Category: Software

MUMBAI: Vibble TV, a leading provider of South Asian IPTV programming and a service of Internet Broadcasting Corp, has teamed up with Shemaroo Entertainment for Over The Top (OTT) distribution.

Shemaroo Entertainment offers a large portfolio of products on the IPTV platform and will offer Vibble TV‘s audience a variety of evergreen and latest Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi and Punjabi movies.

Shemaroo Entertainment director Jai Maroo said, “We are glad to be associated with a leading OTT service like Vibble TV which is targeted at South Asians worldwide. Our aim is to offer our audience easy and legal access to high quality South Asian Content on every possible platform where a consumer may want to consume entertainment. This tie up is a step towards the direction and will help us to reach a much wider range of audience on these new modes of consumption.”

Internet Broadcasting Corp CEO Suresh Kadagala added, “We are excited to be partnering with Shemaroo Entertainment. Not only do they have the quality and quantity of South Asian content across multiple languages, but also the understanding of this new way that people are consuming content. Combined with the excellent platform we have built to deliver this service, we will ensure Vibble TV will be a great service and a great viewing experience for South Asians all over the world.”

MUMBAI: The communication technologies and services provider company Ericsson has completed the acquisition of the broadcast services division of Technicolor, a technology leader in the media and entertainment sector, for €19 million.

The company had, on 13 March, made a bid to acquire Technicolor‘s division.

Ericsson EVP and head of business unit global services Magnus Mandersson said, “With this acquisition Ericsson has strengthened its position in the broadcast managed services market and reinforced our growth ambitions. Managed services in one of the main focus areas for Ericsson and we will continue to invest and expand this area.”

Following the acquisition, over 900 employees will be integrated into the Ericsson group in business unit Global Services over the coming months and will work under the Ericsson brand beginning today.

Ericsson is one of the leading providers of managed services for telecom operators and has invested in processes and tools in this segment. With this acquisition Ericsson broadens its managed services offerings for media broadcasters and confirms the company‘s long term ambition and commitment to the area.

MUMBAI: Cambridge-based mobile advertising startup Jumptap has raised $27.5 million in seventh round of funding. The company will use the funds to accelerate growth through additional investments in product and technology development, ahead of its initial public offering.

Keating Capital participated in this round of funding along with existing investors including General Catalyst Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Summerhill Venture Partners, Valhalla Partners and WPP.

The seven-year old company has so far raised $121.5 million.

General Catalyst Partners co-founder and managing director and chairman of the board at Jumptap John Simon said, “Jumptap tackled the challenge of honing mobile ad targeting and understanding mobile audience, and it is flourishing on this path. Under the direction of its innovative leadership team, Jumptap has emerged as a leader in the market.”

Over the past year, Jumptap has entered strategic partnerships with nearly 20 third-party data providers such as Polk, Acxiom, Datalogix, TARGUSinfo, Catalyst, and i360 thus becoming the first to bring offline data to mobile advertising.

The company has found a new vigour in the last two years since George Bell has joined as CEO.

Bell said, “The mobile advertising industry continues to grow at more than 50 per cent annually. Jumptap is growing in excess of that. We are focused on expanding our leadership in this surging market, developing our patented technologies in data and targeting, and preparing the company to go public.”

Jumptap has experience across major verticals such as automotive, retail, entertainment, consumer packaged goods and financial services and each month the agency reaches 107 million mobile users in the US and 156 million mobile users worldwide, and delivers 20 billion mobile impressions. The company also has with 29 patents issued and 200 pending.

Goodwin Procter served as Jumptap‘s outside counsel for the transaction.

MUMBAI: The Competition Commission of India has sent out a clear warning that multi-system operators (MSOs) can‘t leverage their dominant presence in a particular area by bullying broadcasters.

In a landmark decision that can have grave implications in the cable TV industry, the CCI has penalised Fast Way, the first MSO to get the whip for abusing its dominant position.

The competition watchdog has imposed a fine of Rs 84 million on Fast Way Group for misusing its dominant position in Punjab and Chandigarh in violation of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.

The order was passed pursuant to investigation carried out by the Director General of CCI on a complaint filed by Kansan News, the owner and operator of ‘Day and Night News‘, which operates in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

The Commission held that Fast Way Group with more than 85 per cent of the total subscribers in Punjab and Chandigarh abused its market power by denying Kansan News the opportunity to transmit their channel on its network.

CCI has imposed penalty on Fast Way Group entities, Fast Way Transmission, Hathway Sukhamrit Cable & Datacom and Creative Cable Network at the rate of six per cent of their average turnover for the last three preceding financial years.

The MSO has been directed to deposit the penalty amount within 90 days.

The Commission has also directed that the entities should ‘cease and desist‘ from indulging in anti-competitive practices which have the effect of denial of market access.

MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English, Qatar government-owned news and current affairs channel, has launched on Australia‘s leading Pay-TV platform, Foxtel.

The channel is now available to Foxtel viewers on number 651.

Al Jazeera English‘s launch on Foxtel will enable the channel to reach an additional 1.6 million Australian households, taking its total reach across the country to over 2.3 million households. Globally, Al Jazeera English is available in over 260 million households across 130 different countries.

Al Jazeera has over 60 bureaus across all the continents of the world with a dedicated team of journalists reporting from the channel‘s Sydney bureau.

“I would like to welcome all our new Foxtel viewers to Al Jazeera English. Australians have been some of the keenest visitors to our website over the years, an indication of the appetite there is in the country for compelling international news and programmes,” said Al Jazeera English MD Al Anstey.

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) will hear on 7 August, the petitions by multi-system operators Digicable Networks, Mumbai, and Delhi Distribution Company, New Delhi and others challenging the digital tariff order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Tdsat has issued notice to Trai and the Union of India in this connection.

Earlier, TDSAT had listed for 25 August a petition by IndusInd Media and Communications in this regard, even as it permitted News Broadcaster‘s Association (NBA) and associate channels – NDTV, Time Global Broadcasting (holding company of Times Now), India TV, TV Today, Total TV, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), and other broadcasters to be a party to it.

Earlier, local cable operators opposed the Trai tariff order. United Cable Operator‘s Welfare Association, New Delhi, has approached the Tdsat seeking better revenue share from the MSOs and an extension in date for digitisation.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the first phase of digitisation in the four metros has already been postponed by four months to 1 November.

Also Read:

After IMCL, Digicable moves Tdsat against Trai‘s tarrif order

MUMBAI: 9X Media Group‘s Punjabi music channel 9X Tashan is now also available on the direct-to-home (DTH) platform Tata Sky on its channel No. 884.

9X Tashan was launched on 31 August last year and is available across cable and satellite homes in the Punjab Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh (PHCHP) market. The channel is streamed live on the internet on the channel‘s website and is also available on various mobile platforms.

9X Tashan managing director Sandip Bansal said, “We are delighted to announce that Tata Sky subscribers can now enjoy the best Punjabi music and humorous short format shows aired on 9X Tashan.”

Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Nicola Bamford added, “Our endeavour has always been to provide the most relevant content to our growing subscriber base. Today, Tata Sky engages every member of the family with the most comprehensive range of entertainment and music content in the comfort of their homes. The launch of 9X Tashan on our platform underscores our continued commitment to add the very best to Tata Sky‘s growing portfolio of channels and further increase the entertainment value of Tata Sky to a higher level.”

MUMBAI: Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gaikai, the world‘s leading interactive cloud-based gaming company, for approximately $380 million.

Through the acquisition, SCE will establish a new cloud service, ensuring that it continues to provide users with truly innovative and immersive interactive entertainment experiences.

“By combining Gaikai‘s resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE‘s extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences,” said Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group CEO Andrew House.

“SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices.”

Established in 2008 and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, Gaikai has developed interactive cloud-streaming platform in the world that enables the streaming of quality games to a wide variety of devices via the internet.

With this acquisition, SCE will establish a cloud service and expand its network business by taking full advantage of Gaikai‘s revolutionary technology and infrastructure including data centers servicing dozens of countries and key partners around the world.

The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

MUMBAI: Cricket fans across the world will have the chance to decide which images will be used to decorate the team dressing room walls at the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012.

Albums of all 20 teams, 12 men’s and 8 women’s, have been uploaded onto the albums section of the ICC’s official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cricketicc, and fans will be able to have their say on what images of their heroes and heroines should be on show at the event which runs from 18 September-7 October.

Fans are being encouraged to ‘like’ the photos that they enjoy most and the photographs that receives the most ‘likes’ during the voting period will be shown in that team’s dressing room for the group stages of the event. Voting opens today and will close at 7pm Dubai time (GMT +4) on Wednesday.

Among the shots that fans can choose from are pictures that show the three winners of the men’s event to date lifting the trophy, that include India (2007), Pakistan (2009) and England (2010). There are also a number of iconic photographs that fans can select including Mike Hussey’s celebration after his amazing innings against Pakistan in St Lucia in 2010, as well as Mahela Jayawardena celebrating his hundred in that tournament.

Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, who is also the official event ambassador for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012, said, “I would encourage all fans to go to the ICC’s Facebook site to help select which images should be chosen to go on the team dressing rooms at the ICC World Twenty20”.

“To have inspiring images of your own personal as well as your team’s success on the dressing room walls is something that I have personally liked at previous ICC events. It will be interesting to see which moments Sri Lanka fans choose to go on our wall for the tournament.”

MUMBAI: Canadian digital studio Rainmaker Entertainment has agreed to sell its animation studio assets to Beijing-based Xing Xing Digital through its wholly owned subsidiary Rainmaker Studios Inc. (RSI).

The assets are being acquired in consideration for the assumption of existing Rainmaker book liabilities in an approximate amount of $7 million and the assumption of all real property leases.

The transaction is conditional upon, among other things, the approval of Rainmaker‘s shareholders and the receipt of the required regulatory approvals, including any approvals required under the Investment Canada Act.

In connection with the transaction, Rainmaker has agreed to provide a loan to RSI in the aggregate principal amount of $5 million. The loan has a term of four years and will bear interest at a rate of prime plus two per cent. The loan may be prepaid at any time without penalty.

Additionally, Rainmaker shall be granted an option, exercisable during the fourth year of the loan, to convert the principal and accrued interest in respect of the loan into common shares of RSI.

Based on the starting principal amount of the loan, Rainmaker would be entitled to acquire 30 per cent of the outstanding common shares of RSI at the time of conversion. Also, during the term of the loan, Rainmaker shall be entitled to nominate one of five directors to the board of RSI.

The board of directors of Rainmaker has unanimously approved entering into the asset purchase agreement and recommends that Rainmaker shareholders approve the Transaction.