VOOM HD Networks signed an agreement with MEASAT Satellite Systems and Ascent Media to distribute the channel across Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Africa. The VOOM HD channel is available as a 24/7 feed, delivered in 1080i format HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. “With the Asian market at a tipping point for HDTV [...]
Digiturk, RCS dump IPO plans
November 6, 2007 18.21 Europe/London By
Turkish DTH platform Digitürk and its Romanian-based counterpart RCS & RDS SA have dropped plans to list themselves on the London Stock Exchange. Both companies have put the blame on market conditions as banks reassess credit conditions amid huge losses. Digitürk’s last minute decision – the listing was scheduled for November 9 – had planned [...]
TV Belarus launch draws nearer
November 6, 2007 12.52 Europe/London By
The Polish public broadcaster TVP will launch its latest channel on December 10, according to local reports. The service will be known as TV Bialorus and target viewers in neighbouring Belarus. On air for 16 hours daily, it will be distributed by Astra at 19.2 degrees East. TVP may in addition launch up to three [...]
Cinemax secures Cyfra+ carriage
November 6, 2007 12.51 Europe/London By
The Polish DTH platform Cyfra+ has announced that it will add the film channel Movies 24 to its offer on December 12. The Sparrowhawk Media-owned service will join a line up of 16 film channels, including HBO, Ale Kino!, Hallmark, Cinemax and the proprietary Canal+ Film HD, already available on Cyfra+.
Romanian MediaPro favoured for TV rights
November 6, 2007 12.51 Europe/London By
The Romanian media group MediaPro appears to have an in-built advantage in its bid to secure the TV rights to games played by the country’s national football team. Several local newspapers have revealed that MediaPro, which is backed by the US investment company CME, benefits from terms introduced by the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) that [...]
Sky to increase minimum EPG hours
November 6, 2007 12.24 Europe/London By
Sky is planning to stop channels from sitting on positions within the EPG by increasing the number of broadcast hours required to maintain a position in the guide. The move comes following Sky’s recent proposals to cease accepting applications for new channel launches – an action expected to be accompanied by an increase in channels [...]
Bundesliga doubts put Premiere 2008 figures on hold
November 6, 2007 11.35 Europe/London By
Premiere has put its 2008 forecasts in abeyance due to uncertainty over rights to the German Bundesliga. “The bidding process will begin much later than expected and an agency has been commissioned to manage the process. We cannot rule out that this new development could impact potential and existing subscriber behaviour,” said CEO Michael Börnicke. [...]
Sky-BBC secure Football League rights
November 6, 2007 11.02 Europe/London By
Live coverage of the Football League is to return to free-to-air television following a £264 million (€350m) joint bid by the BBC and Sky, representing a 135% increase on the present broadcasting arrangements. The agreement will run for three years from the 2009/10 season. It will secure Sky Sports’ position in football coverage amid the [...]
Court rules AVS holds Spanish football
November 6, 2007 10.00 Europe/London By
A Spanish court ruling is being interpreted as requiring the free-to-air channel La Sixta to buy its football coverage direct from Sogecable’s Audiovisual Sports (AVS) unit rather than its own sister company Mediapro. The court ruled that AVS was the only company licensed to trade in Spanish football rights for the 2007/08 season. La Sixta [...]
Setanta Sports News sets launch date
November 6, 2007 08.55 Europe/London By
Setanta Sports News is to commence broadcasting on November 29. The broadcaster has confirmed the channel will be available on Sky in addition to the Virgin Media cablenet. It will broadcast 24 hours a day with a brief to cover “all relevant sports stories from the UK and abroad, regardless of whether the event is [...]
