Dubai Studio City and MBC Group in strategic partnership

Louise Duffy | 03-12-2012

Dubai Studio City and MBC Group have signed a strategic partnership to equip the region with state-of-the-art studios.

The studios will be located in Dubai Studio City and will serve the entire Middle Eastern and North Africa region, with the latest in advanced digital camera technologies, LED lighting, motion tracking, real-time compositing, 2D and 3D imaging and virtual sets.

Dr Amina Al Rustamani, CEO TECOM Business Parks, said: “We are very confident that our long-standing partnership with a distinguished entity such as MBC Group, known for its remarkable success in the fields of content creation and production, is always one step ahead in the right direction of enhancing television production and techniques in the region. Through the new state-of-the-art studios, MBC Group will further enrich its journey towards premium content production in drama and television, thus reinforcing Dubai’s position on the global media, entertainment and content map”.

Sam Barnett, CEO of MBC Group, added: “Today, this partnership takes MBC Group and O3 Productions’ capabilities and desired outcomes to new heights. The new studios and cutting-edge technology that Dubai Studio City has provided us with in the field of TV and film content production will further enrich the region with the most creative content and pioneering technology”.

MBC Group recently established a partnership with Stargate Studios, which specialises in virtual production and visual effects. Stargate Middle East will consist of two full-service virtual production studios located in Dubai, UAE and Cairo and equipped with the latest technologies.

Fadi Ismail, general manager of O3 Productions, commented: “Our collaboration with Dubai Studio City has provided us with a unique opportunity to further succeed in the content industry with the availability of leading-edge studios and technology. Moreover, our team of highly skilled professionals and our recent partnership with Stargate will both add to our success and raise the standards of our production outcomes.”

The new studio occupies an area of 15,000 square feet and will be equipped according to the latest international standards and state-of-the-art technology. Work on two additional studios, each occupying 25,000 square feet, will be completed in late 2013. The studios will also encompass large areas for storage, warehouses and offices, aiming to encourage new starters and established companies to relocate their businesses to Dubai Studio City, further enhancing and developing the media infrastructure in the region.

BBC Channels launch UK hits and premium content in Oz for 2013

Louise Duffy | 03-12-2012

BBC Channels UKTV, BBC Knowledge, CBeebies and BBC World News have revealed their programming highlights for Australian audiences in 2013, to be shown on Foxtel.

These include Top of the Lake, created by Academy-award winner Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, which will launch on UKTV in March. A See-Saw Films production for UKTV, BBC Two and Sundance Channel, Top of the Lake is a mystery set in New Zealand, starring Elisabeth Moss, David Wenham, Peter Mullan, Tom Wright and Holly Hunter.

Youth drama Hollyoaks is also coming to UKTV in 2013 – the only channel in Australia to show the UK’s top soaps. UKTV will be delivering exclusive episodes every week night on Foxtel.

There will also be a year of programming to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, supported by extensive off-screen activity. Fans of classic and contemporary Doctor Who can enjoy a feast of iconic adventures featuring each of the 11 Doctors in turn on UKTV.

An exciting year is ahead for Top Gear on BBC Knowledge, as it takes pole position on Foxtel in 2013, transmitting days after UK transmission.

Premiere dramas on UKTV include Spies of Warsaw, an adaptation of Alan Furst’s spy novel set in the years leading up to the Second World War, and starring David Tennant.

UKTV also has a history of showcasing the finest comedy talent in the UK and next year is no different. The channel introduces the brilliant new comedy duo Watson and Oliver as the centrepiece of its upcoming comedy season. Next year it will also bring some of the best live events from the UK, including The BRIT Awards.

As well as Top Gear, BBC Knowledge has a range of programmes lined up for 2013, presented by experts including Brian Cox, Louis Theroux and Michael Mosley. Leading British science series Horizon returns to BBC Knowledge, along with a BBC Worldwide original commission, Dara O’Briain’s Science Club, which sees comedian Dara O’Briain and a team of experts tackle the biggest ideas in science in front of a lively audience.

The CBeebies channel is the only place where pre-school children can enjoy new shows produced specifically for CBeebies around the world. Charlie & Lola and Teletubbies will be joined by new and exclusive favourites Sarah & Duck, Mr Bloom, The Numtums and Dinopaws.

BBC World News delivers the latest global news and information, with regular series including Impact, GMT, Click and HARDtalk. Early next year, BBC World News will move into a new home in London’s Broadcasting House, bringing together journalists from across the BBC’s multiplatform, domestic and international news services and enhancing the look and feel of the channel.

Batelco bases video on Oregan technology

Louise Duffy | 03-12-2012

Bahrain telco and ISP Batelco has based the country's first broadband video service on set-top boxes, using Oregan's technology from British software and systems specialist Oregan Networks.

Through the BlackBox video service, Batelco offers high quality premium video content. Oregan's software inside the BlackBox devices enables advanced IPTV and Web features, including streaming of full HD on-demand and linear video, catch-up TV, interactive programming guide, time shifting and personal video recording, and keyword-based search.

Oregan's Onyx media browser is integrated as the consumer-facing user experience component of Batelco's end-to-end video delivery and subscriber management system.

Oregan's VP market strategy, Milya Timergaleyeva, said: "The Batelco IPTV deployment is an ambitious initiative that drives the evolution of the telecoms business in Bahrain and catalyses faster broadband adoption - by giving subscribers a simple reason to sign up. Oregan are proud to be the technology of choice that defines the IPTV user experience and, as such, is part of Batelco's diversification and customer acquisition efforts."

Pay-TV on a down slope in France

Pascale Paoli-Lebailly | 03-12-2012

The French pay-TV market has undergone a significant loss of subscribers, with a total fall of 25,000 households over the past five years.

According to a study monitored by Enders Analysis on behalf of French association ACCES, pay-TV has lost three points in penetration owing to the growth of overall subscribers during the period. The report highlights that the Canal+ and Canalsat bouquets lost over 550,000 subs, while Numericable saw 400,000 subs moving from pay-TV to triple-play offers.

Analysing the causes, the study forecasts the growth of digital FTA theme channels had an impact while IPTV and triple play give people the idea that television is free. But paradoxically, though IPTV has strongly developed subscription TV (7.7 million households in 2009 and 12.8 million at Q2 of 2012), the growth has not benefitted the theme channels.

Enders Analysis indicates that even though pay-TV must face the arrival of OTT players and diversified competition, its model remains a strong one worldwide if it continues to invest in original content. The study gives as examples Canal+ which created its label Création originale and Sky which doubled its production investment from £262 million in 2010 to £523 million in 2012.

The study also encourages broadband suppliers to invest more in the development of theme channels in order to secure their own market in the face of the upcoming competition with OTT giants. "Up to now, only Netflix and Amazon have reached critical sizes, without threatening the pay-TV model" the study states.

In France, Amazon is due to follow its US strategy and launch its VOD offer to its Amazon Premium subs in March 2013 via its LOVEFiLM subsidiary. The number of subscribers should be between 500,000 and one million.

As for Netflix, and owing to losses suffered in UK where first profits will rise in 2014, the study doesn't plan its arrival in France within the next two years.

Sinclair closes on TV affiliate acquisitions

Michelle Clancy | 04-12-2012

Sinclair Broadcast has closed on the previously announced acquisitions of a group of television stations and, in a new announcement, purchased WHAM-TV (ABC) in Rochester, NY, from Newport Television LLC.

The acquisitions add two new markets and additional stations in four markets where Sinclair already has a presence. The net amount paid at closing, net of any previously paid deposits and sale proceeds, was $459.7 million, which was funded by the issuance of $500 million of 6.125% senior notes due 2022 earlier this quarter. These and other recent deals will bring Sinclair's footprint to 82 stations in 47 markets.

Sinclair has now bought the following stations from Newport: WKRC (CBS) Cincinnati, Ohio; WOAI (NBC) San Antonio, Texas; WHP (CBS) Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, Penn.; WPMI (NBC) and WJTC (IND) Mobile, Ala.; KSAS (FOX) Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas; and WHAM (ABC) Rochester, NY. Sinclair has purchased the non-license assets of WHAM-TV for $54 million plus the option for the license assets. Sinclair will provide sales and other non-programming services pursuant to a shared service and joint sales agreement.

Sinclair also acquired Newport's rights under the local marketing agreements with WLYH (CW) in Harrisburg and KMTW (MNT) in Wichita, as well as options to acquire the license assets.

Still further, Sinclair has sold Deerfield Media the license assets of Sinclair's station in San Antonio (KMYS CW), and Sinclair's station in Cincinnati (WSTR MY), as well as the license assets of WPMI and WJTC in the Mobile/Pensacola market and KBTV in Beaumont. Sinclair will provide sales and other non-programming services to each of these five stations pursuant to shared services and joint sales agreements.

Pay-TV execs warn action on high cost of programming

Michelle Clancy | 04-12-2012

In an era where AMC Networks has become the testing ground for the worth of basic cable nets (DISH dropped the channels for weeks earlier in the year, refusing to pay its carriage fees despite the flagship network's Mad Men and The Walking Dead hits), the heads of Time Warner Cable and Liberty Media have been talking up the high cost of programming.

Sports costs are one area that's top of mind for pay-TV execs. "We've got runaway sports rights, runaway sports salaries and what is essentially a high tax on a lot of households that don't have a lot of interest in sports," said John Malone, chairman of cable company Liberty Media, speaking to the LA Times. Sports rights contribute to about half the cost of the subscription. "The consumer is really getting squeezed, as is the cable operator."

Meanwhile, Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt warned that he could drop pricey but low-rated channels from the TWC lineup. Speaking at a UBS investor conference, he said that he plans to take a "hard look" at programming contracts, evaluating channels that "cost too much relative to the value of the service," according to the Wall Street Journal.

Low-rated nets will from now on see a "different kind of conversation...than we had with them five, six or 10 years ago," he said, because programming is "just starting to cost too much."

Pay-TV operators have increasingly complained about the practice of bundling networks—media companies ask for a bundled fee to cover a wanted, high-rated channel, but often insist that distributors also take—and pay for—lesser-known, less popularchannels. And example would be AMC Networks, which bundles the popular AMC network with others, like the Sundance Channel, that are more niche plays.

Instead, an a la carte approach would allow them to be more flexible in their subscription bundling and pricing, generating positives for consumers in terms of choice and cost, they argue.

In Brief: Ina.fr, SFR, Numericable, ATV
December 4, 2012 09.43 Europe/London By Robert Briel

In France, the audiovisual institute INA has launched an app to make its content easily accessible on the IPTV box from SFR. Viewers can instantly stream content from the large on-demand library of the institute.

Also in France, cable operator Numericable is testing a new version of its set-top biox, LaBox by Numericable, in the region of Champs-sur-Marne. The new box is supposed to improve a number of functions including teletext, better sound quality, easier PVR recording and a fan that makes less noise. Upon completion of the tests, the new box will be rolled out nationwide.

Belgian media group Concentra is taking full control of the regional TV channel ATV in Antwerp. Until now, the broadcasters was jointly owned with De Persgroep.

Verizon closes down Vcast Video

Michelle Clancy | 04-12-2012

After seven years, Verizon Wireless is shutting off its mobile video service, which originated as Vcast Video and launched with great fanfare back in 2005. The Viewdini video discovery service will persist though, and its popular NFL streaming feature will continue through NFL Mobile, for $5 per month.

The Vcast service will cease broadcasting on 15 December. Launched in a walled garden model, the service offered access to subscribers with enabled phones; a rather anachronistic approach in an over-the-top (OTT)-happy world.

"Verizon Wireless is constantly working to bring the best experiences to our customers," the carrier said on its Website. "To better serve the dema$$$ of consumers, on December 15, 2012, Verizon Video will be shut down from use. This will allow us to focus on bringing you the best video experience in wireless."

The Viewdini service, in contrast, is a free app for Verizon iOS and Android devices that helps users find streamable video via partnerships with 12 apps, services and cable companies. Users can search by category, popularity, actor, title and keyword. It also can make recommendations customized for each subscriber.