iTV

ITV Sells Friends Reunited Social Network for $42 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 5, 2009 - 11:31am.
London - U.K. broadcaster ITV has sold its Friends Reunited online social network to publisher DC Thomson for just $42 million -- four years after it acquired the company for $289 million, the Financial Times reported.

U.K. VOD Venture Project Kangaroo's Assets Sold to Arqiva

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2009 - 7:13am.
London - Project Kangaroo, the online video-on-demand joint venture set up by U.K. broadcasters BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, has been sold for an undisclosed sum to Arqiva.

Format Dispute to Blame for Lack of Ads on Susan Boyle Videos

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2009 - 9:07am.
London - A dispute between U.K. broadcaster ITV and YouTube (NASD: GOOG) over ad formats is to blame for why the estimated more than 100 million views of Susan Boyle's performance on "Britain's Got Talent" have not yet earned a single ad dollar, the Times Online reports.

U.K. Regulators Kill Kangaroo Joint Venture VOD Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2009 - 12:12pm.
London - Kangaroo, a proposed online video-on-demand joint venture between U.K. broadcasters BBC, ITV and Channel 4, has been effectively killed by U.K. antitrust regulators, PaidContent reported.
tags: Law | Policy | VOD | TV | iTV | BBC | Channel 4 | Hulu | Kangaroo |

U.K. VOD Venture Project Kangaroo Raises Competition Concerns

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 4, 2008 - 12:15pm.

London - Project Kangaroo, a Web video-on-demand joint venture in the works from U.K. broadcasters the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, has been criticized by the U.K.'s Competition Commission for potentially restricting competition, The Register reported.

U.K. VOD Joint Venture Project Kangaroo Delayed by Probe

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 8, 2008 - 8:53am.

London - Project Kangaroo, a TV video-on-demand joint venture proposed between U.K. broadcasters BBC, ITV and Channel 4 that was slated to launch in the fourth quarter, has seen its launch date delayed while the U.K. Competition Commission extends its probe of the service.

tags: Law | Policy | VOD | TV | iTV | BBC | Channel 4 | Project Kangaroo |

Analysis: Freesat Proves Popular Online in the UK

Authored by Robin Goad on May 14, 2008 - 8:06am.

The launch of Freesat, the free satellite TV service provided by the BBC and ITV in the UK, proved popular with online consumers during its launch week. UK Internet traffic to www.freesat.co.uk, the service’s online homepage, increased by 627% between the weeks ending May 3rd and May 10th, while UK Internet searches for the term ‘freesat’ increased by 752% over the same period, making it the fastest moving search term in the UK last week.

tags: Video | TV | UK | iTV | Metrics | BBC | Sky | Freesat |

Top U.K. Broadcasters Team on Web TV Joint Venture

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 27, 2007 - 8:01am.

London - Three U.K. broadcasters -- the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 -- on Tuesday announced plans to launch an online video-on-demand joint venture in 2008, codenamed "Kangaroo." The U.K. service will carry over 10,000 hours of current and archived TV programming, initially made available for streaming and downloading from the Web, both for free, and as rentals and paid downloads.

Analysis: Paul Potts, Britney Spears and Pulling Clips Off YouTube

Authored by Jay Baage on September 13, 2007 - 10:09am.
People go to YouTube to find some of the best moments on TV like Paul Potts' amazing audition for “Britain’s Got Talent” and some of the worst like Britney Spears’ perfomance at MTV’s Video Music Awards. In the Ivory Towers of the television networks they are debating whether these user-uploaded clips are great branding or just plain piracy. While Potts’ clip is still up on YouTube after over 30 million views, Viacom has pulled most of the clips from Britney’s VMA performance. So what is the right strategy here?

U.K. Broadcaster ITV to Offer Live, On-Demand Programs Online

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2007 - 4:06pm.

London - British broadcaster ITV has announced plans for a $40 million redesign of its online service at ITV.com, which will offer both live streaming and on-demand programming, Reuters reported. In addition to archives of series like "Rising Damp" and "Upstairs, Downstairs," the site will feature original interviews with actors, guest columns, and the ability for users to upload their own videos for possible inclusion on ITV newscasts. The news comes as fellow U.K. broadcaster the BBC gave the green light to its similar iPlayer service, set to debut later this year.

tags: Video | VOD | TV | iTV | ITV.com |

Internet TV Distributor Narrowstep Raises $7.1 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 6, 2007 - 11:29am.

New York - Narrowstep, a provider of Internet-based video content delivery services, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $7.1 million through a private placement.

Broadband Provider Narrowstep Signs Distribution Deal With ITV

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2006 - 1:20pm.
London - Narrowstep, a provider of broadband TV delivery services, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with ITV, to expand the U.K. broadcaster's local online TV service across the U.K. next year.
tags: Deals | Video | TV | UK | iTV | Narrowstep |

U.K. Broadcaster ITV Acquires Web Business Directory Scoot

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 4, 2006 - 2:58pm.
London - U.K. broadcaster ITV announced that it has acquired Enable Media, the parent company of online business directory Scoot, for about $5.9 million.

Kudelski Group Buys Control of OpenTV for $132.3 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2006 - 3:02pm.
San Francisco - OpenTV, a developer of interactive TV software and services, announced on Thursday that Switzerland-based Kudelski Group, a developer of digital TV content protection technologies, has acquired voting control of the company from John Malone's Liberty Media in a stock deal valued at $132.3 million. As part of the deal, Liberty will pay San Francisco-based up to $19.7 million.

DirecTV Hires TNS Media Research to Cull Interactive TV Data

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 13, 2006 - 1:27pm.
New York - Satellite TV provider DirecTV, which counts over 15.5 million subscribers, announced on Wednesday an agreement with TNS Media Research to launch an audience measurement service that will focus on DirecTV interactive subscriber households. TNS will use aggregated and anonymous clickstream data from a sample based on 250,000 DirecTV customers to provide content producers and advertisers with a better understanding of consumer consumption of DirecTV's various programming and interactive services.

OpenTV, weComm Team on Interactive TV Features for Cell Phones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 7, 2006 - 1:27pm.
Amsterdam - OpenTV, a developer of interactive TV software and services, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with mobile developer weComm on interactive TV applications for mobile phones.
tags: Mobile | Video | Mobile TV | Tech | TV | iTV | CE | DVR | OpenTV | Cellphones | weComm |

PixelPlay Develops Interactive TV Game for "How to Eat Fried Worms"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 30, 2006 - 12:33pm.
New York - Interactive TV games developer PixelPlay announced on Wednesday that it partnered with New Line Cinema to launch an interactive game for the studio's upcoming film "How to Eat Fried Worms." The title is available on PixelPlay's DishGAMES interactive games channel on satellite TV provider EchoStar's DISH Network service.

DirecTV Adds Interactive Features to NFL Sunday Ticket Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 24, 2006 - 6:47pm.
El Segundo, Calif. - Satellite TV provider DirecTV on Thursday announced the launch of several new interactive features for subscribers to its NFL Sunday Ticket service.
tags: Sports | Video | TV | iTV | DirecTV | NFL | Cable | Satellite |

ITV Channels Added to U.K. Wireless Carrier 3's Mobile TV Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 9, 2006 - 1:00pm.
London - U.K. wireless carrier 3 has announced an agreement with ITV, to offer the U.K. broadcaster's ITV1 and ITV Play games channel on its mobile TV service, which is powered by MobiTV.
tags: Mobile | Video | Mobile TV | TV | UK | iTV | Wireless | 3 | MobiTV |