Advanced Television

Regulation

Comcast: ‘Sky a great fit’

Executives at Comcast have talked up the pluses of the company’s formal binding cash offer of $31 billion (€25.4bn) for Sky, describing it as “a great fit” that provides it with new capabilities, new markets, and other growth opportunities. Speaking on Comcast’s Q1 2018 Results Earnings Call, Brian L Roberts, Chairman and CEO, said he […]

April 26, 2018By Colin Mann

£45k fine for illegal Sky Sports distribution

A man who infringed Sky’s broadcast copyright by streaming Sky Sports content to the public has been forced to pay £45,000 (€51,500) in fines and damages. Between March 3rd  2017 and April 1st 2017, Wasaq Rasheed shared streams from (the then) Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2. These streams were found on IPTVdonations.com, an illegally-run […]

April 26, 2018By Colin Mann

INCOMPAS files petition to stop FCC net neutrality repeal

INCOMPAS, the Internet and competitive networks association, whose members include leading streaming and Internet edge companies in the US, as well as new competitive fibre network builders, filed a Petition in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) challenging the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The […]

April 26, 2018

Commercial TV welcomes EC tackling fake news

The Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) has welcomed the European Commission’s Communication on tackling online disinformation. In a statement ACT said: “The Communication is a welcome first step towards addressing the major challenges disinformation raises and its root causes. Notably by addressing regulatory asymmetries between the fully regulated and editorially responsible broadcast environment […]

April 26, 2018

Comcast opens $31bn bid war for Sky

Comcast has formalised its earlier pre-conditional superior cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sky. The offer is for $31 billion (€25.4bn). In a Statement, Sky said that as a result of the announcement of the higher cash offer, the Independent Committee was withdrawing its recommendation of the offer announced by […]

April 25, 2018By Colin Mann

Spectrum: Glut or famine?

A study from analysts at MoffettNathanson Research (MNR) looks at whether satellite operators and their clients are facing a shortage of spectrum (which EchoStar’s Charlie Ergen seems to believe) or a glut, in particular across the US.  But Ergen’s DISH Network share price has crashed 58 per cent since December 31st 2016. “As recently as […]

April 25, 2018

Eurocom entering liquidation?

Israeli telco conglomerate Eurocom Group has been ordered by a Tel Aviv court to enter liquidation. The business, which includes a 57 per cent stake in satellite operator Spacecom, and telco Bezeq, will start liquidation proceedings on May 3rd, according to a ruling from Judge Eitan Orenstein. Eurocom is beset with legal problems, not least […]

April 25, 2018By Chris Forrester

MPAA chief backs IP protection

Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), has highlighted the importance of protecting the creative industries’ intellectual property. Delivering a State of the Industry Address at movie theatre trade show and congress CinemaCon, Rivkin expressed optimism for the industry, based on the MPAA’s continuing work to protect creativity, open […]

April 25, 2018By Colin Mann

YouTube deleted over 8m videos in Q4

YouTube’s first quarterly ‘enforcement report’ reveals the website removed 8.3 million videos between October and December 2017 for breaching its community guidelines. The figure does not include videos removed for copyright or legal reasons. In a blogpost, YouTube said the “majority of these 8 million videos were spam or people attempting to upload adult content.” […]

April 24, 2018

Altice to appeal EC’s fine for PT deal

The European Commission has notified Altice of its decision to impose upon it a €124.5 million fine for gun jumping in connection with Altice’s acquisition of PT Portugal in June 2015. The Commission found that Altice infringed the prior notification obligation of a concentration under Article 4(1) of the EU Merger Regulation, and the stand-still […]

April 24, 2018