Category: Software

MUMBAI: comScore, in its October 2009 data, has revealed that more than 167 million US internet users watched online videos during the month.

Online video viewing continued to reach record levels in October with nearly 28 billion videos viewed during the month, as Google sites accounted for 38 per cent of videos viewed online by Americans. 
 
More than 167 million viewers watched an average of 167 videos per viewer during the month of October.
Google Sites continued to rank as the top US video property in October with 10.5 billion of its videos viewed. YouTube.com accounted for nearly 99 per cent of all videos viewed on the Google sites. 

Hulu ranked second with 856 million videos viewed (3.1 per cent) followed by Microsoft sites with 451 million (1.6 per cent) and Fox Interactive Media with 446 million (1.6 per cent).

In October, Tremor Media ranked as the number one video ad network with a potential reach of 75 million viewers, or 45 per cent of the total viewing audience. YuMe Video Network ranked second with a potential reach of 68 million viewers (40.4 per cent penetration) followed by Broadband Enterprises (BBE) with 67 million viewers (40.0 per cent).

BANGALORE: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is set to launch the new PlayStation3 computer entertainment system, featuring a streamlined form factor with a 120 GB hard disk drive (HDD). The new system will be available in India in the last week of November, 2009 at a retail price Rs 19,990.
 
The internal design architecture of the new PS3 system, from the main semiconductors and power supply unit to the cooling mechanism, has been completely redesigned, achieving a much slimmer and lighter body. Compared to the very first PS3 model with 60GB HDD, the internal volume as well as its thickness and weight are trimmed down to approximately two-thirds. 
 
The new PS3 continues to offer features and functions of the current models, such as the ability to enjoy high-definition Blu-ray disc (BD) movies and games, as well as various content and services downloadable through the network. 

MUMBAI: ESPN Software India has blacked out signals to Hathway Cable & Datacom in parts of Mumbai and Bangalore, claiming that the multi-system operator has dues to the tune of Rs 165 million.

ESPN has issued notice to switch off signals to Hathway across India as the MSO has still not signed the contract with them.
 
ESPN AVP – affiliate sales Makarand Palekar said, “We have been left with no alternative but to resort to this as Hathway owes us more than Rs 165 million and have been showing no signs of making this payment inspite of repeated requests. We have suggested alternate operators in most locations from whom they can obtain our signals. We hope that the impasse is resolved soon so that we can keep serving the Indian sports fan to the best of our ability.”

When contacted, a senior official from Hathway said on condition of anonymity that this was not the first time that ESPN has switched off signals from the MSO. “The problem in this case is ESPN is asking to hike the rates by 40-50 per cent while we have lost subscribers to other operators and are asking for a reduction,” he added. 
 
ESPN has also filed a petition in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat), which will be heard on 27 November. The sector tribunal, in its order dated 3 November, directed that the parties may negotiate and reconcile their respective accounts before Friday.

“The talks are on for negotiations and we can resolve it amicably. At present they have switched off signals in Mulund, Bhandup, Dombivali and Thane areas of Mumbai,” the Hathway official informed.

Cable operators in many parts of the country are opposing ESPN‘s drive to ramp up subscribers with a payout that would amount to an increase of over 50 per cent. The sports broadcasting company has two prime properties next year – the football World Cup and T20 World Cup.

MUMBAI: ITV Studios Global Entertainment will launch Granada TV on 1 December on the StarHub pay-TV platform. With this, Granada TV will now be available through both StarHub Cable TV and Singtel IPTV platforms.

The channel will initially be made available free to all StarHub TV customers for six months until 31 May next year. Thereafter, it will be part of a yet-to-be-announced packaging proposition.
 
Programmes that would be air on Granada TV in December include Prime Suspect, seasons three and four; A Christmas Carol, a contemporary version of the Charles Dickens classic starring Ross Kemp as Scrooge; The Springer Show, a UK version of the tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer; Ant and Dec‘s Saturday Night Takeaway, a variety show.

Says StarHub VP – home solutions Ong Bee Lian, “We aim to consistently add value to our cable TV service by offering customers breadth with our wide range of branded channels, and depth in programming with our award-winning and highly rated content from around the world.”  
 
“We are delighted to strengthen our selection of choice programming with the launch of Granada TV, and hope to give customers a taste of what StarHub TV has to offer in terms of UK content through this special preview period of the channel,” Lian added. 

MUMBAI: The BBC iPlayer will be available on a trial basis to a select group of Freesat users starting 7 December while the ITV Player will launch in beta in early 2010.

Freesat will be the first free-to-air service to launch the ITV Player, allowing viewers to watch on-demand programming via their TV set rather than the Internet. Freesat is currently available in 750,000 homes in the UK.
 
The iPlayer is already available to customers of BT Vision and Virgin Media. The trial is designed to work on Humax HD set-top-boxes, currently owned by one in three Freesat viewers. 
 
The Freesat iPlayer offering will provide 450 hours of BBC on-demand programming per week, including Top Gear, EastEnders, Life and Gavin and Stacey for viewers to watch for up to seven days after the programmes have aired on TV.
 

MUMBAI: The subscriber base of IPTV in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow by 51 per cent this year closing at 9.4 million users and accounting for 37.6 per cent of the global subscribers, reveals research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan titled ‘Asia-Pacific IPTV Update‘ finds that the IPTV subscriber base in the region would grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.6 per cent between 2009 and 2014 and, by the end of 2014, would climb to an estimated 23.5 million subscribers.
 
In 2008, only eight Asia-Pacific territories had commercial IPTV offerings namely India, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Singapore and subscribers stood at 6.27 million.

Vietnam launched IPTV services this year while countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand are expected to roll out IPTV services in the next 12 months, with a launch in the Philippines slated for 2011.  
 
Says Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Adeel Najam, “”The key considerations for IPTV‘s success are broadband penetration levels and low pay-TV presence.”

Najam believes that as much as 62 per cent of the IPTV subscriber net additions from now until 2014 will come from emerging markets like India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
 

MUMBAI: Unless the BBC‘s Audio and Music division makes a continued progress in three areas, it may have missed its chance to claim a primary place in the lives of people born into a digital world. The three things that will make the difference are: building a creative contribution; leading digital innovation and attracting the best people.

These remarks were made by BBC Audio and music director Tim Davie during the Manchester Media Festival. Says Davie “While the BBC has made significant progress across these areas over the last year, there is much more work to do.” 
 
Davie notes that with the dis-intermediation of traditional media and the all-conquering power of online video, audio or at least radio is destined to recede in its importance. “One of the first questions I asked when I took over the job was: just how much listening of audio is there? And what is radio‘s share of listening? And I do not mean radio listening, I mean all audio: CDs, iPods, online – the BBC has a 55 per cent share of linear radio but what is its real “share of ear? We have just completed our first wave of this work which we hope to run annually, amazingly I don‘t think it has ever been done before. The study is the result of detailed tracking of the behaviour of nearly 2,000 people,” he says.

Audio listening remains strong with an average of 3.8 hours per day, consumed fairly equally across the population. Traditional radio, says Davie, represents an amazing 85 per cent of all audio listening. This falls to 66 per cent among the 15-18-year-olds. This has undoubtedly declined, as iPod and mobile phones have become ubiquitous, but it suggests that one will see a future environment in which traditional linear radio co-exists with on-demand listening. 
 
“But while these results are pretty encouraging, there is clearly no room for complacency. So let‘s turn to audio content itself and my first priority: Building our unique creative contribution. One of the most intriguing and exciting pieces of data that has arrived on my desk in my first year was last quarter‘s Rajar figures which saw Radio 4 achieve record listening and Radio 3 deliver six quarters of sustained growth,” says Davie.

MUMBAI: NDS, the provider of technology solutions for digital Pay-TV, has announced that MYtv, the new satellite-based television service in Ukraine, has chosen professional services and an end-to-end solution from NDS for its hybrid satellite direct-to-home (DTH) Pay-TV platform.

MYtv is planning to launch its Pay-TV service soon.
 
With NDS MediaHighway STB software, MYtv will have the ability to introduce advanced features such as pay-per-view and interactive services. NDS is also managing the systems integration including the deployment of NDS VideoGuard conditional access, an NDS EPG and XTV DVR technology.

NDS XTV will give MYtv subscribers the ability to record TV content while viewing another programme. MYtv subscribers will also be able to pause, record, play back, rewind and fast-forward their recorded content. This provides them with maximum flexibility and choice in their viewing options, enabling them to choose what they watch and when they watch it.

At launch, MYtv will offer a high definition DVBS2 XTV DVR, as well as a HD/SD zapper STB to receive both MYtv packages and satellite FTA channels. Subscribers can watch SD and HD channels broadcast by satellite (DVBS2) as well as using DVR technology to record and playback programmes. 
 
Said MYtv general director Albert Feldman, “We aim to become the consumer’s first choice in entertainment and information by using the best available TV technology to enhance the television viewing experience. We chose to partner with NDS because NDS has the technology, experience and market understanding to help us reach our goal.”

Commented NDS regional director, central and eastern Europe Jeremy Maddocks, “NDS’ end-to-end technologies and systems integration will allow MYtv to become a world-class pay-TV operator. MYtv will be able to offer advanced services and features, such as Ukraine’s first integrated DVR to entertain and engage audiences across the region.”

MUMBAI: Tivo, which creates television services and advertising solutions for digital video recorders (DVRs), has entered into an audience research agreement with Google.

Google will license and integrate TiVo television viewing data into its measurement of audiences for ads sold through Google TV Ads(TM) platform. 
 
This deal, the terms of which have not been disclosed, will enable Google TV Ads to draw on anonymous, second-by-second DVR viewing data from TiVo‘s stand-alone subscribers to substantially enhance the measurement and accountability of ad impressions for inventory sold using the Google TV Ads auction-based system. The Tivo sample covers all television signal sources including digital cable, analog cable, satellite, telecom and over-the-air television, in live and timeshifted viewing.

Says Google‘s director of emerging platforms Mike Steib, “Google TV Ads is focused on enabling advertisers to target and measure television advertising more effectively. This deal with Tivo will give advertisers access to even more anonymised viewership data, making Google‘s dataset one of the best in the industry. Advertisers can use this data to understand which audiences and ads are most effective, which we think will ultimately lead to more relevant ads for viewers.” 
 
Google TV Ads is a flexible, all-digital system for buying more accountable and measurable TV advertising. The system allows advertisers to reach up to 96 million households. With accurate audience measurement and innovative ways to place ad spots, Google TV Ads allows advertisers to do more with less. Since launching in 2007, Google TV Ads has served over 100 billion TV ad impressions.
 

MUMBAI: Online video ad company Jivox is expanding its sales and client servicing teams.
 
Says Jivox MD India Naren Nachiappan, “Jivox is witnessing an exponential growth in the video advertising space with 300 per cent growth quarter-on-quarter in our business. Market segments that are rapidly adopting this exciting new medium include automotive, technology, telco service providers and entertainment.

:”As online video advertising becomes a cornerstone of media plans, Jivox will be there to provide our customers with the best possible performance and service that we are known for in the industry.”

The company has expanded its sales team in India by hiring Industry’s top performers. Amit Vichare who joins as GM – Ad Sales (West) and will be focusing on BFSI and Auto, Rahul Tambewagh who joins as GM – Ad Sales (West) will focus on IT and Telecom and Vikas Katoch who joins as GM – Ad Sales (North) will look into IT, Telecom and Entertainment. 
 
Adds Jivox director sales Asia Pacific Kshitiz Randhir Shori, “We are happy to welcome Amit Vichare, Rahul Tambewagh and Vikas Katoch to our team. Each of them have rich experience in digital media and are well-known faces amongst advertisers and digital agencies.

“We expect them to grow our business dramatically as they help more agencies and product marketing leaders discover the power of this exciting new medium”.

Jivox is an online video advertising platform that enables conversations between brands and online viewers. The Jivox platform combines an online video ad creation tool, proprietary targeting technology, and a growing network of premium Indian publishers to offer advertisers a service for online video advertising.