Online video viewing data for January showed a 45 per cent increase in time spent on video in the US, and underscored that Netflix’s streaming video service continues to build momentum. Netflix has become the only paid video service to be a top 10 video site on the Internet when looking at total number of […]
Elettronica Industriale, the network operator of Italy’s Mediaset Group, and satellite operator Eutelsat Communications have agreed a 12-year contract for capacity at the HOT BIRD video neighbourhood. The new contract for one transponder further consolidates a 20-year relationship between the two companies, increasing Mediaset’s HOT BIRD resources to five transponders. It will support Italy’s nationwide […]
Internet TV finally looks ready to live up to its promise, according to the Sector Focus commentary by Turner Investments. Analysts at Turner see it “gaining wider consumer acceptance and commercial scale in this decade.” “Perhaps the biggest thing Internet TV has going for it,” the authors say, “is that it’s part of a technological […]
Apple has confirmed a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store, including magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc. This is the same innovative digital subscription billing service that Apple recently launched with News Corp’s ‘The Daily’ app. Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the […]
Italy, China, Spain and Brazil are leading havens for online game piracy according to a “Special 301” report filed with the US Trade Representative (USTR) by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). The IIPA, of which the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is a member, proposed that 33 of these countries be placed on USTR’s list […]
Rovi and Delivery Agent, a specialist in multi-channel commerce for sports and entertainment, have jointly announced contextual commerce capability within Rovi electronic programme guides (EPGs) for television programming. With this capability, consumers will be able to buy products and services directly from their television programme guides using their remote controls. Similar commerce capabilities are also […]
Discretix, provider of field-proven content protection and embedded security solutions, has confirmed that Gemtek Technology has licensed its Multi-Scheme DRM Client with Microsoft PlayReady support for Android based pocket-size smart TV box. Approved by all major Hollywood studios and the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (Ultraviolet), Microsoft PlayReady addresses the significant transformation that has affected both […]
In a reference to the tectonic plates that created the Alpine peaks towering above Cable Congress’s Lucerne venue, Manuel Kohnstamm, Cable Europe President, told delegates that organisers had coined the phrase ‘Techtonic Forces’ to describe the 2011 event, because “we want the world to know that cable is pushing the communications industry to new peaks […]
The Plenary session at Cable Congress is always a good place to judge the current ‘group think’ of the European cable sector. For a few years now, the big question has been about the ‘opportunity’ and/or ‘threat’ of OTT services and this year’s Plenary again updated us on the latest take. In recent years, OTT […]
Figures released by trade body Cable Europe, as the European cable industry convenes for the Cable Congress, show that the sector’s ongoing investments in next-generation Internet access and digital television keeps paying off. With product innovations following one after the other, the industry announced strong 2010 year-end numbers. Manuel Kohnstamm, President, Cable Europe, reported that […]