Verizon Taps ON Networks to Expand FiOS TV High-Definition Video-On-Demand Programming

Verizon and ON Networks(R), Inc. (ON) today announced that Verizon's FiOS TV customers will now have access to high-definition (HD) original digital TV shows from ON Networks. These shows can be watched any time for free on FiOS TV's video-on-demand (VOD) service, which customers access by pressing the "VOD" or "On Demand" button on their remote control, by using the main menu on FiOS TV's interactive media guide, or by selecting the VOD channel.

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DirecTV Is Outpacing Dish. And Now Comes Malone.

Liberty Media chairman John Malone and Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen are two of the most mercurial executives in the pay TV industry.

Now, the two mavericks are determining the futures of DirecTV and Dish Network, the two satellite providers, with roughly 31 million subscribers between them.

Yet, as Malone and Ergen begin to hit heads, the companies they run have diverged, with one handily beating the other in gaining customers.

DIRECTV ROLLING

DirecTV, the nation's second-largest pay TV provider with 17 million subscribers, is basking in strong subscriber growth. DirecTV gained 275,000 subscribers in the first quarter, an increase of 17%. Its winning formula has been: Focusing on upscale customers; growing its lineup of national HD channels, now at 95; and aggressive marketing.


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Designed for Today's HD Lifestyle AOC Releases 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Today's electronic consumers want a digital lifestyle with high-definition, wide-screen digital quality performance at a price that doesn't break the bank. Today, AOC delivered on all accounts with the release of their Envision Series 1080p 42-inch HD LCD TV.

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For 2 New Shows, Fox Cuts Back on Ads

LOS ANGELES Fox is shaking up the commercial TV model with "Remote-Free TV."

At its upfront presentation Thursday, the network announced it will air two new drama series, J.J. Abrams' Fringe and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, with dramatically reduced commercial breaks.

"It's a simple concept and potentially revolutionary," Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Liguori said. "We're going to have less commercials, less promotional time, and less reason for viewers to use the remote. We're going to redefine the viewing experience."

Both shows would have network commercial loads of about five minutes per hour, about half the usual. The commercial pods would also be shorter and they would have about half the promo load as well.

In an interview after the presentation, Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly acknowledged that "Remote-Free TV" was a risk but there needed to be a "paradigm shift" in network TV.



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Pace Americas Announces Family of Next-Generation MPEG-4 Set-Top Boxes for Cable

BOCA RATON, Fla. & NEW ORLEANS, BUSINESS WIRE -- Pace Micro Technology plc (LSE:PIC), the leading independent developer of digital TV technologies for the global payTV industry, today announced a new family of next-generation Click for the lowest price on dmnobieblankmpeg');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>MPEG-4 advanced video compression set-top boxes for cable operators in North and South America. The announcement was made at the cable industry's premier convention, The Cable Show - '08, being held May 18-20 at The Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

The Pace family of Click for the lowest price on dmnobieblankmpeg');" onMouseOut="setTimeout('hideLayer()',500);" class=hotlink2>MPEG-4 set-top boxes provides cable system operators with solutions to meet their subscribers' increasing demand for both linear HD (high definition) channels and bandwidth intensive HD VOD (video on demand).



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Govt approves digital TV plan

Prague, April 28 (CTK) - The Czech government Monday approved a plan for the switch to digital terrestrial TV broadcasting which sets the date for the end of analogue broadcasting on most of the Czech territory as of Nov 11, 2011.

The government also agreed that an interministerial commission be set up to find a way for toughening conditions for imports and registration of used cars.

In two regions, namely Zlinsky and Jesenicky, analogue TV broadcasting is to continue until June 2012 due to technical problems.

The plan is voluntary and its implementation cannot be forced. It is necessary that Czech TV, TV Nova and TV Prima exchange their current analogue frequencies for digital ones. If they agree, each of them will get one more digital licence in exchange.


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Verizon to offer Big Apple TV service

BASKING RIDGE — Verizon Communications Inc. has reached an agreement with city officials to provide television service throughout New York City that would compete with cable and satellite companies.

Officials of Basking Ridge-based Verizon said they intend to build over the next six years a high-speed fiber-optic network, opening a potential market of 3.3 million homes in the city's five boroughs.

Sales of the service in Manhattan, marketed under the FiOS brand name, will start later this year, they said.

The network would give the company capacity to package TV, high-speed Internet connections and phone lines to compete with Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems Corp. and other companies.

"With the introduction of direct competition among cable companies, prices and service levels would reflect real market forces, and New York City customers would be the beneficiaries," said Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber, president of the city Economic Development Corp.


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