Advanced Television

Broadcast

blinkx and Utarget advertise online

Video search engine blinkx has partnered with Utarget, the UK online video advertising network, to place video advertising around its video content for UK audiences. Utarget will focus on monetising blinkx’s video inventory including ITN News and ITN Celebrity.

October 18, 2007

Digital UK campaign in September

Digital UK is launching a national information campaign on September 19 to promote the digital TV switchover, which starts in Whitehaven, Cumbria on October 17, before rolling out across the entire country region-by-region over the next few years, finishing in 2012. The £8m (E11.4m) campaign is the latest phase of Digital UK's national information programme. […]

October 18, 2007

Broadcasters tell Ofcom to lay off

A dispute has broken out between UK television networks and their and Ofcom over the public service remit of channels such as ITV1 and Channel 4. Ed Richards, chief executive of the media and communications regulator, signalled renewed pressure to finalise the remit of channels such as ITV1 and Channel 4, saying that the public […]

October 18, 2007

Sogecable losses 10,000 subscribers in football war

From David Del Valle in Madrid The dispute over football TV rights between Sogecable and Mediapro has led the largest pay-TV group to lose 10,000 subscribers in the third quarter of the year. Nonetheless this was a net of 40,000 more than a year ago reaching a total of 2.046 million. The company is also […]

October 18, 2007

US networks will spend $327m+ promoting DTV

US broadcasters promised to air more than $327 million (E231m) worth of television spots as part of a campaign to alert consumers about the approaching switch-over to digital television. The major television networks, as well as 95 station-owning broadcast companies, pledged to run the ads as part of a $697 million campaign designed to keep […]

October 17, 2007

Spain cracks down on pay TV hackers

From David Del Valle in Madrid The Spanish police has disbanded a network of pay-TV hackers by arresting 27 people across the country who would have defrauded the pay-TV companies of E10 million. Amonsgt the detainees there are 10 distributors of keys and codes through the Internet, nine sellers of manipulated set-top-boxes and eight responsible […]

October 17, 2007

Vodafone Portugal entering IPTV market?

Vodafone’s Portugal unit is considering entering the IPTV market and is also contemplating participating in Portugal’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) tender, Jornal de Negocios reported, citing the company’s deputy CEO Antonio Coimbra. ‘Vodafone is ready to launch an IPTV offer in the short term if it decides to do so,’ Coimbra said. Though the company […]

October 17, 2007

UK switchover starts

The UK's television switchover starts today when thousands of homes in Whitehaven, Cumbria, receive digital channels for the first time. The two-stage switchover starts at approximately 2am when analogue BBC Two is replaced with the first group of digital services.

October 17, 2007

Spain heads for pre-paid TV services on DTT

From David Del Valle in Madrid Telco operator Abertis is leading a project to develop a single DTT box and pre-paid cards to allow DTT broadcasters to offer certain pay TV services, such as cinema or football or music events following the Italian example. The company plans to set up a centre or a factory […]

October 16, 2007

IDS selects Chellomedia for interactive advertising

Interactive Digital Sales (IDS), the advertising solutions provider for Virgin Media Television, has selected Chellomedia's Mistral software to create and publish templated interactive advertising on the Sky Satellite platform. Chellomedia's Mistral software has been recently enhanced to offer a range of advertising solutions for UK satellite, DTT and European Cable platforms. The solutions offer media […]

October 16, 2007