NCTA president Michael Powell is about to tell a US Senate hearing that OTT supplier Netflix is the largest subscription video provider in the USA today. Powell is due to address the senate’s Communication’s Subcomittee on May 14th, and tell them that “The largest subscription video provider in the country today is Netflix — not Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV [...]
Chase Carey, COO of News Corp, has said broadcasters must break of the rules by which they have operated for decades, or face decline. Carey’s declaration came as he presented a weak advertising quarter for the groups FTA channels. Carey said broadcast TV remained “the dominant form of event television” but was stuck with “historical practices” such as creating hundreds [...]
Former News International Chief Executive Tom Mockridge is to become CEO of Virgin Media upon the closing of Liberty Global’s proposed acquisition of Virgin Media, which is subject to stockholder approval of both companies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the definitive Joint Proxy Statement/ Prospectus, and stockholders of both companies are scheduled to vote on the transaction [...]
Modern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment group, has announced that Viasat Broadcasting, which comprises MTG’s television broadcasting operations, has hired Merrily Ross as Vice President of Formats. Merrily has joined Viasat Broadcasting in London to focus on accelerating the sourcing of even more UK and international programme ideas for the Viasat portfolio of 32 free-TV channels in 10 countries. [...]
MobiTV, a specialist in enabling delivery of live and on-demand TV everywhere, has elevated Vice President of Technology Cedric Fernandes to chief technology officer. Over the past eight years, Fernandes has been one of the company’s key technologists helping to drive innovation in the delivery of media to all connected screens. Most recently, in his post as vice president of [...]
In April, Levira appointed Tarmo Osman as the new director of the Network Services Division. He is responsible for managing TV and radio services and telecommunications at Levira. “Tarmo brings a wealth of experience and fresh energy to the company management. His long experience in the field, both in Estonia and abroad, is a good basis for further development of [...]
Ian Mecklenburgh, Virgin Media’s director of consumer platforms, was non-committal about the future of Virgin’s TiVO once Liberty is in control. He conceded that Liberty had made big investments in their proprietary Horizon system, but equally “there is an install base of 1.5 million TiVos and that carries a lot of weight.” Mecklenburgh did enthuse on the latest improvements to [...]
SeaWell Networks, an expert in multiscreen video delivery solutions, has announced that Pete Thompson, Vice President of Microsoft Mediaroom, has joined the company’s Board of Directors. As the Vice President of Microsoft Mediaroom, a technology leader for IPTV platforms and visionary for multiscreen experiences, Thompson brings extensive market awareness, knowledge and experience to the SeaWell team. Since joining Microsoft in [...]
US President Barack Obama is nominating venture capitalist and former wireless and cable lobbyist Tom Wheeler to head the Federal Communications Commission, according to the White House. After decades in and around Washington telecom circles, Wheeler is will take the reins of the FCC as the industry prepares for a major reshuffling of ownership of radio airwaves and as the [...]
Modern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment broadcasting group, has announced that Viasat Broadcasting, which comprises MTG’s television broadcasting operations, has appointed Aleks Habdank as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of its Pay-TV Emerging Markets operations with effect from May 7th 2013. Habdank will be based in London and manage Viasat Broadcasting’s pay-TV channel operations in Central and Eastern Europe, and [...]
