Screen Digest back issues from April 2008:
Worldview.(Insight)(high-definition video demand)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Now that the battle for high-definition video is over, the business is developing more rapidly than it did when the industry, as well as consumers, were wary of making too great a commitment. Indeed, the industry may have been caught on the wrong foot if our research proves correct (as if ...
End in sight for video rental: most consumers now prefer to own video rather than rent.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] * A 15-year analysis shows that doubling of the global video market value has been driven by retail * The trend towards buying rather than renting video is strong in the US and even more so in Europe * A few ...
PVR: friend or foe to TV advertising? Research shows time-shift recording can increase viewing.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] * UK viewer research suggests PVR usage is pushing up overall TV viewing by nine per cent * PVR-based technologies can boost interactive TV revenues * However, Screen Digest believes overall PVR impact ...
Japanese DVD prices yo-yo: retail DVD prices rise as rental prices fall in Japan.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Despite a strong film slate and brisk demand for foreign TVDVD, retail DVD shipments declined in 2007 * But a rise in the average trade price of a retail DVD helped offset the decline * Growth in rental DVD ...
Cinema ownership crosses borders: Terra Firma owns 15 per cent of top 100 screens in seven markets.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Eight operators have a major presence in two or more West European markets * The top 25 cinema chains account for close to 70 per cent of the top 100 screens * Netherlands has overtaken UK has the most ...
Cable/satellite PVRs sell on price: marketing, consumer awareness have little effect on initial uptake.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television][Wired media][Satellite] [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] * PVR uptake in the initial phase of roll-out follows the same trend for most operators * Initial growth in PVR penetration is largely independent of variations in PVR marketing * ...
Video responds to greener agenda: companies explore eco-options but real change is some way off.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Most studios already have some eco-friendly initiatives in place and look to expand on current practices * The range of alternative packaging products is expanding rapidly * But supply chain requirements must be ...
FCC bonanza in spectrum auction: contenders bid $20bn for frequencies released from analogue.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television][Wireless media] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * FCC auction generated almost $20bn-more than twice the expected amount * Mobile operators won over 50 per cent of licences for 85 per cent of the total amount * The largest bidder, Verizon, ...
Sega takes the lead in new games: publisher steps up output after missing the Christmas season.(Focus)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Games] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Sega is expected to have been the most prolific latest console generation games publisher in Q1 2008 * Sega's current output far exceeds that of its major competitors; EA, Activision and Ubisoft * Much of its ...
DVD manufacturing-on-demand: in-store and warehouse replication re-invents retail business.(Profile)
Apr 01, 2008 ... WHAT IS MANUFACTURING-ON-DEMAND? Manufacturing-on-demand (MOD), as the term suggests, is the concept of delivering content as and when it is required. Rather than anticipating sales, manufacturing physical product in large volumes, and shipping in bulk to retailers--as in the ...
Pay TV set-top box market dynamics: digitisation and high-value functions are driving STB demand.(Profile)(Company overview)
Apr 01, 2008 ... KEY FINDINGS IN THIS FEATURE * The global pay TV set-top box market will ship almost 100m units in 2008 * Despite falling component prices, high-value HD and PVR shipments will push revenues to over 8bn [euro] in 2012 * Digitisation of cable will drive ...
Blu-ray Disc demand may exceed supply.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] According to forecasts from Screen Digest and its US research arm, Adams Media Research, worldwide consumer demand for Blu-ray Discs (BDs) could increase three-fold in 2008, following the end of the hi-def format war. However, our research also indicates that there is so far ...
French film industry and export agency criticised.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [FILM] Two reports critical of the internal and external strategies of the French film industry have been published amid consternation. The first was undertaken by the Club de 13, a group of professionals drawn from all areas of the industry, and makes clear that the quality of ...
India to become major d-cinema territory.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema][E-cinema] India's film industry has so far opted for e-cinema technology (a cheaper lower-quality alternative to high-end d-cinema systems) that meets the requirements of its strong local film sector. But there are now signs that d-cinema will also feature prominently, following ...
Kodak enters US market as d-cinema facilitator.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema][E-cinema] Eastman Kodak has signed up two mid-sized cinema operators in the US market for entire circuit-wide conversion of their screens to digital. The first major signing was Santikos Theatres with 126 screens in Texas. The first installations have already been completed in the ...
Warner initiative to boost BD rental in Japan.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] Warner Home Video has launched a Blu-ray Disc (BD) rental initiative in Japan that has already been taken up by both the country's leading home entertainment chains. * Tsutaya, the largest video rental chain and part of Japan's Culture Convenience Club (CCC) group, will ...
New strategy and funding plea for Channel Four.(GENERAL)(Channel Four Television Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television][Film] UK public service broadcaster Channel Four has unveiled a blueprint for its role in a 'fully digital media future'. The new Next on 4 strategy focuses in particular on encouraging the development of new programmes, commissioning content for radio and online as well as ...
Shanghai Film group opts for Christie projectors.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema][E-cinema] China's Shanghai Film Group Corporation (SFC), one of the major vertically-integrated film groups in the territory, has selected DLP Cinema digital projectors from Christie Digital Systems for its digital cinema deployment plan. Under the terms of the deal, SFC will ...
US digital cinema roll-out gets to second phase.(GENERAL)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema][E-cinema] Leading US digital cinema facilitator AccessIT has signed up four studios to the second phase of its US digital cinema deployment: Fox, Walt Disney, Paramount and Universal, leaving two studios still to sign (Warner and Sony). The second phase is for 10,000 screens in US ...
Deutsche Telekom submits bitstream charges.(REGULATION)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wired media] Deutsche Telekom (DT) has submitted bitstream access charges to the Federal Network Agency (FNA) for approval. The German incumbent proposes a charge of 14.26 [euro] ($21.87) per month for IP-Bitstream Access (IP-BSA), which includes a DSL line for end customers and a data ...
Hungarian regulator invites DTT bids.(REGULATION)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] National Communications Authority of Hungary has published a tender for 12-year concessions to operate five DVB-T digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplexes. Results of the tender are expected in the second or third quarters of 2008, with broadcasts of the two ...
Blu-ray diodes may infringe US patent.(REGULATION)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, LG and Samsung are among over 30 companies to be investigated by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) for possible patent infringements related to short-wave-length light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The patent in question, held by a Columbia University ...
FCC extends satellite television HD exemption.(REGULATION)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television][Satellite] US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is to extend the deadline for full HD carriage on the DirecTV and Dish Network satellite TV services. The original ruling required any satellite operator carrying (in any one market) local TV channels in HD ...
Boxer gets Danish DTT platform rights.(REGULATION)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] Swedish digital terrestrial TV operator Boxer has won the bid to operate a post-analogue switchover digital terrestrial TV service in Denmark. Mediesekretariatet, Denmark's media authority, selected the Teracom-backed firm over contenders Telenor, which owns Canal Digital, and ...
Sony Online aligns with PlayStation.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [On-line][Games] Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), currently part of Sony Pictures Entertainment and separate from the company's PlayStation-focused subsidiaries, has been realigned to accelerate the division's contribution to the firm's PlayStation business lines. From the start of this ...
7Digital signs Warner Music International.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [On-line] London-based online music store 7Digital has signed a contract with Warner Music International (WMI) to provide Warner catalogue in mp3 format in UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Germany. As part of the marketing campaign, album downloads will initially be priced at 5 [pounds ...
Bundesliga again for Unity Media?(BUSINESS)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wired media][Sport] German cable company Unity Media has stated that it would not rule out another exclusive bid for the German soccer league, the Bundesliga. The live broadcasting rights for the league from 2009 onwards have currently been bid for by Leo Kirch's Sirius group, which has ...
Lionsgate grabs HIT content, premieres BD blog.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] Mini-major has beefed up its portfolio with a deal to distribute HIT Entertainment's library of family titles such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Barney and Bob the Builder in the US from next month (May). The deal, which covers both DVD distribution and digital retail, will make ...
EA continues Asian regional development.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Games] Games publishing giant EA's concerted push into Asian markets continued in March with the opening of an Asian HQ in Singapore and the launch of the sequel, FIFA Online 2. EA also struck a wide-ranging deal with Infocomm Asia Holdings Games to roll the title out in 10 Asian markets ....
ProSiebenSat1 tightens grip on Euro TV markets.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] Pan-European channel group ProSiebenSat1 Media says it should start to realise cost benefits from the acquisition of SBS Broadcasting during 2008. The German broadcast group bought the emerging-markets specialist in June 2007 (see 2007/216a1). SBS boosted ProSieben's full-year ...
Funding for Chinese online game companies.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [On-line][Games] Shanghai Nineyou Interactive Community and Media, trading as 9You, is the latest online games company based in China to receive investment as it makes plans to launch an IPO during 2008. It received $100m in equity investment from Temasek Holdings and other institutional ...
UK's leading cinema circuit signs up Royal Opera.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema][E-cinema] UK's Odeon Cinemas and smaller circuit City Screen have agreed a deal with the Royal Opera House (ROH) for the upcoming season's events to be shown in cinemas--a further sign that alternative content is beginning to make in-roads into the cinema of the future. The deal ...
Packaged media wholesaler expands into digital.(BUSINESS)(Entertainment UK)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [On-line][Wireless media][Television] Entertainment UK (EUK), the leading UK wholesaler of packaged media, has announced the launch of a digital content platform. The Digital Vault service will offer over 2m music tracks and 13,000 movies, TV shows and music videos and 500 games. More than ...
Indian major builds up US cinema circuit.(BUSINESS)(Reliance)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema] Indian media group Reliance is to launch a cinema circuit in the US focusing on Indian films and consumers, following a series of acquisitions of US cinemas in the past few months. Reliance's US circuit will operate under the brand Big Cinemas, in line with Indian rebranding, but ...
Imax scoops two big deals for new digital system.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Cinema][E-cinema] Imax has concluded two large deals for its forthcoming digital projection system, shortly after signing the largest deal in the company's history: 100 screens with AMC over a three-year period starting 2008. In the US market, Regal Cinemas has secured an order for 31 ...
Motorola to hive off handset division.(BUSINESS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media] Troubled handset manufacturer Motorola has announced that it will split into two separately traded companies. In essence, the company is spinning off the Mobile Devices division, which will become a separate, publicly traded business. The Mobile Devices division designs, ...
DVD rental window opens again in Spain.(MARKETS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] Over four years since the last US studio closed the exclusive DVD rental window in Europe (see 2003/306a1), staggered DVD releasing has been officially revived in Spain. Rental windows began to re-appear on a trial basis over two years ago (see 2005/287a3), but Screen Digest ...
PlayStation prevails in Russian market.(ADVERTISING)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Games] PlayStation platforms have built a commanding position in the developing Russian games market, contrary to the experience of other territories. Screen Digest believes that by end 2008 PlayStation 3 will have a hardware installed base there equivalent to Wii and Xbox 360 combined, ...
UK approaching all-digital TV homes status.(MARKETS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] UK communications regulator Ofcom has reported 524,000 net household conversions to digital television in the last three months of 2007, up from 361,700 additions in the previous quarter, but much lower than the 1m conversions in last quarter 2006. Ofcom said that 22.2m ...
Blu-ray BD+ integrity compromised.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video] Slysoft, the company behind disc-ripping products AnyDVD and CloneDVD, has launched an upgrade AnyDVD HD v.6.4.0.0, which it claims makes it possible to create 'back-up copies' of Blu-ray Discs (BD) protected with BD+. It claims that it had already broken BD+, the additional layer ...
M6 launches online catch-up TV service.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] French commercial broadcaster M6 launched an online catch-up TV service on 19 March 2008. The service, branded M6 Replay, offers shows on a free-to-view basis, with each video preceded by an in-stream ad. Shows are available online an hour after broadcast and can be viewed for ...
Blu-ray continues to evolve through PS3.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Video][Games] The latest firmware update for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) version 2.20, released on 25 March 2008, includes software to make the Blu-ray Disc (BD) compatible console compliant with BD profile 2.0. Known as 'BD-Live', profile 2.0 enables PS3 owners not only to access new content ...
Lionsgate offers digital movie/DVD bundles.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Film][Video] Lionsgate is offering digital movie files bundled with DVD discs. Consumers purchasing the DVD or Blu-ray versions of Rambo or The Eye can access a digital copy of the movie through iTunes. The digital file, which is embedded in the disc, can be copied to a single iTunes ...
Orange extends wireless broadband in Romania.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media] Orange Romania, the telco subsidiary of France Telecom, has commercially launched wireless internet access using its mobile network for laptop and desktop PC owners. Computers are connected either by PCMCIA data card or USB modem. Within Orange's 3G/ 3G+ coverage zone ...
Orange launches ad-funded music trials.(PRODUCTS)(Orange PLC)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media] Orange has launched the UK's largest ad funded content trial with 800,000 of its 15.6m subscribers. Triallists selected from those that had previously downloaded music from the Orange Music Store are split into three groups: those offered tracks free, those offered tracks ...
Orange UK opens up to independent short films.(PRODUCTS)(Orange PLC and icewhole.com)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media][Video] Orange and specialist video site icewhole.com have partnered to offer downloadable short films to Orange customers. A monthly selection of short films will be acessible from Orange's portal, each short being priced under 1 [pounds sterling]. A royalty-sharing ...
Joint online TV venture Hulu launches publicly.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] Hulu, the online video service developed by News Corporation and NBC Universal, launched publicly on 12 March 2008-18 weeks after it entered private beta testing. In addition to existing television and movie content the service has signed deals to offer video from Warner Bros ...
Nokia starts German mobile music service.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media] Nokia has opened its mobile music store in Germany several months after its launch in the UK in November 2007. Singletrack downloads cost 1 [euro] each and albums can be purchased for 10 [euro]. All music from the store, part of Nokia's Ovi suite, is protected with Windows ...
Vodafone releases mobile music player.(PRODUCTS)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media] Vodafone has released two new products as part of its mobile music service: the Mobile Music Client and Mobile Music Manager. The Mobile Music Client is an on device portal enabling easier access to the Vodafone music store and is currently available for the Sony Ericsson ...
Telenor launches mobile marketing agency.(ADVERTISING)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Wireless media] Telenor, Scandinavian telecoms operator, has created More Mobile Relations (MMR), a mobile marketing agency built from the integration of Norwegian Active Loop Marketing and Danish N'volve. Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed. MMR aims at helping companies ...
TF1 and M6 boosted by digital portfolios.(ADVERTISING)(TF1-TV)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] France's two largest commercial broadcasters saw double-digit growth in advertising revenue for their digital channels in 2007, bolstering overall income for the year. M6 fared better than its larger rival TF1 and is beginning to catch the market leader in terms of advertising ...
Turnaround for ITV now on the cards.(ADVERTISING)
Apr 01, 2008 ... [Television] ITV plc has halted its seven-year decline in advertising revenues and could move into growth from next year, following a series of positive developments over the past 12 months. Advertising revenue continues to drop at the main ITV1 channel, but revenue from its digital ...
Mergers, takeovers and investments.(Business)
Apr 01, 2008 ... <Pre> Mergers, takeovers and investments Carlyle Group US equity firm has completed its 1.1bn [euro] USA; +1/202 729 5626purchase of a 37.8 per cent stake in French www.thecarlyle- cable operator Numericable. The stake was group.com ...
Content deals.(Business)
Apr 01, 2008 ... <Pre> Content deals All England ClubOrganiser of the annual Wimbledon tennis UK; +44/20 8944 1066championships has renewed its contract with www.wimbledon.org the BBC for a further five years through to 2014. In addition to live TV rights, the ...
Technology deals.(Business)
Apr 01, 2008 ... <Pre> Technology deals BBC British public broadcaster's iPlayer is now UK; +44/20 8576 2488available in beta trial on Apple's iPod touch www.bbc.co.uk and iPhone device. This is the first time that the software is available on ...
Events diary.(Calendar)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Screen Digest event [SD][Pub] PEVE Digital Entertainment 2008 Paris, 17-18 April 2008; Screen Digest; t +44/20 7424 2888; f +44/20 7424 2838; e peve@screendigest.com; www.peve.screendigest.com Markets & exhibitions Satcom Africa 2008 Johannesburg, 7-11 ...
Correction.(For the record)(Correction notice)
Apr 01, 2008 ... The heading for the chart top left on page 80 ...
BPL Mobile.(For the record)(BPL Mobile Cellular Ltd.'s Mobile Jukebox)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... BPL Mobile, Indian network operator, has launched an on-demand music service called Mobile Jukebox. Consumers pay a monthly subscription of Rs 25 in addition to a per-minute charge to listen to music streamed to phones. Between 09:00 and 21:00 the ...
Break Media.(For the record)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Break Media, website and ad network operator is expanding its user-generated and professional video site Break.com, targeted at men, into international markets. In the initial stages of this roll-out, four new sites will feature home pages and search functions fully translated into ...
Dartybox.(For the record)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Dartybox, the French telco and Kesa electricals subsidiary, had registered 121,000 subscribers to its IPTV service at end January 2008. The figure was in line with Screen Digest ...
ITV.(For the record)
Apr 01, 2008 ... ITV, UK free-to-air broadcaster, will merge its merchandising and licensing arms, Granada International and Granada Ventures, home to the ITV DVD label. The move ...
Rhythm & Hues.(For the record)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Rhythm & Hues, US visual effects company, has established a new facility in India, moving nearly half of its current 210 Mumbai-based employees to a new site in Hyderabad. Rhythm & Hues ...
Technicolor Services.(For the record)(Thomson)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Technicolor Services, video division of French electronics giant Thomson (France; +33/1 41 86 50 00; www.thomson.net), is to open a compression and authoring (C&A) facility in Bangalore, India, which will ...
TelPol.(For the record)
Apr 01, 2008 ... TelPol, the Polish telco, has launched an IPTV service called JoyTV. Offered to subscribers on 27 March 2008, the service is distributed in MPEG-4 ...
Thomson.(For the record)(Brief article)
Apr 01, 2008 ... Thomson, global consumer and broadcast electronics group has launched NexCode, an HD AVC encoder that provides compression tools to create content in Blu-ray Discs ....