Advanced Television

Regulation

Ofcom to investigate RT impartiality

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has opened seven new investigations into the due impartiality of news and current affairs programmes on the RT news channel. The investigations form part of an Ofcom update into the licences held by TV Novosti, the company that broadcasts RT. Until recently, TV Novosti’s overall compliance record has not been materially […]

April 18, 2018By Colin Mann

Study: China tariffs will add millions to TVs cost

The Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on TVs from China would increase the price Americans pay for TVs, costing US consumers an estimated $711 million (€574m) over the next year, according to a study commissioned by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and National Retail Federation (NRF). “These proposed tariffs are bad for the economy, businesses and […]

April 18, 2018

AIMS at 96 members following MNA merger

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced that the organisation has seen an uptick in membership and the number of members has increased to 96. Since the organisation’s merger with the Media Networking Alliance (MNA) was announced late last year, more than 20 companies have joined AIMS. The following companies have joined AIMS […]

April 18, 2018

Sky Italia blocks football TV rights tender

Sky Italia has revealed that a Milan court has suspended the tender for national TV rights to the Italian Serie A for the seasons 2018-2021. The satellite broadcaster requested checks on whether the process that awarded the football rights to Spain’s MediaPro was in line with Italian laws. According to Sky Italia, the tender “rises […]

April 17, 2018From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Fox attorney: Sky bid ‘political war’

Gerson Zweifach, group general counsel of 21st Century Fox, has suggested that certain UK politicians have a political agenda in respect of the company’s bid to acquire the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own, accusing them of seeking to enlist regulators in a political war. Writing an opinion piece in the […]

April 17, 2018By Colin Mann

Broadband Forum brings IoT home with USP standard

The Broadband Forum has published its User Services Platform (USP) – a new standard for implementing, deploying and managing all types of devices in the broadband home. For the first time, USP brings a unified, common approach to securely deploy, manage, and control network-aware consumer electronics, including home and enterprise Wi-Fi, Internet of Things (IoT), […]

April 17, 2018

Report: China leads in 5G race  

China holds a narrow lead in overall 5G readiness ahead of South Korea and the US, according to a report from global telecommunications research firm, Analysys Mason for US mobile industry trade body the CTIA. Underscoring the importance of America maintaining its global wireless leadership, additional research by Recon Analytics found that US 4G leadership […]

April 17, 2018

iQIYI joins AOMedia

iQIYI, an online entertainment service in China, has joined the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) as a Promoter member. AOMedia is a non-profit organisation formed by global lplayers in the video industry with the aim to define and develop media technologies that address the need for an open standard for video compression and delivery over […]

April 17, 2018

Ofcom finalises spectrum auction

UK comms regulator Ofcom has published the final outcome of its auction to release more airwaves for 4G mobile and future 5G services. On April 5th, Ofcom announced which companies had won the right to use spectrum in two bands through the ‘principal’ stage of the auction, and the amounts they would pay. It has […]

April 13, 2018By Colin Mann

Spotify acquires Loudr

Streaming music service Spotify has acquired music licensing body Loudr. The company was founded in 2013 to build products and services that make it easy for content creators, aggregators and digital music services to identify, track and pay royalties to music publishers. No financial terms were revealed. The Loudr team of publishing specialists and technologists […]

April 13, 2018