A 2010 contract placed with Maxar Technology’s predecessor company MDA Corp to build and launch a geostationary satellite (Lybid-1) for Ukraine’s National Space Agency, and subsequently the subject of a legal dispute between Maxar and the Ukrainian government has been settled in Maxar’s favour. The 18-month dispute ended up with a United Nations arbitration tribunal […]
A study of audiences’ expectations in the digital world reveals broad support for broadcasting rules, which ensure audiences are protected while freedom of expression is upheld. And the research, commissioned by UK broadcast regulator Ofcom, finds widespread agreement among audiences that society’s views around offence have shifted in recent years. People told Ofcom that they […]
In-Flight Communications supplier GoGo Business Aviation is challenging rival SmartSky Networks over one of SmartSky’s patents. GoGo has submitted a petition to the US Patents & Trademark Office for a review of a patent (9,312,947) granted to SmartSky and requesting that the patent be re-examined “to determine whether or not they are valid”. GoGo’s argument […]
Public service broadcaster France Télévisions has written to pay-TV operator Canal+ demading financial compensation after the group decided to unencrypt its pay-TV channels on all French set-top-boxes over the last two weeks of March, according to French media reports. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Canal+ has given viewers access to new and recent movies […]
OneWeb’s lawyers told a New York bankruptcy court (by telephone) on March 31st that it is looking to sell its international satellite spectrum licences within the next three months. The hearing was the first in what is likely to be a long journey for OneWeb. Bloomberg News says that OneWeb is negotiating for a loan […]
The BBC has indicated that its licence fee could be replaced by a monthly levy on broadband connections, in response to the UK government’s proposals to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee. The Corporation said it supported keeping the current court-enforced TV licence fee system in place for the medium-term, but it is willing to […]
The recent UTECA’s demand for financial aid to mitigate the drastic TV ad fall in Spain has been met by the Administration approving a €15 million lifeline to help them. The government argues that “this exceptional aid” is aimed at compensating TV channels (with a national coverage) in view of “the need to guarantee this […]
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on proposed technical rule changes to facilitate the use of the US’s next generation television broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0. The proposed rules would permit greater flexibility for broadcasters to use distributed transmission systems (DTS) as they deploy ATSC 3.0 in their networks. […]
French pay-TV broadcaster Canal Plus has suspended its payments for French Ligue 1 top-flight football. Canal+ has informed the French Professional Football League (LFP) that it is suspending the payment of broadcasting rights for the domestic Ligue 1, given the football matches have been suspended since March 13th, after the 28th day of the championship, […]
Digital civil liberties advocacy body the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined the legal team defending Sports Fans Coalition NY (SFCNY), the non-profit organisation that runs Locast, a free, local TV streaming service facing copyright infringement claims by broadcast giants ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Locast enables TV viewers to receive local over-the-air programming—which broadcasters […]