Advanced Television

Smart TVs little used beyond TV viewing

The Internet connected HDTV screen has so far failed to break beyond the bounds of its TV-centric heritage, with little use for the big screen beyond the obligatory video services, reports research firm the NPD Group. Nevertheless, writing in the NPD Group Blog, John Buffone, Director, Devices, NPD Connected Intelligence, suggests the connection is being […]

December 26, 2012

Hulu wants $200m expansion cash

OTT video supplier Hulu is asking its key shareholders for an additional $200 million in order to fund overseas expansion and to secure more programming rights. Hulu’s three shareholders, Disney, News Corp and Comcast are being asked to fund around $200 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, despite the five-year venture remaining unprofitable to […]

December 24, 2012By Chris Forrester

LG showcases Google TVs at CES

LG Electronics (LG) is to introduce an extended Google TV line-up at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. LG’s new models GA7900 and GA6400 aim to deliver an outstandingly intuitive user experience at various sizes and new design to meet more consumers’ expectations. According to the consumer electronics giant, Google’s latest […]

December 24, 2012

FilmOn’s David invests in Quickflix

Billionaire media entrepreneur Alki David, who runs the FilmOn Internet streaming service, is among investors providing A$5 million (€3.95m) for Australian TV and movie streaming company Quickflix. The funds will be provided through a convertible loan and bond agreement and used by the company to support its restructuring plans and pursuit of subscriber growth. David […]

December 24, 2012By Colin Mann

Discovery, TF1 finalise agreement

French media group TF1 and Discovery Communications have wasted no time in finalising the agreement announced December 13 and are moving forward to build a three-tier strategic alliance across Eurosport, four pay-TV channels and production. Following a favourable opinion from the employee representative bodies, the partners December 21 confirmed the signature and closing of their […]

December 23, 2012

US, Russia agree anti-piracy pact

The United States and the Russian Federation (Russia) have agreed an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Action Plan to improve IPR protection and enforcement. The IPR Action Plan addresses priority areas including combating IPR infringement over the Internet and strengthening IPR enforcement. “Agreement on the IPR Action Plan represents a significant step at a historic time […]

December 23, 2012

Cox adds content to multiple platforms

TV customers of US cable MSO Cox Communications now have several new options for watching their favourite sports, news, and entertainment programming. The company has made investments in its broadband network and applications to deliver quality content to customers online, on demand, and on TV. Disney/ESPN: As a part of multi-year agreement, Cox TV customers […]

December 23, 2012

Pace drops 6% on Moto miss

Set-top box maker Pace has seen its shares fall 6 per cent after they returned from suspension following the company’s bid for Motorola’s set-top box business put on the block by  Google. Arris won the prize for $2.35 billion. Pace said it was unable to agree acceptable terms with Google: “We viewed the potential acquisition […]

December 21, 2012

Safe pair of hands wins Moto

The STB business of Motorola has gone to Arris as they beat out Pace and others with a winning $2.35 billion bid. Arris is one of those billion dollar (in fact currently about $1.75 billion market cap) that no one not in its sector has ever heard of. They are so low profile the deal […]

December 21, 2012

BT fined £95m for overcharging ISPs

BT has been fined £95 million (€117m) by Ofcom for “overcharging” rival telecoms firms for access to its network. Cable & Wireless Worldwide, BSkyB, Talk Talk, Virgin Media and Verizon are all entitled to refunds. Ofcom said BT had overcharged these firms for “certain wholesale ethernet services” between April 2006 and March 2011 and must […]

December 21, 2012