UK video-on-demand providers must pay a combined £375,000 (E415,000) to two bodies that will regulate their industry. The Association for Television On Demand (ATVOD) which has been confirmed by Ofcom to co-regulate, along with it, the VOD sector, says running costs for December 2009 to March 2011 are £426,388, and that the VOD providers themselves […]

The sport rights holders, who have benefitted greatly from Sky's determination to dominate pay TV sport, are considering legal action to stop Ofcom regulating the price at which Sky wholesales its channels – a move that will likely lead to lower bids for rights. Sports governing bodies argue that the move will “irreparably damage” investment […]

Verimatrix and Widevine Technologies have settled pending litigation involving Widevine’s US Patents. Widevine filed suit in August of 2007 alleging that Verimatrix’s VCAS products infringe both of Widevine’s patents. Under terms of the agreement, Widevine granted Verimatrix a license to the two asserted Widevine patents and the foreign counterparts. Verimatrix makes no admission as to […]

The day after the UK Office of Fair Trading announced a consultation process that may lead to a referral of the project to the Competition Commission – a move that would delay the Canvas launch by up to a year even if it got a clean bill of health – members of the consortium have […]

The UK Office of Fair Trading is to consider a Competition Commission referral for Project Canvas, the video-on-demand service lead by the BBC. Critics including BSkyB and Virgin Media will now be able to formalise their concerns in submissions to the OFT. The outcome of a further review of the project by the BBC Trust […]

From Colin Mann in London UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that he wants Britain to be the world leader in the digital economy which will create over a quarter of a million skilled jobs by 2020. “Underpinning the digital transformation that we are likely to see over the coming decade is the creation […]

Legislation to combat Internet piracy in the UK, including Internet bans for persistent illegal file-sharers, has cleared the Lords and now goes to the Commons where it may be rushed through before the general election. Peers passed the Digital Economy Bill, which has cross-party support, after further concessions on a controversial the “catch-all” clause 17. […]

From David Del Valle in Madrid The must-carry obligation traditionally imposed on nation wide terrestrial TV channels to open up their signals to cable and satellite platforms for free distribution is coming to an end in Spain. The new overall TV law (Ley General Audiovisual) frees private TV channels from the must-carry obligation and allows […]

James Murdoch has called on governments to get tough on illegal downloading, which he said was no different from shoplifting. He made the call at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. Stressing that future growth would come from original content production, he said: “We need enforcement mechanisms and we need governments to play ball. The idea […]

European broadcaster RTL is seeking a relaxation of advertising rules to allow innovations such as sponsors' logos to be shown in the top right-hand corner of television screens, its chief executive Gerhard Zeiler said. Zeiler explained that regulators in all the countries in which it operates are increasingly aware of the financial pain caused to […]