Website: Rapid TV News

Asian pay-TV industry body/lobby group the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) is turning its attention to the high-growth market of Vietnam.

All be it starting from a low base, Vietnam has enjoyed pay-TV growth of almost 400% from 2006 to 2009.

CASBAA has organised a Vietnam Pay-TV Industry Seminar in Hanoi on April 28.

Themed “Pay-TV on the Rise”, the one-day programme will gather both domestic and international broadcasters, platforms, telcos, technology and service providers, as well as government officials to examine the business models and challenges for this burgeoning Vietnamese sector.

CASBAA said exponential growth is expected to continue and that it was eager to promote Vietnam’s pay-TV sector.

“It is one of the most exciting developing markets in the Asia Pacific with huge business potential.

We should not miss these opportunities,” said Simon Twiston Davies , CEO of CASBAA.

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Website: Rapid TV News

Technicolor’s Chiswick, West London, play-out facility can now handle 3D material, a ‘first’ claims the company.

Technicolor says it has developed its Broadcast 3D service offering to ensure optimal viewing and distribution technologies are being used.

The company is now ready to offer this service to its cable, television, and satellite network service provider clients.

“With the availability of 3D televisions, we are very excited to be the first to offer this new Broadcast 3D service to our customers,” commented Chuck Parker, president of Technicolor’s Digital Content Delivery business.

“Broadcast 3D is a natural extension of the many services we’re already providing, including upstream in production and post production, as well as delivering the highest quality 3D images to theatres and to the home via Blu-ray Disc, broadcast, and digital delivery.”

Technicolor says it is able to manage live or pre-recorded content, from post production through encoding for satellite, cable, IPTV or terrestrial distribution.

The company is also able to generate logos and other visual effects for 3D broadcasts.

The Broadcast 3D transmission suite at Technicolor’s Chiswick Park offices features equipment from Sensio, Orad and Miranda.

Originally posted here:
Technicolor ready to offer Broadcast 3D

Website: Rapid TV News

Spain’s main cable operator Ono can celebrate its recent positive economic results in the middle of the current deep crisis.

The company ended last year with a net profit of €50 million compared with losses of €26 million in 2008.

Ono also surpassed its expectations for EBITDA, ending the period with €730 million compared with €701 million for the previous year, a growth of 4.2%.

The forecasts of the company at the beginning of that period were an EBITDA between €680 and €720 million.

However the operator’s revenues went down to €1,510 million, 5.6% less compared with the previous year due to the economic crisis, and an accompanying decrease in telephony and pay-TV consumption.

Ono had 1,902,000 residential subscribers at the end of last year, a decrease of 17,000 clients in relation to the same month the previous year.

But the company’s management are continuing the policy to push the market of triple play clients or combined services of telephony, pay-TV and the internet.

So 36% of its client base asked for these services in Q4 last year, compared with 34% in the same period the previous year.

But the operator registered a strong growth in the number of clients in broadband internet with a total of 1,326,000 at the end of last year, growth of 3.4%, compared with 1,283,000 at the end of the previous year.

So 72.6% of the company’s client base have this type of service.

As for Ono’s pay-TV service, the company had 6.2% fewer clients last year meaning a total of 975,000 subscribers.

This downturn corresponds to the operator’s basic TV services while the premium TV services registered better results in the number of clients.

So the downturn in the number of TV subscribers made the operator bet more on getting new clients to its telephony and broadband services.

As for the operator’s fibre optics network, at the end of last year it had more than 7 million homes connected, an increase of 41,000 homes.

According to Jonathan Cumming, Ono’s financial director the 2009 results “show that in spite of the difficult economic situation last year the company overtook its forecasts in terms of EBITDA, operative cash flow and free cash flow.”

Originally posted here:

Website: Rapid TV News

A plan by News Corp’s Star India to up its stake in Indian DTH operator Tata Sky has run into regulatory trouble.

India’s government has reportedly decided not to support Star’s proposal to create a joint venture vehicle with the Tata Group through which Star would increase its stake in the operator.

Star has withdrawn its JV proposal from consideration by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

While Star may return to the idea at a later date, government concerns that such a move will dilute Indian control of the platform will not be easily assuaged.

Star currently owns 20% of Tata Sky, with the Tata Group holding 70% and Temasek Holdings 10%.

The proposal had envisaged Star buying 49% in the JV, which would then purchase a 20% stake in Tata Sky, giving Star an additional 9.8% in the operator.

However, Star would have held equal voting rights to Tata, thought to be one of the government’s main concerns over the deal.

Foreign investment rules were recently amended, with the government now allowing foreign stakes in DTH operators to rise above 20% if the investment is made through an Indian owned and controlled company.

Original post:
Star withdraws Tata Sky JV proposals

As the digital switchover moves around the UK, some of the older viewers are often left confused about what the change actually means to them.

In some cases it is highly likely that some older viewers could find themselves with no television service at all.

At the moment the digital switchover is taking place in Wiltshire and on the 24th March the BBC2 analogue signal will be switched off forever.

This will be followed by the rest of the channels on the 7th April.

Any household that has not made provision for digital TV will find the TV screen blank after that date, which is why Age Concern is holding advice meetings in libraries between 10 am and 4 pm on the 24th & 25th March and the 7th and 8th April.

Here is the original:
Wiltshire OAPs get switchover advice