French pay TV operator Canal Plus has launched a c
French pay TV operator Canal Plus has launched a companion screen app for rugby fans.The Canal Rugby App will allow viewers to watch Top 14 French rugby clubs’ matches from a range of different camera positions as they are broadcast live on Canal Plus on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.The app will also make available additional video content covering the arrival of players at the stadium, warm ups and other behind the scenes action, post-match interviews and complete coverage of press conferences. Viewers can also access highlights of all Top 14 matches, as well as interviews and analysis.Other features include the ability to take notes on the match and players and compare these with those of other subscribers and the ability to exchange and share commentary via Twitter.The launch of the app follows Canal Plus’s successful launch of similar service for football fans, which has been downloaded 700,000 times.
ABox42 will exhibit at IBC on stand 14.J13 ABox42’s set-tops have been chosen by FTTH operator Deutsche Glasfaser to deliver TV services over its fibre network in Germany. Deutsche Glasfaser has chosen the ABox42 M-Series SmartSTB platform including the ABox42 advanced DVB feature set for its DGTV service, which will include around 100 SD channels, 50 HD and 100 radio channels and will be launched in October.Deutsche Glasfaser is one of the first major operators to deliver a full live IPTV service using unicast technologies, avoiding the need to set up and operate a complex multicast network for its service.The deployment will use technologies including HTML5, HLS adaptive bitrate streaming, and HbbTV services in combination with a HTML5 GUI and HLS Unicast adaptive bitrate streaming.Verimatrix is providing conditional access for the project, which will support Germany’s major VoD services and smart TV apps. Deutsche Glasfaser is also using ABox42 OPX Smart SaaS and cloud TV services for management of the box deployment in the field.“Operator services over time get more and more complex and offer much deeper functionality than in the traditional TV world. With our SmartSTB platform and the advanced Software Development Kit, Deutsche Glasfaser was able to develop a compelling user experience with all modern TV features quickly,” said Matthias Greve, CEO of ABox42. “Our SDK is based on fast performing HTML5 and can easily be integrated into existing operator backends of our customers.”
Orange saw solid growth in TV, mobile and fixed broadband in the quarter to March, but this did not translate into strong revenue growth in what CEO Stéphane Richard described as a “particularly challenging competitive context, notably in our two principal countries of France and Spain”.Stéphane RichardOrange had 9.658 million TV customers at the end of March, up from 9.097 a year earlier.In France, the operator had 7.103 million, up from 6.867 million, while in Spain, Orange’s TV subscriber base grew from 641,000 to 705,000. Elsewhere in Europe, the operator’s TV base grew from 1.589 million to 1.85 million year-on-year.Richard said that convergence “continues to be an engine for growth and loyalty for the Group” and highlighted the strong performance of Orange France in signing up customers to its fibre broadband service, with 168,000 new customers taking fibre in the quarter.Given the competitive environment, Orange is increasingly focusing on ways to mitigate costs. Last week the operator signed up to a network-sharing agreement with Vodafone in Spain, covering fibre and 5G. The group expects this project to generate savings of about €800 million over four years, including €100 million this year.Orange posted revenues of €10.2 billion for the quarter, down 0.1% on a comparable basis, with adjusted EBITDA standing at €2.6 billion.“Orange reported Q1 results this morning which were very much in line with our expectations and those of consensus. The outlook for French telco companies has improved recently as we’ve seen nascent signs of a ceasefire in the price war which began five years ago. Given the recurring nature of revenue at Telcos the industry has assumed high levels of debts over recent years. This means that if we see positive inflections in pricing which may have a small effect on revenues this will translate to a large effect on profits,” said Freddie Lait of Latitude Investment Management.“Orange as the market leader will need to maintain price discipline in order for pricing power to return to the market, and we will be interested to hear management comments on this during the call. Convergence continues to be a strong point of differentiation for Orange customer retention rates. For investors one of the key benefits of investing in Orange compared to incumbent peers is that during this phase of industry turnaround Orange are decreasing capex while others continue to need to spend more. All in all we believe Orange is incredibly well positioned to benefit from renewed pricing power and any possible consolidation in the French market, all while their investments in customer service and their network continue to bear fruit.”
It was also agreed that there was a need for increased and targeted enforcement to seize alcohol from under 18’s and more engagement with off licences to help address the issue.Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Hilary McClintock described the meeting as extremely informative and worthwhile.She said: “This is an issue of real concern to everyone and in particular to residents living close to St Columb’s Park.“We all want our young people to enjoy themselves but we want them to be safe and to be informed. Ongoing problems of underage drinking in St Columb’s ParkA multi-agency group meeting, chaired by Mayor Alderman Hilary McClintock, has met at Derry City and Strabane District Council Offices to discuss ongoing concerns and issues with anti-social behaviour caused by underage drinking across the City and District.Top of the agenda was the ongoing problems at St Columb’s Park, where residents have been concerned following reports of large numbers of young people gathering and consuming alcohol during periods of good weather.Two teenage girls reported to police that they were raped in the park earlier this month. One team boy was charged with rape and released on bailA second man arrested over a separate incident has been released on bail pending further inquiries.The meeting was called following a number of incidents of antisocial behaviour in a number of areas over the last few weeks in an effort to offer reassurance to the public with regard to safety in public areas and parks across the City and District.The meeting, which was attended by representatives from a number of agencies including the PSNI, Council and CCI, agreed to take forward a number of actions in an effort to address the problem.They included an increased proactive partnership approach to dealing with the issues raised including the early identification of incidents and early intervention, increased security and monitoring in problem areas, ongoing engagement with schools and the youth sector to raise awareness of the problem and proactive communication to encourage responsible behaviour in young people. MAYOR HILARY MCCLINTOCKMULTI-AGENCY GROUP’S PROACTIVE APPROACH SET TO ASSIST WITH UNDERAGE DRINKING ISSUESSt Columb’s ParkSUPT GORDON MCCALMONT ShareTweet “The issue of underage drinking in parks and open spaces is of significant concern to local residents and the wider public, who feel intimidated and afraid to go to places where young people are congregating.“There is also concern about the number of alleged incidents where teenagers have been the victims of alleged alcohol related crimes and it’s everyone’s responsibility to be proactive in doing what we can to address the issue and find solutions to the problem.”Encouraging the public to assist with the solution, the Mayor said it was important that residents and the public report issues and incidents where they notice young people gathering with alcohol, to the PSNI or the Community Safety Wardens so that action can be taken to prevent anti-social behaviour.She added that parents and grandparents also have an important role to play in knowing where their child under 18 is, what they are doing and speak to them about responsible behaviour and personal safety.“We want everyone to be able to enjoy and to be safe in our parks and open spaces.Alcohol recently seized by police in Derry’s St Columbs Park from under age children“By working together we can help change attitudes and behaviours and get the entire community to get involved in helping us resolve this problem.”The PSNI’s Derry City and Strabane District Commander Superintendent Gordon McCalmont said: “The commitment to address the wider issues relating to anti-social behaviour is both positive and welcomed.“Policing ASB can be resource intensive, especially over the summer months, and while we recognise that we have a part to play around enforcement, there is a collective responsibility involving partners, parents and community leaders to tackle the underlying factors that lead to anti-social activity.”Karen Phillips, Director of Environment and Regeneration with Derry City and Strabane District Council said drinking alcohol in parks and open spaces is not permitted and will not be tolerated and Council will continue to work closely with its partners, in particular PSNI, CCI and St Columb’s Park House in order to deal with these issues and to prevent recurrence.The contact numbers for the Community Safety Wardens are as follows – 07709457690 or 07736213140.And the non-emergency number for the PSNI is 101.MULTI-AGENCY GROUP’S PROACTIVE APPROACH SET TO ASSIST WITH UNDERAGE DRINKING ISSUES was last modified: May 16th, 2017 by John2John2 Tags:
