Added 17th August 2007
The Office of Fair Trading has said it is to investigate BSkyB’s £125m takeover of the consumer electronics firm Amstrad. The OFT will study the relationship between manufacturer and platform operator and whether the deal would constitute a “substantial lessening of competition”. Amstrad currently supplies BSkyB with 30% of its set-top box inventory, but the concern would be that Sky’s grip on the market would be too great. The OFT could refer the purchase to the Competition Commission. BSkyB has said the purchase would allow in to benefit from in house design and innovation. The satellite platform is already facing regulatory scrutiny following its purchase of 17.9% in broadcaster ITV. Separately, Ofcom is looking into proposals by Sky and National Grid Wireless to turn its three DTT channels into a pay-TV offering. BSkyB’s influence will also come under investigation as part of Ofcom’s investigation into the pay-TV market. - Source Broadband TV News

Added 18th July 2007
SES Astra has announced that the Astra 1L satellite has been successfully deployed at the prime 19.2 degrees East orbital slot. The Lockheed Martin built satellite was launched from Kourou, French Guiana on May 5. The new satellite allows Astra 2C to finally make its move to 28.2 degrees East. A number of channels are planning to move across to the new satellite, although for viewers the change will be seamless. In all 16 additional transponders are being made available on Astra 2C of which at least 10 will direct their services to the UK and Ireland. In a further move the arrival of Astra 1L will enable SES Astra to move Astra 1E from 19.2 degrees East to 23.5 degrees East. The satellite position serves the German cable market and the Czech and Slovak Republics. - Source Broadband TV News

Added 18th July 2007
BSkyB saw its net subscriber figure rise by 90,000 in the quarter to June 30, bringing the total to 8.582 million, or 17% more than in the corresponding period last year. Its Sky+ household total meanwhile rose in the quarter by 207,000 to reach 2.374 million, or 28% of the base, and multiroom households increased by 46,000 to 1.343 million. Although the take-up of HD services was encouraging – 48,000 subscribers were added in the quarter, bringing the total to 292,000 – the real driver was Sky Broadband. The three months to June 30 saw an additional 259,000 customers sign up to the service, thereby increasing total take-up by 56.6% to 716,000. - Source Broadband TV News

Added 18th July 2007
A coalition of platform operators and content providers has asked the European Union to reject an offer by national royalty collection bodies in their attempt to resolve a long running competition dispute. Cisac said it would offer multi-territorial licences covering performing rights for the internet, satellite and cable. Mechanical rights, recordings archived to tape or more likely some form of digital storage, would be covered under a separate agreement. The royalty agencies collect performance and broadcast fees on behalf of artists and composers. Under the proposals the agencies have offered to drop some of the restrictions imposed on licences sold. The 27 companies including Liberty Global, Deutsche Telekom and RTL said in a letter to European Commission President Jose Barroso and Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes that the settlement would lead to a “costly, inefficient and fragmented licensing system for music rights”. The group has called for an “economically meaningful licensing system”. - Source Broadband TV News

It has been reported that the Latest Pace Sky Digibox - Model DS445 is experiencing problems with some of the Global TVLink Eye’s, the model affected has a sticker showing Q.C. PASS 10/07. The TVLink eye lights up but the I/R functions do not work.
All other Sky/Sky+/SkyHD Digiboxes are not affected.

TVLink eye models with the sticker showing Q.C. PASS 11/07 are reported to be not affected.

SCC Distribution goes from strength to strength as the company
continues with it’s astounding growth.

The premises at Cheshunt, already several years ahead of the original business expansion plan, has recently been expanded with the addition of a further 5,000 square feet of warehouse capacity.  Even so, this barely keeps up with the stocking requirements for the phenomenally successful new Paragon Components products for which SCC is the UK’s major distributor.

In addition to and continuing the success of the SCC Distribution East depot in March, Cambridgeshire - and by popular demand - a new Trade Counter and Warehouse will be opened shortly in Norwich, serving customers and Paragon Components local Distributors in Norfolk and Suffolk.

For further details please call 07816 687903.

The BBC Trust has given a green light to Freesat, the planned free-to-air digital satellite TV service from the BBC and ITV. The corporation's regulatory body has confirmed a provisional decision it made in February to give the go-ahead. The BBC Trust had received 700 responses to consultation and said "an overwhelming majority of respondents, 93 per cent, considered that the BBC should be taking action to improve access to its digital services in the lead-up to digital switchover".

But the approval does come with conditions, the Trust said Freesat would be required to show that other broadcasters who signed up to distribute TV and radio channels via the new satellite service were not being subsidised by the licence fee. In addition, Freeview should be kept "operationally separate from its involvement with Freesat to minimise any potential effect on competition".

Freesat is expected to offer up to 300 TV and radio channels - compared with around 75 that are currently available through Freeview. It is due to launch by the time the Borders region switches off its analogue signal in 2008-2009 and will operate on a not-for-profit basis.

The Trust said it hoped that other public service broadcasters will sign up to Freesat and will share the costs of the new joint venture.

Both Sky and Virgin objected on the basis a publicly funded broadcaster would be impacting on a free market. However, the Trust said it decided to go ahead as it would "be of significant public value" for licence fee payers, by addressing "inadequate access to the BBC's digital services in the lead-up to switchover". It also pointed out: "BSkyB is under no regulatory obligation to provide subscription-free access and we think it reasonable to conclude that it does so as a commercial choice and therefore there was no guarantee it would remain a subscription-free route to access BBC services in the future as BSkyB could choose to withdraw or change the terms of this service.