Some cable subscribers are suing to get their programming a la carte. A multimillion-dollar class-action suit has been filed against the major cable programmers and operators for violating antitrust laws by bundling programming in expanded basic tiers. In a suit filed by veteran antitrust attorney Maxwell Blecher on behalf of 14 cable and satellite subscribers […]
Time Warner will “look hard” in the next 12 to 18 months at possibly selling off its AOL dial-up Internet access business, similar to its strategy in Europe. AOL, which restructured last year to offer most of its services for free, aims to focus exclusively on boosting online advertising sales both on its AOL.com portal […]
The UK Government is willing to consider some form of limited public intervention to spur private-sector investment in 'ultra-fast' broadband networks. Stephen Timms, minister for competitiveness, will use a speech to the Broadband Stakeholder Group to warn that the UK risks lagging behind other leading industrialised countries that are rolling out super-fast, fixed-line broadband networks. […]
Canada’s broadcasting regulator should give more flexibility to cable operators and television stations on advertising, Canadian content and channel packages, according to a report commissioned by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The study will feed into the federal regulator’s public consultations next year on speciality and pay channels and cable and satellites services. Lawyers […]
Swedish company Headweb believes it may have discovered a lawful solution to the movie industry’s long-running file sharing quandary. By merging peer to peer file sharing methods with advanced watermarking technology, the Stockholm firm hopes to beat the Internet pirates at their own game and offer consumers a legal alternative. Customers will be given the […]
Entriq has confirmed that BSkyB will use its services to support the delivery of pay-per-view television content. The EST (electronic sell-through) service will enable Sky to offer pay-per-view content via its online portfolio. With the Entriq service, customers with a 2Mb or greater broadband connection will be able to download a selection of Sky content, […]
US communications regulators have approved new rules designed to ensure that cable television subscribers who own analogue TV sets will still have access to local broadcast TV channels following the digital switchover in 2009. The FCC voted to endorse rules that require cable operators to continue carrying local broadcast channels that can be viewed on […]
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has backed US telcos, warning regulators against imposing 'net neutrality' rules that would block carriers from charging content providers premium prices to prioritise some web traffic. While the ultimate decision on new regulations rests with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the DoJ's comments represent a blow to content companies […]
The US cable television industry has launched a $200 million (E146m) advertising campaign to assure customers they will still be able programmes after the transition to digital broadcasting. Ad spots open with a graphic that reads: “By law TV stations will end analogue broadcasts on February 17, 2009, and broadcast exclusively in digital.” That will […]
From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris Numericable, now the sole cable operator in France, made a series of announcements at its “back to work” press conference after the summer, to mark the launch of its optical fibre service. Numericable CEO Philippe Besnier said that cable is now better placed than ADSL operators in terms of both […]