Advanced Television

Cable

Competition to boost MENA pay-TV

The social and political turmoil that has rocked the Middle East and North Africa region has resulted in liberalisation measures which will open up the pay-TV sector, according to research firm Digital TV Research. Digital TV penetration for the 16 countries covered in its Digital TV Middle East & North Africa report is already approaching […]

March 20, 2012

ONO profits up despite fall in pay TV subs

Spain’s largest cable company ONO remained in the black in 2011 for the third consecutive year. The company made a profit of €50 million, up 7.8 per cent on the previous year. Total revenues increased by 1 per cent to €1.485 billion and the EBITDA grew by 3.2 per cent to €348 million. The launch […]

March 13, 2012From David Del Valle in Madrid

Ziggo to offer 20% of shares in IPO

Ziggo, the Dutch cable provider, will offer a fifth of the company’s outstanding shares in an initial public offering that could raise up to €745 million. The IPO will see private equity funds Warburg Pincus and Cinven – which created Ziggo by acquiring and merging three smaller cable networks in 2006 – selling off 35 […]

March 12, 2012

Kroes: Holland mustn’t force cable to open up

Commissioner Neelie Kroes, Vice President, European Commission, has confirmed in a meeting with European cable CEOs in Brussels that the European Commission opposes draft legislation by the legislator in the Netherlands to force cable operators to open up their networks to third parties Two particular amendments related to the Dutch implementation of EU Telecom Directive […]

March 9, 2012

Euro cable still defies recession

As the Eurozone is officially pronounced as technically in recession again, new year-end numbers released by Cable Europe confirm that the upward trajectory set by Europe’s cable operators in recent years was maintained in 2011, with the industry reporting faster overall growth than in 2010. The figures point to the cable industry’s continued success in […]

March 7, 2012From Nick Snow in Brussels

Horizon roll out begins

Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, revealed that its Horizon gateway STB will begin roll out this Spring. Speaking at Cable Congress, Fries said it would be available in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and The Netherlands before the end of 2012. The price to subscribers would be revealed soon, he said, adding that the box “was […]

March 7, 2012From Nick Snow in Brussels

ONO and TiVo to expand HD hybrid

ONO, the largest cable operator in Spain, and TiVo have confirmed that following their initial launch in Madrid and Barcelona, its next generation hybrid television offering is now available to ONO fibre optic subscribers in Valencia. ONO fibre optic customers in Valencia can now access high-definition HD and 3D video content as well as a […]

March 5, 2012

Dish TV ties up with neighbourhood operators

Stiff competition from digital cable operators has forced India’s biggest DTH television company, Dish TV, to partner with neighbourhood cable operators, opening up a new front in the war between the DTH and cable industries. India’s top four metros – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata – will replace all analogue television networks with digital transmission […]

March 2, 2012

Altice scoops Cabovisão from Cogeco Cable

Canadian cable MSO Cogeco Cable has sold its struggling Portugal unit Cabovisão to European media and telecoms investment group Altice for €45 million Altice holds stakes in Numericable, Est Videocom, Coditel and Completel companies in France, Belgium and other parts of Europe. The sale was long expected after Cogeco Cable wrote off its entire investment […]

March 1, 2012By Colin Mann

Ziggo set for Amsterdam stock exchange listing

Dutch cable television firm Ziggo plans to list on the Amsterdam stock exchange, but a date has not yet been set. Ziggo, currently owned by private equity firms, is the biggest cable television firm in Holland with some three million subscribers. It was formed between 2005 and 2007 through the merger of Casema, Multikabel and […]

February 29, 2012