Latest SATELLITE NEWS/TV LISTING SECTION

[mike566]

BSkyB lays claim to the Sky in Skype


Published: August 10, 2010 Europe/London

VOiP service Skype is embroiled in a trademark dispute with BSkyB, which is claiming ownership over the Sky mark. In documents filed with the US Securities and Equities Commission in connection with its forthcoming IPO, Skype says it has received objections from BSkyB and its affiliates through the European Union, Norway, Brazil and India.

In addition to its core satellite television service, BSkyB also offers its customers broadband internet and fixed line telephony.

To date Skype, which has offices in Luxembourg and the United States, has successfully defended opposition in Switzerland and Turkey and received indications that a positive decision will be forthcoming from Brazil.

However, last month The Trademarks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union (OHIM) ruled in favour of BSkyB in an objection against Skype’s famous bubble logo.

Skype says it intends to appeal against the ruling, in the first instance to the OHIM Board of Appeal, and if necessary to the General Court at the Court of Justice of the European Community.

If it loses Skype may have a hard time in preventing third parties from using its name without permission. It says if successful BSkyB and others may be encouraged to make further claims that would be both costly and time consuming.

The price range and cost of the Skype offering is yet to be made public.

[mike566]

Turner putts 3D on PGA’s Par 3 holes

Published: August 10, 2010 Europe/London

Turner Sports is to offer 3D coverage of the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The eight-camera 3D coverage will focus on the par-3 12th and 17th holes of the premier golf tournament. It will be available in the United States through TNT’s television distributors Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, and Time Warner Cable.

“At Turner Sports we continually look to provide the fan with an innovative viewing experience through our ability to test and explore new opportunities,” said Lenny Daniels, Turner Sports EVP and COO. “The PGA Championship has always been a platform for forward thinking and interactive technology. During previous PGA Championship coverage on TNT and PGA.com, we have introduced our marquee follow coverage, live streaming action through mobile apps and included social networking within our linear broadcast. Introducing 3D coverage to this crown jewel event allows us another opportunity to better serve our audience and add to our multitude of platforms.”

3D output will be shown between 15.00 and 19.00 (20.00-24.00 GMT)

In Europe, coverage will be available on broadcasters that include BSkyB, but to date there have been no announcements on 3D availability.

Last April UPC Nederland presented the first live 3D broadcast from the Augusta Masters Golf Tournament, coverage that was also seen in Switzerland via Cablecom and Portugal on the ZON network.

[mike566]

Universal Electronics makes a splash

Published: August 10, 2010 Europe/London

IBC 2010 – Hall 1, Stand B21. Universal Electronics (UEI) will be showing its new Dolphin advanced interface remote control that gives a futuristic feel to the channel change through the incorporation of Hillcrest Labs’ motion-detection technology. The device translates hand movements to manipulate an on-screen cursor. The ergonomic Dolphin controller adds a new dimension to traditional up-down-left-right TV controls, translating all hand movements into on-screen cursor movements.

UEI will also show its control device designed for use with the N.DS Snowflake interface. “For the fourth consecutive year N.DS and Universal Electronics’ R&D teams have partnered to further enhance the TV viewing experience. Having an elegant and smart remote to compliment the N.DS Snowflake solution provides the optimal experience, reinforced by Universal Electronics efforts in Remote control design,” commented Alex Maes, VP of Sales, Western Europe and LATAM, N.DS.

The demonstration will highlight a new customer deployment that will be announced during the show – Liberty Media has already committed to Snowflake for its multimedia home gateway. The advanced look and feel requires just 6 buttons to move through 3D info layers to perform basic and advanced TV functions.

[mike566]

German broadcasters to showcase HbbTV

Published: August 10, 2010 Europe/London

All major German broadcasters will be showcasing a number of interactive HbbTV applications during this year’s consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin. Public broadcaster ARD has earmarked HbbTV as the main focus for this year’s event.

Colleague ZDF is also progressing with its HbbTV offers and RTL Deutschland said earlier this year it will deploy its RTL HD Text later this year. The ProSiebenSat.1 group is also showcasing the new connected TV technology at the fair. The broadcaster will start regular test broadcast during the show.

All major German broadcasters have been broadcasting HbbTV apps since late last year and are now intent to give the technology a major push to put it in front of the consumers’ eyes

[mike566]

Fox Turkey chooses Octopus for newsroom operations
on Aug 10, 2010



Fox Turkey has selected Octopus as its new newsroom management system after a three month evaluation process.

The Turkish broadcaster, associated with News Corp’s Fox Broadcasting Company, wanted a system that would simplify news operations, improve workflow and connect with other parts of the overall studio infrastructure. This includes a Vizrt graphics system, Autoscript teleprompter and Grass Valley playout/automation system.

The new Octopus solution will manage rundowns, assignments, story approval, newswires, RSS feeds, placeholders, low-res browsing and other tasks.

Octopus provides support for the Turkish language through its use of the Unicode universal character encoding scheme.

[mike566]

News Corp sells stakes in Chinese TV channels
August 10th, 2010 -

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said it will sell a controlling stake in three Chinese TV channels to a fund backed by China’s number two broadcaster, marking a major retreat after years of difficulties. News Corp will sell a stake in Xing Kong, Xing Kong International and Channel [V] Mainland China, along with its Fortune Star Chinese movie library, to China Media Capital, the US media giant said on its website yesterday.

Rupert Murdoch, whose wife Wendi Deng is Chinese, has pulled back from China in recent years as Beijing tightened its stranglehold over the broadcast industry, thwarting the media mogul’s ambitions. “Due to the restrictions, foreign media companies cannot make much money in China,” said Yuan Fang, a professor at the Communication University of China, was quoted by the official China Daily as saying.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The deal marks the first transaction for China Media Capital, a five billion yuan ($739 million) investment fund set up in 2009 to invest in the media industry. It is backed by state-owned Shanghai Media Group and China Development Bank

Under the deal, CMC and News Corp will set up a joint venture that will be headquartered in Beijing and have offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou in the south and Chongqing in the southwest. Jack Gao, Vice President of News Corp and Chief Executive of Star China, will run the new company.

“The agreement with CMC recognises the value we have created in Star China and enables us to continue to grow it for the future,” said James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corp Europe and Asia.

The transaction comes as China steps up efforts to expand its influence in the global media industry.
Beijing has earmarked 45 billion yuan to fund the expansion of groups including Xinhua, state television station CCTV and China Radio International, according to media reports - at a time when the industry is facing a major money crunch elsewhere.

[mike566]

Radio Farda part of West’s ’soft war’ against Iran, book says


Radio Farda is part of a cultural invasion helping Western intelligence agencies wage a “soft war” against the Islamic republic, according to a book published by Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry.

“A Survey of Radio Farda,” published this spring by the ministry’s Bureau of Media Studies and Planning, brackets RFE/RL’s Persian-language outlet with Voice of America and the BBC as hostile “media operations” working against Iran. It also says Iranian journalists who join the station are providing “firsthand information” to Western intelligence agents.

[mike566]

Pay-TV coverage grows in Costa Rica thanks to new operators

Eleven new companies have entered the Costa Rican Pay-TV market, which generated an increase both in coverage and in competition. At present, the market is dominated by three big companies that gather most subscribers: Cable Tica, Tigo Amnet and the DTH Sky. According to La República newspaper, competition produced up to a 54% variation in prices.

Operators' growth was encouraged when the Telecommunications Superintendence authorized eleven companies to render Pay-TV services over a 10-year term. Such operators render services in specific geographical areas, but jointly cover the seven provinces of the country. Moreover, according to La República, the appearance of such companies resulted from the fact that more than the 50% of the population located in Metropolitan and different areas of the country did not have access to the service.

The following are the companies authorized by the superintendence to render Pay-TV services: Dodona, Jasec, Cable Visión de Costa Rica, Cable Visión de Occidente, Televisora de Costa Rica, Cooperativa de Electrificación rural Los Santos, Cable Centro, Cable Televisión Doble, Servicios Femarroca TV, Cable Zarcero and Cableplus. Competition will increase even more when the incumbent telephony company ICE launches its already announced IPTV service. Additionally, Claro TV has recently applied for a DTH license.

[mike566]

Embratel is trying to keep control over Net


The Brazilian operator Embratel, owned by Telmex, announced the launching of a voluntary public offer for the acquisition of the 100% of Net preferential shares, the main Brazilian cable operator currently controlled by Globo (51%) and Embratel (49%). If the proposal is approved, over USD 2,600 millions will be paid. In order to gain total control, Telmex subsidiary will have to wait for the approval of Bill 116 (former Bill 29), which is currently in the Senate and eliminates restrictions on foreign capital.

According to a press release issued by Embratel, the price to be paid per share, in cash and local currency, amounts to USD 13, which accounts for a 23.1% prize over the price recorded in the last 30 days. The offer is aimed at "enabling an increase in Embratel's shares in Net capital share in virtue of Embratel's and its shareholder' trust upon the Pay-TV and broadband consumption increase in the country, as well as the management and business model developed by Net", according to the document signed by Isaac Berensztejn, Relationship with Investors Director.

The offer is targeted to all Net's preferential shareholders, except from the part that belongs to Embratel (Embrapar). As an advance of its commercial intentions, a few days ago, Net announced the inclusion of Roberto Catalao, an executive from Embratel, in the operator's financial area. In 2004, Embratel stepped in Net with the acquisition of Globo's shares. At present, Net is the main operator in Brazil and Latin America, with 3,9 million Pay-TV clients.

[mike566]

QBS to air foreign-language programmes on Ramadan


The Qatar Broadcasting Service (QBS) will air special programmes in English, French and Urdu on many aspects of the holy month of Ramadan. These programmes, says a report published in a local daily, will be for the benefit of non-Arabic listeners.

The programme in Urdu will be broadcast for four hours daily from 6pm to 10pm. It will include an exposition of the Hadith (Sayings of the Prophet of Islam); and a summing up of the important events that took place in the month of Ramadan all through the periods of Islamic history. Besides, the regular daily items of listeners’ requests and other variety programmes will also be broadcast.

The French language programme will be broadcast from 1pm to 4pm (Sunday to Thursday). Among its new features will be a programme entitled ‘helath magazine’. It is to be presented by Christine Fardeen. She will be focusing on prominent diseases and the methods of treatment.

The programme in English will be broadcast from 7am to 1pm. Among its special features during Ramadan will be “Islam and Economics” which will be on the air every Friday at 10.45am; and “Your Diet during Ramadan” every Saturday at 11.05am.