February 22, 2012 – A Legislative Assembly (AL) committee gave its consent to the controversial copyrights bill revision, but stressed that the bill aimed to protect copyrights instead of targeting public antenna companies or favouring Cable TV, which welcomed the new bill yesterday.
The third standing committee of AL gave the green light for the much-debated bill, paving the way for approval by the AL general assembly. Committee president Cheang Chi Keong, however, stressed that the new bill did not, as many people suggested, target the local public antenna companies that are relaying copyright-protected TV programs, nor did it favor Cable TV, which has been the territory’s only legal concessionaire of cable television services since 1999. Cable TV has been repeatedly accusing public antenna companies of competition by illegal means.

To view the complete article, please visit http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/33954-committee-approves-copyright-bill.html

February 21, 2012 – YouTube is enlisting Hollywood’s help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.

The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming per day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV. The Google-owned site is spreading its wealth among producers, directors, and other filmmakers, using a $100 million pot of seed money it committed last fall. The fund represents YouTube’s largest spending on original content so far.

YouTube believes it is laying groundwork for the future. While the number of traditional TV watchers has leveled off in recent years, more and more people are watching video on mobile phones, tablets and computers, especially the 18- to 34-year-old age demographic that advertisers covet.

To view the complete article, please visit http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/youtube-enlists-bigname-help-to-redefine-channels-20120221-1tk73.html

Monday, February 13, 2012 – India is welcoming foreign investment in its digital cable TV sector, and has set a Foreign Direct Investment cap of 74 per cent for non-Indian investors. The new limit applies to DTH, IPTV, mobile TV, and digital cable distribution.

The newly set cap replaces a number of other assorted investment limits within the TV sector. However, the cap for non-digital cable TV would remain at its present 49 percent level, according to Uday Kumar Varma, secretary, information and broadcasting ministry.

Read more at http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/02/13/india-sets-74-as-fdi-level/

Monday, February 13, 2012 – US copyright-based industries private sector coalition the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has submitted recommendations to the US Trade Representative (USTR) in its annual ‘Special 301′ review. The IIPA report documents rampant online and physical piracy of copyrighted works and severe market access barriers, surveys problems and developments in 41 countries/territories, and recommends that 32 of them be placed on the USTR list of countries/territories that deny adequate and effective IPR protection or that deny fair and equitable market access. IIPA also advocates concrete solutions to address ‘Copyright Industries’ Initiatives and Challenges for 2012′. The report calls for urgent government action to address these concerns that undermine US job and export growth.

Read more at http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/02/13/copyright-body-recommends-%E2%80%98priority-watch-list%E2%80%99-countries/

Monday, February 10, 2012 – The appeal of traditional television to Google and Apple is apparent in the changing economics of the business: Subscription revenues growth is accelerating, advertising is holding its own and video is becoming the streaming gold of an exploding mobile ecosystem.

Even in its transformation, television is a business that everyone wants a piece of. Television’s vitality lies in its inherent transference to the digital sphere. Instead of being rendered obsolete, television will become a driver.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/167671/tv-drives-revenues-in-digital-realm.html#ixzz1mJnuXJER

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 – New Delhi: After being severely criticised by the Supreme Court over the 2G licence-allocation fiasco, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is now facing heat from broadcasters, cable and DTH firms and other stakeholders who are asking it to “stay away” from “over regulating” the industry under the government-mandated digitalisation policy.

Also, broadcasters like Star, Zee, ESPN, Asianet, Sun, and various cable and DTH operators have come together to tell Trai not to meddle in issues like tariff and pricing of content, advertisement-free channels, or imposition of more regulations under the proposed digitalised cable regime.

To view the complete article, please visit http://www.financialexpress.com/news/dth-cos-broadcasters-take-on-trai-for-dictating-tariff/908631/

January 30, 2012 – The Japanese government posted on the net fake TV dramas in order to fight the piracy. It released on two popular file sharing networks series of files made to look like popular TV drama videos. When opened the files alert users of popular file sharing networks Winny and Share to stop handling pirated media on the web. The message is that both uploading and downloading copyright protected media is illegal in Japan.

To view the complete article, please visit http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-Tokyo_steps_up_the_war_against_web_piracy.aspx

2 feb, 2012 – Following on December’s raid on a shop selling set-top boxes that allowed access to pirated content streams on the Internet, police in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield raided a second shop yesterday, and arrested the owner. Like the first shop (in Hurstville, NSW) the shop in Ashfield was acting as the arm of an international piracy syndicate, selling boxes that gave access to illegal feeds from China of regional pay-TV channels. Police acted on a complaint from TVB Australia, whose Chinese-language programming was prominent among the 1000 TV channels being pirated. Police told the media that the owner of the shop was facing charges that could lead to a fine of AUD 60,000 or up to a 5-year jail sentence.  The local police chief said the shop’s operations were “essentially theft” and pirates operating in Australia will eventually get caught.

The interview with the police chief:

An article from the local press can be viewed here:  http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/sydney-pirate-pay-tv-outfit-offering-1000-channels-for-50-a-month-raided-police-20120202-1qu35.html

January 28, 2012 – AFTER years of experimenting, the top video destinations on the web are suddenly flush with original programming: documentaries, reality shows and scripted series.

Over the next few months, YouTube, Netflix and Hulu will roll out their most ambitious original programming yet – a digital push into a traditional television business that has money, a bevy of stars and a bold attitude of reinvention.

The long-predicted collision between internet video and broadcast television is finally under way.

To view the complete article, please visit http://www.news.com.au/technology/tvs-latest-frontier-is-internet-tv/story-e6frfro0-1226256985850#ixzz1kvHAONDg

January 19, 2012 – As political support for the SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy bills is waning in Washington, unions representing Hollywood talent urged congressional supporters to hang tough and took aim at Google and other backers of Wednesday’s massive Internet blackout.

“We know the pressure that you are getting to renege on your commitment,” the guilds wrote in a letter to Democratic senators from New York, Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, co-sponsors of the Protect Intellectual Property Act, which will be taken up by the Senate next week. “We are the voice of thousands of individuals who thank you for your standing steadfast against this barrage and in support of the jobs of our members.”

To view the complete article, please visit http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/01/hollywood-unions-google-sopa-pipa.html