Advanced Television

Digital Radio

Nielsen buys radio ratings

Nielsen is acquiring Arbitron, the leading radio measurement firm, in a $1.3 billlion cash deal. The company said a combined Nielsen-Arbitron would provide a richer picture of the five hours of television programming people on average watch a day, the two hours of radio they listen to, the websites they visit and the products they […]

December 19, 2012

Spotify on TiVo Premiere

TiVo has confirmed the availability of leading music streaming service Spotify for its TiVo Premiere boxes in the US. On TiVo, consumers can sign-in with an existing Spotify Premium account ($9.90 per /month) to seamlessly and immediately enjoy their current playlists through their television. It will allow TiVo owners to stream music through their home […]

December 18, 2012

Analyst: iRadio to launch before Apple TV

An expected 2013 launch of an ‘iRadio’ service from Apple is likely to be well ahead of any TV product launch, according to Richard Greenfield, Media Analyst at BTIG Research. Writing in the BTIG blog, Greenfield says that following the November 29 launch of iTunes 11 and a series of industry executive meetings, it is […]

December 3, 2012By Colin Mann

French pay-radio scheme: Full details

One might say “at last”. On November 8th French media regulator le Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) licensed Onde Numérique to broadcast by satellite over Europe. Transmissions will be made on the Eutelsat/SES Solaris Mobile payload that’s been in orbit on Eutelsat’s W2A craft since April 2009.  The CSA announced a beauty contest competition for […]

November 26, 2012

Arqiva invests £6m in digital radio network

Arqiva is investing £6 million (€7.5m) to launch four new local multiplexes which will bring digital radio to over 1.5 million listeners in the English Midlands. The company is working with the BBC, Global Radio and Oxford’s JACK fm to broadcast on the first multiplexes to launch since the Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Radio […]

November 22, 2012

Liberty poised for control of Sirius-XM

Last week, Liberty Media bought another 31 million shares (0.5 per cent) in Sirius-XM, taking its stake in the pay-radio broadcasters to 49.8 per cent. Liberty Media is awaiting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulatory approval to move beyond the 50 per cent threshold and take full control of Sirius-XM. The FCC is expected to make […]

November 20, 2012By Chris Forrester

Europe to get pay-radio

French media regulator le Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) has licensed Onde Numérique to broadcast pay-radio in the L-band by satellite over Europe. Transmissions will be made on the Eutelsat/SES Solaris Mobile satellite that’s been in orbit on Eutelsat’s W2A craft since April 2009. This latest scheme is initially focused on French users and will […]

November 8, 2012By Chris Forrester

UK spectrum use worth £52bn a year

The UK’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport has revealed findings of a study that suggests the impact of radio spectrum on the UK economy is worth more than £50 billion a year. The Analysys Mason study, commissioned by Government, found spectrum use was valued at £52 billion in 2011, an increase of 25 per […]

November 5, 2012

Sirius-XM donates $300m satellite to Smithsonian

Satellites, once launched, never return to Earth unless there’s some sort of catastrophe, but pay-radio operator had an unwanted satellite on its hands in the shape of its FM-4 satellite. It stayed on the ground as a spare craft in case of problems with the original trio launched into space to provide programming for the […]

November 5, 2012By Chris Forrester

Sirius-XM adds 446,000 subs

Pay-radio operator Sirius-XM is on a roll. Its Q3 results show that its subscriber base grew by a record 446,000 to a new record total of 23.4 million.  Revenue grew 14 per cent to $867 million. The company paid down $107 million of debt, helping reduce the broadcaster’s overall debt level to the lowest since […]

November 1, 2012By Chris Forrester