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

Thursday, June 16th, 2016 

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.

Technicolor to acquire Cisco STB business for €550m

Technicolor has entered into an exclusive agreement with Cisco to acquire its customer premises equipment (CPE) business for €550 million in a cash and stock transaction.

The acquisition includes all of Cisco’s cable modem and set-top box businesses. The move underlines further consolidation in the STB business following the recent acquistiion of Pace by Arris.

Cisco already considered a sale of the set-top box division it purchased from Scientific-Atlanta in 2012 as the company became disenchanted with the market which has changed dramatically since the $7 billion purchase.

In the same year, Technicolor CEO Frederic Rose also said that he was in talks with a number of companies to take a stake in its loss-making set-top box business.

Technicolor and Cisco will also enter into a strategic partnership that will allow both companies to develop and deliver next generation video and broadband technologies, with cooperation on Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services.

Technicolor and Cisco also have signed a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement that covers specific intellectual property and patents from both companies. As part of the strategic agreement and after the transaction has closed, Hilton Romanski, SVP and Chief Strategy Officer of Cisco, will join Technicolor’s Board of Directors.

“We know that video expertise is essential to the future of creating outstanding network and home infrastructure products and services,” said Frederic Rose, CEO of Technicolor.

“Through this acquisition and strategic agreement, Technicolor can immediately bring its unrivalled experience and innovation in video creation, delivery, and display to more customers in more geographies, while strengthening our position as a technology leader.”

“The strategic relevance of video to every consumer, business, city and country around the world is only growing, and the market is moving rapidly,” said John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco.

“This is the right time and we have the right company in Technicolor to drive the future of the CPE business to deliver what our customers and partners need, today and into the future. At Cisco, we are prioritizing our investments to deliver on our strategy of video in the cloud, and will partner with Technicolor to position the CPE business and employees for future success.”

In a company blog, Cisco ‘s Hilton Romanski wrote: “Ten years ago we entered the set-top box business because of the role it played in our service provider customers’ business. Connected devices have delivered $27 billion of aggregate revenue to Cisco since then. This technology continues to be critical for these customers. We are proud of the contribution this business and its people have made to Cisco over many years. This includes providing new innovations, expanding important markets, and deepening our service provider relationships. We now believe that the time is right, and Technicolor is the right partner, to take this business to the next stage of evolution and growth.”

The acquisition should result in Technicolor’s Connected Home segment reaching adjusted EBITDA in excess of €200 million by year-end 2016 and best-in-class profitability (i.e.8-9% adjusted EBITDA margin) by 2017.

Cisco will receive approximately €413 million ($450 million) in cash and approximately €137 million ($150 million) in newly issued Technicolor shares.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2015 or during the first quarter of 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Broadband TV Views. Consolidation in the STB segment of the business is moving fast. No wonder, as these ‘old school’ devices are set to make room for cloud-based and software driven services.

Arris acquired its competitors Motorola and Pace, but also laid its hands on ActiveVideo Networks, a company that is ahead in the business of cloud delivered interactive services and STB virtualisation.

LIkewise, Irdeto has now partnered with CAM munifactirer SMiT and Samsung to deliver direct-to-TV services to Indonesia’s Transvision pay TV platform, pointing the way to a STB-less future.

In 2012, Samsung also pioneered with Estonia’s Telia with a direct-to-TV service.

SMiT is also working to launch an IPTV version of its CAM using the CI Plus 1.4 standard.

At the same time, TV Everywhere is developing fast with streaming channels and on-demand content becoming available on a variety of devices, including tablets and smart phones. Meanwhile, these mobile devices are now also talking to smart TV sets making a move away from traditional STBs inevitable.

Technicolor delivers 11 millionth set-top box to Tata Sky

Technicolor and Tata Sky ‘score’ 11 out of 10

PARIS, France — Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH ; OTCQX: TCLRY) is proud to announce two special landmarks in its relationship with Tata Sky, India’s leading direct to home (DTH) service provider and HD market leader – the 10 year anniversary of the partnership and the delivery of the 11 millionth Technicolor set-top box.

These special milestones follow an announcement in May of this year for Technicolor to ship 4K set-top boxes in volume to Tata Sky from early 2015.
“On behalf of Technicolor, I’d like to thank Tata Sky for its ongoing co-operation and congratulate the company on its achievements as India’s market leader. We look forward to continuing our partnership and helping to deliver even more successful and exciting services to consumers across India in future,” said Michel Rahier, President of Connected Home Division at Technicolor.

Tata Sky MD & CEO, Harit Nagpal, added “Over the past 10 years Tata Sky’s vision has been to offer its customers the best, most compelling video experience. Technicolor has been a true partner in that quest, delivering high quality products and services. And 2015 will be a great year for our partnership as we deploy 4K STBs across the Indian market, once again, underlying our commitment to delivering the most recent technologies and the highest quality content.”

Technicolor in global Telefonica deal

Technicolor has signed a new agreement with Telefonica for the global deployment of set-top boxes.

Initially Technicolor will concentrate on Telefonica’s Latin American markets in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia.

The box in question is Technicolor’s MediaPlay HD satellite and cable set-top Boxes featuring Wi-Fi connectivity and MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (H.264) video codecs in both standard and high definition. The hybrid boxes are also enabled to provide PVR functionality.

Francois Rossiensky, Senior Vice President for Connected Home EMEA, Technicolor, said: “Our focus on portraying the set-top box as a hub of innovation has been key in Telefonica’s partners’ selection process. Telefonica’s trust has fuelled our team’s motivation to achieve the delivery of large quantities of future proof and robust solutions in the space of a few months.”

Telefonica plans to run a mix of broadcast and internet video, VOD, internet browsing and timeshifted TV.