Thursday, June 30, 2016

Changes continue at Skylink

The M7 Group-owned DTH platform Skylink plans to introduce a number of important changes to its offer in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
According to Parabola, the first will see the withdrawal of the option for customers with a decoder card to pay for the service fee for a period of 24 months in Slovakia, though this will remain in place in the Czech Republic.
The second will be an increase in the fees charged for the mini packages CS Film and CS Mini.
As of August 1, the cost of receiving the two will increase from CZK99
(€3.68) to CZK109 in the Czech Republic and €3.60 to €4.10 in Slovakia.
Parabola notes that this will represent the third price increase for Skylink services this year, with the second one due to come into effect in July.

Probe into South African pay-TV

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has launched an inquiry into the country’s subscription television services.
It says it wants to define what constitute’s pay television in South Africa and the effect it has on adjacent markets including free-to-air services and new technologies.
South Africa has two operators; Multichoice/DSTV and StarSat, the former Top TV. There’s concern within the body at how few players there are in the market despite several being licensed.
“It is important for the Authority to understand the challenges faced by new market entrants so that it can address the regulatory impediments where required, and create an enabling environment for the introduction of competition,” said committee chair Katharina Pillay. “The Digital Terrestrial TV environment will create new opportunities for market entry. However, the opportunities can only be exploited in a market that enables competition.”
Multichoice owner Naspers has this week announced a freeze on prices as it feels the pressure from cash-strapped survivors on the continent as a whole.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

TRAI ISSUED CONSULTATION PAPER ON MOBILE TV AND DTT

Doordarshan (DD) has been the sole public broadcaster till date in India. This fact is about to change with the Digital Terrestrial Transmission allowing private players to be part of the public broadcasting. Consultation paper has been issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Actually, those papers show the benefits of the shift to digital from analogue and the fact that the paper has been issued to mobile TV, it will result in a greater viewership reach. Positioned among the biggest terrestrial television networks worldwide, with a network of 1142 analogue transmitters proffering through two national channels; DD News and DD National, its TV services.
In addition, all of its TV channels being free-to-air (FTA), DD network further airs numerous home-grown TV channels, in attempt to keep close to its audience, in need of both local and international content in the different parts of the country.
However, despite all the efforts being done in the digitalisation process in India, TRAI specified that a clear roadmap is still not available.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Portugal adds 28,000 pay TV subscribers in 1Q 2016

Tuesday, June 21st, 2016 
ANACOM logo
LISBON — According to Portugal’s Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), there were 3.545 million subscribers to subscription TV in the country at the end of the first quarter of 2016, 28,000 more than in the previous quarter, and an extra 150,000 (+4.4 percent) compared to the same point in 2015.
At the end of March, cable TV represented 38.0 percent of total subscribers, with DTH comprising 17.1 percent, and xDSL/IP making up 20.8 percent. Optical fibre (FTTH/B) continued to add share accounting for 24.1 percent of all subscribers.
Subscription television service subscribers by technology (Units: 1000 subscribers; %)
                                                             Quarterly      Annual
                           15Q1   15Q2   15Q3   15Q4   16Q1  variation   variation
                          -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  ---------  ----------
Cable (Cabo)              1,360  1,354  1,353  1,347  1,345         -2  -15  -1.1%
DTH                         604    607    609    610    607         -3    3   0.5%
FTTH/B                      671    715    761    812    854         42  184  27.4%
xDSL/IP                     760    755    751    748    738         -9  -21  -2.8%
                          -----  -----  -----  -----  -----  ---------  ----------
Total                     3,395  3,431  3,473  3,517  3,545         28  150   4.4%
Evolution of Pay TV Subscriptions By Technology - Portugal
Source: ANACOM
Shares of subscription TV subscribers (Units: %)
                           15Q1    15Q2    15Q3    15Q4    16Q1
                         ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Grupo NOS                 43.8%   43.7%   43.7%   43.8%   44.0%
Grupo Altice*                 -   47.1%   41.1%   40.7%   40.2%
 MEO                          -   41.5%   41.1%   40.7%   40.2%
 Cabovisão                 6.0%    5.7%       -       -       -
PT Comunicações/MEO       41.9%       -       -       -       -
Cabovisão                     -       -    5.4%    5.1%    4.9%
Vodafone                   8.2%    9.0%    9.6%   10.2%   10.7%
Other providers            0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.2%    0.1%
* Altice was required to sell Cabovisão by the competition authorities in order to receive approval for its takeover of MEO.

new Viasat Russian operation emerges

TV1000 Russian KinoNational Media Group (NMG) has finalised the acquisition of an 80% stake in Viasat’s Russian pay-TV business.
RNS reports that the joint venture between the two companies will control all Viasat’s Russian channels, which include TV1000, TV1000 Action, TV1000 Russian Cinema and the Viasat Premium HD package.
It adds that the new joint venture will be headed by Alexei Krol.
The majority stake in Viasat’s Russian pay-TV channels were initially acquired by Anatoly Karyakin, the owner of the ad company Gallery, in October 2015.
The sale was undertaken ahead of new rules limiting the foreign ownership of media companies in Russia that came into effect at the beginning of this year.
NMG now finds itself one of the leading players in Russia’s pay-TV industry.

Cardless CA systems still need hardware



anyCASTCardless conditional access systems must still fallback on hardware as part of their defence against possibly malicious attacks, says a new White Paper.
Cardless Without Compromise, produced by security specialists Nagra and available from the Broadband TV Newswebsite says leading academics agree that software-based systems are not fully robust against tampering and reverse engineering.
The solution must rely on systems that use a combination of proprietary key ladders and algorithms, and not on the standard E TSI key ladder, which as an open standard is more vulnerable to attack.
The White Paper traces the evolution of the cardless system since the launch of the first multi-channel IPTV service by Kingston Interactive Television (KIT) in the UK in 1999 and the format’s subsequent acceptance on one-way systems such as satellite.
It was once thought that the closed nature of IPTV networks provided some protection against content theft by the nature of the network architecture itself, meaning that the IPTV security solutions did not historically need to be as robust as their broadcast counterparts. However, this is beginning to change with high-profile attacks against media companies like Sony and others.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

beIN and Technicolor deliver MENA's first 4k UHD satellite receiver

Thursday, June 16th, 2016 
Technicolor logo
beIN and Technicolor Deliver First 4k Ultra HD Satellite Receiver to Homes in the Middle East and North Africa in Time for UEFA Euro 2016
  • beIN MEDIA Group has integrated Technicolor’s 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) technology into its broadcast platform for the Middle East and North Africa
PARIS, France — Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH; OTCQX: TCLRY), a worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector, announced today that global media and entertainment leader beIN MEDIA Group has integrated Technicolor’s 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) technology into its broadcast platform for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The 4K rollout—the first ever in the MENA region—comes just in time for UEFA EURO 2016 football tournament, and TV viewers will be able watch seven matches of the football tournament as never before, in sharper, more vibrant and more realistic imagery.
4K UHD technology displays images at over eight million pixels (3,840 x 2,160), providing pictures with an ultra-high resolution. By integrating Technicolor’s high-end 4K media server set top box technology into the beIN 4K UHD receiver, beIN is broadcasting UEFA Euro’s four quarter-final matches, the semi-final matches and the final championship match in 4K. beIN will broadcast 4K matches on a dedicated channel called “beIN 4K.” Plans are already in motion for beIN to deliver a steady supply of 4K content through partnerships with other entertainment and sports entities.
“This launch illustrates beIN’s commitment to deliver advanced, high-quality and innovative sports and entertainment to our customers in the MENA region. It shows the leadership role the region is playing in adopting the latest technologies for home entertainment and how beIN is shaping entertainment in MENA region,” said Yousef Al Obaidly, Deputy CEO of beIN MEDIA Group.
Technicolor’s 4K technology not only provides 4K UHD resolution to homes in the MENA region, it also includes a single layer transmission technology that uses 10-bit HEVC encode/decode so content can be rendered on any television, whether it is 4K capable or not. In addition, there is built-in WiFi and satellite support as well as a powerful, integrated hard disk that optimizes beIN’s 4K UHD receiver. This means the solution from beIN and Technicolor can act as a home server for multiple viewing devices.

“beIN’s partnership with Technicolor will accelerate the arrival of next generation of visual experiences that provide explosive, multi-media and immersive entertainment. We are excited to work with such a technology-driven company,” said Mercedes Pastor, President of Technicolor Connected Home, EMEA.

PEMRA IN PAKISTAN ISSUES DTH LICENSE APPLICATIONS

Registered companies are invited to send their applications for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV distribution service licenses, for a period of 15 years, as revealed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). The names of successful bidders will be proclaimed by October.

By mid-August, all the interested companies should have already submitted their applications, with a demand draft or pay order of INR500000 (7406.32 USD); the amount being non-refundable. By September, shortlisted companies will be called upon to take part in the bidding process to issue the DTH license.

Furthermore, companies who have already handed their applications last year may not apply again as they have already been shortlisted but nonetheless, they will need to hand appropriate documents needed in the participation. Not that the enfolding of the DTH services country wise, will uplift the sector of broadcasting and the generation of content will also be enhanced. Illegal TV broadcasting will as well be better controlled with the development of the native digital TV services.

To recall, PEMRA has the responsibility to improve the standards of information, education and entertainment and to expand the choice available to the people of Pakistan not excluding news, current affairs, religious knowledge, art and culture without forgetting science and technology.

Big Screen TV shipments surge in China

Big Screen TV Shipments Surge in China as Prices Drop Sharply, IHS Says
  • 55-inch-and-larger LCD TV shipments in China increased at more than double the global average in the first quarter of 2016, significantly higher than North America
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Demand in the Chinese market for TVs with screen sizes 55-inches and larger remains strong, as sharply declining prices in the category fuel consumer upgrade activity. With many new Chinese TV brands offering steep discounts, shipments of big-screen TVs in China increased nearly 80 percent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the previous year, which is more than twice the level of global growth. As a result, large-screen TV shipments in China rose from 2.1 million units in the first quarter of 2015 to reach 3.8 million units in the first quarter of this year, according to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight.
Nearly two-thirds of big-screen TV shipments in China in the first quarter of 2016 were 4K TV models, as 4K TV prices for 55-inch and larger sizes declined more than 36 percent, year over year. Some very aggressive brands in China offered 65-inch 4K TVs for less than $900 in the first quarter, well below the average global price of more than $1,700. These aggressively low prices are helping fuel the growth of some new brands in the Chinese market, such as LeTV and other streaming-TV brands.
IHS - Large TV Shipments Q1 2016 - North America and China
“North America has traditionally been viewed as the key region for large-screen TV growth, owing to the region’s long history of leading global average sizes,” said Paul Gagnon, director of TV sets research for IHS Technology. “However, in recent years China has surpassed North America in terms of average TV size, and the country has enjoyed much stronger growth in the 55-inch-and-larger category in the past year, even surpassing North America’s share of large-screen TVs.”
Although global TV shipments in the first quarter of 2016 fell 2 percent, to 49.1 million units, key categories like 4K TV and large-screen TVs are critical to the stability of revenue and profits for global TV brands. The global 4K TV market grew 99 percent year over year in the first quarter of this year, reaching 9.3 million units (19 percent of units shipped). At the same time, the average TV screen size globally increased to a new high of 40.6-inches. The average screen size of TV shipments in China also reached a new high of nearly 45-inches in the first quarter.


Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Ukraine opens DTT tender

Ukraine’s National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council has approved the tender conditions for the award of a cultural and education channel on the country’s fifth multiplex (MX-5), which uses the DVB-T2 standard.
One of the conditions is a requirement for the channel to be broadcast 100% in Ukrainian.
Applications will be accepted from July 25, with the deadline set at 17.00 on August 23. Results of the contest will be announced on October 24.
As previously reported in Broadband TV News, the slot on the multiplex was formerly occupied by a channel named BTB, which had its licence withdrawn by the regulator.

Changes continue at Telekom Romania

Hrvatski TelekomTelekom Romania has tightened up the management of NextGen Communications, a wholly owned cable operator and part of the Deutsche Telekom group.
Quoting the Official Gazette, Hotnews reports that it has reduced the number of board members from four to three, with Andreas Rolf Grunewald, one of the board members brought in by Nikolai Beckers, the former CEO of Telekom Romania, leaving the company on April 30.
Telekom Romania has also modified the articles of incorporation of NextGen, which will now be managed by only three administrators.
NextGen has a national network in over 30 cities and 200 rural locations.
Its losses last year amounted to RON4,637,119 (€1,020,000), down from RON14,105,144 in 2014.
Telekom Romania has been headed by Miroslav Mojoros since earlier this year.

ARRIS Completes Pace Acquisition

SUWANEE, Ga.Jan. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ARRIS International plc (NASDAQ: ARRS), the new parent company of ARRIS Group, Inc., today completed its $2.1B (£1.4B) acquisition of Pace plc – combining the two companies' strengths in entertainment and communications delivery.
The transaction combines the strengths of both companies on a global scale—broadening ARRIS's worldwide CPE leadership with a competitive stake in satellite communications; leveraging new synergies in telco TV; expanding its cloud, network, home, and services portfolio; and increasing its collaboration with the world's leading service providers. In addition to CPE, the combination further establishes ARRIS as a global leader in HFC/Optics, complementing its established CMTS leadership position.
ARRIS acquired Pace with a combination of stock and cash. The newly combined company is incorporated in the U.K., with operational and worldwide headquarters remaining in Suwanee, GA, USA. ARRIS International's shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol ARRS. ARRIS shareholders will own approximately 76 percent of the new company, with former Pace shareholders owning the remaining 24 percent. Based on current information, including the closing price for the ARRIS Group shares on January 4, initial analysis indicates that the transaction will not be taxable to U.S. holders of the former ARRIS Group shares. However, final information regarding the aggregate stockholder basis as of the closing of the transaction in the former ARRIS Group shares and applicable earnings and profits will not be available for some time, and the current expectation as to the taxable nature of the transaction may change. ARRIS will communicate and post on the investor relations portion of its web site any changes in the determination, and the final determination will be made and announced by ARRIS following the end of the 2016 tax year.
"ARRIS is investing in our industry's next stage of growth. This acquisition enables us to scale our leadership and innovation to transform global entertainment and communications for millions of people," said Bob Stanzione, Chairman and CEO of ARRIS. "Our combined organization unites two of the strongest leadership and engineering teams in the industry—giving us the scale, expertise, and technology to make ARRIS, more than ever before, the partner of choice for the world's leading service providers. Together with our customers, we're creating a world of connected, personalized entertainment and communications that blend seamlessly into our everyday lives."
Bob Stanzione will lead the combined organization as Chairman and CEO. The ARRIS Board of Directors will remain unchanged. 
About the AcquisitionThe acquisition is expected to create $0.65 – $0.75 Non-GAAP EPS accretion in the next 12 months. ARRIS expects to benefit from improved product, company, and operational expenditures, a reduced tax rate, and a strong, flexible balance sheet.
ARRIS will provide additional information on its February 17th earnings call.
About ARRISARRIS International plc (NASDAQ: ARRS) is a world leader in entertainment and communications technology. Our innovations combine hardware, software, and services across the cloud, network, and home to power TV and Internet for millions of people around the globe. The people of ARRIS collaborate with the world's top service providers, content providers, and retailers to advance the state of our industry and pioneer tomorrow's connected world. Together, we are inventing the future. For more information, visit www.arris.com.
For the latest ARRIS news:
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the taxability of the transaction and the expected benefits, including the expected non-GAAP EPS accretion. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date of the document and may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may", "will", "expects", "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "estimates", "projects", "targets", "forecasts", "outlook", "impact", "potential", "confidence", "improve", "optimistic", "deliver", "comfortable", "trend" and "seeks", or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the failure to realize the expected benefits of the combination, additional information available only after the transaction close that may impact the taxable nature of the transaction to stockholders, significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities, changes in tax laws or their interpretation or application, regulations, rates and policies, customer reaction to the combination, general economic and business conditions that affect the combined company, changes in global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces, future exchange and interest rates, future business combinations or disposals and competitive developments. These factors are not intended to be an all-encompassing list of risks and uncertainties. Additional information regarding these and other factors can be found in ARRIS's reports filed with the SEC, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2015 filed by ARRIS Group, Inc. (as predecessor to ARRIS International) and the Form S-4 (file no. 333-205442) filed by ARRIS. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. The factors described in the context of such forward-looking statements in this release could cause ARRIS's plans for the combined company, actual results, performance or achievements, industry results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although it is believed that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct and persons reading this document are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as at the date of this document. ARRIS expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.
ARRIS and the ARRIS Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARRIS Enterprises, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © ARRIS Enterprises, Inc. 2016. All rights reserved.

SOURCE ARRIS Group, Inc.

Skylink outlines hybrid box plans

The leading Czech and Slovak DTH platform Skylink is likely to start selling its hybrid set-top boxes this summer, with a promotional campaign taking place in the autumn.

Speaking to Parabola, Jaromir Glisnik, a member of the board at M7 Group, added that testing of the receivers is coming to an end, with some bugs still to be ironed out.

The first delivery of the receivers has already taken place in the Czech Republic. The receivers use the company’s own Evo platform, with the first manufacturer being Samsung.

According to Glisnik, the advantage of the platform is that it allows for the virtually unlimited scalability of services provided over the internet.

The company will carefully evaluate which are in demand, with the most successful ones then being incorporated into the platform.

Glisnik said that Skylink Live apps would allow its services to be accessed on mobile devices.

He also said that several variants of receiver could be introduced as the Evo platform expands.

In due course, Skylink services could be aimed beyond its DTH subscriber base to IPTV customers.

Separately, Skylink is making the movie channel AXN available to its subscribers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia on July 1.

DTT TO PRIVATE OPERATORS UNDER PRESSURE

Digital terrestrial transmission (DTT) to private players was already agreed by Prasar Bharati, the largest public broadcasting agency in India, comprising of Doordarshan Television Network. However, nothing could be finalised because of internal pressure.
Jawhar Sircar, the chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati said: “We had approved of DTT and allowing private players also to participate over a year back, but had faced resistance internally from certain quarters”.
On the other hand, if private players were permitted to DTT, they would have lacked the facilities accessible to Prasar Bharati only. Consequently, Sircar revealed: “Either the private players would have to invest in (transmission) towers or they would have to depend on the pubcaster for several things, including infrastructure”.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in view of beginning a public consultation, is likely to issue a consultation paper. Doordarshan, being the prime pubcaster for analogue and digital, has started its digitisation services in across 16 cities to date.

Pace makes Titanium deployment on Telenet

Latens, the cardless CA technology owned by Pace, has been selected by the Belgian cable operator Telenet.
The Titanium software-only conditional access system has to date been deployed in over 400,000 set-top boxes.
Latens Titanium enables one system to run across multiple networks, providing Telenet with significant cost savings and ensuring that its CAS platform can grow and adapt in line with its services.
“Protecting our assets is extremely important to us,” said Noam Raffaelli, VP Network & Systems Engineering, Telenet. “Given the size and diversity of our subscriber base, we needed a content security solution that we could install quickly and cost-effectively, but that would grow and adapt with our requirements.
Liberty Global-owned Telenet is autonomus from the rest of the Liberty Global, which predominantly uses Nagra CA on the UPC network.
“With video increasingly being watched on PCs and mobile devices, forward thinking service operators like Telenet require a content security solution that can adapt to support all of these new platforms, as well as set-top boxes in the home,” said Latens President Carmi Bogot.
Latens developed and launched the world’s DVB compliant software-only CAS eight years ago, since then it has been deployed to operators globally.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Netflix in Romania: a progress report


Over half of viewers who trialed Netflix in Romania have gone on to subscribe to the service.
Speaking at the ICEEFest conference in Bucharest and quoted in the local media, Joris Evers, the company’s VP, head of communications for Europe, Media East and Africa, added that although there is currently only one title being shown with Romanian subtitles, this is just the beginning and the aim is to gradually increase the number.
Furthermore, when the content is improved locally, there will be a campaign to promote Netflix in Romania.
Evers also said that movies, series and documentaries, some featuring Brad Pitt, Will Smith and Angelina Jolie, would soon be made available in Romania and other markets.
Netflix made its debut in Romania, and throughot the rest of CEE, in January 2016.

Com Hem acquires Boxer Sweden

Com Hem has entered into an agreement to acquire Boxer TV-Access AB, the pay-TV operator in the DTT network in Sweden, for an enterprise value of SEK1,330 million (€144 million).
Boxer Sweden is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teracom Boxer Group AB.
Com Hem Holding AB has following successful trials started its expansion into the single dwelling unit (“SDU”) market in Sweden, and the Boxer acquisition should help expand this market.
The acquisition is expected to generate approximately SEK300 million in additional Underlying EBITDA to the Com Hem Group
Boxer’s approximately 500,000 DTV customer base is primarily situated in the SDU market, and will get access to fibre over the coming years – a significant acceleration opportunity for Com Hem.
The acquisition is conditional on approval by the Government of Sweden and the Swedish Competition Authority.
It is expected to close in the second half of 2016.

New DTT contest in Ukrain

Ukraine will shortly hold a tender for a cultural and educational channel to be located on its fifth multiplex (MX-5), which distributes must-carry services.
In a statement, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council (‘Rada’) says that it will occupy a slot hitherto used by the channel BTB, which will have its licence withdrawn this week.
Zurba Alasania, the CEO of NKTU, has already revealed that the public broadcaster will take part in the tender.

Major Russian cable deal mooted

Major Russian cable deal mooted

Akado TelekomThe proposed acquisition of the Russian cable operator Akado by Rostelecom, first mooted in 2013, could be back on the cards.
Quoting two sources close to negotiations between the parties, Vedomosti reports that talks have been under way for some time but so far failed to reach an agreement.
Akado currently lists Viktor Vekselberg (67%) and Yuri Pripachkin (33%) as its shareholders. Its revenues in 2014 amounted to around $329 million and net profit $1.1 million.
According to TMT Consulting, the operator had over 790,000 broadband internet and over 1,14 million pay-TV subscribers in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg as of Q1 this year.
Its Belarusian subsidiary Cosmos TV meanwhile had 61,000 broadband and 135,000 pay-TV subscribers.
Several companies, including MTS, MegaFon and ER Telecom, were previously reported to be interested in acquiring Akado.