E4 acquires 'Being Erica', 'Mother'
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E4 has acquired the rights to How I Met Your Mother and Being Erica.
According to C21 Media, E4 has picked up the 13-episode first season of Erica to air in early October.
The series, starring Erin Karpluk, follows a woman who begins seeing a counsellor to deal with regrets in her life. She later discovers that the counsellor has the ability to send her back in time to change the events in question.
The first four seasons of Josh Radnor-fronted Mother have also been secured, which E4 aims to begin airing later this year.
Virgin Media 'still reviewing' Phorm
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Virgin Media has said that it is still reviewing various interest-based advertising options, including the online tracking service developed by Phorm.
This follows a decision by BT and TalkTalk not to go ahead with plans to rollout Phorm's technology, which enables targeted advertising based on internet habits.
For the past 18 months, Virgin Media has conducted a technical and legal consultation on the company's offering prior to any potential implementation.
Despite running surveys on consumer attitude towards the technology, the internet service provider has not at any stage trialled the system over its network.
Virgin Media has said, though, that it supports the opportunity represented by interest-based advertising for consumers, ISPs and online firms.
"However, given the fast moving nature of the sector, Virgin Media is reviewing potential opportunities with suppliers including Phorm prior to making any commitment to launch any of these technologies," a spokesperson for cable operator said in a statement.
"We recognise some consumers have significant concerns about the potential implications of interest-based advertising for their privacy. Virgin Media is committed to ensuring that any future deployment complies not only with the relevant legal requirements but - as an absolute minimum - the best practice guidelines contained in the Internet Advertising Bureau's recently published code of practice.
"Virgin Media will communicate openly and transparently with consumers before and after any future deployment of interest-based advertising technologies across its network."
C4 offers content to UKTV
This summer will see the satellite and digital broadcaster, UKTV, move into a new and exciting time, after signing an agreement with Channel Four.
The multi million contract will see around two hundred hours of Channel Four content being shown across the newly rebranded UKTV channels.
This means that UKTV will not have to rely so heavily on the BBC for content, which will give UKTV a stronger footing in the UK pay TV market place.
The deal will be made up with eighty nine hours of comedy, sixty hours of drama and thirty eight hours of entertainment.
A lot of this content will be getting its first showing on pay TV in the UK.
The deal is said to have taken a long time to negotiate and will start on the 1st August.
Stream TV expands in SW Russia
Russia’s Comstar-UTS says it ended June with over 145,000 cable subscribers to its Stream TV service in the Saratov region of the country.
It adds that Stream TV, which is distributed in the region by Kaskad TV, is now the leading cable service there, claiming a market share of up to 95% in the city of Balakovo alone.
The Saratov region is located in the South West of Russia.
Tricolor success continues
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The leading Russian DTH platform Tricolor TV posted revenues of R1.56 billion (€35.2 million) from its pay-TV service in 2008, according to its CEO Vyacheslav Mordachev.
Quoted in Cableman, he added that the platform aims to reach 13.5% of the Russian population by the end of this year.
Tricolor TV is at present the fastest growing DTH platform not just in Russia but Europe as a whole, recently topping the 5 million-subscriber mark.
It offers viewers a 19-channel subscription package and 12 channel-package free of charge.
As of 2008, 2.6 million viewers received the former.
Sky Deutschland terminates T-Entertain contract
Sky Deutschland has terminated its contract with Deutsche Telekom to distribute content on the telco’s IPTV platform T-Entertain.
A spokesperson for the German pay-TV operator, formerly known as Premiere, said both companies were still in talks but confirmed it had terminated the distribution contract.
Until last season, Premiere and Deutsche Telekom had collaborated on Bundesliga football coverage. From next season, Constantin Medien will produce the telco’s IPTV Bundesliga coverage.
Separately, 99.8% of Sky Deutschland’s shareholders have approved the company’s name change.
Italian regulator investigates RAI-Sky withdrawal
TiVu_logoAgcom is to investigate whether the possibility of RAI pulling its channels from Sky Italia in favour of Tivù Sat would be in breach of the public broadcaster’s platform neutrality. The move would see the departure of its three flagship channels, Rai Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre as well as its digital portfolio.
The authority’s president Corrado Calabrò told a meeting of the RAI supervisory board that the decision risked losing sight of the basic principals of quality and fair competition.
Tivù Sat, backed by RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia, is scheduled to launch on July 31, using the same Hot Bird position that is already home to Sky Italia, but using the rival Nagravision encryption system that will render reception of the RAI channels impossible to Sky households.
According to Il Sole 24 Ore, Calabrò’s intervention comes at a crucial time for talks between RAI and Sky Italia, the public broadcaster seeking additional carriage fees that Sky would seem unlikely to meet.
A public broadcaster seeking commercial advantage, and forgetting its obligations, is nothing new. However, RAI’s move comes with the added twist of its partner Mediaset being controlled by the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
AsiaSat 5 Arrives at Baikonur Launch Site
AsiaSat 5, a new communications satellite of Asia Satellite
Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), has arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for launch by a Proton launch vehicle currently planned for early to mid-August.
AsiaSat 5 is a replacement satellite for AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East. The spacecraft, based on Space Systems/Loral‟s 1300 satellite bus, is produce to deliver advanced satellite services including television broadcast, telephone networks and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across Asia Pacific.
“AsiaSat 5 will become the newest member of the AsiaSat fleet to help us continue our mission of providing first-class regional satellite services to Asia Pacific. Equipped with the latest but proven technologies, improved and new beam coverage on AsiaSat 5, we look forward to serving existing and future clients with enhanced power, connectivity and network flexibility,” informed Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat.
AsiaSat 5 will carry 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders, and has an estimated operational life of 15 years.
It will offer an enhanced pan Asian C-band footprint that covers more than 53 countries spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. Its Ku-band coverage will consist of two high-power fixed Ku-band beams over East Asia and South Asia, and an in-orbit steerable Ku beam. The three Ku-band beams are designed with switching capability to switch any uplink to any downlink beam to meet specific application requirements.
UPC Slovenia sale completed
Dragan Solak will head the new company
Mid Europa has completed the acquisition of a 100% stake in UPC Slovenia from Liberty Global.
Significantly, the operator will now be headed up by Dragan Solak, the head of Serbia Broadband (SBB), which was itself acquired by Mid Europa in 2007.
He said that SBB and UPC Slovenia are “complementary platforms that are leaders in their respective markets.”
SBB also operates the DTH platform TotalTV, and as a result the acquisition of UPC Slovenia makes Mid Europa one of the leading operators of pay-TV services in the former Yugoslavia region.
Celtic angry by ESPN-Sky rights deal
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Celtic chairman John Reid has expressed his dissatisfaction after the Scottish Premier League accepted ESPN and Sky's joint bid for TV rights, according to reports.
It was [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] that the SPL had opted for the £65m, two-year deal on offer from the two broadcasters to replace the former carriage agreement with Setanta.
Prior to this development, Celtic and Old Firm rival Rangers were believed to be readying an [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] after becoming dissatisfied with the terms proposed by ESPN and Sky.
Despite confirming that a formal approach from the two clubs was never actually made, Reid said that that the TV rights situation has not reached a satisfactory conclusion.
"Celtic have a responsibility to speak out for our supporters who will be deeply dissatisfied with the background to, and outcome of, today's SPL decision and the events leading up to it," he told reporters yesterday after the SPL's annual general meeting.
"No-one should underestimate the blow that has been inflicted on this club and Scottish football by the way in which the whole affair has been handled and by the losses incurred."
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell recently revealed his [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] at the previous rights deal agreed with Setanta, and Reid believes that this could be a case of history repeating itself.
"Last year's decision to reject the Sky bid and opt for Setanta - arrived at against the strong opposition of Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen - has proved to be the disastrous misjudgement we indicated it might be, with Setanta now in administration," he explained.
"In turn, this has led to the dilemma we now find ourselves in. Today the SPL accepted a bid that is less than half the value of that offered by Sky last year. The whole SPL is now a commercial victim, in an uncompetitive TV market, in the middle of a recession, locked in for years to an income some 60% lower than last year's bid.
"This is the direct consequence of last year's misjudgement, one that has cost us all some £70m in a sport that desperately needs the income and where our supporters are already paying their own hard-earned cash.
"To Celtic it means a potential loss of up to £12m over the four-year period – the equivalent of around 6,500 season tickets each year. We need to face up to some harsh realities. In an environment crying out for long-term thinking this concentration on short-term gain only leads to long-term pain.
"Above all the SPL must learn the lessons of these events. That is why we initiated discussion with Rangers Football Club to examine possible alternatives to the present position.
"We reserve the right to continue to explore those options not only for the longer term benefit of Celtic football club but for everyone involved."
ESPN and BSkyB score with the SPL rights
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Finally, despite all of the counter arguments against the deal, the Scottish Premier League (SPL) has sign an agreement that will give the live football match rights to Sky Sports and the sporting newcomer ESPN.
There was talk of an alternative deal, where Celtic and Ranger would take on the contract, but this has not materialised and so the bid from the satellite broadcasters, of just £65 million, will go ahead.
Effectively this means that the SPL is accepting half the amount of money that the original deal was worth.
Collapsed satellite broadcaster Setanta had a deal worth £125 million with the SPL.
This lack of cash is going to have an effect on some of the clubs that rely on the income from TV to survive.
Channel 4 and BSkyB to team up for ad sales
UK free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4 and pay-TV broadcaster Sky are set to merge their advertising sales teams in a bid to cut costs.
The pair are set to ink a deal that will see both companies cut the number of employees by around 50%.
However, the deal is not expected to be announced officially for a couple of months until the country’s Competition Commission publishes its findings on regulations surrounding rival broadcaster ITV’s advertising sales.
The Commission is currently investigating whether to abolish its contract rights renewal system, the system that governs how much ITV can currently charge advertisers.
ESPN hands Premier League brief to Wieden + Kenned
LONDON - ESPN, the US broadcaster, has handed its UK advertising brief for the launch of its Premier League coverage to Wieden + Kennedy's London office.
ESPN hands Premier League brief to Wieden + Kennedy
The broadcaster, which is owned by Walt Disney, works with Wieden + Kennedy in the US and UK activity for above-the-line campaigns will run out of its London office.
There had been speculated that there would be a pitch involving other agencies.
Media planning and buying will be handled by Carat, which already works on its ESPN America and ESPN Classic TV channels and is also an incumbent on Disney. Brand strategy and creative services will be handled by Heavenly, and on-air branding by Bruce Dunlop and Associates. Collective and Agenda21 will handle digital services.
Damion Potter, ESPN communications director said: ‘ESPN and Disney may decide to extend any current agreements with existing service providers that will accommodate the scope of work required for the launch of our new channel.'
Last month ESPN picked up the TV rights to the FA Premier League from Setanta. It will broadcast 46 live games during the 2009-10 season and 23 games each season from 2010-13.
Russian TV channels start broadcasting in Latin Am
TV viewers living in Latin America can now watch Russian channels, particularly, RTR-Planeta. VGTRK, which runs such TV channels as Rossiya, Vesti, RTR-Planeta and Kultura, has become the first Russian company of this kind on the South-American TV market.
RTR-Planeta is already broadcast by Cable Onda operator in Panama, while news channel Vesti is supposed to be launched in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Brazil a few weeks later.
In spring 2009 Inter Russia TV channel based in Panama started broadcasting in Latin America. The mission of the channel is to inform about life in Russia and the world.
Satcov fraud warning for satellite users
Satellite users are being warned to check their bank statements carefully, after it emerged that a company named Satcov is trying to fraudulently charge to a number of accounts.
The charges are often brought where no existing agreement is in place, and where an agreement is already in force, extra amounts are being charged.
Since Feb 2009 they have been reported as:
- taking 10-times the correct monthly payment (£65 instead of £6.50),
- taking extra payments (typically £49.95)
- setting up Direct Debits on customer accounts without authorisation
Satcov offers expensive warranty cover on satellite boxes, not least Sky satellite receivers.
However, a rising number of complaints are being aired that they are being debited for a service they have not agreed to - or had cancelled years ago - whereas people with existing subscriptions are seeing their bank account wiped of extra funds.
It is also being reported that Satcov are now setting up Direct Debits under the name “Play” with a reference number afterwards that appears to be a phone number - 08716 641400.
If anyone finds that their bank account or credit card has been charged by Satcov without authorisation, or for incorrect amounts, they are recommended to take the matter up with their bank immediately for a refund.
Satcov is believed to be formed from Satellite Direct UK Ltd, which was successfully prosecuted by Sky for misleading sales practices, after the company claimed an association with Sky.
The director of Satellite Direct UK Ltd, David Reynolds, was also prosecuted last year for fraud and money laundering.
Satcov remains unavailable for comment, with their phone number providing the message “This service has been temporarily suspended”.
BBC to fix sets in preparation for HD
The BBC will have to invest thousands of pounds in upgrading the sets of shows such as EastEnders and The Apprentice in preparation for high definition, it has emerged.
As more BBC shows are being broadcast in high definition, the corporation is reportedly concerned that wear and tear on sets will be visible to viewers in the sharper, clearer picture.
It was previously revealed that the next series of The Apprentice will be filmed in HD, which could air in 2010, if this does not clash with the general election after Alan Sugar took up his new post in the House of Lords.
In preparation for this, thousands of pounds will now have to be spent on improving sets such as the boardroom so that the show looks presentable in HD.
"Those Perspex sheets that we use to make the glass walls are about eight years old now, and they are quite scuffed and scratched. Any dust, fingerprints or smears on them are definitely going to show," Cath Pater-Lanucki, who worked on the set, told The Independent.
"If we go to HD, I think we'd have to replace all the Perspex on the set and we would literally have to have a props man on set the whole time polishing surfaces."
According to Pater-Lanucki, each of the 60 Perspex sheets would cost around £300 to replace, which would feed into an estimated £40,000 cost of producing The Apprentice in HD.
"My worry is that they're not going to put the budgets up accordingly," she added. "I don't think the reality has really hit anyone."
In preparation for its HD debut on Monday, the entire set of Dragons' Den at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire had to be repainted, production designer Nik Callan has revealed.
"Every brick you see on the Den is painted - we had to have every single one done," he said. "Realistically, it costs thousands of pounds to upgrade a set for HD, and productions have got to allow for it."
In response, a BBC spokesman said: "The move to HD for programmes is a key priority for the BBC and very much part of our long-term planning, including all cost implications. We have detailed advance discussions with productions that are due to make the move, to ensure that the transition is as smooth and as cost effective as possible.
"With 19 million HD-ready TVs sold so far, and as we move towards a time when all programmes will be made in HD, it's important that the BBC helps lead these changes to deliver the very best service for our audiences."
Pace introduces HD multiroom
The UK based set top box manufacturer Pace has finally launched its highly advanced multiroom digital video recorder or DVR.
This new technology connects set top boxes around the home without the need for any wiring, therefore making it much easier for consumers to receive digital TV in other parts of the home.
This is the first product capable of connecting the entire home to digital TV to enter the market.
It will also allow each TV connected to it to make full use of the dual tuner HD DVR function, which clearly demonstrates just how advanced this system is.
Using NAS technology the device is capable of supporting nine HD streams at once, while allowing for six HD programmes to be recorded all at the same time.
Saudi stops LBC journalist lashing
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has ordered that the proposed lashing for a female LBC journalist based in the country be cancelled.
Saudi Arabia’s Information Ministry spokesman on Monday said King Abdullah ordered that the 60 lashes sentence for Rozanna al-Yami be dropped. She was charged with involvement in a TV show in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, considered a taboo subject.
But the case is not fully over. The Ministry spokesman Abdul-Rahman al-Hazza said the king ordered that her case and that of another woman journalist - also accused of involvement in the programme - be referred to an Information Ministry committee.
Estonia goes down HD route
Estonia’s leading cable operator Starman has become the first in the country to offer a package of full HD channels in Dolby 5.1 stereo sound.
The channels are Nat Geo HD, Eurosport HD, History HD, Rush HD and Arte HD and will cost EEK99 (€6.32) a month to receive.
They will be joined by Eurosport2 HD in the New Year. Starman, which also operates the DTT platform ZUUMtv, claims its services are received in 560,000 homes.
