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Our Latest Issues
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Tuesday
Friday 12th March
Virgin to trial over-ground ultrafast broadband
EU Parliament threatens anti-piracy treaty
RTL "committed" to Five for consolidation
BBC Vision head leaves
BlackArrow and Fox VOD advertising trial
Playcast Media announces partnerships
STMicroelectronics arms pay-TV against piracy
Latens and Coship combine on solutions
Virgin to trial over-ground ultrafast broadbandVirgin Media has unveiled a new trial using telegraph poles to deliver ultrafast 50Mb broadband to the Berkshire village of Woolhampton. By connecting homes directly to Virgin Media's fibre optic network, the trial will effectively increase broadband speeds more than ten-fold. As well as ultrafast broadband, villagers will be offered Virgin Media's TV service. The trial will start this month and is scheduled to run for approximately six months.
The trial is part of plans to bring next generation digital services to people who currently live beyond the reach of fibre optic networks. Virgin Media has already announced plans to extend its fibre optic network, which today passes 12.6 million homes, to 500,000 new homes and has identified more than one million homes in parts of the UK that stand to benefit from deployment over telegraph poles.
Neil Berkett, chief executive officer of Virgin Media, said: "This unique trial will allow us to understand the possibilities of aerial deployment and may provide an exciting new way to extend next generation broadband services. With everything from BBC iPlayer to YouTube increasingly demanding reliable ultrafast broadband speeds, we're keen to ensure that all communities, in towns, cities and villages right across the UK, stand to benefit."
The Government is currently considering a change to planning guidelines which is needed to enable large scale overhead deployment.
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EU Parliament threatens anti-piracy treatyThe European Parliament has defied the Commission, voting against an agreement between the EU, the US and other major powers on combating online piracy and threatening to take legal action at the European Court of Justice.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which began in Geneva two years ago, is a multilateral trade agreement to establish international standards on intellectual property rights. The Parliament's decision states that MEPs will go to the Court of Justice if the EU does not reject ACTA rules, including cutting off users from the Internet "gradually" if caught stealing content.
Though MEPs cannot participate in the ACTA talks, without the consent of the European Parliament, EU negotiators will have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a compromise.
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RTL "committed" to Five for consolidationGerhard Zeiler, the chief executive of Channel Five's parent company RTL, has said that the group remains "100 per cent" committed to the UK commercial broadcaster despite last year's loss, noting that it will be a "valuable asset" in the expected consolidation of the UK TV market.
Five reported an overall loss of £37 million (E40.5m) last year, and an operating loss of £8 million.
"As I have said before consolidation will come. To take part in the consolidation, as I'm 100 per cent sure Five will, is a valuable asset. So it is the right decision and in the interests of shareholders to stay in the market."
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BBC Vision head leavesBBC Vision’s head of multiplatform products Lloyd Shepherd is leaving the corporation after nine months. He commented "It’s probably worth saying this decision has nothing to do with the BBC Strategic Review."
Shepherd joined Channel 4 as future media solutions head in 2008, but left for the BBC in June 2009.
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BlackArrow and Fox VOD advertising trialBlackArrow, a global provider of advanced advertising solutions for New Television platforms, has partnered with Fox Cable Networks to trial the BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System across the VOD content of FX, National Geographic Channel and SPEED.
With the BlackArrow system, Fox Cable Networks is testing the ability to deliver addressable advertising to viewers in multiple cable markets. Fox Cable Networks is utilising the BlackArrow Sales Suite to customise on-demand campaigns based on factors such as viewer demographics and viewing behaviours, as well as specific content on its three networks.
Playcast Media announces partnerships
Playcast Media has confirmed partnerships with some of the video game industry’s top publishers including Atari, Capcom, Codemasters and THQ. Playcast Media delivers console-free video gaming directly through existing Cable and IPTV set-top boxes and is the first gaming-on-demand technology for Cable and IPTV in the world.
Playcast Media's system uses a proprietary new technology to deliver any PC video game to ordinary cable and telco set-top on-demand systems. This field proven technology uses ultra high-speed processing to handle off-the-shelf games and distribute the game's audio/ visual output as a regular video stream.
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STMicroelectronics arms pay-TV against piracySTMicroelectronics is sampling the first STB System-on-Chip devices featuring advanced CryptoFirewall security helping to prevent hacking of pay-TV broadcast signals and enable faster, lower-cost development of new set-top box products.
The CryptoFirewall security core developed by Cryptography Research, and now integrated in ST’s set-top box ICs, features dedicated tamper-proof and emulation-resistant hardware designed to work with the STB’s conditional access system. CryptoFirewall has been developed specifically to meet the pay-TV industry’s needs, is already deployed in over 75 million devices, and has achieved an unblemished security record. It is suitable for satellite, cable and emerging IP-based pay-TV services, and is compatible with pay-per-view and subscription business models.
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Latens and Coship combine on solutionsLatens have signed a partnership agreement with Coship, the STB provider. The focus of this partnership agreement is to work together on delivering cutting edge solutions based on Coship’s range of STBs with Latens leading software CAS and ECO Middleware. They say the combination of Coship’s STB range and Latens CAS and middleware solutions offers the market a highly secure enhanced delivery of Pay-TV services across cable IPTV and Hybrid networks.
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Thursday 11th March
Piracy up in France despite ‘3 strikes’ law
‘3 Strikes unfair’ says BT chief
Cablecom CI+
Consumers want best of both worlds
Nielsen: Demographic data extraction needs collaboration
Microsoft unveils new VOD service
France Television national catch up
AOL head of video
Allen chairs EMI
Humax red button iPlayer for Freesat
Vizrt and Civolution join forces to reduce video piracy
Minerva's IPTV platform powers Pioneer TV
Piracy up in France despite ‘3 strikes’ lawIn the first few months following the adoption of the three-strikes anti-piracy legislation in France, online piracy has increased 3 per cent in the period September to December last year. Instead of stopping, file-sharers are seeking alternatives to bypass the new law. The research also reveals that disconnecting file-sharers will actually hurt the revenues of the music industry.
Proponents of the new ‘Hadopi’ law said it would convince millions of people to stop downloading copyrighted content through file-sharing networks. A study published by the University of Rennes shows that the French are not changing their downloading habits much, despite the tougher legislation.
There is, however, an interesting shift in the sources people use to download copyrighted movies and music. At an increasing rate the French are using streaming services along with file-hosting ‘cyberlockers’ such as Rapidshare and Megaupload. These services are not covered by the Hadopi law and therefore ’safe’ to use. Conversely, usage of P2P services such as BitTorrent dropped from 17.1 per cent to 14.6 per cent between September and December last year. Overall the research seems to suggest that the looming disconnection threat has changed how and where people get pirated content, while the piracy rate itself increased.
Another noteworthy statistic uncovered by the research is that half of all P2P users who download copyrighted content also buy digital content online. So if these users were disconnected from the Internet under the new law, the music industry would lose customers and thus revenue.
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‘3 Strikes unfair’ says BT chiefPlans to suspend the Internet accounts of people who download music illegally are unfair, according to BT's chief executive, Ian Livingston. Livingston says illegal file-sharers should be fined rather than have their Internet accounts cut off. He and other industry figures have written to the Financial Times urging changes to the Digital Economy Bill.
Livingston added that plans to suspend Internet access for file-sharers goes against natural justice. Instead he is calling for fines which those accused of downloading could choose to pay, or fight in court. He said this alternative approach would "create a fund" and "you get some good, rather than getting some hurt out of people infringing copyright".
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Cablecom CI+Swiss operator Cablecom will provide a CI+ option for its subscribers from June, it will allow its new digital channel package to be watched on other sets via a Digicard charged at CHF99 a month.
The new basic digital TV package will contain 55 channels and cost CHF23.20 a month. For CHF4 a month subscribers can rent a new HD set-top, enabling them to receive the new digital channels and a 300kbps internet connection. Cablecom has invested more than CHF1bn to increase the capacity of its network, which is 95 per cent fibre optic. To-date, more than 400,000 of its (1.5m) customers have upgraded to digital services.
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Consumers want best of both worldsConsumers want their Internet TV, according to market research firm In-Stat. Based on In-Stat’s new multi-client research, 26 per cent of US consumer respondents report viewing Internet TV more than once per week. However, rather than a substitute for traditional pay-TV services, consumers want Over-the-Top (OTT) Internet video to compliment traditional TV offerings.
"Consumers want the best of both worlds: Pay-TV and OTT Video," notes Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst and author of the report - OTT Video Platforms, Devices, and Consumer Expectations. "Nearly forty per cent of consumer broadband household respondents want a combination of linear and on-demand TV, and nearly three quarters want to acquire all their video content from their pay TV operator."
Other In-Stat findings indicate:
- While PCs remain primary devices used for viewing Internet TV, consumers are increasingly using multiple devices.
- Consumers use several devices to get Internet video to their TVs, including PC-based and dedicated media adapters, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players and Internet-enabled TVs.
- At year-end 2009, 24 million web-enabled devices were in operation in the US This is expected to grow to 102m by 2013.
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Nielsen: Demographic data extraction needs collaboration
Tapping the potential of set-top-box (STB) data will not be easy nor quick, according to a white paper from the Council for Research Excellence. The study, a yearlong endeavour, concluded that only through broad industry collaboration would the industry realise the benefits of STB data.
The Nielsen-funded CRE, an independent group of media, agency and advertiser researchers, is trying to get a handle on how STB data can help provide a better understanding of TV viewing behaviour. The recently formed Council for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) has also made STB data a top priority.
Getting industry cooperation to advance the use of STB data could be tougher than sorting out what STB is being provided and how it should be reported. Though broad in scope, the CRE's STB study was limited by the type of participants involved. Out of 30 companies invited to participate, only 15 participated. Notably absent from the study were the companies that own the data, the cable MSOs, DirecTV and AT&T. Of the data owners, only TiVo and Cox Communications, agreed to participate. With the exception of Nielsen and TiVo, most of the research firms selling STB data services also declined to participate including Rentrak, TRA, and Kantar Media Research (formerly TNS Media Research).
The study spells out the challenges the industry must overcome to mine STB data, which promises near census-like samples and second-by-second viewing data. A major hurdle is lack of uniformity in the processing and reporting of STB services provided by the research companies. Certain types of data are also not available, including viewer demographics and data usage of external devices such as game consoles, DVDs, DVRs and VCRs.
"This is an important first step. The results show that although we are on the road to realising the full potential of the STB as an audience measurement device, there are still are speed bumps over which we must navigate," said Pat Liguori, chair of the CRE's set-top box committee and svp of research for ABC Television Stations.
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Microsoft unveils new VOD serviceMicrosoft is set to launch its UK VOD service this week. The new MSN Video Player, which has been in testing phase since last summer, features around 300 hours of programming from BBC Worldwide and All3Media.
Microsoft has increased the service's total hours of content to 1,000 in the last few months following deals with Shed Media, RDF Media and the Digital Rights Group. Users will be able to watch full-length TV shows, films, trailers, news and clips on the new player.
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France Television national catch up
France Télévisions will make its catch-up TV service available to all internet users in the second part of 2010. The new service becomes possible as an exclusive catch-up TV deal with Orange comes to its end in April.
The new service will include all kinds of programmes from across its channels. Until now the Orange service has been restricted to a few shows and news programmes.
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AOL head of videoAOL Europe is demonstrates its commitment to video with the appointment of Kelly Sweeney to the new role of director of video. She will be responsible for commissioning original productions and managing relationships with production partners and advertisers.
Sweeney served as head of original content at social network Bebo and was line producer on shows such as KateModern. She has also worked on productions for the BBC, ITV and Sky.
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Allen chairs EMITroubled record company EMI has named former ITV boss Charles Allen as its new chairman. Allen was already non-executive chairman at the firm.
EMI also said chief executive Elio Leoni-Sceti would leave at the end of the month after two-and-a-half years. EMI had annual losses of £1.75bn.Private equity house Terra Firma is seeking billions in damages linked to its £4bn purchase of EMI in 2007. Its boss Guy Hands accuses the bank of inflating the price of the firm by not revealing that the only other bidder, Cerberus Capital Management, had withdrawn.
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Humax red button iPlayer for FreesatHumax and the BBC have extended their iPlayer trial to all of the manufacturers' Freesat set-top boxes, making the catch-up service available through the red button.
With the Foxsat-HD and Foxsat-HDR connected to the internet and the STB tuned into BBC, pressing the red button calls up the BBCi homepage where there's a link to BBC iPlayer.
The Freesat iPlayer offering is still considered to be in a pre-release, beta stage by the BBC, which launched the trial service late last year, initially on Humax's Foxsat DVR. In January, the beta programme was extended to Sony TVs with integrated Freesat tuners.
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Vizrt and Civolution join forces to reduce video piracyVizrt, a provider of content production tools for the digital media industry, is integrating Civolution’s watermarking solution into its Viz Ardome media asset management software. Using Civolution’s NexGuard – Pre-release application, users will have the ability to deter potential piracy threat or trace the source of unauthorised copies of a video asset.
The integration of Civolution’s product with Viz Ardome is currently managed through the Nexguard plug-in for Rhozet’s Carbon Coder, a standalone transcoder that facilitates the transfer of media between acquisition, editing, playout, archive, Web, and mobile applications.
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Minerva's IPTV platform powers Pioneer TVMinerva Networks, provider of open and IPTV delivery platforms, has revealed that Pioneer Telephone, the fourth largest telephone cooperative in the US, has successfully completed the migration from a legacy third-party system to the Company’s platform. Minerva’s iTVManager is a comprehensive software solution for the delivery of next-generation IP-connected television services, including HDTV, DVR, whole-home digital video recording (WHDVR) and VOD. The Minerva platform also features a Widget Engine that enables the seamless integration of applications including RSS news feeds, stocks, weather and traffic information, and popular social networking services.
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Wednesday 10th March
Google testing TV search and ad target with Dish
KDG IPO this month
Sony 3D TVs in June
ONO taps shareholders for E200m
US online ad spend to overtake print
Warner Music and Dailymotion video content partnership
Verimatrix names Peterka new CTO
Hybrid TV aims to become VOD provider
Google testing TV search and ad target with DishGoogle is testing a new TV programme search service on Dish Network reports the WSJ.
The service allows users to search content from Dish, as well as other Web video sites, and runs on TV set-top boxes that include elements of Google's Android operating system. Google hopes to link the TV search service with its TV ad-brokering business, Google TV Ads. This would allow it to target ads to individual households based on viewing and TV search data.
The companies already have a close relationship on the TV, where Google TV Ads counts Dish Network as one of its primary partners. However, the test is said to be limited to Google employees and, as yet, there are no STBs incorporating the Android operating system, though Google is reported to be working on an apps platform for STBs.
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German cable operator Kabel Deutschland has set March 19th to close an Initial Public Offering looking to raise over E700 million in return for floating 25-30 per cent. The price range for the IPO is expected to be announced today with the offer open from the end of this week.
KDG has held talks with possible buyers – mainly other private equity houses – and was said to have been offered E5 - 5.5 billion including debt. Providence Equity Partners currently own 88 per cent of the company.
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Sony 3D TVs in JuneSony has set the target of selling 2.5 million 3D televisions in nine months. Yoshihisa Ishida, the head of Sony’s televisions business, said the Japanese company hoped to sell 25 million TVs in the year to March 2011 with 3D sets accounting for at least one tenth of that. That is a 67 per cent increase on the total of 15 million televisions Sony expects to sell this year.
Ishida said Sony would launch 3D televisions in Japan in June and they would go on sale abroad about the same time. That is behind Samsung and Panasonic – which will launch 3D sets in the US this week. But Sony say they are not concerned because little 3D content will be available at first.
By June, Sony expects to have a software update ready for its Playstation 3 console that will allow it play 3D games and an update for 3D Blu-ray movies will follow. The industry’s first big sales opportunity for 3D TVs is not expected to arrive until the launch of Avatar on Blu-ray.
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ONO taps shareholders for E200mSpanish cable operator ONO is to receive a E200 million shareholder loan as part of its refinancing. ONO will have immediate access to E125 million immediately with E75 million in liquidity reserve. The shareholder contribution is a boost to ONO’s restructuring efforts though it needs more cash to meet debt covenants and a bond issue or rights issue are still under discussion.
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US online ad spend to overtake printUS online advertising and marketing spending will overtake print this year as traditional media spending continues to decline, according to a study by research company Outsell.
Online spending is forecast to rise 9.6 per cent to $119.6 billion, while print spending will fall 3 per cent to $111.5 billion, according to a survey of 1,000 advertisers. As a percentage of spending, advertisers are expected to allocate more to digital budgets – 32.5 per cent – compared to 30.3 per cent to print.
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Warner Music and Dailymotion video content partnershipDailymotion and Warner Music Group have announced a new partnership to offer music videos via Dailymotion's website in the US, Europe and North Africa. Visitors will be given unlimited, on-demand, ad-supported access to thousands of music videos, concerts and interviews from Warner Music's roster of local and international acts. Under the terms of the agreement, registered users will be able to create and share video playlists. The first videos are due to be available within a month.
Outside the US, Warner Music and Dailymotion will collaborate on the sale of targeted advertising and approved sponsorships embedded in the video experience, with Warner managing these sales inside the US. Warner Music will also have access to the editorial sections surrounding the videos, providing its roster of artists with additional promotional opportunities.
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Verimatrix names Peterka new CTOVerimatrix has announced the appointment of Petr Peterka as its new Chief Technology Officer. Petr joins Verimatrix as his latest role in an impressive career at the forefront of the San Diego technology and global digital TV scenes.
Prior to joining Verimatrix, Peterka was a member of the Technical Staff in the CTO's office at Motorola's Home and Networks Mobility Team. His background includes extensive experience with CA and DRM systems, including work on platforms combining IPTV, DVB-H, iPhone and Android. He has been active with standards organisations including DECE, DLNA CPS, ATIS, SMPTE, Coral, DVB, ITU-T and others, and has worked with Hollywood studios, CableLabs, and the MPAA on content security issues.
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Hybrid TV aims to become VOD providerHybrid Television Services (ANZ), the exclusive licensee of TiVo products in Australia and New Zealand and creator of CASPATM On-Demand, has restructured the business to support the expansion of services. The restructuring will take Hybrid TV from being purely a TiVo licensee to a VOD and interactive service provider in its own right.
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Tuesday 9th March
BT demands access to Virgin cable ducts
TV and online ads in harmony
Makers line up for Canvas
Spain: Migration countdown speeds up DTT take-up
Sky to demo 3D to public
MoCA: Europe is good for coax home nets
Tata Sky to launch HDTV, interactive services
Film4 HD and E4 HD for Virgin Media
Grupo Prisa and Liberty drive Prisa Digital
Conax TV platform with TiVo software
Selevision chooses Irdeto
BT demands access to Virgin cable ducts
BT is demanding that Virgin Media opens its network of underground ducts to rivals. The telco wants to use Virgin’s network as part of its plans to upgrade its infrastructure and will put pressure on Ofcom to allow it access.BT intends to connect five million people to its superfast broadband network by spring next year. It is committed to opening its ducts to its competitors, and now wants open access to extent to Virgin.
A BT spokesman said: "It is remarkable that those calling for open access from BT are not willing to provide it themselves. We call on others to follow BT’s lead in offering to open its infrastructure and content to all on a fair basis. Competition is a two-way street."
Neil Berkett, Virgin Media’s chief executive, has dismissed as "a can of worms" the notion of the cable company opening its ducts to BT. The company has spent billions of pounds investing in its network and notes that Ofcom has said in the past that there is no mandate for Virgin to open its ducts.
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TV and online ads in harmonyMedia buyers' primary objective for online video advertising campaigns is to deliver incremental reach to TV, according to research from Web TV Enterprise. Findings from the second bi-annual UK Online Video Advertising Market Report show that more than 40 per cent of media buyers now use video advertising campaigns for this purpose, indicating that TV budgets are driving growth of the market.
Online video advertising is worth 3 per cent of the UK TV ad market, with 13 per cent of media buyers intending to increase spend on the medium by more than 50 per cent, and a fifth maintaining existing budgets.
However, only 19 per cent of the 135 media buyers surveyed said that measurement of click through rates is '"very important" to their campaigns, indicating that the medium is being driven by brand-awareness campaigns coming from TV budgets.
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Cisco, Humax and Technicolor have been named as manufacturers intending to integrate Canvas. Nine more makers: ADB, Amino, Broadcom, Echostar, Intel, Sagem, ST, LG and TVonics were listed as developing STBs or components for Canvas-enabled services.
The announcement by the DTG signals a mending of some fences between Canvas and the CE makers who had accused the BBC led consortium of being uncooperative over specifications.
Graham North, commercial director, Humax welcomed the common standard for Canvas to deliver on-demand content to Freeview and Freesat TVs. "The common standard is a positive step, guaranteeing the viewer a quality service that is reflective of UK broadcasting standards, delivered on a platform with a trusted name. It will also guarantee a viewing experience that is consistent regardless of the hardware or device being used to access the content."
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Spain: Migration countdown speeds up DTT take-up
From David Del Valle in MadridTwo million DTT devices will be sold over the next weeks in the final run to DTT migration to be completed on March 30th, according to a report by the research firm Gigaset.
The DTT sales will surpass 1.3 million DTT devices sold in the last Christmas campaign as more than 15 per cent of Spanish homes are still not ready for DTT. Gigaset says pay DTT and HD services will foster the DTT market as the company estimates that 3 million Spaniards will be interested in pay DTT.
Media company Mediapro, main shareholder in the commercial channel La Sexta and owner of pay DTT channel Gol TV, is finalising a pay DTT platform with four to six channels at a monthly fee of E20 to E25 to be up and running before Summer.
In the meantime, HD DTT trials are taking place across the country in Seville, with RTVA and other regions such as Aragon (Aragón TV HD), Catalunya (TV3 HD), Madrid (Telemadrid HD), Murcia (7 HD), and Valencia (Canal 9 HD). The state-owned TV group RTVE is also implementing HD transmissions in Valladolid with plans to dedicate one of its DTT channels to HD.
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Sky to demo 3D to publicSky is showing 3D TV content at shopping centres to promote the launch of its new channel Sky 3D next month. Sky plans over one hundred 3D shopping centre demonstrations over the next 12 months. Shoppers can also enter a competition to win 3D TV, Sky+HD box and subscription to Sky.
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MoCA: Europe is good for coax home netsThe Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) has published the results of a study into coaxial infrastructure in homes in the UK, France, Netherlands and Poland. The study shows that there is a significant addressable market for coaxial cable-based home networking in these countries.
Results from the UK and France were very similar, with 56 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, of respondents stating that they had two or more coaxial outlets in their home, while more than a quarter of respondents in both countries indicated they have three or more.
In Poland, the results were even stronger, with 71 per cent of respondents stating that they have two or more coaxial outlets and 36 per cent having three or more. The Netherlands recorded the lowest number of coaxial outlets per household with 45 per cent having two or more and 15 per cent having three or more. The four countries were chosen because of their competitive pay-TV environments, increasing penetration of HDTVs and DVRs, number of TVs per household and the high daily TV viewing hours.
"We commissioned this survey at the request of many pay TV operators," said Charles Cerino, President of MoCA. "The high percentage of homes having two or more coaxial outlets in these countries means that there is a significant addressable market opportunity for service providers wanting to gain a competitive edge via a coax-based home networking."
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Tata Sky to launch HDTV, interactive servicesTata Sky has said it will roll out HD services and launching more interactive channels in India. The company will launch its HD service this year, ahead of Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010. It will also introduce interactive channels in the gaming and education space.
The company also plans to push personal video recorder (PVR) set-top boxes which are witnessing an increasing demand in the country.
"Every DTH operator today is offering almost the same channels at competitive pricing. It will be the interactive services and the additional features that would help differentiate between the operators," Tata Sky Chief Marketing Officer Vikram Mehra said.
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Film4 HD and E4 HD for Virgin MediaVirgin Media has confirmed the upcoming launch of Film4 HD and E4 HD on its digital TV platform. Virgin Media’s digital TV customers will be the first to watch Film4 in high Definition as the channel launches exclusively on Virgin Media this summer. E4 HD is expected to launch on Virgin Media in April.
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Grupo Prisa and Liberty drive Prisa Digital
Grupo Prisa and Liberty Acquisition Holdings have announced a combination of the two companies and a rights issue reserved for current Prisa shareholders by Grupo Prisa, resulting in a cash infusion of up to $900 million in Prisa. Grupo Prisa is the leading Spanish and Portuguese-language media group whose interests include news, entertainment, education and digital enterprises in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Hispanic Latin America."The combination with Liberty will allow Prisa to optimise the deleveraging of its balance sheet, and will facilitate the completion of previously announced asset sales," said Grupo Prisa Chief Executive Officer Juan Luis Cebrian. "As a result of the transaction and of the E50 million rights issue offered to our current shareholders, Prisa believes it will emerge in a stronger position to pursue growth opportunities in its core businesses in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets around the world."
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Conax TV platform with TiVo softwareTiVo and Conax, a global provider of security solutions for digital TV and content distribution, have partnered to offer a next generation DVB set-top box platform for deployment by television operators around the world.
Through this partnership, the companies will put the TiVo experience, including its revolutionary integration of IP-delivered video into an off-the-shelf package that can be quickly and easily deployed by operators using Conax-certified platforms in Scandinavia, mainland Europe and India, among other geographies.
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Selevision chooses IrdetoIrdeto has confirmed that middleware and interactive TV technology provider Selevision has selected Irdeto’s middleware solution and conditional access system (CAS) for its new HD Personal Video Recorders (PVRs). The HD PVRs, currently in field testing in Saudi Arabia, will enable content providers to run highly tailored advertisements – a market first in the Middle East. In addition, Selevision's HD PVRs will be protected by Irdeto's CAS and secure chip set to allow the company to secure premium content, while delivering a personalised experience for consumers, through uniquely selected programmes and commercials.
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Monday 8th March
TiVo court win ominous for Dish
Sky Deutschland 3D live
UK ISPs furious at late Digital Bill amendment
Freeview £6m for HD promo
550 new jobs at Sky
Sat.1 posts strong Q4
Viasat OK for Russia
Radio spectrum: Public consultation on future policy
Discovery HD to launch in India
SES Astra takes full ownership of SES Sirius
TiVo court win ominous for DishTiVo has won a US appeals court ruling that Dish Network and EchoStar are still infringing its patent and should stop providing digital-video recording services. TiVo said it will now press for damages more than the $300 million in back-licence payments so far claimed.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a lower court’s finding that the companies were still in violation of TiVo’s patent, even after claiming they had changed their technology enough to avoid infringement. TiVo claimed the changes weren’t sufficient.
Changes made after Dish lost a trial in 2006 were "not a major redesign of the software," the court ruled in a 2-1 decision.
Dish and EchoStar said they will appeal and would ask the entire 12- member appeals court to hear the case, so for now the order to stop providing the service remains on hold. "We also will be proposing a new design-around to the district court for approval," Dish and EchoStar said in a statement. "At this time, our DVR customers are not impacted." However, it is now possible Dish will have to cease DVR provision in the near future; American observers thought it unlikely the further appeal will be granted.
On the markets TiVo’s stock jumped 52 per cent. Dish lost 4 per cent. TiVo is also pursuing infringement cases against Microsoft and AT&T.
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Sky Deutschland 3D liveSky Deutschland will broadcast live a soccer match in high definition 3D-TV in March. The Bayer Leverkusen v Hamburg game will be produced in 3D by national soccer league DFL and its subsidiary Sportcast and broadcast by Sky to a selected audience in Munich.
"With the first HD-3D live production in Germany we make the next step now, giving a first, early outlook at how the already-fantastic HD experience can develop further in future," said deputy CEO Brian Sullivan (he takes over as CEO from Mark Williams in April).
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UK ISPs furious at late Digital Bill amendmentThe Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) has said it is "outraged" after the House of Lords voted through Amendment 120A to the UK's Digital Economy Bill. It would allow the High Court to grant an injunction requiring ISPs to block Web sites with a "substantial proportion" of copyright-infringing content.
The opposition amendment replaces the equally unpopular Clause 17, which would have given the government substantial powers to amend the law to deal with any future piracy threat.
ISPA said that clause 17 "has been hastily constructed and rushed through at report stage without due consideration of the implications or consultation with the interested parties that would be affected."
The courts already have powers to grant an injunction requiring ISPs to block access to sites that contain unlawful copyright content, but ISPA said this amendment introduces a "bias in favour" of rights holders and limits the court's discretion to judge each case on its merits.
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Freeview £6m for HD promoFreeview has given details of the advertising campaign that will support the launch of its high definition service. £6 million (E6.64m) will be spent between Easter and the start of the World Cup in June. "Buy today, watch today, free forever" will be the slogan. It also announced that Channel 4 HD would join the current line-up of BBC HD and ITV1 HD "before Easter".
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550 new jobs at SkyBSkyB is creating 550 jobs at a new call centre in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The firm said the extra staff were being employed to cope with increased demand for its services. It already employs 16,000 people across the UK and Ireland.
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Sat.1 posts strong Q4
Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 posted an unexpectedly strong $155 million net profit in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving the German broadcaster full-year earnings of $198 million, despite falling revenues, thanks to a cost-cutting programme.The figures were far better than a year earlier, when the company lost $192 million in the fourth quarter and lost $163 million in 2008. But the broadcaster said it won't be paying any dividend to major shareholders KKR and Permira despite getting back into the black.
Despite a 6 per cent drop in advertising revenues to $3.8 billion last year, ProSiebenSat.1 managed to record a 3.3 per cent rise in EBITA to $953 million.
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Viasat OK for RussiaViasat has completed registration of its pay-TV channels in Russia in accordance with the new regulations of the Russian Federal Service of Supervision of Communications, IT and Mass Communication (Roskomnadzor). Licenses for distribution in Russia’s cable networks have been issued for all Viasat channels broadcast in Russia - Viasat History, Viasat Explorer, TV1000, TV1000 Russian Kino, TV1000 Action and Viasat Sport. Viasat was among the first international broadcasters to receive these new licences.
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Radio spectrum: Public consultation on future policyThe European Commission has launched a consultation on strategic priorities for an EU radio spectrum policy programme for 2011-2015. Access to radio spectrum is essential for a huge range of activities from telephony and broadcasting through to transport and space applications. Wide and fair access to radio spectrum is crucial to ensure that EU citizens in both urban and rural areas can enjoy the benefits of digital technology. Better use of spectrum could also give Europe's economy a boost since rolling out fast wireless services would enhance competitiveness and growth. Industry, consumers and other stakeholders are invited to respond to the consultation by 9 April. A "Spectrum Summit" held jointly by the Commission and the European Parliament will take place on 22/23 March to discuss Europe's spectrum priorities.
Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said "The daily lives of citizens and business are affected by how we use radio spectrum and so we are giving them an opportunity to have their say on how we should allocate access to this scarce resource. Their replies will provide useful input for the development of an efficient EU radio spectrum policy."
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Discovery HD to launch in IndiaDiscovery Networks Asia-Pacific has confirmed the launch of Discovery HD, a 24-hour HD channel in India. Discovery HD features the highest quality content from across Discovery Networks’ most popular channels, as well as select exclusive content. Broadcast in English, Discovery HD is currently available on Sun Direct, India’s first DTH platform that offers HD services and will be a pay, seamless and ad-free channel.
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SES Astra takes full ownership of SES SiriusSES Astra, an SES company, has taken full ownership of SES Sirius AB by acquiring the remaining 10 per cent of the shares from the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). SES became a shareholder in SES Sirius in October 2000 with a stake of 50 per cent. In the course of the last decade, SES Astra has gradually increased its stake in the company to 90 per cent in 2008. SES Sirius operates the leading satellite system in the Nordic and Baltic countries with a strong market position in Central and Eastern Europe.
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