DIRECTV Latam and Nagra team up against piracy
Iñaki Ferreras    | 05-02-2013

Michael Hartman, senior vice president general counsel at DIRECTV Latam, recently announced the creation of an alliance between the pay-TV operator and Nagra to fight piracy.
Talking to Next TV Latam, Hartman explained that one of the objectives of the alliance is to identify the users and distributors of illegal free-to-air set-top boxes (STBs). "The idea is not to focus on the final users but on those who benefit from the sales of these devices," he said. The association has already taken legal action against 25 illegal users in Uruguay, resulting in fines.
The alliance will work with governments and regulatory associations to try and prevent illegal STB's being imported and sold in Latin American countries.
According to Hartman, last year there were over 700,000 illegal FTA receivers imported through the Paraguay border.
Uruguay has banned the AZbox STB's and other similar bra$$$ from the country and Peru has banned the import of any set-top boxes just in case they are intended for illegal use. Brazil decided to allow the sale of set-top boxes but only if they are legally stamped.

New Livebox Play range launches
Pascale Paoli-Lebailly    | 05-02-2013

Orange's Livebox Play range, aimed at attracting new customers, is to go on sale from 7 February 2013 costing from €39.90 per month.
The new device, which combines an Internet box and a set-top box, has already attracted 100,000 pre-orders placed on the liveboxplay.orange.fr website.
Presented as full of cutting-edge technology, the Livebox Play packages promise customers the ability to use their screens for a vast range of uses, including browsing the Internet, playing games and social networking.
The new Livebox Play allows customers to share everything faster, with fibre optic download speeds of up to 200Mb/s, ten times faster than ADSL. "A 700Mb film can be legally downloaded in 28 seco$$$ instead of in four minutes 40 seco$$$ by ADSL," the French IPTV operator states in a press release.
Dual Wi-Fi will allow customers to connect the whole house to watch films in high definition on multiple screens and enjoy even better coverage. Orange claims it will cover the entire range of connection requirements for all the devices, computers, smartphones and tablets "for unlimited use throughout the house".
Furnished with an OLED screen displaying information in real time, the new product is also attached to an application for smartphones and tablets, to configure and control the box. My Livebox app is available free of charge and helps schedule Wi-Fi activation or an Internet connection for every device on specific days at specific times.
It is also possible to wirelessly connect up to four telephones with shared contacts. Equipped with an Intel Groveland processor, the Livebox Play set-top box aims to import the best of the Internet to TV and to other full HD devices - 3D graphics, video games, etc.
Customers will have the ability to browse the Internet and access a store with dozens of applications such as Deezer, Dailymotion, and Allociné. They will also be able to interact directly on social networks (Twitter, Facebook) from their TV, in connection with the programme they are watching. The remote control includes a gyroscopic control to change channels and adjust the volume with a simple stroke, a keyboard for surfing the Internet and social networks and a joystick to play games directly on the TV.
Through its new device, Orange is also promoting its cloud gaming package on Orange TV that includes a catalogue of more than 100 games for the whole family. The new service provides gaming without a console.
From April customers will be able to equip the set-top box with a Panasonic-assembled 3D Blu-ray player at a cost of €99.
From €39.90 per month, the new package still guarantees unlimited calls to land and mobile lines in more than 100 locations. It also enables customers to choose a personalised option from an unlimited VOD package, the unlimited music option Orange Deezer Premium + or the mobile Internet access package Let's Go.

FFF scores YouTube media partnership deal with Base79
Pascale Paoli-Lebailly    | 05-02-2013

The French Football Federation (FFF) has signed an exclusive YouTube media deal with online video company Base79, the largest YouTube network in the EMEA region with over 550 million views per month across 650 channels.
The partnership kicks-off with the France vs. Germany match to be streamed live in selected European and Asian regions through YouTube on the FFF TV dedicated channel.
Base79 will provide digital video syndication, audience development, rights management and advertising sales services for the FFF. The company will be responsible for building channels and audiences, maximizing revenues from its original content.
Base 79 is becoming a global multi-channel network (MCN) and expanding its international network with operations in France, Spain, US, Germany, Australia and the UK. Base79 will continue to open offices in continental Europe and beyond throughout 2013. Sports bra$$$ partnering with Base79 encompass football, tennis, rugby, golf, extreme sports, and motor sports.

Telekom Slovenije teams up with Antenna
February 5, 2013 09.45 Europe/London By Chris Dziadul

Telekom Slovenije has entered into a joint venture with Greece’s Antenna Group.
Under the terms of the agreement between the two parties, they will operate a TV channel named Planet TV and develop their TV business in Slovenia.
Planet TV, which made its full debut in November 2012, will be operated as a 51/49 venture between Antenna Group and TSmedia, a subsidiary of Telekom Slovenije.
It will continue to offer entertainment, news, locally produced shows, the UEFA Champions League and some of the best international films and series.
The Antenna Group was founded in Greece in 1988 and is privately owned by the Kyriakou family.
Its interests include free and pay-TV, radio, music, magazine publishing, TV production and digital media and its operations cover Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, Montenegro, other parts od Europe, the US and Australia.

VIMN appoints Vincent Sourdeau
February 5, 2013 09.59 Europe/London By Robert Briel

Vincent Sourdeau has joined Viacom International Media Networks as VP, kids and family bra$$$ for South Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In this role, Vincent manages and oversees all areas of kids and family bra$$$, from creative and programming, to digital, programme sales and consumer products, ensuring all strategies are aligned to comply with Nickelodeon’s overall brand strategy for South.
Prior to joining VIMN South, Vincent held the role of kids content director at Cartoon Network since 1999.
In this role, Vincent was responsible for overseeing content production, programming and acquisition for Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, and Boing across TV, VOD, online and mobile platforms.

Czech station stops broadcasting
February 5, 2013 10.08 Europe/London By Chris Dziadul

The Czech national commercial station Petka (‘Five’), which was launched only last October, has gone off the air.
Petka was operated by Metropol, whose owner Lubos Mekota stopped financing the service late last year and then began looking for an investor.
It was believed to be attracting interest from the entrepreneur Jaromir Soukoup, who already owns the publishing company Empresa Media and media agency Medea Group.
Metropol also operates a regional station named Metropol TV.

TDC reacts to package spindown
February 5, 2013 11.18 Europe/London By Julian Clover

Denmark’s YouSee is fighting back after a negative reaction to larger channel packages and higher pricing.
The combination of higher content costs and the regulatory defined payments for the popular commercial channel TV2 meant that both YouSee and the IPTV packages run directly from telco parent TDC were increased.
As both increased the cost of their packages, consumers became more cost conscious and spin-down to cheaper packages was noticed.
New campaigns have been introduced for the HomeTrio bundle, highlighting the reduced number of channels in the package.
The higher prices did improve TV revenues, up in 2012 by DKK 351m to DKK 3,939m. An additional 64,000 RGUs were also added.
TDC said it plans to relaunch TDC play to meet increasing demand for online entertainment. It plans to turn it into a single platform providing easy access to music, VOD, web-TV and personal media across multiple devices.