Eutelsat W3B considered lost
November 10, 2010 by Robert Briel
Eutelsat W3B, launched in the early hours of Friday, October 29, is considered lost following an otherwise smooth start to the Ariane 5 mission it shared with the BSAT-3b satellite. According to Eutelsat, an anomaly occurred with the satellite’s propulsion subsystem. Read the Story »
Connected and hybrid TV update
October 27, 2010 by Robert Briel
Two news items from the past week. The first: the three major US networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, are blocking their programmes from access by Google TV. The second: in the US, Netflix represents more than 20% of downstream traffic during peak times and is heaviest between 20.00 – 22.00 – television’s prime time. Read the Story »
Connected TV market set for explosive growth
October 27, 2010 by Robert Briel
40 million connected TVs are expected to be shipped in 2010, adding to a market that is set to grow to over 118 million in 2014, according to US research firm DisplaySearch. However, Dallas-based Parks Associates is a bit more cautious and predicting the figure for European households to be to 47 million in 2014. Read the Story »
3D TV not growing as fast as expected
October 27, 2010 by Robert Briel
3DTV is now readily available in retail, but the uptake among consumers has been limited by high prices and lack of content, according to US research firm DisplaySearch. However, with falling prices, increased content availability, and improvements in technology all expected, there will be tremendous growth in 3D TV shipments over the next few years. Read the Story »
Mobistar Belgium launches TV offer
September 29, 2010 by Robert Briel
The Belgian mobile operator Mobistar will launch its new Mobistar TV ‘quintuple-play’ package on October 8. Costing €55 a month, the so-called Starpack bouquet will offer mobile and fixed telephony, broadband access and IPTV, DVB-T and DVB-S television. Read the Story »
Austriasat: new satellite platform for Austria
September 29, 2010 by Robert Briel
Luxembourg-based international DTH operator M7 Group SA will launch a new satellite platform for Austria in conjunction with ORS, the facilities company of Austrian public broadcaster ORF, on October 14. Read the Story »
RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 plan common catch-up platform
August 14, 2010 by Robert Briel
German private broadcasters RTL Deutschland and ProSiebenSat.1 are working on a single, common online TV platform to offer free access to private and public catch-up TV programmes. The new platform will be available in Germany and Austria. Read the Story »
EU court throws out Mediaset digital TV appeal
June 22, 2010 by Robert Briel
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) threw out an appeal from the Italian media group Mediaset on June 15, ordering that illegal state aid must be recovered. The case was brought about by Sky Italia and Europa 7 amongst others, claiming the subsidy for digital terrestrial receivers was unfair against satellite broadcasters. The court confirmed the aid was not technology neutral. Read the Story »
