IPTV English News by InformITV (12/01/2009)
Tie me Kangaroo down, competitors tell commission Online video services Joost and Babelgum have joined Virgin Media in calling for the Kangaroo coalition of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to be barred from launching…
Tie me Kangaroo down, competitors tell commission
Online video services Joost and Babelgum have joined Virgin Media in calling for the Kangaroo coalition of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to be barred from launching its planned online video joint venture. The highly critical Virgin Media submission seems particularly damaging to the prospects for the Kangaroo project. The cable operator already carries catch up programming from the BBC and Channel 4 on its own video-on-demand service and has just reached agreement with ITV.
Long tail fails to stand up to online reality test
The long tail theory of digital distribution implies that given almost unlimited choice, the total demand for less popular items will exceed that of the most popular items. Some studies have suggested that while the traditional demand curve may be growing a longer tail, it is getting flatter rather than fatter. The long and the short of it is that people still seem to gravitate towards towards the best-selling hits. This sting in the long tail could have important implications for online video distribution.
TVBLOB develops BLOBbox to bring web to TV
TVBLOB is an Italian software and service development company based in Milan that has created a platform that aims to bring the power of the web to the television, either through closed networks or over the top of existing networks. It is not the first company to attempt to combine the web and television and surely will not be the last, but it seems to have the ingredients of an intriguing proposition.
Tiscali calls closure of television service in Italy
The Italian broadband service provider Tiscali says it is is shutting down its Tiscali TV service in Italy. The company has given notice to customers without providing further explanation. As the third IPTV service provider in Italy it struggled to sign up subscribers. The future of the Tiscali TV service in the United Kingdom must now be in doubt.
Mobile satellite service operators line up
The European Commission has confirmed that all four operators that applied to deliver mobile satellite services across Europe will go forward to the next stages of the selection procedure. Ironically, one of the candidates has questioned the right of the commission to appoint such services. Meanwhile, in China the roll out of mobile multimedia services is the subject of political wrangling.
