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Showing posts from February, 2007

informitv - BBC explores further options for broadband iPlayer

informitv - BBC explores further options for broadband iPlayer The BBC is exploring plans to make its proposed iPlayer directly available on television screens and considering options for co-operating with other broadcasters. Ashley Highfield, their director of future media and technology, hinted at the possibilities during a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch at a London restaurant. He revealed that the BBC was exploring the possibility of a hybrid broadcast and broadband-enabled set-top box. However, he stressed that the pilot project, which aims to bridge the gap between the worlds of the personal computer and the television, was still under consideration. The BBC Trust has yet to finally ratify plans for the iPlayer, which will initially only be available on the Microsoft Windows platform. This is likely to be a formality as it has already given provisional approval, subject to certain limitations. Last year, Red Bee Media, the former BBC subsidiary that is likely to be managing the de

Hosting the World Cup: A feasibility study

Hosting the World Cup: A feasibility study : "The Chancellor Gordon Brown and the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, have today published a study into the feasibility of hosting a future World Cup, concluding that England is well placed to host the tournament in 2018, and has strong public support. The study sets out the strengths that underline England's readiness to host a future World Cup, and the issues which would need to be resolved by The FA as part of their deliberations on whether to launch a bid. The Chancellor and Culture Secretary have pledged to give their full backing, if The FA decide to put forward a bid. "

eMarketer.com - Teens' Eyes Glued to Online Videos

eMarketer.com - Teens' Eyes Glued to Online Videos According to the "Teens and Online Video" report from JupiterResearch, 53% of online teens occasionally watch videos on the Internet. Additionally, 22% of them view videos at least once a week — or even more frequently. "Younger consumers tend to be extremely savvy about online media so it's not surprising that teens are making significant use of Internet video," said Joe Laszlo of Jupiter.

Advertising Age - Wal-Mart, Film Studios Agree to Precedent-Setting Downloading Deal

Advertising Age - Wal-Mart, Film Studios Agree to Precedent-Setting Downloading Deal BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Wal-Mart Stores' big digital-movie-download deal with the major motion-picture studios may do a lot more for studios in the long run than it does for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart set a precedent today by announcing the first deals with the support of all the Hollywood studios, launching a beta service, www.walmart.com/ videodownloads, with more than 3,000 movie and TV titles.

Thoughts on Music by Steve Jobs

Apple - Thoughts on Music With the stunning global success of Apple’s iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to “open” the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPods. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future....

265,000 subscribers for Dutch Film1/Sport1

Broadband TV News - Blog Archive - 265,000 subscribers for Dutch Film1/Sport1 : "The Subscriber base of Dutch pay-TV channels Film1 and Sport1 has grown by 50%, to a total of 265,000 since their launch a year ago. %u201CTogether with our distributors we have succeeded in increasing our subscriber base by 50% to a total of more than 265,000,%u201D said Jeroen Bergman, Film1 and Sport1%u2019s Managing Director, %u201CWe have realised complete digital migration from our earlier analogue Canal subscribers to the digital receivers of cable and satellite providers.%u201D"

Telecompaper: 81 million digital tracks downloaded in Europe in 2006

Since May 2005, more than 110 million digital music tracks have been downloaded and 81 million tracks were downloaded in 2006 alone, according to music sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan International. In North America, it reported around 600 million digital track sales in 2006, up from 359 million in 2005. Nielsen SoundScan has added over-the-air (OTA) full-track digital download sales from a number of mobile operators in Europe to its European download data reporting. OTA mobile downloads represent a significant portion of digital sales in Europe and, in some countries, the majority of digital sales. It has added PTA digital sales from Telenor in Norway, TDC in Denmark and Vodafone in Spain. It has also added eMusic, Napster and Inprodicon as data providers. Napster is providing digital download sales for the UK and Germany; eMusic is reporting in each of its 14 markets; and Inprodicon provides data on around 40 digital services in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Telecompaper: &quo

[itvt] Bloggit: [itvt] ITV Interview: Microsoft TV's Ed Graczyk Discusses and Defends its Approach to IPTV

In this issue, Microsoft TV's director of marketing and communications, Ed Graczyk, addresses those criticisms and discusses the merits of his company's IPTV platform. If any of the three companies (or their partners or customers) feel compelled to respond further to any of the topics raised in the three interviews, we will be happy to publish those responses in a future issue. [itvt]: Could you give us a rundown of Microsoft TV's recently announced IPTV Edition customer deployments? [itvt] Bloggit: [itvt] ITV Interview: Microsoft TV's Ed Graczyk Discusses and Defends its Approach to IPTV

MVNO sector in resurgent mood - Report by Telecoms.com

MVNOs around the world will have a total of 133 million customers by 2011, roughly 4.5 per cent of the total mobile market, according to Telecoms.com's parent, Informa Telecoms & Media. In its latest report, 'MVNO Strategies and Forecasts to 2011: Evolving Opportunities in the Global Telecoms Marketplace,' the analyst group contradicts recent bad press the MVNO sector has received and points to a resurgence. The analyst says that press reports of the MVNO sector being "a business in crisis" with several high profile market exits, including ESPN in the US, have been identified as harbingers of the death of the MVNO business approach. However, this is an over-simplification of the issues according to Paul Merry, senior analyst with Informa and lead author of the study. Merry told Telecoms.com: "The MVNO opportunity was over-hyped and is now experiencing the classic reaction to hype, a backlash."