The latest in what is proving to be a long summer of bitter carriage disputes, DirecTV has switched off 26 channels owned by Viacom. The list includes such entertainment stalwarts as MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. The channels went dark at midnight for DirecTV’s 20 million subscribers. 17 channels are involved plus their HDTV versions. […]
Facebook users will be reminded about NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games in London, and viewers of NBC’s coverage will be nudged to talk about the Games on Facebook. It is part of a collaboration between NBCUniversal’s NBC Olympics division and the social networking site. Data from Facebook will inform television coverage on NBC and […]
Research into global video trends has revealed that the growth in IP-delivered content is not being matched by a comparable level of investment in advertising across connected devices. The research – a collaboration between sell side video ad management platform, Videoplaza and IHS Screen Digest – found that TV remains first choice for reaching audiences […]
The Digital TV Group (DTG), the industry association for digital television in the UK and an active member of the HbbTV hybrid TV standard, has said it welcomes the decision by Intellect, the UK’s trade body for the high technology sector, to consult with broadcasters regarding its preferred way for aligning the UK with HbbTV. […]
Based on forecasts for 80 countries, pay TV revenues will climb to $200 billion in 2017, up by $23 billion on 2011 but up by only $2 billion (1 per cent) on 2016, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. The forecasts are based on subscription and on-demand revenues. The Digital TV World […]
Almost one out of four Spanish homes already have a pay TV service, with a total penetration rate of 22.8 per cent as of the end of 2011, reveals the latest report from the Telecommunications Market Commission (CMT). Pay TV subscriptions grew by 0.7 per cent to 4.5 million homes, up 32,540 against the previous […]
Norway cable group Get is set to go on sale with a price tag of more than €1 billion according to reports. Goldman Sachs is expected to handle the sale. UPC could take an interest in Get, even though it sold the business in 2005 to private equity. Since then, Get has completed the upgrade […]
A note to clients from investment bank Morgan Stanley suggests that pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB is to extend its share-buyback/cash return policy. The bank says that BSkyB has already spent about £550 million (€679m) of the £750 million it earmarked for buying back its own stock from investors. It bought back another 23,000 shares early on […]
Cable giant Comcast is selling its 15.8 per cent stake in A & E for about $3.03 billion. Its joint-venture partners in A&E, Walt Disney Co and Hearst Corp, will buy the stake. A&E is home to channels such as the History Channel, Biography and Lifetime. It is expected that Comcast will use the cash […]
The TV middleware market, long led by Nagra (25 per cent worldwide 2011 market share) and NDS (24 per cent) worldwide and Motorola (19 per cent) and Cisco (11 per cent) in the US, is in a massive state of upheaval as Cisco’s bid for NDS waits to close – it is expected in early […]