Broadband TV News

Five HD in surprise Sky launch
Five and Sky have jointly announced the launch of Five HD this summer, less than 48-hours after the regulator Ofcom said it would return terrestrial capacity to the BBC after failing to reach agreement with the RTL-owned broadcaster. The new channel, a simulcast of the main network, will take advantage of Five’s US dramas such as CSI, FlashForward and The Mentalist; Australian soaps Neighbours and Home & Away; international cricket and live Europa League football. The move is likely to embarrass Ofcom, which on Monday said Five was unable to reach a timescale for the channel’s HD launch. Unless other announcements are forthcoming it means that Sky alone will have access to content from the four so-called UK public broadcasters – dealing a blow to the free-to-air platforms Freeview and Freesat.

Sky backs DTG for Canvas role
BSkyB has said the Digital TV Group is the appropriate forum to develop the technical standards for Project Canvas. In its final submission to the BBC Trust consultation Sky maintains the connected TV venture to be an unnecessary intervention in the market. Highlighting what it sees as the inadequacy of the Trust’s proposed conditions, Sky proposes that the BBC should develop the core specification with the wider industry through the DTG, rather than with its commercial partners. At present the BBC is only working with the DTG on the organisation’s established Connected TV specification. This would sit alongside Canvas’s own specification, currently the subject of disagreement with the DTG over the provision of key documents, and its own non-disclosure agreements.

Satellite DTH surpasses cable in Europe
More people are watching DTH than cable for the first time, according to the latest SES Astra Satellite Monitor. There are now 77 million satellite and 71 million cable homes. Total reach of SES Astra is now 125 million homes across Europe, up 3 million from the previous year. Of these, 57 million are direct to home and 68 million via cable. Astra said it now reaches 51% of all 244 million TV homes in Europe. Terrestrial broadcasts reach 85.5 million, of which 48% (41.7 million) are digital. These figures were presented during a special press conference in Berlin. Data for the Satellite Monitor is gathered in 29 countries in Europe and North Africa with over 70,000 people questioned. In terms of digitalisation, satellite leads the way with 71 out of the total of 77 million homes being digital (92%). Cable still lags behind with 34% of all 71 million homes being digital (24 million). There are 9 million IPTV homes, all of them of course being digital.

3D demo channel for Astra
SES Astra will launch a 3D demo channel during the ANGA Cable 2010 show, which will be held from May 3 in Cologne, Germany. Wolfgang Elsaesser, MD of Astra Deutschland, told Broadband TV News that the new demo channel would be broadcast on the 23.5 East position. The Luxembourg based satellite operator has a long history of demoing and promoting new technologies and actively engage in setting standards. During the presentation of the latest SES Astra Satellite Monitor in Berlin, Ferdinand Kayser, president and CEO of SES Astra, expects 3D to be one the ‘next big things.’ “But the 3D standards are not fixed yet,” he said. “3D can be received on current receivers, we are told by the pay TV operator, but you need a new flat screen. Our objective in the weeks and months to come is to o reach a standard. It is not in the interest of the viewers to have confusion.”

UPC Nederland: 47.5m video requests
UPC subscribers with direct access to Uitzending Gemist watch the catch-up TV service more through their cable connection than the public broadcasters’ own portal, according to new data from the Dutch cabler. The ten-day catch-up service is a clear winner for UPC Nederland’s burgeoning video-on-demand platform that received 47.5 million requests during 2009, a year-on-year increase of 45%. At the same time the number of subscribers using the option grew by 40%. The most requested movie was the Dutch language Oorlogswinter, directed by Martin Koolhoven, while the most popular series was Sex and the City. UPC is continuing to develop the day&date concept with more movies available on the VOD platform simultaneously with their DVD release. These include The Blind Side, for which Sandra Bullock won the Best Actress award at the 2010 Oscar ceremony. “Such initiatives are certainly recognized by our customers and will lead to more satisfied users in 2010,” said Lochtman.

Telenor IPTV goes live
Telenor has launched its long-awaited IPTV service to its 623,000 broadband customers in Norway. The addition of television content to the telco’s existing telephony and broadband offers completes the triple play package over its fibre network. The consumer offer brings together content from both Telenor’s Canal Digital and its sometime rival Viasat. OnDemand content will also be available from a number of channels as will live and on demand HD. The movie library will feature several thousand titles. The basic 12-channel package comprises NRK Tegnspråk, NRK, NRK2, NRK3, TV2, TV2 Zebra, TV2 Nyhetskanalen, TV Norge, FEM, TV4, SVT1, SVT2, SVT HD and BBC World News at a cost of NOK 178 (€22.30) per month or NOK 2,136 for an annual subscription. PVR, Multiroom, etc is available for an additional fee. 39 channels are available through Canal Digital Medium and 53 through Canal Digital Premium.

Tele 2 to launch analogue cable offer
Tele 2 has become the first Dutch party to announce that it will start selling analogue cable to its customers from June 1st. The alternative telecoms provider is planning a 4-play product consisting of analogue cable in addition to a regular bundle of telephony, broadband access and IPTV over its own network. The company has already talked to both Ziggo and UPC and is now ready to roll-out its product following last week’s publication of the final pricing and rules concerning Open Cable access by regulator OPTA. Tele 2 still needs to negotiate actual re-seller contracts with both cable operators, but given the frame of conditions and fixed pricing put forward by regulator OPTA, there should be little trouble signing actual agreements.

MSN launches UK video service
Microsoft has officially launched its new UK video service – with the same content as everyone else. The selection of content highlighted on the MSN Video Player could have come straight from the rival service SeeSaw, which went live earlier this month. In addition to BBC Worldwide, MSN also has deals with the same independent producers that have enabled ITV shows including Doc Martin and Bad Girls to be streamed, despite the commercial broadcaster’s reluctance to deal directly. Highlighted BBC shows include Hustle, Mock the Week, and some vintage Doctor Who. In total around 1,000 hours of clips and full-length programmes are available. The site, which has been in beta for the past seven months, runs using Microsoft’s proprietary video software Silverlight and is funded by pre-roll advertising.

ONO turns the corner
Spanish cableco ONO has recorded a positive net income for the first time, the €50 million it posted in 2009 contrasting with a loss of €26 million a year earlier. EBITDA meanwhile exceed market expectations to reach €730 million (+4.2%), while the EBITDA margin grew by 4.6 percentage points to reach 48.3% and cash flow by 56% to €510 million. ONO ended 2009 with 1,901,844 residential customers, or 17,000 fewer than a year earlier, though a slight upturn (+0.7%) was noted in the fourth quarter. ARPU in the residential cable sector stood at €51.0, down 4% on a year earlier. Take-up of triple play services meanwhile rose from 34% of ONO’s customer base at the start of the year to 36% at the end of Q4. Although the number of pay-TV customers fell by 6.2% to 975,000 in 2009, much of this reduction was seen in the lower value ‘TV Essentials’ product and the higher value ones secured another 24,000 customers.

End of analogue CNN on Astra
CNN International will cease broadcasting in analogue on the Astra position at 19.2 degrees East on March 31. The channel will remain available as a free-to-air service in digital. At the moment, most of the satellite’s analogue viewers live in the German speaking part of Europe, as there still is a large number of analogue DTH homes in Germany and Austria. A rolling text warns viewers of the analogue signal of the upcoming switch-off. Also, a special German language web page is now online to inform viewers. German public and private broadcasters are still transmitting analogue versions on the satellite, but they have now decided to terminate these broadcasts in April 2012.

ITV1 HD extends to Sky and Virgin
ITV1 HD is to make itself available to both Sky and Virgin households from April 2. The decision means Freesat will lose its satellite exclusivity on the channel as the commercial channel also extends its presence through the terrestrial Freeview HD. Although ITV is positioning the channel as a new launch, transmissions have effectively been running since December 2, when the first Freeview HD signals went on the air. On Freesat, ITV has been operating under the Red Button, whenever an HD programme has been broadcast. It will now have a dedicated channel number. The new channel will carry upconverted content whenever HD native material is unavailable. A highlight will be this summer’s football World Cup, the rights to which will be shared with the BBC.

New Series on Canal+ Nordic
The remake of the cult sci-fi series V and the Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg-produced drama The Pacific are the highlights of the new Canal+ Series channel, launching in the Nordic region on April 1. Also included in the line-up are Mercy, House, 30 Rock and Heroes. Although US series have long been an important part of the Canal+ mix, this is the first time they have been given a dedicated outlet, sitting alongside other genre specific channels covering movies and sports. The Pacific is one of a number of HBO series that Canal will have access to in Scandinavia following a new three-year agreement with the US broadcaster.

Technology

Google putting Android into set-tops
Google is reportedly working with Intel and Sony on the extension of its Android smartphone operating system into the set-top box environment. According to the New York Times, the connected TV play is planning to deliver a toolkit to external developers that it hopes will develop a similar enthusiasm as has been seen with mobile phones. The three companies, which have denied their involvement, have approached Logitech to develop peripherals that include a remote control and keyboard. Google would be entering a crowded market that already plays host to cable, satellite and IPTV operators, television manufacturers including those running Yahoo widgets, Apple, TiVo and Boxee.

LG first with UK 3DTV model
LG is set to be first to market with a 3D TV display in time for the rollout of the Sky 3D service in April. Although the satcaster is not expected to stage the consumer launch of the product until later in the year, consumers will be able to ready themselves with the Full LED 3D Ready TV (LX9900). LG’s passive 3D technology LCD TV (LD920) is already being rolled out to pubs in the UK and Ireland as part of Sky’s demonstration of live 3D Premier League coverage. The LX9900 features LG’s ultra slim Infinia design that effectively eliminates the space between the screen and the bezel so that they blend together. It is available in 47 inch and 55 inch models and use active 3D technology. In addition to 3D compatibility, other features include built-in Freeview HD, making the display one of the first to deliver the terrestrial high definition service. Internet applications are available through the LG NetCast feature.

New Virgin HD box runs SeaChange middleware
Virgin Media’s new HD receiver will run on middleware provided by SeaChange International, Broadband TV News has confirmed. The Cisco-manufactured device, marketed as the V HD Box, will be made available from March 22 for a £49 (€53.9) deposit plus installation. The operator is stressing that no monthly fee will be payable. The box features HDMI, Scart, USB and Ethernet ports and a power-saving function that cuts power usage by 95% when in standby. A spokesman for Virgin Media confirmed the V HD Box would run on Liberate middleware and that the introduction of TiVo was progressing well. Virgin has a contract with SeaChange, which acquired the European rights to the TV Navigator middleware previously owned by Liberate, running through until January 2011.

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