the failure, Intelsat said on Sunday. An electrical distribution anomaly hit its Americas-7 satellite early on Sunday morning and it was working with manufacturer Space Systems/Loral to determine the cause of the problem.
The satellite,
launched in September 1999, covered the United States, Canada, Central America
and parts of South America. Intelsat currently has 23 satellites in orbit
as well as leased capacity on two additional satellites owned by other operators.
Back
to top
A meeting of the suppliers of the free channels on the future French DTT service and the Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, has decided on a pre-launch on 15 January 2005, from the Eiffel Tower transmission site.
A meeting is
set for 13 December with the Digital Economy Mission of the Ministry of Finance
and Industry, to settle the implementation of this pre-launch. The official
date for the launch of the free channels is 1 March 2005, reaching
about half the population.
The pre-launch
will enable early adopters in Paris to try out the reception and it will also
enable antenna installers to get ready for the launch.
Back
to top
Ofcom has published the final digital replacement licences (DRLs) offered to commercial terrestrial broadcasters.
The Communications Act 2003 obliges Ofcom to make an offer of a DRL to Channel 3 licensees, Channel 5 and Public Teletext to replace their current analogue licences. If accepted, the replacement licences must be issued no later than 28 December 2004.
The DRLs will
become the main new broadcasting licences for Channels 3, 5 and Public Teletext
and will contain the key public service requirements set out in their existing
analogue licences together with new digital switchover
obligations. A different process is required for Channel 4 in recognition
of its unique status. Therefore, Ofcom is also today publishing a revised
draft DRL for Channel 4 notifying it of the proposed terms of its new licence.
Back
to top
Cablevision's Rainbow DBS subsidiary disclosed last week that the five satellites it has ordered will cost the company about $740 million.
Rainbow DBS recently
entered into a procurement contract with Lockheed Martin for five Ka-Band
satellites and provide other services, but not launch support. The Cablevision
unit said it intends to use the satellites at licensed orbital locations it
holds at 62 degrees, 71 degrees, 77 degrees, 119 degrees and 129 degrees.
Back
to top
Hong Kong based PCCW is planning to put US$40 million into its UK broadband business in 2005 following a positive response to a promotional campaign.
Vice-chairman Jack So said PCCW prefers a phased commercial rollout over a nationwide service offer and the company plans to build 60 base-stations in the first stage to serve six areas in the London area, while the national service will consist of more than 900 base-stations. "At this stage, we are still testing the market potential, so a conservative phased rollout programme is more suitable for our future planning. It's hard to say when the business will achieve break-even but I am sure it will be a profitable business,'' he said.
PCCW spent US$6.3
million acquiring 13 of the U.K.'s 15 broadband licences at auction last year,
and bought the other two from competitors for an undisclosed amount.
Back
to top
Scopus Network Technologies, reported that it has completed the initialisation of a new headend for "GeoTelecom Satellite Services" (GTSS). Scopus worked with its Russian partners, Syrus Systems, on this project.
Scopus supplied GeoTelecom Satellite Services with a complete compression
platform for digital turnaround and re-transmitting of digital content over
satellite network. The new headend is composed of CODICO E-1000
Professional Encoders, IVG-7300 advanced video gateway and router for performing
digital to digital processing as well as statistical multiplexing, numerous
IRD-2600 Professional IRDs and various RF equipment.
Back
to top
Yoo
Media acquires DITG
From Colin Mann in London
Digital interactive specialist Yoo Media is to buy Digital Interactive Television
Group (DITG) and The Gaming Channel (TGC) in a £28 million (E40 million)
deal. Yoo Media is raising the money for the deal by the issue of up to 120
million Ordinary Shares, the payment of approximately £5.3 million in
cash and the repayment of loans totalling
approximately £4.7 million.
The Company proposes to raise £25 million (gross) by way of a placing
of a further 166,666,667 shares in the Company at 15 pence per share. Completion
of the deal is conditional on shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General
Meeting to be held on 20 December 2004.
DITG provides software sales and support, return path and broadcaster infrastructure
services for digital iTV channels. It has also developed a number of interactive
advertising and scheduling solutions for broadcasters, including Channel 4,
UKTV and five. TGC provides fixed odds and casino style gambling channels
and products through the medium of broadcast and iTV on Sky. It owns and operates
two gambling channels on the Sky platform - Avago and Channel 425, which is
extensively promoted by William Hill, which acts as the exclusive betting
partner. In addition to its own channels, TGC also licenses its gambling formats
and games to third-party-owned channels.
The return path division of DITG provides the only third-party
commercial alternative to Sky for activating the return path from a set top
box. DITG provides the broadcast infrastructure services for all of TGC‚s
channels and is a leading gambling broadcaster on the Sky platform.
Michael Sinclair, Executive Chairman of YooMedia, said the merger created
"a powerhouse with market leadership in the independent interactive digital
industry. Together we have the brands, content, distribution, technical know-how
and the relationships with platforms and broadcasters to satisfy the increasing
appetite for interactive applications in TV, radio mobile and on the internet."
John Swingewood, Chairman of DITG, suggested that the enlarged group would
have "a significant impact on the interactive media landscape in Britain
and shows that we now have an industry that has come of age and can exploit
the fast-growing demand for our services."
Ironically, Swingewood declared in July 2003 ù when DITTG acquired GOiNTERACTtv
- that he intended DITG to be at the forefront of future consolidation of
the European iTV sector.
Back
to top
TF1
rallies behind MPEG-2 for DTT
From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris
Patrick Le Lay, the head of leading commercial analogue broadcaster TF1, which also supplies a range of thematic channels, has announced that his group will broadcast in MPEG-2 on digital terrestrial television (DTT). Since 2000, he has been a strong proponent of using DTT for broadcasting in high definition. This would entail the use of MPEG-4 compression, still not fully completed for DTT use. It was generally seen as a tactic to delay the launch of DTT, which could take part TF1's large slice of the advertising cake.
Earlier this month, the government announced that it had chosen MPEG-2 for the DTT free channels (to be launched in March 2005) and would make an announcement about the standard for pay channels in the coming weeks.
Le Lay visited
TV regulator the CSA to put his case. Interviewed in the press afterwards,
he said that he had abandoned the idea of putting HDTV on DTT, saying that
it was not appropriate. His group would put HDTV on TPS, via cable, satellite
and ADSL.
The reason given for this about-turn is "pragmatism", given that
MPEG-2 had been chosen for the free channels, and that a mix of standards
would be the worst possible scenario.
The move will
also enable TF1 to steal a march on its arch rival Canal+. The latter had
DTT licences for six channels (five of which were to be pay channels) cancelled
by the State Council. It now has to undergo a resubmission procedure which
will delay their launch. Meanwhile, TF1 can go ahead and launch its own premium
channel, TPS-Star, already available on cable and satellite, via DTT.
It now remains to be seen how the government, largely seen as backing TF1,
will make its decision about the standard for pay DTT and how it could spin
any such announcement.
Back
to top
BT is to sell its entire shareholding - 15.8 per cent - in satellite operator Eutelsat for £363 (E529) million in cash, having signed a definitive agreement with GS Capital Partners 2000, an investment partnership affiliated with Goldman Sachs.
The transaction
is conditional only upon the approval of the Board of Eutelsat and is expected
to complete in the current financial year.
Back
to top
Spain's leading
pay-TV group, Sogecable, owner of pay-TV terrestrial channel Canal Plus and
digital DTH platform Digital Plus, reduced its losses by 24.2 per cent up
to E109 million until September, against a loss of E143.8 million the previous
year.
The company declared an EBITDA of E220.4 million, 94.8 per cent up, and a
total turnover of more than E1 billion in the first nine months of the year,
26 per cent more than last year. Revenues per client grew by 26.5 per cent
up to E 795.3 million.
As of September 30, Sogecable had 2,084,000 subscribers, out of which 1,605,000
are subscribed to Digital Plus and 479,000 to Canal Plus. The ARPU was E47.3
per month in the third quarter of the year.
Back
to top
BBC financial controls declared fundamentally sound
Financial consultancy Ernst & Young has submitted its independent review of the BBC's system of financial controls commissioned by the corporation’s Board of Governors in August.
Ernst & Young has concluded that the BBC's system of financial controls and procedures is fundamentally sound, but that a number of specific controls need tightening and that some budgetary processes need to be reviewed in the interests of improved accountability and value for money.
The BBC’s Governors have passed the review’s recommendations to the Director-General, Mark Thompson, and Chief Operating Officer, John Smith, for action and have requested they report on implementation to the next Audit Committee meeting in December.
BBC Chairman Michael Grade said that the BBC must be conscious always that it is funded by public money. “As the custodians of this public money, the Governors have a duty to monitor the BBC's financial controls. The Governors are reassured that this review by Ernst & Young has found the BBC's overall system of financial controls to be fundamentally sound. As part of our new governance arrangements, the Governors are committed to strengthening our methods for monitoring the BBC's financial performance and this will include commissioning ad hoc reviews of this type."
Mark Thompson,
Director-General, confirmed that BBC management was committed to delivering
the best value for licence fee payers and that, along with all his Executive
colleagues, would ensure they continued to improve the BBC's performance.
Back
to top
Indian
digital TV consultation set for December
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is preparing a consultation
paper on digitalisation of TV broadcasting, anticipated for release in December.
TRAI chairman
Pradip Baijal, addressing a seminar on issues relating to broadcasting and
distribution of TV channels, said that digitalisation was an expensive process.
“It would take some time before a final decision is made," he said.
Back
to top
UK independent TV producer Ten Alps Communications is looking to make further acquisitions as it proceeds with its strategy of develop the company as a financially strong media business focussed principally on TV production across a range of genres, but also protected by its diversity in advertising and events.
According to chief executive Alex Connock, the period to March 2005 will “certainly” see Ten Alps return to an interest in acquisition of television production businesses, financed by organic cash flows. “We have done the ground work in terms of finding opportunities, covering editorial areas outside factual TV, such as entertainment or drama. We hope to make our fifth TV company acquisition before the middle of 2005,” he stated.
Chairman Brian
Walden said that Ten Alps was aiming to become one of the UK’s leading
independent TV production businesses, at a time when the market has been going
through a period of regulator-driven expansion and rapid consolidation.
Back
to top
Recent research has established that the percentage of households with a high definition-capable TV (HDTV) set nearly doubled in the past year, with seven per cent of households in the United States having an HDTV at the end of the third quarter of 2004.
Adoption of HDTV sets continues to be spurred by higher-income consumers, suggests the report, HDTV: Awareness, Interest and Intent to Purchase 2004, published by Leichtman Research Group (LRG). Nevertheless, LRG considers that the situation remains unclear, even among early adopters, observing that while 86 per cent of adults have heard of HDTV, consumers in general still have a limited knowledge of HDTV.
The most important misunderstanding about HDTV may be among those who have already purchased an HDTV set, contends LRG. The majority of consumers in households with HDTV sets are not actually watching HD programming, but they think that they are. While 65 per cent of HDTV owners report that they are receiving HD programming from their cable or satellite TV company, industry analysis reveals that the true figure is about half of that total.
“Consumer
adoption of HDTV has been strong over the past year, and will continue to
grow substantially over the next several years. We expect that by the end
of this year about 10 million households will have an HDTV, and that number
will grow to 45 million by the end of 2008,” said Bruce Leichtman, LRG’s
president and principal analyst. “Yet today there are millions of households
with HD-capable TV sets that are not seeing the true benefits of HDTV.”
Back
to top
The team adds capability to Thomson's IP offering and supports the Group's strategy to pursue leadership in providing integrated systems for its telecom and network customers, notably around IP devices and solutions.
The Lyon-based
team’s expertise centres on the design, systems integration and management
of IT infrastructure above the IP layer (system administration, messaging,
portals and web services), with an emphasis on TV and Video On Demand (VOD)
over xDSL solutions. Thomson believes there is significant demand from its
clients for expertise in these services, and considers that EADS DCS' Video
over IP activity significantly enhances its offering in this sector. The unit
has been integrated into Thomson's Telecom activity, part of Broadband Access
Products.
Back
to top
Ofcom urged to tackle ITV regional cuts
UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom is coming under increasing pressure to rescind its proposal to allow ITV to cut its regional programming quotas.
The issue has been raised in parliament, and a number of MPs have written to Ofcom's chief executive Stephen Carter requesting a meeting and rejecting the argument that regional programmes are unappealing.
In its consultation on public service Ofcom accepted ITV's case that it should be allowed to reduce its obligation to produce non-news regional programmes in England from a minimum of three hours a week to one and a half hours.
ITV and Ofcom say they remain strongly committed to local news, but argue that some non-news regional programmes are little watched and are not valued by viewers.
Peter Hain, the
leader of the House of Commons, said the plans were "not acceptable"
and urged Ofcom to take note of politicians' concerns.
Back
to top
Five awards disaster recovery deal to BBC Broadcast
BBC Broadcast, one of the corporation’s commercial subsidiaries has signed a five year contract to provide UK commercial broadcaster Five with ‘level one’ disaster recovery.
From January 2005, the Broadcast Centre will be the first port of call in the event of a disaster, and will provide the capability to playout Five’s services to all platforms straight away. BBC Broadcast has provided Five’s phase two disaster recovery since July 2003, and this agreement now makes the Broadcast Centre the first alternative for Five should something happen to their existing playout facility .
"The Broadcast
Centre is one of the safest and resilient places in the UK,” claimed
John Pink, Director of Marketing, Sales and Client Services, BBC Broadcast.
"It is essential that Five has reliable contingencies in place to minimise
any impact on our viewers and advertisers” said David Burge Controller
of Broadcast services for Five. "By moving our primary disaster recovery
to BBC Broadcast we can achieve the level of resilience we require."
Back
to top
For the very latest news go to Home Page ............
