Advanced Television

OTT

First Retail Deal for FetchTV,

IP Vision's FetchTV, the first Freeview+ IPTV service to offer its users access to video-on-demand (VOD) and catch up content direct to their TV screen with tied-in subscription model, has its first retail deal with John Lewis. The SmartBox provides free access to a growing range of web video services. Users are able to watch […]

July 18, 2009

Judge dismisses some EPL claims against You Tube

A U.S. judge dismissed some damages claims in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google and YouTube.com but left open the possibility that non-U.S. based rights owners could seek damages for live broadcasts, if they prevail. A group of sports and music copyright holders, led by the UK Premier League, had argued that foreign works were […]

July 18, 2009

Early OTT market driven by 'supplementers'

According to The Diffusion Group, demand for Over-the-Top (OTT) broadband video services is comprised of distinct consumer segments driven by very different needs. “While Over-the-Top video delivery is widely discussed, it remains poorly understood,” notes Michael Greeson, author of TDG’s latest report. “The dominant understanding of OTT is based on a conceptual error, a category […]

July 18, 2009

Blinx man joins Myvideorights

Myvideorights.com, the agency trying to distribute TV clips to video websites on TV companies' behalf, is hiring video index Blinkx's sales director Ian Samuel as its own UK sales director, as it starts to sell video advertising in to the clips. The company distributes clips for clients like Hat Trick, ESPN and All3Media to sites […]

July 16, 2009

Volpi blames VOD squeeze for Joost demise

Joost was squeezed out of the market by broadcasters setting up their own VOD channels admits Mike Volpi, who resigned as CEO. He said that in April, when Disney joined the Hulu joint venture, it became pretty clear Joost had to do something else — it is becoming a white label video provider. Explaining how […]

July 8, 2009

BBC Huggers: future is Canvas

The BBC’s director of new media and technology Erik Huggers says that the future for free-to-air digital platforms like Freesat and Freeview is ‘unclear’ – suggesting that only IPTV and Project Canvas venture will give consumers the services and features that they need. Huggers said that, despite work on adding HD to Freeview and continued […]

July 7, 2009

Hulu bound for UK

Johannes Larcher, senior vice president at Hulu, has confirmed that the service will be coming to the UK with an expected launch date in September, but didn’t specify which UK media companies would provide content for the service. "We are talking to everyone. The UK is our number one priority in terms of international expansion. […]

July 6, 2009

Joost over and Volpi out

Joost the much-hyped OTT video provider is dropping its consumer proposition and reinventing as a "cost-effective" white-label video provider. Along the way it is cutting many staff possibly preparing for a sale as a technology company rather than an entertainment platform. Mike Volpi its high profile CEO is stepping down although will remain as chairman. […]

July 3, 2009

TV networks online a hit

The online web-based TV services of the four major US TV networks – ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox – together with Hulu, the joint venture between NBC, News Corp and Disney, accounted for a combined 53 per cent of an ad-supported US online TV market that generated $448 million in revenues in 2008. The remaining […]

July 2, 2009

Digital media revenues decline

The Q1 2009 Global Digital Media Index (DMI) from the Strategy Analytics Digital Media Strategies Service shows that along with the worsened economic environment, digital media revenue growth continues to drop since Q1 2008. The Digital Media Index grew only 0.9 per cent in Q1 2009 on a seasonally adjusted annual TTM basis, down from […]

June 26, 2009