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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals
CableLabs names Lookabaugh as new EVP of R&D
May 13, 2013 12:16 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsCableLabs, the cable industry’s research consortium, announced this morning that it had hired Tom Lookabaugh as its news executive vice president of research and development. Lookabaugh’s 20-year telecommunications career includes stops at ViaSat Communications, Entropic Communications and PolyCiper.
Dish chair dares Softbank to raise bid for Sprint
May 10, 2013 1:20 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe chairman of satellite broadcaster Dish Network Corp., which is trying to buy Sprint Nextel Corp., is daring Sprint's other suitor to raise its bid. Dish's Charlie Ergen told investors and reporters Thursday that based on the benefits Japan's Softbank says it would get from buying Sprint, it should be paying a higher price.
YouTube's new pay channels go from campy to kids
May 10, 2013 1:17 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAlthough the world's largest video site has rented and sold movies and TV shows from major studios since late 2008, YouTube is introducing all-you-can-watch channels that require a monthly fee. The least expensive of the channels will cost 99 cents a month but the average price is around $2.99.
BeIN Sport kicks off streaming service with TWC, BHN
May 10, 2013 11:08 am | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsAl-Jazeera Sport Media Network’s beIN Sport launched a new streaming service today with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks’ authenticated subscribers. The new service, which is called beIN Sport Play, will feature video content streamed in HD that is available on any broadband-connected PC, mobile device, or smart player
Averna hooks up with Pace on DOCSIS certification
May 10, 2013 10:49 am | by Mike Robuck | Products | CommentsMontreal-based Averna has forged a design-validation partnership with Pace that it said would accelerate customer premise equipment certification (CPE) for cable operators. Using Averna’s DOCSIS Channel Emulator (DCE), the two companies will help service providers gain SCTE-40 certification on various CPE equipment for the cable and broadband industry.
Dish's Q1 disappoints; lowest sub adds in years
May 9, 2013 2:11 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDish Network fell short of Wall Street expectations. Earnings were down 41 percent, and the company added only 36,000 TV subscribers in its first quarter, the fewest since 2009 when the recession and a dismal housing market hammered consumers.
Starz extends app to Android devices
May 9, 2013 2:06 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsStarz has made its TV everywhere app available on Android handsets and tablets, including Nook HD, Nook HD+, and the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10. Also, 3G/4G cellular access has been added to the service feature, giving Play users an additional connectivity option in addition to Wi-Fi.
Cablevision swings to loss; spending up on CPE
May 9, 2013 1:52 pm | by Brian Santo | News | CommentsCablevision Systems swung to a first quarter loss, due in part to declining revenues in its cable TV unit. The company added a modest number of revenue generating units (RGUs), and increased average revenue per user (ARPU) by a little more than 1 percent, to $156.34.
Entropic files patent infringement lawsuit against ViXS
May 9, 2013 12:49 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsSemiconductor vendor Entropic has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against ViXS that relates to its use of MoCA technology. ViXS responded by saying that Entropic’s patent infringement claim was entirely without merit and that it planned to defend itself.
Comcast’s Pick joins ValueVision board
May 9, 2013 12:34 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsComcast’s Robert Pick, senior vice president of corporate development, joined ValueVision Media’s board of directors. ValueVision, which Comcast owns a stake in, is a multi-channel retailer that operates under the ShopNBC name.
Liberty Global appoints Mockridge as CEO of Virgin Media
May 8, 2013 12:33 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | CommentsJohn Malone’s Liberty Global announced that it has picked former News Corp. executive Tom Mockridge as Virgin Media’s new CEO. Mockridge will take over for current Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett once the $23 billion deal, which is subject to shareholder approvals, closes
The 2013 CTO Roundtable
May 8, 2013 1:35 am | by Brian Santo | Articles | CommentsTime Warner Cable’s Mike LaJoie, Cablevision’s Yvette Kanouff, Cox Communications’ Kevin Hart, and Buckeye Cablesystem’s Joe Jensen share their thoughts on some of the most prominent technological challenges they are dealing with today, and a few they might have to contend with tomorrow.
Second-screen CTO Vendor Roundtable
May 8, 2013 1:10 am | by Mike Robuck | Articles | CommentsCED’s CTO roundtable has mined the thoughts of cable operator executives for years now, but this is the first iteration of a vendor CTO roundtable. CED narrowed the field to chief technical officers, or the equivalent, that play a part in the multi-screen ecosystem.
Open Mic: Cable’s best strategy for winning the multi-screen numbers game
May 8, 2013 12:23 am | by Buddy Snow, President, CEO, Morega Systems | Articles | CommentsService providers are transitioning to a multi-screen service model, offering subscribers access to media content at home and on the go across TVs, PCs, and mobile devices. These media mobility services remain annoyingly cumbersome today, but the industry recognizes the need to push forward and smooth out the wrinkles as quickly as possible.
Memory Lane: Predicting the Internet, cable-style
May 7, 2013 8:37 pm | by Stewart Schley, Media & technology writer | Articles | CommentsIf you’ve been around awhile, or are of “a certain age,” you may recall a few early attempts to couple cable’s distribution infrastructure with text and graphical information. You know: stuff you might label today as “content.” Starting in the early 1980s, a parade of initiatives flew across cable’s radar, launched by some big names (then) in media and publishing, plus a few homespun start-ups.
