Dubai-based broadcasting giant MBC has pulled all its Turkish dramas and soap operas from its assorted Arabic-language channels. Local reports say that MBC has confirmed the move with spokesman Mazen Hayek declining to say how the decision came about. “There is a decision that concerns several media outlets in many Arab countries that Turkish dramas […]
Cable Congress in Dublin opened with a rallying call for regulators to move on from framing the debate in terms of infrastructure providers versus the free and open Internet. Manuel Kohnstamm, president of Cable Europe, said the frame of reference was false, that infrastructure is the key enabler of the Internet, and freedom was a […]
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has called for “creative options” to address the licensing problems likely to be faced by UK-based broadcasters following the UK’s departure from the European Union. In a detailed speech setting out her vision for the future economic partnership between the United Kingdom and the European Union, May noted that broadcasting […]
Theresa May has delivered her clarification speech setting out what she wants from Europe in Brexit negotiations. Of course, ‘clarification’ is a relative term. Compared to the oratory of obfuscation that she has made her trademark, it was relatively clear. But it still amounted to a fairly vague wish list, or, as Brussels might say, […]
The Swiss public have voted overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the licence fee in a national vote held on March 4th 2018. The ‘No Billag’ initiative was filed in Switzerland in late 2015, calling for the abolition of the TV and radio licence fee. Billag is the name of the private company responsible for collecting […]
France’s Canal + Group has responded to the ongoing carriage dispute with France’s TF1 by saying it regrets the stalemate in negotiations with the TF1 Group after 18 months of discussions, stating that it has been forced to interrupt the broadcast of TF1, TMC, TFX, TF1 Séries Films, LCI and their associated services. “This decision […]
In its Communication of September 2017 on tackling illegal content online, the European Commission (EC) promised to monitor progress in tackling illegal content online and assess whether additional measures are needed to ensure the swift and proactive detection and removal of illegal content online, including possible legislative measures to complement the existing regulatory framework. As […]
Inmarsat is committed to using a network of ground-based repeater stations to augment its S-band in-flight capacity, and to boost connectivity for airline passengers. Eutelsat and ViaSat of California have their own plans for similar aircraft services, and had objected to the Inmarsat plan. France’s ARCEP (Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes) […]
Broadband shoppers must receive better information about speeds, before they commit to a contract, under new protections announced by UK media regulator Ofcom. In future, providers will always have to give a minimum guaranteed speed to a potential customer at the point of sale. If that customer’s speed then drops below the promised level, broadband […]
The last 12 months look set to be the Welsh Government’s busiest yet for supporting TV and film production, Economy Secretary Ken Skates has said, with high profile feature film and TV programmes such as Journey’s End, Requiem, Britannia, Kiri and Keeping Faith all cementing Wales’ reputation as a first-class place to film. Speaking on […]