As the 2010 working year drew to a close, it emerged that a report looking at whether News Corp’s proposed acquisition of the 61 per cent of BSkyB it does not already own would give the media group too much media power, was sent to the British government without being made public. The UK government […]
Once there were three fierce rivals competing for pay-TV loyalty in the Middle East. In July 2009 Showtime and Orbit merged their competing services into the Orbit-Showtime Network (OSN). Now Arab Radio & Television (ART) has placed its five leading entertainment channels onto the OSN system. ART Aflam 1 and 2 plus ART Hikayat 1 […]
As expected the party-line 3 to 2 vote in favour of the FCC’s new Net Neutrality rules got mixed reviews. President Obama congratulated the FCC and said that the government would “remain vigilant and see to it that innovation is allowed to flourish, that consumers are protected from abuse, and that the democratic spirit of […]
Hulu, which has been tipped for a New Year IPO, is now said to be exploring alternative means of raising capital, including getting existing investors to inject more capital, says the WSJ. Many US reports have previously predicted the online video site was angling for an IPO to raise $200 million to $300 million – […]
The ITV Player and Channel 4’s 4oD service are this week set to launch the first commercial TV video content that can be watched via Sony’s PlayStation 3 games console, available to users who have broadband access. The broadcasters are following in the footsteps of the BBC’s iPlayer, which launched on the PS3 last year. […]
The first-ever Entertainment Content Protection Summit in Los Angeles saw keynote speaker Taylor Hackford describe piracy as one of the most threatening issues that has hit the movie industry in its entire history, and call Google an “enabler” of illegal downloading. Hackford, president of the Directors Guild of America, stressed the need to stop piracy, […]
Liberty Global has announced an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the equity of Aster Sp. z.o.o (Aster Cable) from private equity funds of Mid Europa Partners. Poland’s Aster provides video services to 368,000 (including 92,000 digital TV), 177,000 Internet and 70,000 fixed telephony subscribers. Mike Fries, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty […]
The European Commission has given itself an extra fortnight to consider the competition implications of News Corp’s bid to take control of Sky as News reportedly offers significant concessions to try and ensure the deal is approved. The EC decision deadline has been moved back from 8th December to the 22nd after it received […]
BiBC (British Internet Broadcasting Company) has confirmed the availability of a pan European premium content OTT TV service, to be deployed on Samsung connected TVs, Blu-ray Players and home theatre systems in various countries across Europe. The BiBC service will enable consumers to access premium content from networks such as ITV, Hit Entertainment, the Cartoon […]
Internet backbone provider Level 3 Communications says Comcast is demanding a recurring fee for transmitting internet movies and “other content” to Comcast customers, accusing the cableco of violating the FCC’s “net neutrality” principles. Comcast says Level 3 is misrepresenting the negotiations between the two companies. “Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the […]