Vue Entertainment, one of the UK’s biggest cinema chains, is in talks to allow Hollywood studios to shorten the release window for a limited number of films each year. Vue wants both major and independent to sign up to mid- to long-term agreements of more than three years, during which time each studio will only […]
Foxtel chief Kim Williams has hit back at claims made May 31 by telco Optus that the pay-TV group’s proposed A$1.9 billion merger with Austar could threaten competitive access to content. Optus CEO Paul O’Sullivan used a keynote speech at a the CeBIT conference to call on the competition regulator to consider creating “must-share provisions” […]
HBO Central Europe has launched HBO GO in Romania. HBO GO is the Internet streaming service available to HBO subscribers with a broadband connection. The service in Romania will be accessible to customers that have broadband Internet and an HBO Maxpak subscription. In Romania HBO GO will be available initially to iNES IPTV clients. iNES […]
Prominent UK businessman Allan Leighton is to take over as Chairman of STB maker Pace, which recently gained number one ranking among set-top box manufacturers, but which has also attracted adverse analyst comments following profits warnings. Leighton formerly headed supermarket chain Asda, but came to prominence during his tenure as chairman of Royal Mail. He […]
RTL has formed an alliance with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network as the pan-European broadcaster enters into Asia at a time when growth in its core markets is flagging. The European group, which said in March that it was looking to secure a deal with a local partner in India, said the two had agreed […]
The head of Australia’s second-largest telco says the proposed merger of pay-TV services Austar and Foxtel could raise competition concerns regarding content. According to Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) needs to look carefully at the proposed deal, announced May 26 . “Optus is a company that is frequently […]
Cukurova Holding’s owner Mehmet Emin Karamehmet has received an additional 500 million Turkish Lira tax fine for his cable and satellite TV broadcasting company DigiTurk. This latest event in a long-running saga brings his total tax obligations in Turkey to 2.2 billion liras, say local reports. The latest claim covers a period from 2005-2009 and […]
Global satellite operator SES has joined forces with Kenyan television and broadband operator Wananchi to launch a new Direct-to-Home (DTH) line-up called Zuku TV in East Africa. Zuku TV is East Africa’s newest pay TV offering, set to provide affordable TV options to the mass market in Africa. It is scheduled to launch in July […]
Teléfonos de México’s (Telmex) request for a licence to offer pay-TV service has been rejected by the Mexican government, which cited deficiencies in the quality of the company’s connections with rivals’ networks. The Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (Communications and Transportation Ministry) said that Telmex hadn’t provided required information to the government. The ministry will […]
Arqiva is to close online TV venture SeeSaw after failing to find an investment partner or buyer. The company, which is a partner in the BBC-backed YouView video-on-demand venture, will pull the plug on SeeSaw next month. The shutdown comes five months after Arqiva appointed Ingenious Media to find an investment partner or buyer for […]