News Views

CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry.

News Views

If you’re only just finding out about Disney’s purchase of most of 21st Century Fox’s assets, you need to seriously reconsider your news diet. CASBAA Chairman Joe Welch (from 21st Century Fox, btw) first mentioned the rumours in his opening remarks at the Convention, and now just over a month later, the deal is done. Well, done as in agreed, not done as in passed regulatory approval, although it seems to have the tacit approval of a certain...

News Views

You may have seen last month the FBI in the US named the hacker responsible for leaking Game of Thrones from HBO servers and for attempted extortion. While announcing the indictment charges and naming an Iranian national, the Manhattan court official borrowed the famous ‘Winter is Coming’ dialogue from the series and said: “For hackers who test our resolve in protecting our intellectual property — even those hiding behind keyboards in countries far away — eventually, winter...

News Views

Things are heating up in New Zealand. Pay-TV operator Sky announced that it had won a preliminary court injunction against ISD sales by a Christchurch-based reseller, which as a result seems to have ceased trading. A case against a second pirate (Hamilton-based “My Way”) continues; that guy has said he intends to fight hard in the courts. He’s just a little guy, fighting the “bullying” media industry, he says...... (Isn’t there another shyster pirate in NZ who pretends...

News Views

The Internet Hysteria Machine is churning out lots of full-throated screams about the FCC’s intended reversal of the full-on regulation of the ISP industry adopted in the name of “net neutrality” under the Obama administration. What else can you call it when Popular Mechanics, for Pete’s sake, blares forth this headline: “FCC Is Revving Up To Destroy The Internet As We Know It.” Very insightful, eh? Conducive to understanding the issues? Nah…as this blogger noted, discussion of the...

News Views

Hold onto your hats, the AT&T-Time Warner roller-coaster ride isn’t over — AT&T and the US Department of Justice have reportedly agreed to extend the review of the deal past this week’s deadline. Earlier, stories were making the rounds that the Trump White House was trying to kill the deal (which would not be without historical precedent), or wait, was it Rupert Murdoch who was trying to scuttle it? But either way, if the terms “behavioural conditions” and...

News Views

In case you still had any doubt that Apple has Netflix and Amazon in its’ sites, Apple has shown its hand with the hire of British TV executive Jay Hunt, who has held top roles at Channel 4, the BBC and Channel 5, and whose credits include British hits such as Sherlock, Luther, Humans and Gogglebox. One of the UK’s most senior TV executives, Hunt has been responsible for running Channel 4’s £630m annual budget for the past...