UK digital satellite platform Sky has reached its target of 10 million TV customers, equivalent to 36 per cent of households in the UK and Ireland. BSkyB set the target in August 2004, since when a further 2.6 million customers have subscribed. Sky TV now reaches more than 25 million people. Around a third of […]
Digital TV technology specialist Pace has acquired Latens Systems, the Belfast-based specialist in software-based Conditional Access/DRM and Middleware solutions for the pay-TV market in a £28.75 million (E32.72m) cash deal, of which £10 million is deferred and payable in 2012 subject to the achievement of conditions. Latens offers its solutions across cable, IPTV, DTH,and DTT, […]
Despite having declared the launch of its W3B satellite “a success”, satellite operator Eutelsat Communications has subsequently confirmed the loss of the W3B satellite following an anomaly which was detected on the satellite’s propulsion subsystem after its launch by an Ariane 5 rocket. W3B was scheduled to be located at 16° East to replace Eutelsat’s […]
YouView is “not anti-competitive, it creates competition” according to Kip Meek, Chairman of the venture, who argued that it created content at three levels: device, content and platform. Meek suggested that as YouView was an early stage project, it would have been difficult for Ofcom or any competition authority to have deemed it anti-competitive at […]
UK broadcaster Channel 4 has not discounted the possibility of charging for some of its online content, according to its head of VOD Content, Sarah Milton. She told delegates at the Screen Digest Future of Digital Media Conference that there was “clearly a willingness to pay for certain content, so we’re interested in exploring those […]
Senior officials responsible for the post-2012 utilisation of the Press and Broadcast Centres at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London have confirmed their strong commitment to ensuring that the locations form part of a new centre for creative industries. Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) said the body “was […]
According to Shirlene Chandrapal, director, Europe of connected TV for Yahoo, content that augments the TV experience represents the biggest opportunity for MIPCOM delegates attending a conference session on ‘The Impact of Connected TV on the Media Industry’. It has to be open and you have to let the consumer drive the experience,” she advised. […]
Hybrid models are best suited to making online video pay, according to panellists at MIPCOM’s ‘Online Video: To Pay Or Not To Pay’ session. According to Spirit Digital Media CEO Peter Cowley, “the hybrid model is fundamental” to the future of online video. Michael Comish CEO of Blinkbox Entertainment, noted that “colossal skill” was needed […]
Keynote speakers at MIPCOM’s Industry Outlook panel have suggested that strategic flexibility will be a critical weapon as major media companies face the challenges created by digital transformation. According to Marcel Fenez, global leader, entertainment and media at PricewaterhouseCoopers, consumer behaviour in the digital era is starting to follow defined patterns. “What we are starting […]
In line with its aims of becoming one of the world’s first global 360 degree live music brands, Swiss-based iConcerts has brokered a distribution and co-production deal with China DTV Production Company Limited, a division of CCTV (China Central Television). The multi-faceted collaboration starting this Autumn, will see China DTV Production’s digital music channel broadcast […]