Local TV services will need to compromise if their services are to continue after digital switchover. As part of the Digital Dividend Review, Ofcom has identified that local channels could either be interleaved into the national TV multiplexes or broadcast from separate local transmitters. Including local TV services into one of the existing multiplexes would […]
Digital coverage will match analogue reception
Ofcom has published details of the predicted coverage of the public service and commercial multiplexes following digital switchover. The UK regulator is predicting that the three DTT public service multiplexes will be available to 98.5% of UK households, representing 24.8 million people, and matching the current analogue coverage. The full six multiplexes will be available […]
Virgin acquires HBO VOD package
Virgin Media has announced a major content supply agreement with Home Box Office for a 50-hour package including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Entourage. The programmes, most of which are familiar to Channel 4 viewers, will be housed in a standalone HBO branded destination. This is the first time that the US pay-TV provider […]
Tele2 finally closes Versatel acquisition
In an extraordinary general meeting, Monday afternoon, shareholders approved a reverse take-over of Tele2’s Benelux assets, by Versatel. Tele2 acquired just over 80% of Versatel in the summer of 2005, for €1.34 billion. However the merger could not be completed due to minority shareholder resistance led by investment fund Centaurus. Monday morning the group that […]
ZDF: Germans want their mobile TV
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS – BARCELONA. 13% of the German population is interested in mobile TV, according to research on behalf of the ARD/ZDF-Medienkommission carried out in November, 2006. But they don’t necessarely want to watch it on their mobile phone: especially younger respondents said they also like this feature in their MP3 player or iPod. […]
EuroNews launches Mobile Video Alerts
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS – BARCELONA. EuroNews announced the launch of its breaking news Mobile Video Alerts service in cooperation with Comsys. EuroNews is starting the service, which will feature breaking news videos, at the end of February in France, soon to be followed in other languages for the different European markets. The service in France […]
3GSM World Congress live on mobile TV
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS – BARCELONA. The congress in Barcelona is live on the air through mobile TV. A DVB-H mobile TV network, operated by Abertis Telecom and provided by technology company SIDSA, covers the Congress distributing up to 10 mobile TV channels. Ten mobile TV channels are available through DVB-H-equipped mobile phones, thanks to SIDSA’s […]
Sky ups ante in Virgin carriage row
BSkyB has increased the pressure on Virgin Media by broadcasting a promotion telling customers to contact the cable operator’s customer services department if they wish to continue viewing the Sky branded channels. The promotion was first noted early on Sunday evening (February 11). A crawler caption displays the names of the Sky channels that include […]
Nokia predicts 20 million mobile TV units in 2009
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS – BARCELONA. Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo unveiled a number of new handsets including the Nokia N77 multimedia computer designed to accelerate the take up of DVB-H mobile TV devices, a market he predicted would reach between 5 to 10 million units by end of 2008 and around 20 million units […]
Research: Modest interest in mobile TV
3GSM WORLD CONGRESS – BARCELONA. There is only a modest interest in mobile TV, according to research by Circle Research, which was carried out on behalf of the GSM Association. Research was done in fifteen markets. In a list of “best potential” for mobile phone usage TV ranks only at an 11th place, after SMS […]