Jeff Wachtel, a senior NBCUniversal television executive and producer, has been named as President, NBCUniversal International Studios. The appointment was announced by Kevin MacLellan, Chairman, Global Distribution & International, to whom he will report, effective from January. Located in the interim from Los Angeles before moving to London in summer 2018, Wachtel’s new role will […]
Dejero, an innovator in blending IP networks for video transport and Internet connectivity while mobile or in remote locations, has announced significant new financing to accelerate its product development roadmap and its global expansion into the broadcast and media market. The investment will be used largely to fund development and commercialisation of Dejero’s blended connectivity […]
The SRT Alliance, an open-source initiative dedicated to overcoming the challenges of low-latency video streaming, has announced that 33 new members have joined the initiative, the latest being video technology provider, Kaltura. Now with 70 members, the SRT Alliance’s rapid growth is a strong indication that open source SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) is becoming a […]
Jeremy Darroch, CEO of Sky, has called on Europe’s policy makers to ensure a level regulatory playing field, suggesting that licensed broadcasters such as Sky are disadvantaged having to compete against global online platforms. Delivering a speech on TV, Technology and Policy at an audiovisual policy conference in Tallinn, Estonia, Darroch noted that much of […]
London-based speciality satellite operator Avanti Communications has hired Toby Robinson as its new CCO. Robinson was previously working at Eaton Towers, a towers and masts business focused on Africa. “This is a new – and vitally important – role at Avanti and we are delighted to have someone of Toby’s experience and track record joining […]
November 25th saw Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) order all private TV news channels to immediately close during a crack-down on protesters in the nation’s capital, Islamabad. Reuters said that some 8500 police were attempting to bring a protest of 2500 Islamists under control. The PEMRA suspension was because of an instruction to all […]
Startup leaders across the 27 AR/VR sectors in Digi-Capital’s Augmented/Virtual Reality Report and Deals Database raised $1 billion (€0.84bn) in the fourth quarter before the end of November. This is only the second time the billion dollar figure has been reached in a single quarter. Three quarters of a billion dollars went into big deals […]
Magazine company Meredith Corporation has announced that it is finally buying the Time Inc publishing group (it has tried twice before) in a “transformative” $1.8 billion (€1.5bn) deal. Meredith, which owns a portfolio including Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, and Shape, will fund the deal with the help of the right-wing, billionaire Koch brothers, […]
NBN Co, the body responsible for the roll-out of Australia’s national broadband network, has temporarily paused all new orders over its Hybrid Coaxial-Fibre (HFC) network access network. This pause will be in effect until incremental field work is undertaken to raise the quality of service for end users. The changes to the HFC (also known […]
South Africa’s public broadcaster SABC wants the nation’s digital pay-TV broadcasters, Naspers-owned DStv, to start paying to carry SABC’s broadcasts. Currently, DStv can carry SABC1, SABC2 and SABC3 free of charge. SABC is the country’s Number 1 channel in terms of viewer popularity. SABC has formally written to the country’s media regulator ICASA to change […]