Following earlier deals to add linear channels to its BT Vision IPTV service, the operator has added a fourth linear channel in a fortnight by signing a contract to stream the popular FX UK service. BT Vision customers will soon be able to watch FX hit shows such as zombie drama The Walking Dead and […]
Indian telco and broadcasting giant Reliance is promising another US$200 million in Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio. Reliance invested $325 million back in 2009. The cash helped finance movies such as War Horse and The Help, both of which were critically well received, but failed to dominate the box office. The new cash injection permits DreamWorks […]
Online TV platform Vimond Media Solutions is teaming up with cloud platform specialist Akamai in a deal that will allow Vimond to bundle Akamai’s media distribution services with its own online video platform. The partnership means Vimond can offer broadcasters and service providers a single source for designing, deploying, and supporting over-the-top (OTT) services. “Because […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the proposed A$1.9 billion acquisition of Austar by Foxtel after accepting court-enforceable undertakings from Foxtel. Austar shareholders voted March 30 to approve the deal. “This is a great outcome for consumers because we will now be able to create a company of scale that will deliver […]
Fransat, Samsung and Neotion have combined their skills to integrate a satellite receiver and a DTT module for Fransat into Samsung televisions in its 2012 range (ES series), thereby ensuring reception of available free DTT channels with no external tuner. The pack comprises a decryption module produced by Neotion and an access card for subscription-free […]
Investment banker Morgan Stanley says there are about 45 bidders now in the battle to win various transmission rights to cover Germany’s Bundesliga soccer. The big hitters, Sky Deutschland and Deutsche Telekom, are at the front of the process and it is not yet clear whether Qatari interests via Al Jazeera have entered a bid. […]
Star India is set to exit the overcrowded TV news business in India. Local reports say News Corp-controlled Star TV will sell its 26 per cent holding in Media Content & Communications Services (MCCS), which owns and operates three news channels. News Corp’s partnership in MCCS is with Ananda Bazaar Patrika Grp (ABP) and numerous […]
Hasbro Studios, the Los Angeles-based television production and distribution division of Hasbro, Inc., has agreed a multi-year deal with Netflix. Ten highly popular franchises, including new and catalogue seasons of famed Hasbro content, will be available to instantly watch on Netflix. Transformers Prime, My Little Pony, Pound Puppies, G.I. Joe: Renegades and The Adventures of […]
The Open Authentication Technology Committee (OATC), a non-profit industry association of programmers/content owners, multi-channel video programme distributors (MVPDs), technology companies, and system integrators, has confirmed its Online Multimedia Authorization Protocol (OMAP) draft specification is now available for public comment and download. The OATC OMAP specification is a voluntary open standard that provides MVPDs and programmers […]
Digital media services company Avail-TVN has unveiled AnyView Authentication, its managed service designed to give service providers a quick and easy route to offering TV Everywhere access to high quality, high demand content via programmers’ federated content portals. AnyView Authentication allows service providers to authenticate securely and authorise subscribers to the TV Everywhere portals of […]