Pay-TV broadcaster Setanta Sports has signed up its millionth subscriber a few months after it began screening live Premiership football matches. The figure, up from just 200,000 subscribers a year ago, excludes more than 2 million viewers who receive the service through their contracts with Virgin Media in the UK and ntl/Chorus in Ireland. It […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid The Sogecable-Telefonica's pay-TV offer launched this weekend following the expiry of the Government's 34 conditions on the digital DTH merger between the former Sogecable-controlled Canal Satelite and Telefonica-led Via Digital. One of the conditions adopted by the Government in 2002 to approve the digital merger prevented both companies from […]

The Asia Pacific pay-TV industry has hailed an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decision on the preservation of C-band spectrum for satellite TV services in Asia as “a long-awaited positive outcome on a contentious issue”. According to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), the decision taken by the United Nations-led ITU World Radio […]

Research has revealed how the European TV-based video-on-demand and pay-per-view markets will develop over the next five years. From a low penetration of just under 8 per cent today, Screen Digest predict that by 2011 over 20 per cent of Western European households will have true video-on-demand (VoD), a 30 per cent growth on current […]

Channel 7 executive chairman Kerry Stokes says the Australian broadcaster plans to develop its multiple-channel TV business over the next year. Stokes also confirmed the broadcaster was appealing a Federal Court decision against it in the C7 case, in which Seven alleged its competitors had conspired to ruin its C7 sports pay television venture. Stokes […]

AT&T's U-verse TV service is to deliver international programming via SES Americom’s IP-Prime platform. SES Americom will also provide international programming for AT&T broadband and wireless platforms. “Providing AT&T U-verse TV with international programming reflects the extensive relationships and agreements we have with leading programmers throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America and the rest of the […]

The lacklustre new subs number for EchoStar's Dish (110,00 for the quarter) saw its stock take a pasting on Wall St despite profits being over forecast. Of particular concern was the churn that rose to 1.94 percent in the quarter from 1.76 percent in the same period a year ago. EchoStar said itself this was […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid The Spanish Competition authorities has started legal proceedings against the recent alliance between the Spain’s largest pay-TV group Sogecable and Telefónica to launch a joint triple play offer and joinly negotiate with TV content providers. The National Council of Competition (CNC) argues that there is evidence of an abuse […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid Dahlia TV has been specifically created to provide pay-TV services on the DTT platform. Directed by a former executive of Spain’s largest cable company ONO, Fernando Ojeda, Dahlia TV claims to have reached agreements with some of the major networks in the country. The company hopes the government will […]

German pay TV broadcaster Premiere, whose profits depend largely on its ability to show live Bundesliga football matches, scrapped its 2008 forecast on uncertainty over the next TV rights auction. “The bidding process will begin much later than expected and an agency has been commissioned to manage the process. We cannot rule out that this […]