The US Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, is trying to impose strong conditions on the Comcast/NBCU deal, including that it divest its stake in online video site Hulu within a year. The committee has written to the FCC saying the proposed joint venture “has the potential for serious anticompetitive and anti-consumer effects in at least three […]
Selling shows overseas including Doctor Who, as well as the sale of formats of The Office, Top Gear and Strictly Come Dancing etc, have helped BBC Worldwide to record profits this year of around £140 million (E162m). The figure, described by the corporation as an “indicative guidance”, is a significant improvement on last year’s £103 […]
The French Postal and electronic communications regulatory authority, ARCEP, is releasing its discussion points and initial policy guidelines on Internet and network neutrality. The document is the result of a wide-reaching preliminary examination by the Authority that lasted close to seven months, which included a series of some 50 interviews and a survey – the […]
NeuLion, an end-to-end IPTV service provider, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the operating interests of TransVideo, a manufacturer of set top boxes utilised by the company, in exchange for 22,000,802 Company common shares. TransVideo shareholders will own approximately 15 per cent of the company, on a fully diluted basis, upon the consummation […]
From David Del Valle in Madrid Spain's largest cable company, ONO, ended the first quarter of the year with a net profit of E17 million, up 39.4 per cent, on a lower total turnover of E372 million, down 4.1 per cent. As of March 31, ONO had 1.904 million clients, of which 1.7 million are […]
Video search-and-ads firm blinkx nearly doubled its income last year – but cost still outpaced revenue for a significant loss. Suranga Chandratillake CEO and founder says blinkx is well-positioned in the fast-growing space – it's got 720 content providers, its video searches are up 169 per cent to 22.6 million a day and the number […]
Blip.tv, the video Web site, said that it had raised another $10.1 million in funding, its third round of venture investment since it debuted in 2005. The company said it would use the latest funding to “accelerate the growth of the independent Web shows that Blip.tv hosts and distributes.” The company also hopes to expand […]
From Colin Mann in London UK regulator Ofcom has said it will address net neutrality in the coming months describing the issue as of 'significant resonance' in the era of digital deregulation. Ofcom board member Tim Gardam, now an academic but former C4 programme director, told the Broadcasting and Beyond conference “it is becoming increasingly […]
ASA, the UK advertising watchdog, has made its first ruling against a VOD ad, banning a zombie film trailer that ran in The X Factor final on the ITV Player. The Advertising Standards Authority received a complaint that the ad was frightening and inappropriate for display during a family programme because it had distressed young […]
Ofcom has confirmed that only fixed line ISPs with more than 400,000 subscribers will be forced to comply with the Digital Economy Act’s controversial anti-file sharing provisions. The communications regulator has informed the Internet Service Providers’ Association of the benchmark, and said it intends to publish rules within the next two weeks. It means mobile […]