Thread: Satellite News May 2010

BSkyB to delist from NYSE



BSkyB has announced it is to delist from the New York Stock Exchange. The company will deregister from the Securities and Exchange Commission and move from full listing to Level 1 ADR (American Depositary Receipts).
Less than 2% of Sky’s shares are held through the ADR programme and BSkyB believes it is no longer cost effective to retain its SEC registration and NYSE listing.

In March Sky’s share price rose to a 52-week high after market rumours that the company was to delist altogether. However, Sky’s statement confirms that its ordinary shares will continue to trade on the London Stock Exchange.

Sky is expected to officially notify the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10 and will be delisted shortly afterwards.

Oliver Stone Preps Original Series for EPIX


Oliver Stone and author and screenwriter Bruce Wagner have entered into a development deal with the premium channel EPIX, kicking off with a show based on the novel Still Holding.

The one-hour drama series based on Wagner's novel will explore the colliding worlds of three disparate people in Los Angeles. Stone and Wagner, who previously collaborated on the mini-series Wild Palms, will serve as executive producers.


"I'm interested in the possibilities in television," Stone said of the development deal. "When a company like EPIX comes along, it's a chance to break new ground. They want to make their mark. They want to entertain and provoke; they don't want their drama or comedy watered down. The team at EPIX showed early on they could provide the supportive environment and creative freedom necessary to recognize the vision Bruce and I have for Still Holding. EPIX has the two vital organs that are essential to all human endeavors: guts and heart."

Mark Greenberg,the president and CEO of EPIX, added: “EPIX offers a unique canvas for talent to fully realize their creative vision across multiple screens on television and online. We’re thrilled that filmmakers and writers have flocked to our network with bold, daring concepts—they truly get what we’re trying to do. To have Oliver and Bruce come to us for his first scripted drama is a validation of what we are trying to do at EPIX—backing our talent and giving them the creative freedom they deserve.”

EPIX’s development slate also includes Tough Trade, a one-hour drama pilot executive produced by Jenji Kohan (Weeds), Sean Furst and Bryan Furst, set in Nashville; and the half-hour single-camera comedy iCon from Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Media Rights Capital (MRC).

Humax PVR patch 'improves user experience'


Irons out set-top problems


Humax sorts out PVR problems

Humax has released a statement assuring users of its 9150T, 9300T and 9200T Freeview+ digital TV recorders that any problems they are having with the machines will be rectified in an upcoming software update.

A number of forums have been reporting issues with the set-top boxes, ranging from freezing screens and the EPG not updating properly but Humax seems to be listening and is busy trying to sort out the problem.

It seems that the Humax engineers are preparing a software fix which will comes as an over-the-air update in the coming weeks.

This is said to improve performance and future-proof the machines against any other problems that may occur.

Complex nature

"Humax is very aware that, for several months, some customers have been experiencing a slowdown in operation and usability issues with our PVR models," explains the statement.

"Resolving these issues has been a priority for our technical team who have been working diligently on a fix, but unfortunately, due to the complex nature of the issues, it has taken much longer than we had hoped to develop new software to sort out the PVR issues.

"However, I am pleased to be able to inform you that our technical team has developed a software solution that will dramatically improve the user experience and address issues such as freezing and locking up.

"We have also ensured the new software mitigates the risk of future problems and have taken this opportunity to introduce a new feature as part of the upgrade to significantly reduce the time it takes to display the on-screen electronic programme guide (EPG) information, from many minutes to seconds."

Digital switchover to blame?

The slowdown has been put down to "The increasing complexity of the UK's broadcast infrastructure and requirement to process a substantially higher volume of information".

Essentially, the digital switchover has caused something of an info overload, which in turn lead the machines (in particular the 9200T) to suffer from slowdown and the like.

The automatic over-the-air software download for the fix will be available "in a matter of weeks," with exact dates to be confirmed soon.

If you want to be kept up to date with all things Humax, then sign up to their Twitter and Facebook pages.

Humax has also released the email address uk//support@//humax-digital.//co.//uk for those who want to contact them.

Dish Plans 'TV Everywhere' Web Site This Year


By Todd Spangler -- 5/1/2010 7:46:29 AM

Dish Network is preparing to launch a "TV Everywhere" Internet destination as soon as this summer that would let subscribers get access to TV programming on a range of devices.

Bruce Eisen"Bruce Eisen""All I can really say is, like the rest of the industry, TV Everywhere is important to us," said Bruce Eisen, Dish Network's vice president of online content development and strategy. "We're certainly exploring that."

Dish last September 2009 filed for trademark protection on "TV Everywhere," but the No. 2 satellite operator had not previously indicated that a standalone Web portal for authenticated access to premium content would be offered under that brand.

Dish first will open its TV Everywhere site in an invitation-only beta, and then "we'll probably open it up over the summer, into September," Eisen said.

Comcast is the only pay-TV operator that has launched a full-blown TV Everywhere service, with some 2,000 hours of subscriber-only video offered through its Fancast Xfinity video site from networks including HBO, Cinemax, Starz, TNT, TBS, A&E Network, History, CBS and AMC.

Other operators are in different stages of testing out TV Everywhere services, including Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, AT&T and Verizon Communications.

Separately, Dish in April began offering the ViP 922 "SlingLoaded" DVR, which is listed under the "TV Everywhere" section . The receiver uses Slingbox technology to let users access live TV and recorded shows over the Internet on computers and mobile devices.

Eisen declined to identify which programming partners Dish Network is engaged with for the TV Everywhere site, but, he said, "Certainly the goal is to have everybody participating."

Eisen, who is based in Los Angeles, joined Dish Network last fall after serving as president of consulting firm Digital Advisors. Prior to that that, he was a co-founder and executive vice president of CinemaNow, the Internet video-streaming movie portal.

’Terminal’ cuts loom at BBCWS - Sunday Times
May 2nd, 2010 - 11:00 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.

The BBC World Service is braced for the loss of up to a quarter of its budget, according to today’s Sunday Times. The newspaper says executives are planning for cuts of 18%-25% after Foreign Office officials indicated its ?272m annual budget would be reduced from April next year. It quotes a World Service source as saying that the effect of a 25% cut would be “pretty much terminal”.

BBC sources say services such as BBC Arabic TV and BBC Persian TV are vulnerable because they cost a combined ?34m per year. Minority language services are at risk, while the English services are likely to survive.
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BBC to beam election results on Big Ben

Monday, May 3 2010, 13:26 BST

By Andrew Laughlin,

The BBC has revealed plans to project the general election results on St Stephen's Tower, which houses Big Ben, for the first time ever.

Over the course of election night on May 6, the number of seats gained by the largest Westminster parties will be beamed onto the London landmark.

The projection will commence when the first results come in and keep updating until the final result is declared at around 5.30am on May 7.

According to the BBC, the initiative is designed to deliver a clear, simple and also visually striking source of information on one of the most interesting elections of recent times.

With just three days of campaigning left before voting begins, the opinion polls still suggest that the election is finely balanced, with no party holding an overall majority.

The projected graphic, which is to be beamed onto the side of St Stephens Tower close to the Houses of Parliament, will show a tally of seats won by Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, along with wins by smaller parties.

Speaking to BBC News, BBC Election Night editor Craig Oliver said: "We're delighted Parliament is joining with the BBC to project the results onto Big Ben for the first time ever."

Under a joint deal between the BBC, ITN and Sky News, details of an exit poll by NOP/Mori will also be beamed onto Big Ben shortly after voting closes on May 6.

A "winning line" will further show the 326 seats required for any party to secure an outright victory. The projection has been approved by parliamentary authorities and will not carry any BBC branding.
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Kabel Deutschland offers CI+ module

Written by J?rn Krieger
Monday, 03 May 2010 09:17

Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has become the first German cable operator to offer its customers a CI+ module. The move enables television sets with an inbuilt cable tuner equipped with a CI+ slot to receive KDG’s encrypted digital channel line-up without a separate set-top-box.


A second remote control on the living room table will also be thing of the past for CI+ households. Through the move, KDG is creating an open set-top-box market as every cable box with a CI+ interface can now be used by the customers of Germany’s largest cable company.

The customers get the module either at no charge or for a one-off payment of €69, depending on their contract. The modules, which are produced by SMiT Digital GmbH, are based on the encryption system VideoGuard developed by technology company NDS.

“We are excited about this additional possibility for our customers to enjoy our extensive digital TV world,” said Christian Constant, vice president new TV products at KDG, adding that this was an important milestone for the increasing digital cable usage.

The company announced last year it would introduce a CI+ solution in 2010.

KidsCo and Moviees 24 in the packet N just before the end of the year

1st May 2010, the Polish satellite pay-TV N (Television New Generation) to expand the 4 programs in high definition - HD +1 TVN, Fox Life HD, BBC HD, which entered the software package of information and entertainment and movie channel Cinemax HD, included the Cinemax package.

On the platform that also featured musical rebel FTA channel: tv. The offers were rejected Cinemax (SD broadcasts are now in HD) and Jetix Play.

According to unofficial information, will be the end of this year eliminated two other bids Kaali - Children's Film and Movies KidsCo 24th Movies Channel 24 is not too popular with subscribers. The quality of SD broadcast was relatively low.

From 1 June 2010 will be a new price list packet N, which is expensive package of information and entertainment.

N is also preparing a platform 3D TV services. It is not known what the image format that will be broadcast.