Asian Media Information and Communication Centre

Another US Internet industry grouping has declared its opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), currently stalled in ‘mark-up’ stage in the House. The Save Hosting Coalition, a consortium of businesses in the web hosting and Internet infrastructure industries, has delivered a letter from 300 leading industry executives expressing their opposition to the legislation. The Coalition delivered the letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, Jr.

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The US Congress has introduced the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, which, if passed, would repeal the compulsory licence, must-carry, retransmission consent and local broadcast ownership limits placed on cable, satellite and IPTV companies.

The immediate effects of the legislation would be notable.
Read more: US free-to-air market up in the air | News | Rapid TV News http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/2011122218249/us-free-to-air-market-up-in-the-air.html#ixzz1hbxG9Vmm

The worldwide pay-TV market will continue to grow to generate service revenues of $236 billion by the end of next year. Cable TV operators continue to face increasing competition from IPTV and over-the-top (OTT) services. Increasing broadband penetration and the growing number of people using Internet-connected devices are supporting subscriber growth in IPTV and OTT services.

“Cable TV services will still dominate the overall pay-TV market, although this segment’s market share is expected to slightly decrease from 2011. Cable TV service revenue will account for 48.6% of total pay TV revenue in 2012,” says Jason Blackwell, practice director, digital home.

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In yet another example of the muddying of media categories, Vevo, the music video Web site set up by the two largest record companies is in talks with cable carriers to become a TV channel.

The company, which operates independently but is owned by the Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and the Abu Dhabi Media Company, has grown quickly since it was introduced two years ago as the music industry’s version of Hulu: a source of high-quality online content that could draw premium advertising.

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An Emirati Internet pirate apprehended by Abu Dhabi police for downloading and distributing subscription TV content is facing a fine of nearly $1 million.

The Arabian Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAA) filed a complaint on behalf of pay-TV network OSN with Abu Dhabi police and a local Emirati citizen was arrested on 802 counts of piracy violations.

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Tao Shiming, head of the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television’s (SARFT) Department of Media Organisation and Online Programming Supervision, revealed at the 4th Annual 2011 China Media Trend Forum currently underway in Beijing that SARFT is exploring the development potential of paid programming, with the possibility of reducing the number of premium TV channels in China from 132 to 20-30.

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Pay-TV technology specialist NDS has filed to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of its common stock.

The company intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NDSG’.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell or their expected price. The company said Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities are among the underwriters to the offering.

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