Category: Software

MUMBAI: Online video service Netflix and film studio The Weinstein Company (TWC) have announced a new multi-year licensing agreement that will make foreign language, documentary and certain other movies from The Weinstein Company exclusively available for Netflix members in the US to watch instantly.

‘The Artist‘ will make its pay TV debut exclusively on Netflix rather than on traditional premium cable. The film is expected to win Best Picture, Director, Actor trophies at the Oscar Awards. It is a silent black and white film about the dawn of talking pictures.

Also making its pay TV premiere on Netflix is ‘Undefeated‘, nominated for a 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Directed by Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin, ‘Undefeated‘ follows players on a Memphis, TN inner-city high school football team as it attempts to win its first playoff game in the school‘s history.

A slate of TWC specialty films will appear exclusively on Netflix within one year of their theatrical release, including the French-language World War II drama ‘Sarah‘s Key‘, starring actress Kristin Scott Thomas; “The Intouchables;” the romantic drama ‘W.E.‘ directed by Madonna, ‘Coriolanus‘ directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes and ‘Bully‘ a documentary about bullying in America‘s schools.

Terms of the deal, the first between TWC and the world‘s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows, weren‘t disclosed.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said, “We couldn‘t be happier to be working again with Harvey and Bob, who have an unmatched track record of creating critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies. ‘The Artist‘ is a symbol of the Weinsteins‘ triumphant return to the top of the film business. Through deep passion, great taste and phenomenal vision, Harvey and Bob continue to surprise audiences and make history.”

TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said, “It is a fantastic coup for Netflix to acquire ‘The Artist‘ and the package of additional titles. With this deal, a company that loves movies, Netflix, joins forces with a company that is built on that same love. It‘s exciting that we can offer consumers a supremely convenient way to see the kinds of movies that made us want to be in this business in the first place.”

NEW DELHI: In what comes as a major setback to the cable TV and direct-to-home (DTH) operators, a government panel has decided not to offer any financial incentives for pushing ahead digitisation in the country.

Holding that the government has more important programmes for which it needs scarce resource, the Department of Revenue has rejected the sops sought by the industry, with barely four months to go before the deadline for the first phase of digitisation.

The Committee of Secretaries rejected the financial incentives as the Department of Revenue has expressed “reservations‘‘ about the fiscal incentives that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had proposed.

The Government feels the flagship programmes and welfare schemes are more important than digitisation.

Cable Operators Federation of India President Roop Sharma said that the onus now lies on the I&B Ministry – which had fixed the digitisation deadlines – to ensure that the ‘digital addressable systems’ do not become ‘defective’, ‘disputed’ or ‘dead’ addressable systems, endorsing the view expressed by a cable operator from Goa, Richard Da‘Costa.

However, the Committee is understood to have agreed on an increase in foreign direct investment from 49 per cent to 74 per cent for all carriageways that are making the transition from analogue to digital system, be they cable operators or DTH platforms. This recommendation had earlier been endorsed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

The I&B ministry had proposed giving tax holidays and customs concessions, particularly since most of the set-top boxes (STBs) are being imported. Earlier, the Confederation of Indian Industry had supported the demand that the cable industry had demanded the status of being classified as an “information infrastructure‘‘ industry.

But the CoS was of the opinion that waiver of customs duty may discourage indigenous STB manufacturers.

The CII had earlier estimated an expenditure of Rs 250 billion to digitise 90 million cable homes in the next three years. It had, therefore, recommended a tax holiday for three years.

India‘s cable TV infrastructure is set for complete digitisation by the end of December 2014 and the four Indian metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata) by 30 June this year.

CII had said all service providers who set up a digital addressable distribution system before the sunset date to be notified in stages over a three-year period should be treated at par with Telecom Service Providers and be eligible for income tax holiday from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2019.

MUMBAI: Insurance website and comparison portal Policybazaar.com has launched its mobile website that aims to cater to the needs of its 5 million visitors who visit the site every month via mobile phones.

With the launch of this mobile website, users have an option to navigate through the products and see the quotes in a seamless manner thus helping the customer to choose the best plan according to his/ her need.

According to an official statement from the company, the number of mobile phone subscriptions has reached 5.9 billion. The growth in the mobile technology is evident from the increasing mobile subscriber base in India which has reached 893.84 million. The mobile Internet penetration in India is expected to reach 237 million by 2012. The industry experts says that 58 per cent of Mobile Internet is used for search networking sites or Internet and have become the first screen for internet for millions of people in India.

Policybazaar.com CMO Akshay Mehrotra said, “With increasing mobile penetration in the country, mobiles are becoming the tool for accessing Internet. The consumers owning Internet enabled handset is growing at 300 per cent a year. We believe the next growth in the e- commerce business will be fueled by mobile Internet.”

Policyabazaar.com CTO Saurabh Tiwari added, “We are seeing a very large customer base coming from mid to small level towns using mobile phones. This number has doubled in the last 6months. We have specifically built up this website to cater to these consumers.”

The site has been designed on HTML5, CSS3. It works across platforms including iOS, Android, Blackberry and Symbian.

MUMBAI: Economictimes.com has launched ET Speed, an open information sharing platform that is powered by the community.

ET Speed offers real-time market information and latest news updates from within ET. It allows investors and experts to share their views and analysis with an over 7 million unique visitor base through its integration on Economictimes.com, Times Internet Limited, which operates the website, said.

ET Speed allows users to track updates on the stocks they are interested in, share their views and opinions about financials, and follow companies, industries, media sources or people for information that they can trust. They can follow experts in their areas of interest; share their insight with other users and that too, on a real-time basis.

TIL CEO Rishi Khiani said, “When it comes to the stock market, speed is everything, and that is what we are offering to the investor as well as the listed companies. To the former, it is about swift and easy access to the right information at the right time and to the companies, it is speed of dissemination.”

Users can sign-up for ET Speed using their FB Connect, Twitter ID or any e-mail ID.

MUMBAI: Global satellite operator SES has reported financial results for the 12 months period ended 31 December 2011.

The operating profit stood at EUR 808.2 million, showing a marginal growth of 1.4 per cent over the year ago period. Profit of the group was at EUR 617.7 million a growth of 26.8 per cent.

However, SES‘ revenue, at EUR 1.7 billion, saw slight decline (0.1 per cent). Recurring revenue grew by 2.8 per cent to EUR 1.7 billion. EBITDA was EUR 1.27 billion a slight decline of 1.7 per cent.

Recurring EBITDA grew by 3.1 per cent to EUR 1.2 billion. Recurring EBITDA margin was at 74.6 per cent. Contract backlog was up 6.1 per cent to EUR 7 billion, reflecting EUR 2 billion of renewals and new business signed during the year.

SES president, CEO Romain Bausch commented, “SES‘ results for 2011 demonstrate the core resilience of our operating business. Revenue for the year was on target, despite the challenge of launch delays. Group profit grew by 26.8 per cent year on year. In a busy second half, SES successfully launched four satellites. QuetzSat-1, a satellite wholly contracted by EchoStar, entered service in November, while the other new satellites carry mainly replacement capacity.”

“SES‘ organisational realignment was implemented during 2011. It is delivering real benefits, including enhanced focus on our key markets. Seven further satellites are being built and are due to be launched before the end of 2014. The majority of the new capacity will be serving customers in emerging markets. SES‘ high quality orbital positions and footprints are laying down the foundation for future growth.

For SES, 2012 is an important year in the ongoing transformation. The company is developing its presence in emerging markets, while maintaining position in the more mature European and North American markets. “In 2012 we will experience the exceptional impact of the analogue TV switch-off in Germany. When eliminating the impact of this, we foresee an underlying three year revenue CAGR (2012-2014) of approximately 7.5 per cent. On a recurring basis this is expected to be approximately 4.5 per cent. This fully reflects the launch delays and satellite health issues. We look to the future with confidence,” Bausch said.

MUMBAI: As IPTV approaches 55 million subscribers globally, it is Europe that still holds the strongest position for IPTV (23.5 million customers) as European markets continue to build their customer base.

The latest deployment information shows that operators are increasingly turning to fiber access solutions to meet the needs of the well-connected home according to Broadband Forum.

Hybrid FTTx deployments rise – 68.9 per cent in past year to 3Q2011. FTTH sees a 30.6 per cent increase in annual growth across Europe.

Point Topic CEO Oliver Johnson said: “The future of Europe, at least for the next 5 years, is going to be dominated by FTTx. The cost of full fiber (FTTH) deployment, particularly the last mile, is prohibitive and so the industry and consumers need a stepping stone which is provided by hybrid solutions such as FTTx. FTTx provides a significant increase in bandwidth and an efficient use of existing infrastructure and allows the welcome continued amortization of costs.”

This update comes from the Broadband Forum on the opening day of the FTTH Conference Europe, which aims to promote the benefits of fiber access across the continent and accelerate the availability of fiber-based, ultra-high-speed access networks to both consumers and businesses.

The international Broadband Forum, whose 200-strong membership comprises service providers, system and chipset vendors, as well as consultants, test houses and research centers, focuses on developing technical specifications to help the industry engineer faster and smarter broadband connections. This work includes its comprehensive BroadbandSuite 5.0 which is a major resource for the fiber industry to facilitate and accelerate the deployment of Pon.

The Broadband Forum G-Pon ONU Certification Programme aims to fuel even greater growth of fiber deployments across Europe. The certification program, known as BBF.247, is open to G-PON ONU products with Ethernet interfaces and is based on the Forum‘s OD-247 test plan. This certification demonstrates that an ONU fully conforms to TR-156 and the associated OMCI configuration as defined in the ITU G.988. It provides vendors with the opportunity to test once and use their certification globally, saving testing cost and time as they compete in RFPs for business. Equally it gives operators increased confidence in their vendor selection processes, another step towards providing truly interoperable solutions.

Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh said, “Our G-PON certification programme is proving to be very effective with eight companies already achieving certified products in the past six months. Certification is key to future FTTx deployments and our efforts will enable next generation interoperable systems to come to market faster. Standards provide the foundation for that growth; further demonstrating G-Pon capabilities to meet the demands of evolving operator networks.”

“Operators in Europe have maintained a three year high for IPTV in the region as they have the greatest success in selling additional services to existing customers. G-Pon Certification is set to provide the breakthrough step in accelerating deployments now and creating the platform for innovative applications and new service bundles,” concluded Mersh.

The latest fiber related work at the Forum includes test specifications for additional conformance testing modules for G-PON ONU and OLT.

MUMBAI: The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced that nominees from seven countries Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Sweden and the UK will compete for this year‘s International Digital Emmy Awards. The awards ceremony will take place, during television trade event MipTV‘s opening night festivities on 1 April 2012, in Cannes.

There are 12 nominees in three categories, Digital Programme: Children and Young People; Digital Program: Fiction and Digital Programme:

The International Academy president, CEO Bruce L Paisner said, “The technological strides we see every year in digital content delivery are constantly providing production tools to enhance the viewer‘s experience. We congratulate our nominees for their creative and technological achievements in this flourishing sector of our industry.”

This is the first time that a program from Kenya is ever nominated for an Emmy and the first time that a program from Japan is nominated for a Digital Emmy.

Shujaaz.FM, a multi-media communications project, designed to inspire and motivate millions of Kenyans to take action to improve their lives and engage with urgent issues that shape their future, is nominated in the Children & Young People category. NHK World TV Digital Disaster Coverage, the HD coverage of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, from helicopters and robot making full use of various digital platforms as well as linear TV, is nominated in the Non-Fiction category.

2012 International Digital Emmy Awards Nominees

Digital Programme: Children and Young People

1. 15
SVT
Sweden

2. Battlefront
Raw Television for Channel 4
UK

3. Shujaaz.FM
Well Told Story
Kenya

4. Slide
Hoodlum/Playmaker Media/Fox 8/Foxtel
Australia

Digital Programme: Fiction
1. Endgame Interactive: Facebook Episode
Secret Location/Shaw Media/Thunderbird Films
Canada

2. The Great Crusade
Finch/Wonder
Australia

3. Murdoch Mysteries: The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs
Smokebomb Entertainment/Shaftesbury Films/Citytv
Canada

4. Temps Mort (Time Out)
Radio-Canada.ca/Productions Babel
Canada

Digital Programme: Non-Fiction

1. Bar Code
National Film Board of Canada/Arte France
Canada

2. Floods in Rio
G1/TV Globo
Brazil

3. Live from the Clinic
Maverick Television for Channel 4
UK

4. NHK World TV Digital Disaster Coverage
NHK
Japan

MUMBAI: Agra-based multi-system operator Sea TV network has posted a 70.48 per cent drop in its net profit for the three-month period ended 31 December 2011.

The MSO has posted a net profit of Rs 1.17 million in the quarter under review, as compared to a net profit of Rs 3.95 million a year ago.

Sea TV, which also runs a clutch of channels across news, general and religious genre, has posted net sales of Rs 28.85 million, up 36.23 per cent compared to Rs 21.17 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The rise in sales was hit by a spike in expenses which rose almost 40.37 per cent to Rs 28.06 million in the quarter, as opposed to Rs 19.99 million in the previous fiscal.

Profit before other income, interest and exceptional items stood at Rs 2.85 million, a drop of 65.76 per cent compared to Rs 8.32 million in the last fiscal.

MUMBAI: Wii owners with broadband Internet access in the US now have a new way to watch their favourite TV shows and movies as they can subscribe to Hulu Plus and instantly stream season hit TV shows.

Families can also browse through hundreds of popular movies from Miramax and more.

Nintendo of America’s senior director, GM of network business Tony Elison said, “The Wii console is the hub of the living room, and with the addition of Hulu Plus, millions of households now have even more options for streaming premium TV shows and movies. Wii offers the most entertainment fun for everyone in the family, with an impressive selection of streaming movies and TV shows in addition to an unparalleled lineup of games that can’t be played anywhere else.”

Users who have a broadband Internet connection can visit the Wii Shop Channel to download the Hulu Plus application at no extra charge. The application will allow users to navigate using the Wii Remote controller and search for their favourite TV shows, movies and clips.

Hulu VP of marketing, distribution Pete Distad said, “We want to be everywhere, on every screen where people want to watch their favorite shows and discover new ones on their own schedule. Wii is not only one of the most important entertainment devices in the living room, but one of the most heavily anticipated and requested platforms by users and subscribers. Teaming up with Nintendo gives millions of households across the U.S. an immediate way to access some of their favorite current season shows on-demand in their living room through Hulu Plus”.

Hulu Plus offers a variety of content, including Hulu Latino, which offers hundreds of hours of current and classic Spanish-language programming, including the entire current season of prime-time TV shows from Univision, Galavision and Telefutura.

For the first month of launch, users who download Hulu Plus for Wii and do not already have an existing Hulu Plus account will get a two-week free trial.

Hulu Plus is also coming to the Nintendo 3DS system later this year, bringing full current-season TV series and popular movies to entertainment fans whenever they want.

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has licensed content to website and over-the-top (OTT) subscription service Hulu in Japan.

The multiple year agreement will initially see around 600 hours of BBC Worldwide programming made available on the multi-device platform from 17 February.

The deal represents the largest volume of BBC Worldwide content on any platform in Japan, with titles licensed across drama, comedy, music, lifestyle, natural history, science and history, including ‘Doctor Who‘, ‘Spooks‘, ‘Little Britain‘, ‘Walking with Dinosaurs‘, ‘Top Gear‘ and ‘Life‘.

Hulu subscribers in Japan will also be able to watch premieres of ‘Polar Bear – Spy on the Ice‘ (feature length version), and the ‘Absolutely Fabulous‘ 20th Anniversary Specials, available for the first time to Japanese viewers as part of the deal.

BBC Worldwide sales, distribution Asia GM, senior VP Joyce Yeung said, “We’re excited to be expanding our business in the Japanese digital sector by becoming the first British distributor to partner with Hulu in Japan. Hulu’s versatile service opens up a new audience for our catalogue, which covers everything from entertainment formats and international drama productions, to cutting-edge science documentaries and world-renowned natural history titles.”

Hulu in Japan head of content acquisition Kazufumi Nagasawa said, “Our goal is to bring Japanese entertainment fans unlimited streaming access to the world’s premium content whenever and wherever they want to watch. The BBC is home to some of the most premium content on the planet, and we are thrilled to make these programmes available to Hulu subscribers”.

Hulu Japan launched in September 2011, marking the first expansion of Hulu outside of the US. The service allows Japanese consumers to watch unlimited content on multiple internet connected devices.