Advanced Television

Pay TV

Canal Plus reveals pre IPO earnings

Canal Plus Group reported a 5.8 per cent rise in full-year EBITDA as it moves closer to the planned initial public offering of Lagardere’s 20 per cent stake in its French unit, Canal Plus France. EBITDA for the full year rose to €690 million while revenue rose 3.5 per cent to €4.71 billion as more […]

February 17, 2011

Deutsche Telekom, Sky Deutschland distribution deal

Deutsche Telekom and pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland have agreed a deal to include Sky’s channels as part of DT’s cable TV offering. Deutsche Telekom (DT) will feed Sky’s programmes into its so-called NE 3 and NE 4 cable networks and households, giving consumers access to the whole range of Sky products and services. The deal […]

February 16, 2011

4m users to SPB’s free iPhone channels

SPB Software used the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to unveil its latest iPhone and Blackberry applications, its SPB TV 3.0 software, which Vassily Philippov, SPB’s COO, says has already enjoyed 4m downloads to its TV streaming and VOD versions. SPB’s existing product has found firm demand in Germany, Russia, China, India, Turkey and the […]

February 15, 2011By Chris Forrester

Lagardère Canal+ IPO ready

The IPO registration document for French media group Lagardère’s  stake in pay-TV group Canal+ is expected to be released on the AMF regulator’s website on Thursday, Reuters reports, citing a source close to the matter. Lagardère’s 20 per cent stake in Canal+ has been valued by analysts at €1.2 billion to €1.4 billion. Vivendi owns […]

February 15, 2011

Sky completes digital roster with agency partners

Sky has finalised its digital marketing roster with confirmation of newly appointed agencies in both creative and paid search. The appointments follow a comprehensive review of agency support across all digital disciplines. The roster for the creative account is made up of three incumbents – Digital and Direct, WCRS & Co and Brothers & Sisters […]

February 14, 2011

Nagra powers OTT service for Spain pay-TV operator DIGITAL+

Launch of Nagra Over-the-Top solution powering iPLUS set-top box-based on demand services PC/tablet/smartphone on demand and linear TV services to be launched later this year Nagra Multi-screen solution enables operator-controlled delivery of Over-the-Top services and seamless cross-device experience Cheseaux, Switzerland – February 10th, 2011– Nagra, independent provider of value-added content protection and multi-screen television solutions, […]

February 11, 2011

Deutsche Telekom ‘back in cable’

Deutsche Telekom is re-entering the German cable television market in “a tactical move,”, says local press quoting spokesman Marc Sauser. “We want to throw a wrench in the works of the cable companies….We’re a newcomer and will be the smallest player in this market.” The company, which disposed of all its cable assets almost 10 […]

February 10, 2011

Canal+ boosts 3D offer

France’s Canal + is  augmenting its 3D service with the promise of one blockbuster movie and a top-flight football match each month from March. Kicking off on February 12 with live coverage of the English Premier League clash between rivals Manchester United and Manchester City, future games will feature leading French teams, as well as […]

February 9, 2011

Sky Movies makes “excess profits”

The UK Competition Commission probe into BSkyB finds it has “consistently” earned “excess profits” on its Sky Movies packages, that’s  the conclusion of a working paper published on its website. It says that while some of Sky’s excess profits may be due to innovation or competitor weakness, “we would not expect such profits to persist […]

February 8, 2011

Trio accused of £40m Virgin TV fraud

Three men have been charged with defrauding TV giant Virgin Media of up to £40 million (€47.6m). The trio have been accused of importing 44,000 digital receivers which could be made to pick up channels without paying a fee to Virgin. The Crown Prosecution Service said the boxes would be sent electronic messages which would […]

February 7, 2011