(Aug 19, 2014) Fast-growing rocket launch company SpaceX, backed by billionaire Elon Musk, is to build a new rocket launch site in Texas.
Read more at Advanced Television
Astro shoots for reality-TV success in SE Asia
(Aug 18, 2014) Hoping to win over viewers across Southeast Asia, pay-TV operator Astro Malaysia Holdings will soon begin producing the region’s answer to “American Idol,” the hit U.S. reality show that has launched many amateur vocal artists to stardom.
Read more at Nikkei
Tata Sky completes half of its MPEG-4 STB rollout
(Aug 18, 2014) It was a year ago that Tata Sky decided it would stop depending on the government for giving its additional transponder space and switched to the alternative method of compression that others in the industry had already begun.
Read more at Indiantelevision.com
FOX Sports Channels Rebranded Across Asia
(Aug 15, 2014) FOX International Channels (FIC) has rebranded its portfolio of FOX Sports Asia networks throughout the region, with the change effective today.
Read more at World Screen
Global Ad Spending to Exceed Pre-Crisis Peak Next Year
(Aug 15, 2014) In its biannual This Year, Next Year report, GroupM forecasts that global advertising investments in 2015 will reach $560 billion, finally exceeding the pre-crisis peak of 2007-08.
The U.S. still accounts for a quarter of global ad dollars, with a moderate 3.4 percent growth rate this year to $162 billion. Second-place China is excelling at a faster rate, expecting 9.8 percent growth to $76 billion. Nigeria, Kenya and Vietnam are also growing.
Read more at World Screen
15 August, 2014
Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Aug 15th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!
Brought to you by:
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
The regulatory body in Thailand (NBTC) is coming in for scrutiny – and criticism – after the elected government was replaced by the military a few months ago. It seems likely that the current government will implement some changes to the Act which governs the NBTC’s activities. Many issues are being debated, but the controversy has to be seen as part of the ongoing struggle for influence in Bangkok, with “civil society” organizations (“Academics, non-governmental organisations, consumer protection foundations,” etc) contesting the control of the NBTC by ex-military officers, and the military pushing back. |
Anjan MitraExecutive Director, India |
In India, the buzz this week was all about TRAI’s proposals to place new, tightened limits on media ownership. It is by no means clear how many of TRAI’s recommendations will be accepted by the government, but the subject is going to be hot for a while. CASBAA, by the way, offered TRAI comprehensive views on these issues last year, and for anybody with renewed interest in that subject, the submission can be found here. Unfortunately, TRAI did not go for the “light touch” we advocated. In any case, if you want to know the details, there’s a comprehensive summary published here. |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
Also in Thailand… financially troubled pay-TV operator CTH is implementing a revamped business model, after failing to generate enough revenue to cover the high costs of its contract with the English Premier League. |
Sara MaderaDirector, Member Relations & Marketing |
Forget Generations X and Y—the next age group is ready to take over. Meet Generation Z. Only 4-18 these kids are socially conscious, open minded, entrepreneurial, and already shaping the world (and themselves). They also value their privacy, preferring platforms like SnapChat and Secret to their parents’ Facebook. Meet the next media darlings, and the last of these letter characterized generations. |
Michael SteelRegulatory Assistant |
The City of London Police Intellectual Property Crimes Unit (PIPCU) is demonstrating a fantastic level of ingenuity in trying to obstruct functioning of the piracy machine. Now they’re working with the advertising industry to replace ads on pirate websites with information blocks saying “This Website Has Been Reported To The Police.” The pirates, of course, are indignant: how dare anybody get in the way of their money? |
John MedeirosChief Policy Officer |
Innocent! That’s what Silicon Valley-based “black box” TV supplier Jadoo-TV proclaims itself to be. A few weeks ago, we congratulated the Indian police on the raid that busted a Jadoo-TV upload site in Hyderabad, which was supplying 100+ Indian TV channels, and y’know what… we maintain our kudos for the cops! Jadoo claims its platform is “user generated content,” (where have we heard that before?) or maybe “supplied by external content partners.” (Except that at the time of the raid, the owner of Jadoo and the owner of the “external supplier” operating the Hyderabad site were… surprise, surprise… the same.) This has all the marks of a modern multinational piracy ring: boxes made in China, people in India hired to do the dirty work, viewers in No. America, Australia, Europe, and a “brain” in Silicon Valley with more lawyers than scruples. |
Godfrey ChanMember Relations & Marketing Executive |
Telstra’s sale of traditional telecom subsidiaries and now pumping an extra $US270m into Ooyala, means that a vertical expansion of the media broadcasting business is inevitable. With the popularity of streaming TV mobile, expect them to be competing with Google/YouTube in Australia soon. |
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FOX Names David Madden President of Entertainment
(Aug 14, 2014) David Madden, the president of Fox Television Studios, has been appointed president of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX), while Joe Earley has been elevated to chief operating officer for Fox Television Group (FTG).
Read more at World Screen
HBO Asia Enlarges Free Preview Offer for The Knick
(Aug 14, 2014) HBO Asia is offering the chance for viewers to watch the pilot episode of The Knick on nowTV’s VOD service, now Video Express First, starting tomorrow for two weeks.
Read more at World Screen
Telstra’s Thody: ‘Content piracy is theft’
(Aug 14, 2014) David Thodey, CEO of Australian telco Telstra, has declared that piracy of content is theft, and suggested that the company can play a role in its prevention.
“Piracy of content is theft. I hold a very strong view on that. You can’t justify it because of the price of content. A whole industry exists to create great content and it’s theft,” he said at the company’s results briefing.
Read more at Advanced Television
Irdeto: World Cup Piracy Targeted European, North American Broadcasters
(Aug 13, 2014) Irdeto has released new piracy figures from the FIFA World Cup, finding that European and North American broadcasters were the biggest targets for illegal streams worldwide.
Irdeto’s research identified European broadcasters as the main targets for illegal streams—27 percent of streams were detected. European piracy was rivaled by North America with 19 percent of illegal World Cup streams coming from broadcasters in that region.
Read more at World Screen