Satnews

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NZ internet providers increase their data caps
Louise Duffy | 23-07-2012

New Zealand's internet providers are increasing their data caps to cope with customer demand for unlimited digital streaming of movies and TV shows.

Slingshot and Orcon both offer Quickflix VOD on an unmetered basis to their customers, and are leading the charge on raising data caps.

Slingshot CEO Mark Callander said: “Slingshot remains the only New Zealand ISP offering unlimited broadband in the home. Customers shouldn’t have to worry about how much they use the internet â€" they should have the freedom to use it whenever and wherever they want. This drives every aspect of the Slingshot business, and is one of the key reasons why we offer the Quickflix service unmetered to our customer base.”

Scott Bartlett, Orcon CEO, added: “Last year, Orcon introduced 30GB as the standard base on our Genius plans, and the industry followed suit. Earlier this year we moved again, introducing a 200GB plan for $99 and a 1000GB plan for $199. Such plans would have been unthinkably large not long ago. We have moved into a new era, where video content is available on a multitude of devices in the home. Zero-rating services such as Quickflix, and boosting data caps, allows people to really get the most out of the internet and enjoy the wealth of content available.”

Meanwhile, Telecom has expanded the data cap on its base home broadband plan from 10GB to 30GB, which it says is partly due to video consumption.

Quickflix CEO Chris Taylor said: “We welcome this trajectory and applaud the country’s internet providers for starting to bring New Zealand in line with the rest of the world. In the UK for example, where digital movie and TV viewing is growing so rapidly, most of the leading broadband plans include unlimited downloads. We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly moving in the right direction.”

He also says that the increasing data allowances should ease the concerns of New Zealanders keen to sign up to Quickflix but worried about their data caps. “That’s really not an issue any more, thanks to the responsiveness of New Zealand’s ISPs. The average Quickflix customer uses just 5GB a month to watch unlimited movies, whenever and wherever they like.”

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EION Wireless to bring IPTV to rural Brazil
Gabriel Miramar-Garcia | 23-07-2012

Canadian vendor EION Wireless is partnering with Brazilian company Quest to bring low-cost television and multimedia services to rural areas.

The two are part of a Canada-Brazil R&D programme funded by the International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada (ISTPCanada). A new grant will go towards the development of new broadband wireless products to deliver IPTV and broadband to the underserved in Brazil.

The services are slated to launch by the end of 2013 (in time for the country's World Cup), and will utilise the unlicensed spectrum band. To minimise interference, the two will incorporate EION's TrustLink technology.

Quest, a community development organisation based in the state of Santa Catarina, will model deployment scenarios and create testing protocols.

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Starz licenses 3D content for SENSIO's 3D TV network
Michelle Clancy | 23-07-2012

Starz Digital Media has signed a 3D content licencing agreement with SENSIO Technologies to make 3D ((Movie)) available on the first dedicated 3D VOD television channel in the United States.

Starz will make titles available for transactional VOD rentals on SENSIO's 3DGO! service, which will launch in fall 2012 across the US.

3DGO! will offer a range of content, including Hollywood blockbusters, documentaries and live events, to consumers with 3DTVs that support SENSIO Hi-Fi 3D technology. Titles already contracted for include Piranha 3DD, Bait 3D, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, and Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.

The SENSIO Hi-Fi 3D is a proprietary frame-compatible technology providing high-fidelity stereoscopic images using conventional 2D channels. After installing the application on a connected 3DTV, consumers will simply need to select the 3DGO! service. The transactional model will offer consumers access to a wide 3D library, and neither subscription nor additional equipment is required.

"We are thrilled that Starz Digital Media is getting on board with us to launch the first dedicated 3D VOD channel," said Richard LaBerge, SENSIO executive vice-president and CMO. "With select 3D titles from The Weinstein Company and Anchor Bay Films now secured and under licence for rental, we are more determined than ever to realise our promise to address the lack of 3D content on the market and to support our SENSIO Hi-Fi 3D customers with the best library of 3D content."

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ESPN Brazil chooses Level 3 for live broadcast transmission
Gabriel Miramar-Garcia | 23-07-2012

ESPN Brazil will use Level 3 Vyvx broadcast solutions infrastructure and managed services to optimise transmissions and provide integrated services for TV stations that carry its broadcasts in Brazil.



The deployment will mark Level 3's first Vyvx infrastructure contract in Brazil with Vyvx Managed Video Network Services (MVNS) focused on procuring, maintaining and operating the hardware and software that move live video from origin to destination.

"ESPN's channels have been in Brazil for 23 years, broadcasting live sports events worldwide," said Victor Hannoun, director of engineering and operations at ESPN Brazil. "The Vyvx infrastructure, including encoders, decoders, format conversion equipment and protocols, and management tools, will enhance the quality of our distribution, and Level 3 also will monitor the technology."

Level 3 will monitor and manage ESPN's broadcast infrastructure link in real time, 24 hours a day, from its command center in New York City. The circuit has a capability of 140Mbps and is divided into two HDchannels of 50Mbps each, and two standard definition channels of 20Mbps each.

Level 3 recently expanded its Vyvx Solutions suite of video transmission services into Latin America, leveraging Level 3's all-IP fiber network.

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Apple TV, Roku need Google to take dedicated streaming STBs mainstream
Michelle Clancy | 23-07-2012

The future looks challenging for dedicated set-top video streaming devices to break out of a niche status, according to ABI Research.

Connected TVs, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, and even mobile devices are quickly conspiring to engender a very competitive market for the digital living room.

Shipments of devices like Apple TV (which leads the market with around 4 million units shipped through 2011), Roku (which passed 2.5 million units in 2011) and Boxee are expected to reach as high as 57 million by 2017. However, gaining mainstream status will require strategic changes on the part of one big player in particular: Google.

"Google has a split personality in this market," said Sam Rosen, practice director of TV & video at ABI Research. "On the one hand, China, in particular, is seeing growing interest in generic Android based set-top boxes and USB (or MHL) dongles/stick devices. On the other hand, it is launching its second generation of Google TV platforms (including the well-priced and impressively spec'ed Vizio Co-Star) where it tries to bring more content relationships and a better ecosystem."

"Dedicated devices have traditionally had a difficult go in the market, often lacking the same value proposition as more full featured products like game consoles," said senior analyst Michael Inouye. "The changing consumer la$$$cape, however, could present a window of opportunity for smart set-top boxes as more consumers allocate entertainment budget, both monetary and time, to streaming media."

Meanwhile, smaller form factor USB and MHL devices are both portable and, like the Android set-top boxes, offer consumers similar services and features found on popular mobile devices. Both of these devices expand the presence of Google Play but also could work well as a companion device for Android based mobile devices, not unlike the upcoming Nexus Q, but at a more appealing price point.

"The future of connected CE will ultimately work together with mobile devices and not against them," Inouye added. "Other CE devices like connected TVs and game consoles are already integrating mobile devices into the user experience, the same will likely prove true for smart set-top boxes as well. If the Android boxes gain popularity this could create a stronger ecosystem play for Google."

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Canal Digital delivers best quarter since 2008
July 24, 2012 09.22 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Canal Digital has secured its best quarter since autumn 2008. In the mature Scandinavian market the Telenor-owned operator lost just 2,000 DTH subscribers while achieving a 20% growth in its EBITDA from a series of cost measures.

It is a factor in a mature market that a 2,000-subscriber loss is now regarded as a success; last week MTG’s Viasat reported similar satellite declines.

The One West-delivered platform saw revenues on a par with Q2 2011 as the effect of price increases and increased sale of hardware and services was offset by effects of reduced subscriber base, lower revenues from SMATV in Denmark and negative currency effects.

Revenues of NOK1,109 million (â,¬150.3 million) were on a par with 2011.

A total of 952,000 subscribers, down from 979,000 one year ago, comprised 308,000 (Norway), 492,000 (Sweden), 104,000 (Denmark) and 49,000 (Finland).

Meanwhile, Telenor Broadcast’s technology arm $$$$$ saw a 9% increase in revenue amid increased sales in North America. Revenues of NOK141 million were also ahead of 2011.

Telenor Satellite enjoyed stable revenues of NOK248 million, but noted a shift from land-based revenues to maritime segments in data communications. 2012 has so far been a record year for occasional use services.

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Czech Ocko losses mount
July 24, 2012 09.41 Europe/London By Chris Dziadul


The Czech music channel TV Ocko saw its debts increase to CZK13 million (â,¬507,880) in 2011.

According to E15, this was CZK10 million more than the previous year and the second worse loss since 2004.

Moreover, its cumulative loss in the last three years amounted to over CZK45 million.

TV Ocko is owned by the publishing group Mafra but has been a takeover target for Lagardere for some time.

Facing competition from such channels as MTV and Retro Music Television, it improved its standing in the market last month by securing national coverage on the country’s third DTT multiplex.

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Comcast Xfinity leverages NBCUniversal to bring multiplatform Olympics access and 3D
Michelle Clancy | 24-07-2012

Comcast is leveraging its subsidiary NBCUniversal to roll out a multiplatform strategy for Olympics broadcasting via Xfinity TV.

Xfinity TV will offer NBCUniversal's Olympic content live and on-demand, across multiple digital, mobile and tablet platforms, and for the first time ever, the Games will be available in 3D.
In total, coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games will leverage NBCUniversal's more than 5,535 hours of programming, which represents the largest number of total Olympics hours ever.
"We are excited to bring our Xfinity TV customers NBCUniversal's coverage of every minute of every medal on every screen of the 2012 London Olympics," said Matt Strauss, senior vice president of digital and emerging platforms at Comcast Cable. "Through multiplatform Olympic-themed search, tools and personalised features created to help our customers view and experience the events, we are providing a virtual passport to NBCUniversal's comprehensive 2012 London Games programming."
In addition to extensive coverage on the networks of NBCUniversal, including NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo and Telemundo, two HD specialty channels for soccer and basketball and a 3D channel, subscribers can watch at NBCOlympics.com, and via the NBC Olympics and NBC Olympics Live Extra apps available to mobile and tablet users.

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American Reunion tops cable VOD
Michelle Clancy | 24-07-2012

Rentrak has announced the top 10 video-on-demand (VOD) movies for the week of 9 July. The "movies-on-demand" are defined by the company as transactional (pay-per-purchase) films available through cable and telco providers.
According to the company's OnDemand Essentials service, the top ten most-viewed titles is led by the latest American Pie sequel, American Reunion, which has pulled in $56.8 million to date. 21 Jump Street followed, with Wrath of the Titans rounding out the top three.
The other top films were, in order: Frie$$$ With Kids; Snow White reboot Mirror Mirror; Project X; Safe House ; Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows; Journey 2: The Mysterious Island; and Act of Valor.

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TriCounty Telecom rolls out Entone hybrid TV in N.C.
Michelle Clancy | 24-07-2012

Eastern North Carolina's TriCounty Telecom has selected Entone's FusionTV to power the delivery of hybrid TV services, which combine traditional broadcast TV with over-the-top (OTT) content and cloud-based services.

The implementation allows TriCounty Telecom to deliver a differentiated pay-TV service that increases average revenue per user (ARPU) and subscriber satisfaction.
For over 57 years, TriCounty Telecom has been a leader in providing a comprehensive portfolio of communications services to several communities across eastern North Carolina. To continue with its track record of providing innovative services to its customers, TriCounty Telecom has recently embarked on an ambitious FTTH build to support advanced IP services.
"Our communities rely on us to provide them with the best-in-class services," said Greg Coltrain, CEO and GM of TriCounty Telecom. "We need a solution that will allow us to cost-effectively deliver the best of linear TV and OTT services across our entire network. Entone's FusionTV offers a richer and more compelling service than any other standalone OTT solution. We can now meet our subscribers' growing appetite for OTT services while adding advanced cloud-based applications that further enhances our IPTV service."
FusionTV is integrated with leading IPTV middleware and digital rights management (DRM) systems. With a software update to Entone's hybrid TV set-top boxes, TriCounty Telecom subscribers can access VUDU's streaming library of more than 50,000 titles and popular Web applications and services like Facebook, Flickr, Pandora, Twitter, YouTube and more.
The win is the latest in a string of deals Entone has cemented with rural and regional carriers in the United States.
"Our partnership with TriCounty Telecom has yielded encouraging results for all parties involved," said Steve McKay, CEO of Entone. "The differentiated user experience of FusionTV provides the timeliness of traditional live broadcast television, with the choice and flexibility of OTT services. It's a superior user experience for the consumer that creates a more enduring relationship with the service provider."

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Buckeye CableSystem rolls TV Everywhere with Azuki
Michelle Clancy | 24-07-2012

Buckeye CableSystem, a regional cable provider in the Toledo, Ohio area, has chosen the Azuki Media Platform to deliver new video-on-demand (VOD) and linear programming to multiple screens, in a quest to monetise the growing demand for TV Everywhere.

Buckeye CableSystem will extend its video delivery distribution to Android tablets and smartphones, Apple iPhone and iPad, IPTV set-top-boxes and gaming consoles with the Azuki Media Platform. It plans to delivering programming from any source, including Buckeye CableSystem Sports Network (BCSN) and other linear broadcasts.
It is building a custom user interface with social interactivity, enhanced content discovery, touch-screen remote controls and online bill pay.
Azuki's multi-screen solutions offer reduced time-to-market with normalised media preparation, adaptive streaming and digital rights management (DRM), while Buckeye can enforce multiscreen content viewing rights within the home and on-the-go when allowed using Azuki's Entitlement Simplification system.
The cableco also can extend existing advertising campaigns to new screens with Azuki's Right Time Ad Insertion, and deliver proof-of-ad-consumption to advertising partners, with detailed consumption metrics based on user/device/content correlation, via Azuki's Relevant Analytics.
"As a customer service leader in the cable and broadband sectors, we are always on the lookout for leading-edge technology that enhances our branding and improves our customers' experience and perceived value," said Joe Jensen, CTO at Buckeye CableSystem. "Azuki delivers game-changing innovation that can help us deliver on the promise of TV Everywhere with its unique ability to manage and optimise OTT video delivery to multiscreens, without impacting our existing video operations."

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North Korea to discuss Olympic TV broadcasting with South
Louise Duffy | 24-07-2012

A South Korean official will visit North Korea today to discuss the possible broadcast of the London Olympics there, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

Kim In-Kyu, president of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), will visit Pyongyang for talks with the North's radio and television broadcasting committee.
Kim, who is also chairman of the state-run Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) in Seoul, was invited by the North.
KBS said in a statement that ABU plans to provide broadcasting rights for the Games to about 40 organisations in 30 countries, including the North.
South Korea's private broadcaster, SBS, has the rights for the entire Korean peninsula to air the Olympic games. SBS says it will share broadcasting of events with KBS and another network, MBC. SBS asked ABU to handle the issue of rights in North Korea.
The ABU says it is set to provide rights for the London summer event to 30 countries, including North Korea, which is sending 51 athletes to London.

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ESPN Star Sports strikes multi-year deal with Sri Lanka Premier League
Louise Duffy | 24-07-2012

ESPN STAR Sports has reached a multi-year broadcast rights agreement for exclusive coverage of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) cricket in India.
The multi-year deal includes a minimum of 24 T20 matches per season. The first edition of the SLPL will see seven provisional teams compete for the trophy as well as a qualifier berth to the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) to be held later this year.
The SLPL will feature 42 international players participating from seven countries. STAR Cricket, STAR Sports and ESPN will broadcast all the matches live and exclusive in India starting on 11 August 2012.
ESPN STAR Sports’ broadcast rights agreement also includes live coverage of the SLPL in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand
Peter Hutton, MD of ESPN STAR Sports, said: “We are delighted to be able to telecast the live matches of the SLPL in India and throughout the region. It is an excellent addition to STAR Cricket’s remarkable catalogue of content in the next year, headlined by India’s home series against Pakistan, England and New Zealand, the ICC World T20, the Champions League T20 and the ICC Champions trophy.
“Sri Lanka cricket becomes the 6th cricket body with whom we are working on the shortest form of the game. Our coverage of Australia’s Big Bash and the T20 leagues in England and Bangladesh have already shown our commitment to the format, and we look to further growing our live cricket content.”

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Smart TV surges into mainstream in the US
Editor | 24-07-2012

A new consumer survey from IMS Research has found that over 30% of consumers in the United States who plan to purchase a TV set in the next 12 months want an Internet-connected device.
The “Smart TV â€" Consumer Survey â€" 2012 Edition” report found that such connectivity is becoming more important to consumers in the country with metrics indicating that the feature is driving 70% more TV purchases than it did 12 months ago. Moreover, the research revealed that not only was connected TV status as relevant to consumers as LED screen technology, it was a much stronger purchase driver than 3DTV capability. Among consumers who purchased a TV in the past 12 months, 63 percent more consumers expressed a preference for smart TV. Among consumers who plan to purchase a TV in the next year, almost the same amount claim that they want an Internet-connected TV as a LED TV.

“The awareness and preference for Smart TVs and the video services and applications that can be accessed through them is increasing, creating a shift in consumer purchase behavior,” explained Veronica Thayer, market analyst at IMS Research and author. “However, price, screen size and picture quality remain the primary purchase drivers in the U.S.”
The report also revealed that owners of smart TVs use video on-demand (VOD) apps like Vudu, Amazon Prime Video and CinemaNow significantly more than consumers who access this type of application through another device connected to their TV set. This latter category includes game consoles, Roku and Apple TV connected devices.

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Competition Tribunal rejects Ofcom rulings in Sky Sports wholesale price battle
Joseph O'Halloran | 09-08-2012

In a huge victory for BSkyB, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunalhas overturned a ruling by UK broadcast regulator Ofcom for the pay-TV firm to cut the wholesale prices it charges other operators to show Sky Sports.

Coming only days before the traditional curtain raiser to the English football season, the rights to which are the crown jewels in UK pay-TV, The Tribunal’s ruling concluded that Ofcom’s core competition concernâ€"that Sky has deliberately withheld from other retailers wholesale supply of its premium channels, preferring to be entirely absent from those retailers’ platforms rather than to give them wholesale accessâ€"was “unfounded.” Ofcom had also raised concern that in doing so Sky had been acting on strategic incentives unrelated to normal commercial considerations of revenue/profit-maximisation.

Furthermore, in a ringing rebuke to the regulator, The Tribunal, added that Ofcom had, “to a significant extent, misinterpreted the evidence of…negotiations” between parties interested in showing Sky Sports, and that it had “found a significant number of Ofcom’s pivotal findings of fact in the Statement to be inconsistent with the evidence.”

Barling’s panel said that Ofcom had attributed responsibility for the failure to reach agreement largely to Sky’s failure to engage constructively with its counterparties. However, its findings showed that “Sky did, on the whole, engage constructively. On the other hand its counterparties by no means always did so, and in our view regulatory gaming on the part of some of Sky’s counterparties played a much more important role in the commercial negotiations and their progress (or lack of it) than Ofcom has recognised.

”The Tribunal also found no evidence to justify Ofcom’s finding that Sky has an incentive to weaken the business of its sports channels’ wholesale customers in particular Virgin Media who has recently contacted customers taking Sky Sports to inform them of a £3.25 a month price increase during the coming football season. It said; “As for the current terms of supply to Virgin Media, and in particular the level of the rate card prices charged by Sky, in the light of the evidence placed before the Tribunal the price level in question does not obstruct (or contribute to the obstruction of) fair and effective competition in the retail of these channels by Virgin Media. No doubt a lower wholesale price and a higher margin on packages which contain the Sky channels in question would be welcomed by Virgin Media.

"However, the small negative incremental margin which results when one of Virgin Media’s subscribers to a package with only basic pay-TV channels upgrades to one which includes core premium sports channels, is not such as to affect to any significant extent Virgin Media’s incentives to market the latter packages.”