The best TV and Broadband News from around the ‘net
- Chris Dziadul Reports: New year, new sale | Broadband TV News
Looks like it’s seconds away, round two, in the great Polish cable consolidation contest. via Chris Dziadul Reports: New year, new sale | Broadband TV News.

- News Corp. COO: ‘DVD Business Continues to Have Legs’ | Home Media Magazine
With the media and Wall Street’s focus on digital distribution of entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is maintaining significant attention on packaged media, including Blu-ray Disc, News Corp. president and COO Chase Carey said. via News Corp. COO: ‘DVD … Continue reading →

- Paul McCartney concert stream will test the waters on live Apple TV viewership
Apple may indeed be using the Apple TV to test the live broadcasting waters, as evidenced by its recent decision to stream former Beatle Paul McCartney’s live performance this Thursday. The company “announced” via a banner on iTunes that the … Continue reading →

- DOJ Set To Approve Google’s Acquisition Of Motorola Mobility: Report – 2012-02-09 00:22:12 | Multichannel News
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to approve Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility as early as next week, although the agency will “closely monitor” how the Internet giant uses the patents it’s acquiring, the Wall Street Journal reported, … Continue reading →

- Disney considering 28-day rental window, because On Stranger Tides was that good – Engadget
That sound you can hear is the studios dashing around as they look for a new scapegoat. via Disney considering 28-day rental window, because On Stranger Tides was that good – Engadget.

- So When Does Amazon Prime Instant Video Take on Nextflix Directly?
Good news for Amazon Prime members: Amazon.com has signed a deal with Viacom that gives its Amazon Prime Instant Video service access to a lot more stuff–from Jersey Shore to Dora the Explorer. It now offers more than 15,000 streaming … Continue reading →

- Social Search & Discovery – Psychodynamic Heuristics
Everyone agrees that social TV needs to be measurable. Advertisers need to secure their investments based on return value. A mobile device acts as a digital extension of each individual these days, which means that mobile phones are the gateway … Continue reading →

- Do TV Apps Have a Future? | Blogs | Red Bee Media Australia
2011 saw the birth of TV Apps – small web applications that sit in a menu ready to be revealed at the press of a ‘Smart’ button on your new TV’s remote control. via Do TV Apps Have a Future? … Continue reading →

- TW’s Bewkes: UltraViolet set to grow | Advanced Television
Following the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to the UltraViolet digital film ownership initiative suggested by Disney CEO Bob Iger when discussing his company’s Q1 results, his Time Warner counterpart Jeff Bewkes has offered a much more positive assessment, suggesting that the company … Continue reading →

- The Hermes Project: Virgin shows their broadband future
As part of their fascinating investor presentation [PDF] alongside the company’s 4th quarter financial results, Virgin Media have revealed what their current customer base will look like once translated into the context of their 18 month speed doubling programme: via … Continue reading →

- Nowbox brings TV-like navigation to videos on the iPad — Online Video News
While many cable companies have turned to the iPad as a way to build a better navigation system, there’s at least one app that’s trying to build TV-like navigation for web videos. Nowbox, which is available as a free download … Continue reading →

- Oh Baby, Lovefilm’s CEO is Bouncing To Mothercare | paidContent
After building up Lovefilm and selling it to Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), CEO Simon Calver is leaving for an unusual new challenge in retail, as CEO of parent-and-toddler chain Mothercare. via Oh Baby, Lovefilm’s CEO is Bouncing To Mothercare | paidContent.

- ITU-T Newslog – ITU IPTV standards the basis for transcontinental IPTV experiment
An international experiment deploying ITU-standardized IPTV technologies has taken place 6-8 February 2012. IPTV services were used to live-stream scenes from the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan and to provide supporting Video-on-Demand (VoD) segments. via ITU-T Newslog – ITU IPTV … Continue reading →

- Research: IPTV going multiscreen and hybrid | Advanced Television
The Autumn 2011 IPTV Market Leader Report from MRG is now tracking over 934 IPTV Operators globally, an increase from 913 just six months ago, and revealing over 50 million IPTV subscribers worldwide. via Research: IPTV going multiscreen and hybrid … Continue reading →

- Blip.tv raises $12M, changes name to… Blip? — Online Video News
Web video pioneer Blip.tv has raised a new $6 million round of funding from existing investors including Bain Capital Ventures and Canaan Partners, as well as $6M of debt from Silicon Valley Bank, according to an announcement sent out Wednesday … Continue reading →

- Lagardère writes down value of Canal Plus stake » Digital TV Europe
Lagardère has reduced the value of its stake in pay TV provider Canal Plus by €300 million. The move leaves the French conglomerate’s 20% holding in Canal Plus worth about €1.2 billion, higher than the estimates of most analysts. via … Continue reading →

- Samsung aims to sell 25 million Smart TVs this year » Digital TV Europe
Samsung plans to sell over 25 million Smart TVs this year, according to TV business chief Kim Hyun-Suk. via Samsung aims to sell 25 million Smart TVs this year » Digital TV Europe.

- BBC and Thomson complete Freeview fifth HD channel trial » Digital TV Europe
UK public broadcaster the BBC is set to broadcast a fifth HD Freeview channel on the country’s DTT Multiplex B using Thomson Video Networks’ ViBE EM3000 encoders. via BBC and Thomson complete Freeview fifth HD channel trial » Digital TV … Continue reading →

- Russian onLime.net OTT service to use Conax security » Digital TV Europe
Telenor-owned conditional access provider Conax has extended its contract with Russian service provider National Cable Networks (NCN) to provide content security for NCN’s onLime.net digital TV and video-on-demand service. via Russian onLime.net OTT service to use Conax security » Digital … Continue reading →

- Virgin Media finally turns an annual profit • The Register
Virgin Media pulled in annual revenue that was just shy of £4bn, the company reported this morning. via Virgin Media finally turns an annual profit • The Register.

- Satellite now leading delivery mechanism for German TV | Broadband TV News
For the first time more Germans are now watching television via satellite than over cable. via Satellite now leading delivery mechanism for German TV | Broadband TV News.

- Apple TV to snare 5% of HDTV market? | Techwatch: Tech News
At the end of last year, we heard a lot of rumours about Apple’s supposedly upcoming TV set offering (the iTV, as it has been referred to in the past). via Apple TV to snare 5% of HDTV market? | … Continue reading →

- All systems Go for Agama | Broadband TV News
Go, Malta’s leading telecommunications provider, has selected a complete Agama DTV Monitoring Solution for its IPTV ecosystem. via All systems Go for Agama | Broadband TV News.

- Virgin Media UK Tops 4.35 Million Broadband ISP Subscribers in Q4 2011 − ISPreview UK News
Cable giant Virgin Media UK has just released their latest quarterly results to 31st December 2011, which saw their total broadband ISP subscriber base climb from 4,333,600 in Q3-2011 to 4,351,100 in Q4-2011 (+17,500 net adds). via Virgin Media UK … Continue reading →

- Sony downgraded by S&P due to loss-making TV division and ‘severe’ competition | The Verge
Kaz Hirai’s biggest challenge in his upcoming promotion to CEO of Sony will undoubtedly be to revitalize the company’s once-glorious TV division. Having suffered a debt rating downgrade by Moody’s three weeks ago, Sony is today getting another negative outlook, … Continue reading →

- Penetration rates of 3D and LED TVs continue to rise in January
Market research showed that the penetration of 3D TV and LED TV reached 40% and 70% respectively in January 2012. via Penetration rates of 3D and LED TVs continue to rise in January.

- Samsung sees stronger TV sales, to roll out entry level TVs | Ubergizmo
What happens when the economy starts to slow down worldwide? Most folks would cut down on non-essential spending, so what better way to wind down after a hard day’s work than being at home? Apart from reading a good book, … Continue reading →

- Apple wants uniform patent licensing in Europe | Ubergizmo
After suffering a setback from Motorola’s injunction in Germany recently, we have discovered that Apple sought to avoid such a pitfall in the past by requesting the telecom standards body in Europe to lay down the law for uniform patent … Continue reading →

- Lovefilm CEO quits for Mothercare | Broadband TV News
Simon Calver is to leave his role as chief executive of Lovefilm to take over as chief executive of Mothercare. via Lovefilm CEO quits for Mothercare | Broadband TV News.

- Virgin Media High Definition & TiVo Services: Virgin Media Q4 and full year 2011 statement
The highlights: Revenue up 3.0% to £4.0bn for the year Revenue up 2.0% to £1.0bn for the quarter* Strong TiVo and superfast broadband growth TiVo customer base more than doubled in Q4 with 273,000 net additions 435,000 TiVo customers at … Continue reading →

- Tough quarter for Canal Digital | Broadband TV News
Price increases and a rise in hardware sales helped Canal Digital maintain revenues amid continued subscriber falls. via Tough quarter for Canal Digital | Broadband TV News.

- TiVo and broadband pull ahead for Virgin | Broadband TV News
Strong growth for TiVo and superfast broadband dominated in Virgin’s year-end results as advanced services compensated for a general slowdown in UK pay-TV take-up. via TiVo and broadband pull ahead for Virgin | Broadband TV News.

- Disney’s Iger: UltraViolet ‘wait-and-see’ | Advanced Television
Although the majority of Hollywood studios back UltraViolet, the technology that bridges a single piece of content to a variety of devices, the Walt Disney Co. has so far remained aloof, concentrating instead on its own online locker – KeyChest … Continue reading →

- Netflix’s Original Programming: Enough to Turn Things Around?
Well, it’s official. Netflix has entered the original programming game and is no longer just a distributor of other companies’ content. “Lilyhammer,” a dramatic comedy starring “Sopranos” actor Steven Van Zandt, went live on Sunday. For the first time, the … Continue reading →

- Most Popular Method for Streaming Live TV: Slingbox
A business trip on the other side of the country or a weekend with a family member without cable don’t necessarily mean you have to go without your favorite shows. via Most Popular Method for Streaming Live TV: Slingbox.
