The US Justice Department has charged a part-time Iranian government hacker with infiltrating HBO and trying to extort the premium broadcaster, a move that comes amid allegations the charges were rushed to bolster President Donald Trump’s case against Tehran. The man, Behzad Mesri, is charged with orchestrating the high-profile hack of the US cable channel […]
German broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 has appointed Nicolas Eglau to the newly created position of Executive VP of international, effective immediately. Eglau left his role as chief operating officer and general manager for Nordics, Benelux and CEEMEA at A+E Networks UK earlier this year, having joined the firm in 2015. Prior to that he held an […]
IMAX has opened its first virtual reality experience centre in the UK, at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, where it hopes to draw younger audiences to the cinema in greater numbers. The experience will allow visitors to enter the space and play multiplayer VR games or experience entertainment content that ties in with movies currently. […]
Last night saw the launch event for Media Summits and its series on the Media and Brexit. In typically forthright form, the former Digital Economy and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey told an audience of top TV practitioners and professional advisors: “Sorry, we really stuffed it up for you.” Vaizey said he hoped the current DCMS ministers […]
France Télévisions’ CEO Delphine Ernotte is calling for much greater cooperation between Europe’s public and private broadcasters in order to rival the influence – and potential domination – by the likes of Netflix and Amazon. In a report in French newspaper Le Figaro, Mdm Ernotte says that discussions have already started with Italy’s RAI, Germany’s […]
UTECA, the largest private TV Association in Spain, has accused the Administration of discrimination against FTA TV to the benefit of pay-TV and new OTT platforms. The president of UTECA, Alejandro Echevarría, has urged the Government to put an end to the “favourable treatment” of pay-TV operators and demanded “legal changes” to make the new […]
An International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling has confirmed that Comcast “violated” two TiVo Patents. The decision says that Comcast’s infringements occurred on patents owned by Rovi Corp, now part of TiVo. The ITC decision means that Comcast’s highly-specified X1 set-top boxes are now banned from being imported. TiVo’s share price rose 12 per cent in […]
China’s Internet, broadband and gaming company Tencent’s stock market value has topped Facebook, and has become the first Chinese business to break through the $500 billion mark. On November 21st its value stood at a massive $531 billion (HK$4.15 trillion). Tencent, in the process, has become one of the five most-valuable companies on the planet, […]
Sky has reinforced its commitment to offering customers original programming with the announcement of eight new commissions, following Group Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch’s pledge earlier this year to increase investment in original productions by 25 per cent. Responding to demand from customers for more high-quality programming and building on a successful year for Sky Original […]
India’s State Research Organisation (ISRO) which takes care of the country’s satellite and rocket launch activity, says it will soon launch satellites and even privately-built rockets and is open to more commercial activity from the private sector. ISRO on November 20th issued a tender document to private companies inviting participation for the Assembly, Integration and […]