IPTV Broadcast Services offering television packages and services over internet protocol. These are companies that offer a wide range of IPTV channels often for a subscription cost. The TV packages offered are comparable to cable and satellite TV services and work over a closed internet network. This section contains news and information on these IPTV Broadcast Services and the companies behind them.
Burhan Fatah, CEO of Sivoo.com is at the forefront of delivering multicultural and non-English language through ITV and closed IPTV systems.
I recently interviewed him about what it takes to be at the head of such a service, and what he thinks of the future of his company and IPTV in general.
As OTA and Cable barely cover cultures past Spanish in the U.S. Sivoo currently has 20,000 hours of programming in Spanish, Chinese, and Hindi.
Burhan sees this as a Greenfield opportunity for content delivery and Sivoo in particular.
In a statement which has chilled the blood of many U.S. IPTV operators, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has just asked the state’s Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) to require that AT&T obtain a cable TV license for its IPTV offering.
Connecticut AG Blumenthal stated “this (AT&T U-Verse IPTV) service must be licensed as cable, regulated as cable.”
In light of a July 27 ruling by Federal Judge Janet Bond Arterton that AT&T’s U-Verse IPTV service is a cable television service, the DPUC has the ability to stop AT&T’s infrastructure improvements and construction, as well as its marketing activities for enrolling new customers until it complies with the onerous licensing requirement.
Rumour has it (and by that we mean, analysts are predicting) that Nortel may be giving IPTV the glad eye and rubbing its hands together in greedy anticipation.
UBS Warburg (UBS being the United Bank of Switzerland) issued a report last week in which Nikos Theodosopoulos had some choice speculation for the company’s future direction:
After, what we believe was a failed bid to acquire Avaya, we believe Nortel is likely to seek alternative acquisitions in a bid to either increase scale or accelerate growth in strategic areas including enterprise, carrier VoIP and/or IPTV.
Some of you may already have heard of FilmOn. It’s a service that allows you to purchase films, download them and then burn them onto a DVD.
Kind of like what lots of people already do with films rented from Blockbuster, but a shade more legal and without the need to venture outdoors or risk late return fines.
Far from settling into their own little corner of digital downloads, it seems that FilmOn has aspirations way beyond its current offerings and is planning to roll out its own IPTV service.
AT&T has announced that a further 38,000 new subscribers signed up to its U-verse service in the second quarter of 2007, bringing the total to 51,000.
U-verse offers IPTV, Internet access and will eventually offer VoIP to consumers across America, although the service is currently limited to just 23 metropolitan areas of the US including San Francisco, California and Dallas, Texas.
“AT&T has a strong foundation for growth in wireless and IP-based services, and in the second quarter we improved our trajectory in key areas,” said Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO of AT&T. “Our U-verse video service has begun to ramp aggressively.”
Due to legislation pending approval in Korea, Korea Telecom (KT) has decided to trial, and ultimately launch, an IPTV service in Russia.
The president of KT suggested a trial service will being in August ahead of a full service launch next year. Thirty Russian channels will be broadcast in real-time over the internet in addition to other shows, films and sports being available on demand.
KT was hoping to launch the IPTV service first in its native Korea - to the point where it delayed overseas offers. However, legislation relating to IPTV deployment must be passed in Korea first and it’s currently still pending approval.
As a result, KT decided it must push forward with its overseas interests. The company is still keen to roll-out IPTV in Korea swiftly to help boost the media industry.
UK broadband and mobile operator Orange has signed a multi-year video on-demand deal with Disney-ABC International in preparation for its looming IPTV venture.
Subscribers to the service will be granted access to watch a selection of films from Disney, Touchstone and Miramax, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Déjà Vu and Wild Hogs.
“We’re committed to developing a digital TV service that will allow our customers to get more from their TV by putting them in control of the best quality entertainment,” said Tim Pearson, Director of IPTV for Orange.
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