Advanced Television

Cable

EU challenges Belgium access proposals

The European Commission has expressed a number of concerns on proposals by Belgian broadcasting and broadband regulators. In particular, the Commission is asking the Belgian regulators to take full account of market developments in both markets and to further substantiate and justify its reasoning with regard to the broadcasting market. The Commission believes Belgium hasn’t […]

June 22, 2011

Comcast “we’re more than stodgy set tops”

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has told Fortune magazine wants to shift the perception of the cable company and being a stodgy provider of bulky cable set top boxes is a thing of the past. “We recognize that the business is changing and has changed, and we’re well aware that there’s new competition,” he said. Roberts […]

June 22, 2011

Croatia’s Voljatel buys two local cable operators

Croatian fixed-line operator Voljatel has acquired two local cable TV operators and is eyeing a third. The two operators in question are Kerman and Antena JD and negotiations are underway for the acquisition of another cable operator in Sibenik, according to Voljatel CEO, Boris Levenski. Financial details of the deals were not disclosed. Voljatel, which […]

June 22, 2011From Branislav Pekic in Rome

SeaChange, Civolution partner for premium VoD

Multi-screen video software specialist SeaChange International and media content technology and solutions provider Civolution have agreed an integration and distribution collaboration to offer NexGuard forensic watermarking for premium video-on-demand (VoD), critical for cable operators looking to launch Home Premiere services, as mandated by the Hollywood studios to grant access to early window content. Paul de […]

June 22, 2011

Digital TV homes to double

The number of digital TV homes will double between 2010 and 2016 to 1.189 billion, according to analyst firm Digital TV Research (DTVR). The Digital TV World Household Forecasts report estimates that digital penetration will climb from 42.5 per cent at end-2010 to 80.0 per cent by 2016. By 2016, 33 countries will be completely […]

June 20, 2011

Telstra unveils Foxtel T-Box switch

Australian telco Telstra has unveiled the first stage of its anticipated Foxtel on T-Box service. From Sunday 26th June, T-Box customers will have access to up to 30 Foxtel channels and a selection of catch-up TV channels including FOX8, Discovery and Movie One. The basic starter service, with 11 channels, will cost A$19.50 (€14.43) per […]

June 20, 2011

Investigation Channel goes Dutch

Discovery Networks is launching its Investigation channel in Holland – just one week after AETN brought the Crime & Investigation Network to the country. Investigation Discovery will launch in Holland on July 1st, taking the place of the Travel and Living channel, which is currently available to digital TV subscribers in the region. AETN also […]

June 20, 2011

EU hands back Kabel BW decision

The European Commission has handed the decision over the acquisition of Kabel BW by Liberty back to the domestic regulator the Bundeskartellamt which had requested jurisdiction. Most observers think this reduces the chances of a clearance. Liberty Global announced in March its intention to buy Kabel BW from Swedish fund EQT for €3.16 billion. Liberty […]

June 17, 2011

Warner Bros films on China cable TV

Warner Bros Entertainment has confirmed plans to offer its movies via cable television in China, the first such venture by a major studio. Warner Bros expects as many as three million Chinese households to have access to its recently released films and older titles as early as this summer through pay-per-view and on-demand services. Ultimately, […]

June 16, 2011

Synacor TV Everywhere for Mediacom

Synacor, a specialist in powering personalised homepages and online entertainment services for high-speed Internet subscribers, has announced it will enable Mediacom, the eighth largest cable television company in the US, to offer TV Everywhere services for their subscribers. When the services launch later this year, authenticated and entitled Mediacom subscribers will access TV Everywhere content […]

June 16, 2011