A number of US media and technology companies, in collaboration with smart TV company VIZIO, have announced the formation of a consortium dedicated to the development and deployment of a new, open standard for addressable advertising on connected TVs. The effort will open up a direct dynamic ad- management pathway between content owners and TV […]
A Sky Bet advert fronted by Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling has been banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog for being socially irresponsible. In the ad for the “request a bet” service, Stelling is seen calling on viewers to “spark your sports brain” and ask “how big is your sports noggin”? The Advertising Standards Authority […]
The potential freeing of C-band spectrum by Intelsat and SES over the US for use by 5G has been well covered in recent times. With a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) probably only weeks away, the temperature is rising amongst supporters and objectors. Some Capital Hill lawmakers are advocating the introduction of a special ‘windfall’ tax […]
The operator of a Netherlands-based card sharing piracy network has been convicted and sentenced to a conditional six-month prison sentence, with a probation period of three years, and 240 hours community service, by a court in The Hague. The conviction is the latest in a series of positive results of collaborative investigations led by Dutch […]
Italy’s Antitrust Authority launched an investigation into the acquisition of Mediaset Premium’s pay-TV technical platform by Sky Italia and Sky Italian Holdings. The purpose of the procedure is to ascertain the possible competitive effects of the acquisition and to decide whether and how to mitigate its effects by imposing certain constraints. Among other things, the […]
Investment bank Morgan Stanley has issued a strongly supportive note on Intelsat’s (and by implication SES) prospects for the restructuring of 200 MHz of C-band spectrum over the US. The bank says that even though there is still much which could derail the proposals, it nevertheless believes that “the C-Band plan is likely the only […]
Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, Sky, has suggested that just a few months after Comcast’s September 2018 takeover of the pay-TV operator, “clear benefits” of the tie-up were “flowing both ways”, and also added his weight to the debate regarding regulation of global tech giants. Speaking at the Deloitte Enders Media and Telecoms Conference 2019 […]
The European Commission has made commitments offered by Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Sky legally binding under EU antitrust rules. These commitments address the Commission’s concerns regarding certain clauses in these studios’ film licensing contracts for pay-TV with Sky UK. These clauses prevented Sky UK from allowing EU consumers outside the UK and […]
As investors are advised every time, ‘shares can go down as well as up’. The past 48 hours have not been good for SES and Intelsat. Both satellite operators have been hurt badly by uncertainties that the proposed reallocation of C-band frequencies over the US might not go their way (but see separate story on […]
Investors who have given SES and Intelsat a hard time should have paid attention to comments made on Monday (March 4) by four of the FCC’s Commissioners. The Commissioners, two Democratic appointees, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, as well as two Republicans, Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr, made it clear that any ‘nationalisation’ by the […]