Shipments of connectable set-top boxes to nearly double by 2017

The global market for connectable set-top boxes (STBs) is expected to surge by 91 percent from 2012 through 2017, driven by a number of factors including the adoption of multimedia home gateways (MHGs).

Worldwide shipments of connectable STBs are forecast to rise to 125.6 million units in 2017, up from 65.8 million in 2012, according to the latest Set-Top Box Market Monitor report from IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS). A total of 45 percent of all STBs shipped in 2017 will be connectable, up from 26 percent in 2012.

A connectable STB is a set-top box that can be linked to an Internet protocol (IP) network. Such boxes typically integrate an Ethernet port or Wi-Fi, allowing a connection to networks located within homes. All types of pay-TV operators—i.e., cable, satellite and IPTV providers—are distributing connectable STBs.

“Consumers increasingly are demanding connectivity from their electronics devices, and STBs are playing a central role in the networking of products,” said Daniel Simmons, senior principal STB analyst at IHS. “Connected STBs perform all kinds of useful functions, including distributing digital video recorder (DVR) streams to televisions in multiple rooms, as well as delivering video on demand (VoD) and web content to various platforms. Furthermore, MHGs and their associated thin clients, which also employ connectivity, are being used by pay-TV operators to provide advanced services and content to all kinds of IP-connectable devices, including mobile products like smartphones and media tablets.”

The gateway to connectivity

MHGs and thin clients for cable systems will represent a major growth driver for connectable STBs. These devices will account for 25 percent of connectable box shipments between 2013 and 2017.

An MHG is a converged STB/residential gateway device that directly processes video signals for all IP distribution and routing to multiple client devices within a home. A thin client is a partner device to an MHG that is used to interface between the IP-based, in-home video signals and a television. Thin clients do not contain broadcast tuners or hard disk drives.

In 2013, IPTV pay-TV operators will account for the largest share of the connectable STB market, with 39 percent of shipments. However, the coming years will see a rapid increase in shipments of cable HD STBs by Chinese operators and MHG migration throughout the rest of the world. Because of this, cable will be the major driver of growth in connectable STB, with shipments rising at a rate of about 25.4 percent a year to reach 45.8 million shipments in 2017.

North America leads the way

North America is at present the largest market for connectable pay-TV STBs, accounting for an estimated 41 percent share of global shipments in 2013. The region is expected to retain its global lead through 2017.

“In mature pay-TV markets like North America, operators are seeing IP-based services as an opportunity to differentiate their products, and this is driving shipments,” said Wajahat Abbassi, STB analyst for IHS.

However, Asia-Pacific is expected to experience the fastest growth during the period from 2012 to 2017, with shipments expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2 percent.

German HbbTV service multithek goes satellite

German broadcast facilities company Media Broadcast is launching its HbbTV service multithek on satellite on Tuesday, December 3.

The service will be broadcast on transponder 113 from the Astra satellite position at 19.2 degrees East and is available as a free-to-air service to all owners of HbbTV capable equipment.

Multithek offers a range of HbbTV applications including the on-demand portals from ARD and ZDF (the so-called Mediateken), the HbbTV services from the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, music televsion MUZU.TV and sonnenklar.TV.

New to the multithek is the on-demand kids portal Kymba, which also launches on December 3. Kymba is a pay service and costs EUR5 a month. In addition, a large number of weather and news apps are available.

The Media Broadcast multithek is also available on the German DTT network in the regions of Berlin, Hamburg, Saarbrücken, Rhein/Main, Hannover, Braunschweig, Stuttgart, München, Bremen, Lübeck, Kiel and Nordrhine-Westphalia.

Tata Sky launches TV Everywhere for Android

India’s top DTH player, Tata Sky, which had earlier launched their mobile TV app ‘TV Everywhere’, on the iOS platform in November, have announced that it will now be available for download on Android. The application will be available to use in another 15 days in the country.

Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said, “We are very happy with the number we got in the first three weeks from Apple users. The response has exceeded our expectations. People are spending a lot of time outside of homes but are still consuming videos using different screens. So why can’t your Tata Sky connection be given to you on your mobile screen? A decent broadband or 3G/4G connection is all one needs to get the experience of TV everywhere.”

The TV Everywhere app has already gotten 100,000 users since its launch and the number will only rise after its available on Android as well. Subscribers will have to pay a little over one dollar to access the new feature. The DTH platform currently has about 11 million subscribers to its name.

3.2 million pay TV subscribers in Ukraine's 33 largest cities

Ukraine’s Chamber of Telecommunications (Telekompalata) has released pay TV subscriber figures for the country for the 3rd quarter of 2013. The figures, by city, are broken down by operator.

City            Subscribers
--------------  -----------
Kiev             723,738
Kharkiv             261,887   
Odessa             258,569   
Donetsk             205,779   
Dnipropetrovsk     161,917   
Kryvyi Rih          120,778
Lviv                 96,539

The 33 largest cities together had a total of 3,188,605 pay-TV subscribers.

Spain's rate of pay TV subscriber loss slows to 31,000 in 3Q 2013

Spain’s Telecommunications Market Commission (Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones – CMT) has published telecommunications statistics for the country for the third quarter of 2013. Total pay TV subscribers dropped to 3.74 million at the end of the quarter, down from around 4.20 million at the same point in 2012.

Pay TV subscribers by technology (major operators):

                I/2012    II/2012   III/2012    IV/2012     I/2013    II/2013   III/2013
             ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Satellite    1,771,236  1,731,140  1,723,530  1,719,811  1,691,281  1,631,692  1,633,527
Cable*       1,329,432  1,326,549  1,306,861  1,266,625  1,236,858  1,206,535  1,176,382
IPTV**         891,217    869,127    836,416    777,856    724,953    695,820    673,482
DTT            366,383    333,246    315,732    290,246    260,098    223,090    234,795
Others          11,581     13,745     12,720     13,833     13,654     14,480     21,952
             ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
TOTAL        4,369,849  4,273,807  4,195,259  4,068,371  3,926,844  3,771,617  3,740,138

* Ono, Euskaltel, R, TeleCable and Procono.
** Vodafone’s IPTV service closed in December 2012

Pay TV subscribers by operator:

                I/2012    II/2012   III/2012    IV/2012     I/2013    II/2013   III/2013
             ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Canal+       1,782,817  1,744,885  1,736,250  1,733,644  1,704,935  1,646,172  1,655,479
Ono            915,702    906,475    892,485    872,608    853,750    829,999    807,429
Telefónica     809,446    789,009    756,199    707,278    656,499    630,324    611,251
GolTV          366,383    333,246    315,732    290,246    260,098    223,090    234,795
TeleCable      137,608    137,197    136,244    134,456    132,582    130,031    128,175
Euskaltel      154,972    151,258    150,892    136,186    130,935    125,374    118,718
R               94,925    106,787    104,503    103,333     99,296    100,572    101,240
Orange          67,736     67,391     69,442     70,578     68,454     65,496     62,231
Others          40,260     37,559     33,512     28,772     20,295     20,559     20,820
             ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
  Total      4,369,849  4,273,807  4,195,259  4,077,101  3,926,844  3,771,617  3,740,138

Mobile TV subscribers by operator:

                I/2012    II/2012   III/2012    IV/2012     I/2013    II/2013   III/2013
             ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Movistar       114,637    110,815    120,581    108,079     93,462     80,486     73,557
Vodafone        77,581     71,340     64,614     49,692          0          0          0
Orange          18,008     20,640     27,066     32,029     36,975     40,485     45,944
             ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Total          210,226    202,795    212,261    189,800    130,437    120,971    119,501

Ecuador adds 108,000 pay TV subscribers in 3Q 2013

Ecuador’s Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (SUPERTEL) has released pay TV statistics for the country at the end of September 2013. There were 849 thousand subscribers in the Republic at that date, up from 741 thousand at the end of June, and up from 454 thousand at the same time in 2012.

Number of subscribers (SUPERTEL historic statistics):

              3Q 2013  2Q 2013  1Q 2013  4Q 2012  3Q 2012  2Q 2012  1Q 2012
              -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Satellite     398,065  333,574  296,848  129,502   90,955   93,193   90,955
Terrestrial    70,240   52,518   51,991   50,768   47,597   48,361   51,467
Cable         381,556  355,095  337,024  320,623  315,417  313,060  290,887
              -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
  TOTAL       849,861  741,187  685,863  500,893  453,969  454,614  433,309

Over 200 million connected TVs and attached content devices expected in U.S. homes by 2015

By 2015, there will be 202 million Internet-capable TV devices in U.S homes, a 44 percent increase from the 140 million at the start of 2013

PORT WASHINGTON, New York — By 2015, there will be 202 million Internet-capable TV devices in U.S homes, a 44 percent increase from the 140 million at the start of 2013, according to the new Connected Home Forecast report from NPD Connected Intelligence. Among those devices, 65 percent will end up being connected to the internet by consumers in 2015 compared to just 56 percent currently connected.

Internet Connectable Device Forecast
(Connectable TVs, Blu-ray Disc Players, Game Consoles, & Streaming Media Players)

Base: U.S. Internet households
Source: The NPD Group/Connected Intelligence, Connected Home Forecast
Includes a small percent of prior generation game consoles that are non-connectable

Two driving forces in the market are pushing the adoption and use of connected TV devices; streaming media players, and the TV itself. The introduction of devices, such as Chromecast, will help drive the number of installed and connected media players to 31 million by 2015, and outpace connected Blu-ray players by mid-2014.

Connected TVs, once just a middleman for connected devices, are becoming a much more prominent piece of the living room experience. More connected TVs are being produced, purchased, installed, and ultimately connected to the Internet, and by 2015 there will be 23 million installed and connected. While TVs and streaming media players are expected to see the most growth, video game consoles will remain the most connected device to the TV.

“As consumers connect TVs to the Internet, they are not only using streaming services such as Netflix, they also switch from linear and on-demand TV programming to TV network apps such as HBOGO or WatchESPN,” said John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst, NPD Connected Intelligence. “This change in behavior emphasizes the importance of developing strong watch apps and ensuring they are available on all the devices viewers use to connect their TVs.”

Top MSOs launch new public campaign

An MSO alliance comprising of top MSOs in India that includes giants like DEN Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Siti Digital Cable Television and InCableNet, have now launched a new public awareness campaign to educate the public about billing. They have taken the initiative to let subscribers know that they will have to be billed according to their chosen TV packages from December 2013 onward.

MSO Alliance secretary and DEN Networks CEO S.N Sharma said, “This move is important as it will ensure that there are no additional or random charges levied on the subscribers. Our viewers will thus pay only for what they watch and they must insist on a bill from their local cable operator or MSO at the time of monthly payment.” The campaign was run in top papers in the country.

The broadcasting regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has told MSOs to complete their customer application form (CAF) collection and start billing from December. It has also noted that subscribers will get 15 days from the time of having gotten their bills to make the payment. This only effects MSOs functioning in regions coming under Phase I and Phase II of digitisation.

Arasu Cable and TRAI in legal fight

Arasu Cable TV Corp, which is a state-run player in Tamil Nadu, India, has gone to Madras High Court in order to restrain TRAI from interfering from the cable TV signal transmission in Chennai. TRAI has been actively trying to get the cable operators in the city to shift from analogue to digital TV signals but to no avail.

Tthe Arasu cable’s counsel during the hearing noted, “The Union government was well aware that nowhere in the world was a welfare measure of transmitting cable TV programmes at Rs70 available, and it was only due to political and commercial reasons prevailing in the state that it deliberately did not want to issue a DAS (digital addressable system) licence to the petitioner.”

While Chennai is technically one of the four cities that is part of Phase I of digitisation in India, that matter is still pending before the Madras High Court. Hence the MSOs in the city have been transmitting analogue signals while the other three cities have moved onto digital. The 38 cities part of Phase II of digitisation are also digitised currently. Most recently TRAI sent out notices to cable TV operators in Chennai to put digitisation into effect.

Hinduja Group to invest USD 48 million in IMCL

In order to help its cable distribution arm during the digitisation process, the Hinduja Group has announced it will be investing USD 48 million in IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL). IMCL operates INCableNet and INDigital in India.

Grant Investrade Ltd (GIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL) is the one that is investing the money in IMCL. Ashok Mansukhani, director, IMCL said, “The promoter group has decided to help IndusInd Media and Communications to help consolidate its position in Phase I and Phase II of digitization and to further grow in Phase III and IV both organically and inorganically in interesting geographies because in Phase III and IV the role of the MSOs is limited to 20-25%. Therefore, about 5,000 independent cable operators would need support in joint ventures or to be bought out.”

Mansukhani has also noted that foreign direct investment (FDI) route for the cable distribution sector has to be clarified by the government further as confusion still looms. He said, “There is uncertainty about foreign investment in the sector as the ministry of information and broadcasting and Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) have recommended 100% FDI. However, the home ministry has some reservations over the same.” The digitisation process in India is likely to be completed by December of 2014.

Hravtski Telekom deploys new CAMs

The Croatian incumbent Hravtski Telekom (T-HT) has deployed the latest generation of conditional access modules (CAM) from SmarDTV, a Kudelski Group company, in its network in Croatia.

The SmarCAM-3.5 CI Plus modules embed the latest generation of the NAGRA conditional access system and allow T-HT’s DTH service to be directly accessible on iDTVs, as well as set-top boxes.

Commenting on the deployment, Zeljko Stunkovic, senior proposition manage, T-HT, said: “Since the very beginning of MAXtv Sat service we have been providing customers with the top of the line of service quality. Successful collaboration with SmarDTV and introduction of the new CI Plus CAM will ensure our content remains well protected and easily accessible on different retail devices. These new modules provide our subscribers with an attractive solution that can be used with iDTVs equipped with satellite tuners which are becoming more and more popular in Croatia”.

Eric Chaubert, CEO of SmarDTV, “The SmarCAM-3.5 CI Plus module is a great plug-in solution that enables consumers to enjoy premium channels directly on their iDTVs without an external set-top box. These modules are very power-efficient, for a lower environmental impact.”

Canal Digital Kabel launches on demand services powered by Espial

Major european cable operator, Canal Digital Kabel, launches on demand services powered by Espial

OTTAWA — Espial, a leader in on-demand TV software and solutions, announced today that Norway’s largest Cable Operator, Canal Digital Kabel has selected Espial’s video delivery platform, Espial MediaBase, to power their advanced IP video services like video-on-demand and time-shift TV. Canal Digital Kabel has recently launched their T-WE service which will be rolled out nationally to over 400,000 digital cable subscriber households.

“We have a distributed customer base, and needed a scalable carrier-grade content delivery platform to deliver our next generation on-demand, catch-up and startover services. Espial MediaBase has proven to be a great video delivery platform to deliver our T-We services to consumers across Norway,” said Roger Larsen, CCO, Canal Digital Kabel-tv.

“Canal Digital is a leading and innovative European cable operator and we’re pleased to be part of their next generation video platform”. said Jaison Dolvane, CEO, Espial. “Through a single content delivery platform, Canal Digital is able to manage, distribute, and stream video content to provide an exceptional user experience for their subscribers.”

MSOs to meet TRAI officials to discuss CAF problems

With MSOs in India struggling to meet the deadline to submit their Consumer Application Forms (CAF), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has announced there will be a meeting between TRAI officials and MSOs in India on December 16 to iron out the issues.

TRAI had earlier set the deadline for the collection and submission of CAFs to be December 15 but will several big MSOs in the country unable to do so, the body seems to have yielded a bit to the pleas of MSOs. Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar G. Pillai said, “Though in the last meeting, we had asked for a one month extension to complete CAF, the regulator had given clear directions to complete CAFs in the specified period of 15 days. Our national average for CAF is around 65 per cent. While in a few areas we have achieved 90 per cent CAF, there are also areas like Hyderabad where we have still not collected any CAF.”

MSOs have especially struggled in areas like Hyderabad where there is no clear direction as to which areas of the region come under DAS areas. In September, TRAI had notified that cable subscribers in 38 cities across the country,TRAI had extended its deadline from September 20 to November 15. It had later increased that deadline as well to December 15.

MSOs ordered to deliver tariff packages

118 MSOs in India have been given clear instructions by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to deliver their tariff packages. The MSOs have been given less than a week to submit the details.

The authority has also given MSOs only 10 days to submit their interconnection agreements that was entered with the broadcasters for re-transmission of channels. Especially the ones entered with cable networks in DAS areas. The statement read, “Every MSO, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) and regulation 5, 8 & 9 of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulation, 2012 (No. 9 of 2012), is required to have such interconnection agreement in DAS areas.”

TRAI has been cracking down on both MSOs and LCOs lately. Most recently TRAI officials met up with Chennai based MSOs and warned action against them if they didn’t stop the transmission of analogue signals. There is also a problem with CAF forms as many MSOs in DAS regions are unable to complete them within the deadline stipulated by TRAI.

FetchTV looking to double its subscribers

Australia’s IPTV service, FetchTV, which recently announced that it has touched 100,000 subscribers is already looking forward to 2014, when the player is hoping to double its subscriber base. Fetch TV’s chief executive has noted that doubling its numbers would be the player’s number 1 priority.

Chief executive Scott Lorson said, ”We’ve made a very substantial investment in developing the platform over the last four or five years. But we will shift our focus from building to actually becoming a sales and marketing organisation in 2014. We’ve doubled our subscriber numbers in the past 12 months and we expect to double again inside of the same time frame. The run rate is there. If we’re growing at that rate without marketing then clearly there is an opportunity to increase that growth with greater advocacy and awareness.”

Fetch TV, was launched in 2010 with the backing of Malaysia’a  pay-TV giant Astro All Asia Networks. The group is planning on investing millions to increase public awareness of the IPTV service. Especially imperative as Australia’s Foxtel is planning on taking the market by storm by offering triple play to its subscribers starting 2014.

Magyar Telekom secures EU funding

Magyar Telekom has signed a long-term agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance its future fixed line and mobile broadband network development projects.

Under it, the telco will take out a loan of €200 million, or around HUF60 billion, from the bank through Deutsche Telekom as the financial intermediary, with the loan being denominated in HUF with a tenor of five years.

The network development projects to be financed by the loan will take place between 2014 and 2016.

Besides increasing coverage, they will expand the capacity of fixed line and mobile networks and develop the IT systems involved.

EIB is based in Luxembourg and the long-term lending institution of the EU.

Owned by member states, it makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

Connected TV device ownership to double by 2017

Internet Connectivity in TVs, Set-top Boxes, Other TV-connectable Devices to Reach 1.8 Billion over Next Four Years

BOSTON, MA — Predicting a future of increasingly connected living rooms with improving streaming capabilities, the global number of Connected TV Devices is set to grow from an average of just 0.5 per household in 2013 to 1.0 per household by 2017, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. The Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices (CHD) report, “Global Connected Devices Forecast 2008-2017,” predicts a five-year Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20 percent from 2012 to 2017 for these devices.

“Although AV devices have become increasingly overlooked by consumers in favor of infotainment devices such as Smartphones and Tablets, the integration of IP connectivity is breathing new life into the sector and creating new opportunities for vendors” says Eric Smith, analyst. “We see sustained growth in connected models of Flat Panel TVs, Set-top Boxes, DVRs, Digital Media Adapters (i.e. Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Sky NOW TV), and Blu-ray players. And although ownership of Games Consoles is expected to shrink from current highs as gaming becomes more casual and increasingly mobile, these powerful devices will continue to act as important multimedia hubs in the living room.”

The report also forecasts that globally, the average home will own 2.6 portable connected devices by 2017, up from 1.7 in 2013. Despite falling ownership levels of traditional notebook PCs, the global average number of mobile computing devices will reach one per household by 2017 thanks to rapid adoption of low cost tablets and new form factor laptops. Wi-Fi enabled Digital Cameras will also be a growth area as vendors look to facilitate easy uploading of images and videos to the Internet without the need to hook up the device to a PC. However, other singe function portable connected devices such as Portable Games Consoles, Portable Media Players, and E-book Readers will not fare so well as multi-functional devices such as Smartphones and Tablets cannibalize those dedicated product sectors.

Connected Home Devices Service Director, David Watkins adds, “Consumers are increasingly drawn to over-the-top (OTT) services in the home and on the go, so it’s not surprising to see shipments of connected devices rising year after year. Furthermore, vendors are looking to build in IP connectivity into devices that have traditionally been un-connected to garner higher retail sales prices but also take advantage of the expanded availability of and interest in OTT content. Accordingly, we see market retail value growth of connected CE devices doubling the pace of growth in the overall CE device market.”

2.5 million TV subscribers for Russia's ER-Telecom

ER-Telecom has announced that it has 2.51 million subscribers to its dom.ru cable and HDTV services. The company launched television on its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network in 2003 with 43 channels, signing up 20,000 customers in the first year.

dom.ru is now available in 56 Russian cities and provides 159 digital channels, 50 of which are in high definition.

Vivendi’s GVT abandons plan for pay TV joint venture

Vivendi’s Brazilian subsidiary GVT has ended discussions with US DTH provider EchoStar about launching a joint pay TV venture in South America’s largest country.

Vivendi said that it remains “firmly committed to accelerating the deployment of GVT’s pay TV business” and that  “GVT will be pursuing its active growth development in this field by its own”.

The partnership between GVT and EchoStar was announced just over two months ago. The pair planned to create a pay TV platform ahead of next year’s World Cup that would be controlled by GVT and would have made use of the its IP network as well as EchoStar’s expertise in satellite technology and video. EchoStar would also have contributed its licences in the country to create a hybrid platform delivered over the internet and via satellite.

Cisco commits to set-top business

Technology giant Cisco has outlined its commitment to its set-top box business, though said it would separate it out from its service provider operations to give a clearer indication of its performance.

In a conference with investors and financial analysts yesterday, Cisco president of development and sales, Robert Lloyd, said “we’re not getting out of set-top boxes,” claiming that customers moving from set-top to cloud-based delivery models are reliant on Cisco.

“We’re doubling down on the transition from a CPE [consumer premises equipment] to a cloud based delivery model,” he said.

However, Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers said that the company did plan to separate out its set-top and video business from its “regular service provider business” so that “when you compare [us] to our peers, you’re able to see what is our [comparative] growth.”

This came as Cisco admitted that its service provider division, which accounts for 31% of Cisco’s business had gone from positive growth of 7% to minus 13% growth – half of which was attributable to declines in set-tops.

Earlier this week Reuters reported that Chambers was facing growing pressure from investors ahead of its financial analysts conference to exit its set-top business due to declining revenue and poor profit margins.

In the meeting yesterday, Cisco cut its three-to five-year targets, with revenue growth now expected to be 3% to 6%, down from a previous 5% to 7%. Earnings growth was also adjusted down to 5% to 7% from 7% to 9%.

Dutch viewers embrace tablet TV

One our of every four Dutch viewers watch tablet TV, according to the Trends in Digitale Media study from GfK. This represents a growth of 50% compared with December 2012.

Tablet TV watching has grown from 16% to 24% during the past twelve months, while usage on laptops and PC remained stable at 30% and on smart phones at 8%

The TV-apps from Uitzending Gemist (NPO), YouTube and RTL XL are most used om tablets. These are also the most popular websites offering video.

One in three viewers said that they are using one or more VOD services, with KPN, UPC and iTunes most mentioned. 10% said they do not yet use VOD, but are interested in doing so.

Magyar Telekom buys cable nets

Magyar Telekom has announced that it has acquired nine small cable networks this year, spending a total of around HUF850 million (€2.8 million) in the process.

According to the company, the networks have a combined total of 33,000 subscribers and capability of offering triple-play services.

Commenting on the acquisitions, János Szabó, the telco’s CFO, said: “The nine successfully completed deals are an indication that Magyar Telekom’s acquisition activities have accelerated significantly this year. Thanks to the cable networks acquired, Telekom’s high-speed internet services reach 33,000 more households all over the country. As a result our acquisition activities contribute significantly to additions in Magyar Telekom’s customer base using fixed line services.”

Magyar Telekom says it expects to acquire more companies in Hungary’s cable and access market, which is in the process of consolidation.

Samsung licenses Reference Design Kit (RDK)

Samsung Brings Reference Design Kit Technology to Set-Top Box Line to Support Multiplatform Cable Entertainment

• RDK to enable accelerated development of next generation video services

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. — At The TV of Tomorrow Show 2013, Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced that it has licensed the Reference Design Kit (RDK) from RDK Management LLC in order to significantly accelerate the Set-Top Box (STB) and Gateway development cycle, and deliver a rich, multiplatform home entertainment experience.

The Reference Design Kit (RDK) is a pre-integrated software bundle developed and licensed to create a common framework for powering IP or hybrid Set-Top Boxes and gateway devices for CE manufacturers, system-on-a-chip (SoC) vendors, and other software developers, system integrators and TV service providers. The RDK was developed to accelerate the deployment of next-generation video services and prevent software fragmentation by providing speed-to-market, collaboration and standardization. Supported by more than 100 licensees, RDK Management, LLC was formed as a joint venture between Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable to administer the RDK.

“As a leading provider of Pay TV CPE worldwide, Samsung recognizes the value of a common platform,” said Stephen Goldstein, Vice President and General Manager, STB at Samsung Electronics America’s Enterprise Business Division. “The RDK allows Samsung to deliver devices to operators faster and with broader scale. Samsung has already begun deploying Set-Top Boxes based on the RDK and we look forward to more RDK-based projects in the United States and abroad.”

“One of our goals with the RDK program is to accelerate development of an advanced software solution throughout the industry, which allows MVPD’s the opportunity to provide enhanced user experiences across a broad set of STB, gateway, and SoC platforms,” said Steve Heeb, President and General Manager of RDK Management, LLC. “Samsung’s support of the RDK helps expand it as a global platform available to operators around the world.”

Polsat outflanks TVP to win sports rights

Polsat has won the rights to the Polish national team’s qualifiers for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, as well as Euro 2016, which will be hosted in France.

In doing so, it has drawn a bitter response from the Polish public broadcaster TVP, which was also hoping to secure the rights.

In a statement, Polsat says that the games will be shown by both Cyfrowy Polsat and Telewizja Polsat, as well as online by ipla and on mobile devices by Plus.

TVP meanwhile says that it was unable to secure the rights, for which Polsat is reported to have paid €35 million, on financial grounds.

Indeed, the €35 million figure is equivalent to half the revenues TVP obtains from receiver licence fees each year.

Moreover, as TVP points out, only 10% of its viewers choose to pay these fees, compared to the between 50% to over 90% that other public broadcasters obtain.

However, TVP also says it has already secured rights to a number of upcoming major sporting events.

In football alone, they include the World Cup in Brazil (2014), Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022).

Philippines officially announces its intent to go digital

After a series of consultations with stakeholders and members from the Administration’s Economic Team, the National Telecommunications Commission as well as broadcasters, it has finally been announced that Philippines  will very much be adopting digital broadcasting going forward and will formally start the shift from analogue to digital signals.

In doing so, the country will be joining  other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States in going digital. What also may not come as a surprise is the fact the country will be adopting the system developed by Japan. It will be using Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) system. This system will ensure clear broadcasts even in remote areas of the country.

One of the main decisions as to why Philippines chose the Japanese model is because like Japan, Philippines is also a nation prone to natural disasters. And the country believes that Japan has been able to successfully mobilise its population during disasters and thus save thousands of lives, a model Philippines is eager to replicate.

Chinese TV station to launch in Cambodia

Yunnam Digital TV Corporation, which is based out of China, might soon be starting out a new venture and setting up a new TV station in Cambodia. Reports have emerged that Yu Hua, deputy director of the company has already met with the  Minister of Information in Cambodia - Khieu Kanharith. 

If given the green light, the company plans on moving ahead fast and starting broadcasting “soon” according to newspaper reports in Cambodia. The player will start by broadcasting in Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham, Siem Reap and Battambang provinces. It has also been learnt that the station will broadcast in both Khmer and Chinese languages.

However the local industry in Cambodia’s fledgling market is being both optimistic and cautious about the advent of foreign investment into the TV industry of Cambodia. CEO of One TV Vora Ouk said, “I am not sure if Yunnan Mobile have an advertising business model or a subscriber business model. But in the end television depends more on the content . If they are serious about quality content and a permanent investment, it can be a good investment. Cambodia’s television market is small and a very easy market to penetrate.”

Comigo Plus enriches KartinaTV eperience

Comigo and KartinaTV have expanded their partnership which began in January 2013 when Comigo began to provide KartinaTV with its TV platform.

Under the expanded collaboration, Comigo will provide its new generation set-top-box, Comigo Plus, to Kartina TV, an OTT service provider that delivers Russian-language television to Russian speakers outside of the Russian Federation. The new features include a fast set up process, a new channel display and catch up features which enable viewers to watch content from the last two weeks and to watch the show from the exact point they stopped watching it using Comigo’s bookmark.

The product will also include a new remote control. It is the fastest second purchase order by KartinaTV and further strengthens its partnership with Comigo.

“We are delighted to continue working with Comigo. Its unique TV solution ensures our customers get the personalized viewer experience they’ve always wanted, and we are excited to improve the customer experience even further with an abundance of new capabilities this new product will bring,” explained Alexander Cofman, head of client products and R&D, KartinaTV.

“Our strategic partnership will help us to retain our Russian language audience in Germany, expand to the US market and win even more customers across the world.”

“Our solution has a very intuitive and simple user interface delivering television, access to Internet and is a fully functioning social platform,” commented Joseph Deutsch, VP Sales, Comigo.

“We are pleased that KartinaTV has chosen Comigo’s solution to provide their viewers a superb TV experience. Together we will launch new services and deliver additional new features and capabilities enabled by our platform.”

Sky-D holds Champions League

Sky Deutschland has been awarded the live broadcast rights to the UEFA Champions League in Germany through until 2018.

The cross-platform rights include satellite, cable, IPTV, web and mobile. The new deal runs from the 2015/16 season through to 2017/18. Sky-D will show 146 matches live per season, 128 of them exclusively, from the play-offs to the final including the UEFA Super Cup.

Carsten Schmidt, chief officer sports, advertising sales and internet, Sky Deutschland said: “The UEFA Champions League is a source of great drama and incredible stories. Memories of the final in Munich in 2012 and the German-German final in Wembley in 2013 continue to resonate with the football fans for months and years after the match. As the official TV partner in Germany, we are thrilled to continue sharing these stories on Sky.”

Sky also currently shows the Bundesliga, the 2nd Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Europa League and the English Premier League live.

It’s UK compatriot BSkyB was not so fortunate; losing live Champions League rights from the start of 2015/16.

Georgian DTH platform launches

The new Georgian DTH platform Global TV, which is distributed by Eutelsat 36B from the 36 degrees East slot, has made its debut.

According to Satkurier, it is initially showing just four channels – 1TV and 2TV, which belong Georgian Public Broadcasting, Maestro and Maestro 24 – but will in due course add other Georgian, and international, services to its offer.

Global TV is operated by JSC Global Contact Limited and may in due course become the main competitor to Black Sea Sat, a platform distributed by Turksat from the 42 degrees East position.

Global TV was first announced by Eutelsat in March this year.

DTT reception grows in Poland

Nearly one in for homes in Poland is now watching DTT services despite DTH still being the most popular form of digital TV reception.

Quoting data produced by TNS Polska for the public broadcaster TVP, Gazeta Wyborcza reports that as of this November 41% of homes, or one percentage more than in April, received DTH services, while 30%, or four percent more than in April, opted for cable.

DTT meanwhile grew from 13% to 23% over the same period, with the country having completed ASO in July.

A further 2% chose to receive FTA DTH services. Following ASO, one in ten viewers decided to stop receiving DTH or cable, while 81% chose to continue receiving their existing offers.

At the same time, 30% decided to opt for a service other than DTT. Although the majority opted for DTH, this also included FTA DTH, cable and IPTV.

Most homes (74%) questioned in the study had only one TV set, while one in five said that had 2+ and 3% were without one.

TRAI holds open house for DTH players and stakeholders

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) held an open house to talk about various issues pertaining to DTH players in India. Representatives from the country’s DTH players as well as TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar spoke about the DTH guidelines as they exist currently. Khullar noted that the regulatory body plans on completely revising the DTH guidelines.

Khullar during the discussion has noted that players should also make their subscribers a big part of their consideration. He said that subscribers should be given the option of using the same STBs if they choose to change their service providers. But if the players are not interested in such a move, then according to Khullar, subscribers should be given the option of returning the STBs and getting money back.

TRAI has been soliciting views and opinions from the DTH industry for a few months now. IN October it released a consultation paper and in November it went on to releasing a supplementary paper on the issues. One of the biggest sources of contention has been the validity of DTH licences, which up until now has been 10 years. The body had also asked stakeholders from the industry to send in their views. The open house was the next step before coming out with fresh guidelines.

India's Fastway orders 1 million Conax secure clients

Fastway upgrades to Conax Contego™ – orders additional 1 million Conax secure clients to monetize on North India digitization

• Punjab-based MSO strengthens commitment to security partner Conax to further capitalize on DTH digitization and position for expanding pay-TV universe

MUMBAI — Conax, a leading global provider of solutions for securing digital video content distribution on all networks and devices, today announced that Fastway Transmissions PvL is upgrading to a flagship Conax Contego™ platform, furthering its commitment to content security partner, Conax. Additionally, the Indian MSO has also recently signed a contract for 1 million additional clients from Conax to position for capitalizing on the next phase of digitization in Northern India. Fastway Digital TV Services provides digital and analogue cable TV services in North India, including a colorful bouquet of 353 digital and 30 radio channels. The flexible, robust solution from Conax will guide Fastway Digital Services in smooth digital migration and creation of secure, future-oriented business models for growing its content revenues.

The Conax Contego™ Broadcast platform solution will enable Fastway to navigate the challenges of digitization, while harnessing the opportunities provided by the digital roll-out, such as new pay-TV content packages and easy upgrade to multiscreen and over-the-top business models in the future. Fastway provides services to end consumer in Punjab, Himachal, Pradesh, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Set-top-box partner, Digital Telemedia, one of largest STB vendors and CATV solution providers, is providing the Fastway with best quality STBs to enable mass roll-out of new boxes and secure clients for capturing the next wave of Indian digitization.

Mr. Gurdeep Singh, Managing Director, Fastway Transmissions, “Through our partnership with Conax we aim to provide enhanced, flexible services to our customers and secure another 1 million subscribers in the next phase of Punjab digitalisation. Key factors for our strong relationship with security partner Conax include expert guidance, flexible, future-oriented solutions, India based 24/7 support service, long experience in digitization and strong proven security track record in both India and around the globe. Additionally, Conax offers us short-time-to-market, a range of security-certified client devices and easy migration to advanced consumer offerings in the future.

Are Mathisen, VP Asia Sales, Conax, “Conax is delighted Fastway has chosen to further strengthen our strong relationship with the upgrade to Conax Contego™ Broadcast. Fastway’s vision and highly skilled team has been key role in developing a roadmap for capturing new market share and harnessing the potential offered by the digital landscape. The benchmark Conax Contego security platform provides Fastway operations with access to a broad portfolio of sophisticated, yet easy to deploy, scalable solutions for building a strong foundation for subscriber and revenue growth during this exciting digitization phase and into the future.”

Mr. Huang Wei, Global Marketing and Sales Director, Digital Telemedia, “DTM is delighted to further strengthen its partnership with Conax together with Indian customer, Fastway. We are glad to see this business model can create great success in bringing the ongoing digitalization process in North India to a new era.”

Flexible media consumption in a secure, future-proof world

Conax Contego Broadcast™ is a world-class security solution for protecting one-way broadcast operations. Featuring an easy to use and highly intuitive management system, Conax Contego Broadcast™ includes comprehensive support for Subscription, Pairing, Fingerprinting and Messaging, with optional DRM control and Pay-per-View. Operators can easily upgrade to the advanced Conax Contego™ Unite of Xtend editions to introduce an array of advanced consumer offerings for flexible multiscreen and Over-the-Top content distribution.

South Africa to switch on digital TV by April 1, 2014

South Africa’s Ministry of Communications has announced that it intends to update the schedule in its Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy.

“The switch-on of the digital television signal will take place by 01 April 2014. The date for switch-off of the analogue terrestrial signal will be determined by the Minister of Communications after engaging with the Cabinet and the relevant stakeholders.

National broadcasting digital signal coverage shall cover 84 percent of the population by March 2014. Areas that may be deemed difficult or uneconomical to reach will be covered by DTH satellite using DVB-S2 technology”

Telefonica losing Pay TV share in key Latin American markets

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Spanish group Telefónica, which has leveraged its Latin American operations in recent years to help compensate for poor performance in its economically-troubled domestic market, is struggling to keep up with the growth rates of rival operators in the region, according to new research from Dataxis.

Telefónica has gradually been losing market share in both high-speed internet access and pay television – two of its key communications services in South America, where it also operates fixed and mobile telephony networks. Between December 2009 and March 2013, the group’s residential broadband operations have seen market share fall by 9 percentage points in Brazil, 5.2 points in Peru, 5 points in Chile, 2.6 points in Argentina and 1.9 points in Colombia, according to Dataxis.

In the pay-TV business, which Telefonica addresses through multiple satellite (DTH), cable, IPTV and OTT systems, the company has seen its market share diminish from 5% of total Latin American subscriptions in 2007 to 4.4% by June 2013. During the same period, the region’s largest pay-TV operator (DIRECTV Latin America) increased its market share by 11.2 percentage points (from 17.2% to 28.5% of regional accounts), while Luxembourg-based Millicom International has grown its pay-TV customers from zero to 1.2% of the market in less than five years.

“The first five reports from our Operator Profile Series have revealed a worrisome picture for Telefonica’s long-term ambitions in Latin America,” said Juan Pablo Conti, Senior Analyst at Dataxis, and author of four of the reports. “At a time when the demand for both residential broadband and pay-TV services keeps growing solidly in the region, Telefonica might at first sight appear to be benefitting because its customer base is expanding. However, it is not expanding as fast as rival established operators such as DIRECTV (in pay TV) and America Movil (both in pay TV and broadband). Even new entrants such as Millicom are starting to eat into Telefonica’s pay-TV and broadband market shares,” Conti added.

A key reason behind Telefonica’s modest growth rate in Latin America is its strategic decision to deploy broadband and pay-TV services only in the geographic areas of each country where the Spanish telco operates as the incumbent telephony operator. Indeed, in the only service for the only country where this general rule was not observed (the Movistar DTH pay-TV service in Venezuela), Telefonica has enjoyed the fastest growth rate for any of its multiple telecommunications services deployed anywhere around the world.

NBTC to announce qualifying bidders

Thailand’s long anticipated digital TV auction seems right around the corner with the regulatory body National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission expected to finally announce the names of the qualifying bidders for the 24 digital terrestrial TV licences on December 9th.

With names of the qualified bidders nearly announced, the auction is now likely to happen between December 20 and December 27. A source privy to the auction said, “The committee is expected to call for the bid during December 20 to 27, earlier than previously expected. It is also considering the possibility of organising a bid for two TV-licence categories on the same day in order to speed up the process.”

There are 29 companies who had submitted 41 applications for the 24 licences. For the seven SD variety channels that are up for auction there are 16 companies who have submitted bid documents. There are nine firms who will be bidding for the seven HD variety channel.Once the bidding is over, the channels themselves will be launched in the first quarter of 2014.

Telefonica Digital, Telstra invest in cloud specialist Box

Telefonica Digital and Telstra have announced they are making strategic investments in cloud company Box.

The investments by the two operators are part of a wider announcement by US-based Box, which is looking to expand globally.

The company, which provides online file sharing and cloud content management service for businesses, has more than 20 million users worldwide.

The announcement includes commercial agreements with a number of Japanese companies ahead of its official launch in the company next year. In total, it has raised €73 million in new funding.

"The combination of cloud and mobile technologies creates an entirely new way of working that will fundamentally reshape the IT industry," commented Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO, Box.

"Our new partners will help us connect and work with businesses in key global markets as they manage this transition."

Telefónica has 320 million customers across Europe and Latin America, while Telstra an international presence spanning 15 countries.

"We know how much our customers, both large and small, value the convenience and flexibility of cloud storage, and Box is the clear leader in this space," said Tracy Isacke, Telefonica Digital's Executive Vice President of Investment and Business Development.

"We look forward to working with Box as an investor and partner to bring the best possible cloud-based products and services to our customers."

Telstra Ventures MD Mark Sherman said his company was investing globally “to build relationships and cultivate the new technologies and applications” and highlighted Box’s focus on security and mobility for the enterprise.

Earlier this week, Turk Telecom announced it has selected HP’s cloud solution as it looks to boost its IT services offering for the enterprise market.

Global Takeoff to roll out OTT services in India

Come 2014, the Hyderabad-based Global Takeoff, which is a provider of converged digital entertainment, communication and advertising, will be rolling out OTT services tailor made for the Indian market. The OTT content will be provided through YuppTV.com.

Global Takeoff’s chairman and chief executive officer Uday Reddy said, “The product, which will be integrated with an STB, will be ready by the second quarter of 2014. We are working out the modalities of pricing, which will probably be on a par with the current Indian direct-to-home or cable price points. OTT services are the way the future of TV is seen now. We, however, will be a little cautious in the first year of launch as there are still challenges in terms of broadband deployment in India.”

YuppTV.com currently offers 150 Indian channels. It has offer 600 movies in its repertoire. It has a reach of over six million viewers from across the world and is popular mostly with the Indian diaspora in countries like Canada, Europe and the US. The OTT services will be introduced in the third quarter of 2014.

Com Hem subscribers down 2,700 in 3Q 2013

Com Hem has reported results for the third quarter of 2013. During the quarter the number of digital television subscriptions decreased by 2,700 (-0.4 percent) to 603,000 subscriptions, a decrease of 9,700 since the end of the third quarter of 2012.

Number of subscribers:

              Q3 2013  Q2 2013  Q1 2013  Q4 2012  Q3 2012
              -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Digital TV    603,000  605,700  613,300  611,700  612,700

On September 30, 2013, Com Hem’s next generation Set-Top-Box powered by TiVo was made available to purchase via Com Hem´s sales channels. In conjunction Com Hem also announced four new digital-television packages, replacing the old digital-television packages.

On October 7, 2013, TiVo was commercially launched, together with the cloud based service TiVoToGo. On October 7, 2013, Com Hem also announced that the Netflix-app will be available for digital-television subscribers with a TiVo Inc. Set-Top-Box, as of December 2013.

Astro B.yond has 2.7 million subscribers

Malaysia’s top integrated consumer media entertainment group Astro, has announced that it has 2.7 million subscribers for its Astro B.yond platform. That’s nearly 80% of all its pay TV subscribers have migrated to the B.yond platform.

Astro’s chief executive officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan said, “This is our peak reinvestment year as we aim to not only grow our customer base but to swap the majority of our tenured customers onto the Astro B.yond platform. The Astro B.yond platform sets the stage for us to launch value added products and services, as well as to deliver content via over-the-top and Internet Protocol. The strong take up of these products and services have gained traction and will underpin sustainable ARPU (average revenue per user) growth.”

Astro’s pay TV subscriber base is now 3.78 million subscribers with an increase of 43,000 new subscribers. In case of Astro’s own subscription-free satellite TV service, NJOI which was launched in 2012, the subscriber base grew by 68,000 to a total of 382,000. Astro now has a reach to about 55% of all Malaysian households.

Raduga TV takes evasive action

The Russian DTH platform Raduga TV may have found a way to avoid the threat of criminal proceedings initiated by the federal executive authority Roskomnadzor.

According to AKTR and tdaily, it has registered what will be two proprietary channels – Raduga 24, which will be information-based, and Otbornoe TV – and will now seek to obtain licences for them.

By registering the channels, Raduga TV, which is jointly owned by Modern Times Group (MTG) and Continental Multimedia, will hope to circumvent the threat from Roskomnadzor, demonstrating that it is operating within a licensed framework despite allegedly not having a licence for satellite TV broadcasting.

Most other DTH platforms, including the market leader Tricolor TV and NTV-Plus, the longest established, already have a large portfolio of proprietary channels.