December 17, 2007
It was probably one of the most controversial investments made by BSkyB, when the company purchased a 17.9% stake the independent TV channel ITV costing around £940 million. However inevitably this holding was brought up to the attention of the Competition Commission and their recommendation is believed to be that the company sell part of the stake, probably to reduce it down to around the 10% mark. But this could cause the ...
Sky to reduce stake in ITV
by David AllenIt was probably one of the most controversial investments made by BSkyB, when the company purchased a 17.9% stake the independent TV channel ITV costing around £940 million. However inevitably this holding was brought up to the attention of the Competition Commission and their recommendation is believed to be that the company sell part of the stake, probably to reduce it down to around the 10% mark. But this could cause the ...
Maybe the worst kept secret in IPTV
by David AllenDespite all of the work that has been going on behind the scenes, Orange IPTV who have been running IPTV trials in the UK at 350 locations in London and in Leeds, have announced that they will be delaying the IPTV services launch until sometime next year, not even an indication as to when the launch will be was given by the France Telecom owned company. The whole service when ready ...
December 14, 2007
This partnership between NBC Universal and Fanfare will see programmes such as the US version of the Office and the sci fi hit series Heroes becoming available through the Fanfare platform. This is where single programmes like the above can be downloaded onto the computer and then watched via a normal television or mobile device. Fanfare is a new service from San Disk which will be available from January for downloads ...
Fanfare gets NBC Universal
by David AllenThis partnership between NBC Universal and Fanfare will see programmes such as the US version of the Office and the sci fi hit series Heroes becoming available through the Fanfare platform. This is where single programmes like the above can be downloaded onto the computer and then watched via a normal television or mobile device. Fanfare is a new service from San Disk which will be available from January for downloads ...
iPhone users get Orb
by David AllenFor anyone who is familiar with Orb then they would know that it gives you access to digital TV, photos, music and other media though a laptop or pda, it makes not difference where you are or how long it is used for because it is totally free and really cool. Well now owners of the Apple iPhone and iTouch can get the same sort of media, it works through the ...
UK broadband use rises
by David AllenIt seems that households in the UK are loving the super fast world of broadband, with user numbers growing all of the time, the actual figure is actually just over half of the UK household have signed up for high speed internet. These figures come from a report written by the regulator Ofcom, and these figure show that the take up is higher than it is in the US, which is ...
BBC looking to reduce picture quality
by David AllenAs strange as it may see the BBC are looking into the possibilities of reducing picture quality in order for them to get the most out of its spectrum. They are so serious that the BBC executive board are planning to carry out consumer research that will focus on the picture quality on the DTT system; this is following the recommendations being put to them by Deloitte & Touche. There will ...
December 13, 2007
The all day pre school channel Jim Jam is spreading out further and further a field as it has just been launched on another feed which will allow young viewers from more or less all of central Europe to the programming, this should be something the region of around 1.4 million homes. Jim Jam have just got the official seal of approval from the UK regulator Ofcom too, this means that ...
Jim Jam gets UK licence
by David AllenThe all day pre school channel Jim Jam is spreading out further and further a field as it has just been launched on another feed which will allow young viewers from more or less all of central Europe to the programming, this should be something the region of around 1.4 million homes. Jim Jam have just got the official seal of approval from the UK regulator Ofcom too, this means that ...
BBC to offer Mac service
by David AllenThe BBC has made some serious strides ahead with their online offerings. But they have for so long been an exclusively Windows only organisation, but now they are going to make it available for both Mac and Linux on the seven day catch up service, where programmes from the past seven days can be downloaded and view on the computer. These are changing times at the BBC and it has to ...
Telecom regulator plans out digital dividends
by David AllenOfcom the UK telecoms regulator have been announcing some plans for the digital dividend. As a result of this dividend this has meant that the UHF spectrum will be due to be released, which is about a third of the capacity and is therefore extremely valuable. Ofcom has identified the following services that would be suitable for use with the released spectrum: Ultra-fast wireless broadband services; Mobile television; More digital terrestrial television channels ...
Turner Broadcasting uses Chellomedia
by David AllenThe cartoon to news media business Turner Broadcasting has signed up with Chellomedia’s enhanced TV service Chello Media, though the Mistral they will provide a solution to offer the enhanced TV service (eTV) throughout Europe. This service will be used on such channels as the cartoon network, cartoon network too and boomerang which are all available on Sky in the UK and the cartoon network and boomerang on UPC which is ...
Microsoft developing Windows 7 touch interface?
by Janet HarrisRumours that the next version of Windows, currently codenamed Windows 7, will feature a touch interface, have grown from a blog post by Microsoft engineer Hilton Locke. Locke, who works on Microsoft’s Windows Shell team, mentioned Windows 7 in relation to touch features, while blogging about Dell's new Latitude XT Tablet PC. In his post, he said: “All I will say that if you are impressed by the ‘touch features’ ...
Western Digital stops unauthorised file sharing
by Janet HarrisWestern Digital, the second-largest hard drive manufacturer, has launched a new range of hard drives, known as 'My Book', which block the online sharing of media files stored on networked drives. The new hard drives are part of the company's efforts to combat piracy. The drives feature 'Anywhere Access' software which enables PC users to access files from a network. The software also includes digital rights restriction technology which prevents ...
December 12, 2007
Orange have signed an agreement with the massive film producer Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, this agreement is believed to be several years in length and will see Orange partnering MGM’s 24/24 video library, this will give access not only to some of the studios latest pieces of work, but to the archives are classic films too, which will be available through Oranges Video on Demand service. The licence will mean that ...
Orange sign with MGM
by David AllenOrange have signed an agreement with the massive film producer Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, this agreement is believed to be several years in length and will see Orange partnering MGM’s 24/24 video library, this will give access not only to some of the studios latest pieces of work, but to the archives are classic films too, which will be available through Oranges Video on Demand service. The licence will mean that ...
Tiscali target huge subscriber increase
by David AllenThe Italian based Telecommunications Company, are looking to increase their UK subscriber base by around 200,000 by the end of 2008. They have a huge advertising campaign planned which will be launched in January and will be aimed at getting customers to sign up to the Tiscali IPTV service. At the moment the company are signing up around 250 new customers to this service every day, which is good going, and ...
UK heads up multi channel viewing
by David AllenThe multi channel market in the UK is growing at a much faster rate than in any other European market sector, with figures from the International Communications Market 2007 by Ofcom, the UK has seen its share of multi channel viewing grow to around 33% in 2006. The next largest market is Germany where they see around 30%, while in the other main countries of western Europe like France, Spain and ...
Luxe.tv gets their official launch
by David AllenThe luxury channel where all the nice people and things can be seen gets its official launch in the UK and Ireland, it will be available in both HD and SD formats through the Sky channel package. The business is based in surprisingly enough Luxemburg and is owned by DVL TV SA. The channel is available in six languages, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and English, and because of the coverage ...
December 11, 2007
Search engine, Ask, has launched an 'AskEraser' tool to enhance online privacy. AskEraser allows users to immediately delete search queries stored on Ask's servers. Other search engines, such as Google, store data for 18 months. With concern growing over the use of personal data for advertising and marketing purposes, the new tool is likely to be a popular feature. American consumer groups are currently campaigning against a planned merger ...
Ask provides search privacy with ‘AskEraser’
by Janet HarrisSearch engine, Ask, has launched an 'AskEraser' tool to enhance online privacy. AskEraser allows users to immediately delete search queries stored on Ask's servers. Other search engines, such as Google, store data for 18 months. With concern growing over the use of personal data for advertising and marketing purposes, the new tool is likely to be a popular feature. American consumer groups are currently campaigning against a planned merger ...
BT to face possible fines
by David AllenIt would seem that the BT have not been compliant with an agreement between them and ofcom, this agreement is not because of the service that they are providing their customers with, but rather how they are allowing the competition to get a foothold onto the market place. It was back in 2005 when they agreed to a list of requirements that would help the competition grow in a market that ...
Sky sells content to Tiscali
by David AllenThe Italian based Telecom Company Tiscali has sign an agreement with Sky Italia to provide content and services for distribution through its IPTV service that goes out in the three Italian cities of Cagliari, Milan and Rome. Naturally this service will expand as the network spreads out further a field. This same service has already been launch in the UK, and has proven to be a great hit so far, though ...
Virgin Media goes easy on heavy users
by David AllenIt’s been the problem with broadband for years, a user gets unlimited access only to find that it is being monitored, and reason why? Because it’s not fair to the other customers. But Virgin Media have a taken a lead on this, by reducing the time that they will be monitoring those users who go over the top with their downloading. In the new year the hours monitored will be reduced ...
