Research published by Informa shows that nearly 54 million digital TV households will be added in 2007, bringing the global total to 239 million. The report forecasts that digital penetration of TV households will reach 22 per cent by year-end. The North American penetration rate will exceed 68 per cent, with Western Europe at 52 […]

The European Union expects to regulate online behavioral targeting next year, as protests over privacy concerns are stirring a potential backlash against recent marketing enhancements by social networks like Facebook. Reuters reported that the EU's data protection commission, known as the Article 29 Working Party, is preparing to devote time to the kinds of information […]

The Asia Pacific pay-TV industry has hailed an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decision on the preservation of C-band spectrum for satellite TV services in Asia as “a long-awaited positive outcome on a contentious issue”. According to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), the decision taken by the United Nations-led ITU World Radio […]

Hong Kong’s two domestic free television stations, Asia Television Limited and Television Broadcasts Limited, will phase in digital terrestrial television (DTT) services from December 31st. Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Frederick Ma said Hong Kong will be the first to adopt the national DTT transmission standard developed by the Mainland. The initial launch will […]

Warner Bros has announced it will be launching a number of branded, video-on-demand, non-linear channels on a subscription- and advertiser-supported basis over a variety of global delivery platforms. The on-demand and broadband models make financial sense, says Jeffrey Schlesinger, Warner Bros International's president. “The costs here are much lower than creating a linear channel. You […]

RTL Group has signed an agreement with Luxembourg-based Continental Finance Group (CFG) to build up a joint venture for the production, operation and distribution of thematic, non-terrestrial TV channels in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). According to the agreement, RTL Group will purchase 50 per cent of the shares of Content […]

Google has launched an advertising service for its network in the UK and Ireland that will allow targeted ads to run around YouTube videos. The new offering, called Video Units, is the latest effort by Google in its bid to monetise YouTube video content. The new service is available to the thousands of websites that […]

The broadcast value chain is undergoing a significant transformation as digital workflows, HD and traditional IT infrastructure revolutionise the TV industry. The movement is creating immense challenges and opportunities for broadcasters as they fight to adapt to multi channel and multi platform distribution. In a new report, 'The Evolving Broadcast Value Chain', Datamonitor, independent market […]

From Branislav Pekic in Rome Mediaset has announced the launch of two new free-to-air digital terrestrial TV channels. Launching on November 30, Iris will be dedicated to cinema, theatre and opera. It will be able to count on a movie archive with more than 1,000 titles, but the schedule will also include sitcoms, TV series, […]

From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris The French broadcasting regulator CSA selected the projects submitted by TF1 and M6 for the two private sector HD channels on DTT, rejecting the projects from pay TV channel Canal+ and the project from the AB Groupe. The third available HD channel has been reserved for France 2. The CSA […]