Advanced Television

Regulation

Italy introduces more content rules

Italian online broadcasters will soon be required to clearly indicate movies, TV series and documentaries produced in Italy in their online catalogues. Italy’s Communications Authority (AgCom) has mandated that broadcasters providing streaming services will have to include the indication of origin on all content (such as “Made in Italy’, “Italy” or “Ita”). Services that will […]

January 29, 2019From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Spain’s CNMC to break TV ad monopoly

Spanish regulatory body CNMC is to put an end to the abuse of the dominant position in the TV ad market from the two largest broadcasters, Mediaset and Atresmedia. CNMC will prohibit them from selling joint or packaged advertising on their TV channels, aiming to eliminate unfair competition practices and entry barriers to the benefit […]

January 29, 2019From David Del Valle in Madrid

Research: Piracy can boost legitimate sales

Research analysis by three US academics has found that a moderate level of piracy can have a positive impact on the bottom line for both the manufacturer and the retailer – and not at the expense of consumers. “When information goods are sold to consumers via a retailer, in certain situations, a moderate level of […]

January 29, 2019By Colin Mann

Dragon Box success for ACE

Building on the momentum of successful actions curtailing piracy device sellers and illegal streaming applications, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) – a global coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market and reducing online piracy – has reached a settlement with the operators of streaming media device Dragon Box. On behalf of its […]

January 29, 2019By Colin Mann

Qatar slams Saudi satellite piracy

Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, CEO at Qatar-based Es’hailSat, has called into question the role of intergovernmental agencies, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and their lack of action over the on-going piracy by Saudi Arabia of beIN Media’s channels and in particular sports transmissions. There is consistent wholesale piracy of beIN’s output by beoutQ, […]

January 28, 2019By Chris Forrester

Openreach full fibre jobs boost

The UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd MP, has welcomed news that Openreach, the UK’s digital network business, will hire 3,000 new trainees – of which around 1,600 are newly created roles – over the next 12 months. The announcement is an extension of Openreach’s largest ever recruitment drive, with 6,500 […]

January 28, 2019By Colin Mann

Nokia, Open Fiber bridge Italy’s digital divide

Open Fiber, the sole wholesale-only player in the Italian broadband market, has selected Nokia for a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) rollout that will bring ultra-broadband services to the small towns and rural areas of Italy. The Open Fiber network will bring optical fibre from a point of presence to the customer’s home and deliver speeds of up […]

January 28, 2019

German court grants injunctions against distributors of Formuler STBs

On January 16th, the District Court in Bremen, Germany (Landgericht Bremen) granted preliminary injunctions against two distributors selling Formuler set-top boxes in Germany. The contested Formuler devices, among other things, emulated the MAC addresses of Infomir’s MAG set-top boxes. The Court prohibited the distributors from selling Formuler and other devices that emulated Infomir’s MAG set-top […]

January 28, 2019

EC spectrum boost for 5G

The European Commission has adopted an amending Implementing Decision to harmonise the radio spectrum in the 3.4-3.8 GHz (or 3.6 GHz) band for the future use with 5G. This is necessary to enable Member States to reorganise and allow the use of that band for 5G systems by December 31st 2020 in line with the […]

January 25, 2019

BBC scopes Brussels, Dublin for post-Brexit

The BBC is looking at Belgium, Ireland and The Netherlands for a new international headquarters after Brexit to allow the corporation to continue to broadcast across the EU. Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, has revealed he held discussions on the possibility in Davos with the BBC’s director-general, Tony Hall. “Belgium is often on the shortlist […]

January 24, 2019