Advanced Television

Policy

Licences forfeited for Sky Sports piracy

Santockh Singh Chahal and John Hart, licensees of The Chesterfield, Newcastle Upon Tyne in the northeast of England, have been convicted in their absence of eight offences each for dishonest reception of a television transmission, in this case, Sky televised football matches, with the intent to avoid payment of the applicable charge. Sky Sports is […]

July 4, 2019By Colin Mann

Eutelsat‘s legal spat against Inmarsat “stayed”

Eutelsat is involved in a legal action against rival Inmarsat over Inmarsat’s use of ground-based repeaters for its proposed in-flight broadband and entertainment service over Europe. On June 28th, the French Conseil d’Etat (Council of State) formally stayed the proceedings in Eutelsat’s appeal against a former decision to approve the use of the repeaters. The […]

July 1, 2019By Chris Forrester

Fast & Furious support for legal content

In advance of the theatrical release of Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, the first stand-alone vehicle in the Fast & Furious franchise, which features Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprising their roles as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw, Universal Pictures has teamed up with The pro-copyright education body The Industry Trust for IP Awareness’s ‘Moments Worth […]

July 1, 2019By Colin Mann

Survey: Europeans well aware of geo-blocking rules

Seven months after new rules against unjustified geo-blocking began to apply, general consumer awareness of the new rules against restrictions for online shopping and cross-border sales is already high. A Eurobarometer survey shows that just a few months after the new rules on geo-blocking started to apply, 50 per cent of EU citizens are generally […]

June 28, 2019By Colin Mann

US ‘distant’ satellite signal licences under threat

The new head of the US Copyright Office, Register of Copyrights, Karyn Temple says that the permitted use of ‘distant’ TV network signals free of charge has outlived its usefulness and needs to be scrapped. The legislation (the STELAR Act, Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization) expires at the end of this year. In […]

June 28, 2019By Chris Forrester

Inmarsat wins $50m arbitration

Speciality satellite services company RigNet, based in Houston, Texas, says it has reached a settlement with Inmarsat over a disputed contract claim. RigNet supplies maritime and terrestrial connectivity. Inmarsat filed the arbitration with the International Centre for Dispute Resolution in October 2016 concerning a January 2014 ‘take or pay’ agreement to purchase up to $65 […]

June 28, 2019By Chris Forrester

EchoStar/Hughes lose patent row

A Federal appeals court has ruled that a previous $21 million patent award against EchoStar subsidiary Hughes Network Systems, and in favour of Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, is valid and can stand. Reportedly, the Court said there was substantial evidence to find the original Texas jury’s verdict in August 2017 that satellite-based high-speed Internet […]

June 27, 2019By Chris Forrester

Spain to impose RTVE tax on OTT players

Spanish OTT players such as Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Sky NOW and DAZN – among others – will soon be obliged by law to pay the so-called RTVE tax to finance the Spanish public broadcaster. The Spanish government is adapting into national legislation the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) which states as one of […]

June 26, 2019From David Del Valle in Madrid

Research: Euro pay-TV execs favour OTT integration

The European findings of the 2019 Pay-TV Innovation Forum, a global research programme designed to explore the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the pay-TV and content industries, produced by content protection and multiscreen television solutions provider NAGRA in partnership with research and strategy consultancy MTM, highlights that pay-TV executives are becoming more optimistic about responding […]

June 26, 2019

Study: Dramatic increase in US digital video piracy

The US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), in partnership with NERA Economic Consulting, has published a study, Impacts of Digital Video Piracy on the US Economy, detailing the economic impact digital video piracy has on the US economy. While the proliferation of streaming services provides consumers with unprecedented choice, content, and convenience, […]

June 25, 2019By Colin Mann