Verizon

Broadcom to acquire AMD's DTV business

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:46:56 -0400

Broadcom, the semiconductor giant that makes chips for IPTV set-top boxes among other products, has agreed to acquire the digital TV operations of fellow chip firm AMD for almost $193 million in cash. Broadcom has other DTV solutions, but said the unit will be the central piece in its evolving DTV efforts, and that it will invite all of the AMD employees affected by the acquisition to join its company.

This deal comes just a few months after NXP Semiconductors acquired the broadband media unit of Conexant Systems, an acquisition which was seen as a direct attempt by NXP to become more competitive against other chip firms like Broadcom. More chip-related M&A in this sector would not come as a surprise at this point.

For more:
-see this story at Multichannel News

Related articles:
NXP acquired the Conexant unit in May. NXP report
Broadcom has a deal with Verizon that may involve FiOS. Broadcom report

Study: Carriers preparing for multi-platform video

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:36:32 -0400

Telco TV service providers are seeing increased competition from over-the-top online video firms, but a new study from Heavy Reading suggests telcos are still interested in providing distribution platforms for multiple kinds of content, including online video. More than 90 percent of 120 service providers surveyed said multi-platform video distribution will be important in the next five years. Still, they disagree over how broadly it will be delivered in the home--only 32% think PC-TV connections will be crucial.

For more:
- read this post at Contentinople

Related articles:
Verizon is testing online video over the TV. Verizon report
IOL Netcom sees both PC and TV video as important. IOL netcom report

Verizon signs deal for exclusive movie premiere

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:16:04 -0400

Verizon Communications' FiOS TV customer will have the chance tonight to see an exclusive Disney movie premiere via video-on-demand, three days before it airs on the Disney Channel. The original Disney Channel film is called "The Cheetah Girls One World," and FiOS customers will have access to it at no extra charge. Such advance showings or exclusive premieres are one way telco TV service providers can start to gain notice among customers as purveyors of value-added content.

The idea is not completely new, as satellite TV companies have done it in the past. But telcos have been criticized before for not working closely enough with Hollywood and the rest of the content industry, to establish telcos as valuable content partners. If telcos are willing to pay the price for such deals, it can help them promote their nascent services and gain some friends in the content world.

For more:
- see this story at MediaPost Publications

Related articles:
Telco TV players discussed the need for close content ties at NAB this spring. Telco TV report
Broadcasters seemed uncertain of their IPTV role at NAB 2007. Telco TV report

Verizon, Dish lead HD channel charge

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:37:30 -0400

TV providers continue to try to out-do one another in the area of high-definition channel line-ups, and Multichannel News reports that Dish Network and Verizon Communications are leading the way. Both service providers are targeting 150 HD channels by the end of this year. Dish last month launched a new satellite giving its capacity to reach 150 channels, and it recently launched its TurboHD service. DirecTV also is moving to 130 HD channels later this month.

For more:
- ready this story at Multichannel News

Related articles:
HDTV programming can strain network bandwidth. HDTV report
HDTV rollouts by small telco were affected by a software issue. HDTV report

Verizon adds 176,000 FiOS TV subs, launches in NYC

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:43:29 -0400

As part of its second quarter earnings report, Verizon Communications said it added 176,000 FiOS TV subscribers. That figure is not as impressive as Verizon's first quarter TV customer additions of 263,000. Verizon did not seem surprised by the drop-off, alluding to a free HDTV promotion that had run its course. Analysts may have been a bit more surprised, according to a story at Multichannel News. Verizon now has a total TV tally of more than 1.4 million subscribers.

The telco also chose Monday to officially launch FiOS TV in New York City, saying the service initially is in reach of about 340,000 Big Apple households. Verizon, which received regulatory appoval for the launch earlier this month, said it plans to pass 500,000 households by the end of the year, and cover all of New York City within six years.

For more:
- see this coverage of Verizon's subs at Multichannel News
- read more about the NYC launch in this Associated Press story

Related articles:
Verizon recently received state regulatory approval for the NYC launch. Verizon report
Verizon added 263,000 FiOS TV subscribers in the first quarter. Verizon report

Verizon testing online video over TV

Dan O'Shea — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:24:12 -0400

The IPTV World Forum North America event last week in Chicago was a cozy little affair (maybe too cozy and little for some, but presentations were well-attended both days). Maybe potential new customers and partners were hard to come by, but one of the things FierceIPTV enjoyed about this conference was the number of service provider presentations.

One of those presentations was from Joseph Ambeault, director of consumer prodcut development, video services at Verizon. He talked a lot about Verizon's approach to using customer beta test groups to evaluate IPTV applications and concepts. One of the juicier details Ambeault mentioned was that Verizon is now beta testing online video delivery over TVs. He said "several hundred customer homes" are involved in the test, and that Verizon spent very little time instructing them, but is now monitoring where they are going and how often to access online video content.

Verizon has discussed Web video-to-FiOS TV ambitions before, but it sounds like things are really moving along. Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny has more details about who Verizon is working with and how they are doing it. Stay tuned.

For more:
- read this post at Zatz Not Funny

Related articles:
The TV-Web video marriage is also something TiVo and Amazon are working toward. TV-Web video report
Over-the-top video could have an impact on TV advertising. OTT video report

Telco TV players prep for Olympics

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:52:24 -0400

Major telco TV players AT&T and Verizon Communications each have cut deals with NBC to carry the broadcaster's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing next month. The distribution deals with broadcaster NBC include presentation of live event coverage on IPTV (that's RFTV for Verizon), broadband Internet and mobile device platforms.

Verizon will show NBC's coverage on FiOS TV, and also will roll out two NBC high-definition channels to show basketball and soccer coverage at the games. Verizon also will make highlights, breaking news and results available on its streaming wireless video service. AT&T is the official telecommunications provider for the U.S. Olympics team, and will stream contests live on U-verse TV, and will provide mobile access on the new MediaFLO service called NBC Olympics 2Go.

For more:
- read this post at SportsBusiness.com

Related articles:
China Telecom recently was nearing 1 million IPTV customers. China Telecom report
Sports content was beefed up by both telco TV players last year. Sports content report

Verizon continues analog phase-out

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:50:06 -0400

Verizon Communications earlier this year began the process of phasing out analog broadcast in some of its East Coast markets. On July 21, Maryland and Northern Virginia will be added to the program, which already has seen Verizon stop using analog signals for its FiOS TV services in New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York.

The telco informed the Federal Communications Commission last year that it would eliminate analog channel delivery in advance of the agency's all-digital mandate set to take effect in February 2009. The move allowed the telco to qualify for a waiver on deploying set-top boxes with embedded security functions.

For more:
- see this post at Multichannel News

Related articles:
The digital TV transition may help cable TV providers competitively. Digital TV report
Verizon phased out analog transmission in New York in April. Verizon report

RFD-TV to run on Verizon FiOS

Dan O'Shea — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:03:33 -0400

RFD-TV, an eight-year-old TV network focused on rural America that already reaches about 32 million homes, has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Verizon to run over the telco's FiOS network on a nationwide basis. FiOS can already contribute another 1.2 million or so homes served to the RFD-TV cause, but RFD-TV official also likely had an eye on the 6.5 million homes that the FiOS network passes.

For more:
- see this coverage at Multichannel News

Related articles:
Verizon cleared the 1.2 million TV customer mark earlier this year Verizon report
Verizon and AT&T both boosted their content offerings late last year Verizon report

IPTV vendors recognize small telco challenge

Dan O'Shea — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:49:10 -0400

Just about every vendor of telecom hardware or software has the common dream--sometimes realistic, sometimes not--of landing deployment deals with Tier 1 carriers like AT&T and Verizon Communications. Even some of the vendors who claim not to have this dream would completely change their models overnight if AT&T came calling. The market for IPTV gear has been no different, as developers of IPTV middleware and other technology have lined up to compete for business at the biggest telcos.

However, while a Tier 1 deployment can help make or break an IPTV technology vendor, so can the lack of anything else but a Tier 1 deployment. With the IPTV roll-outs by Tier 1 telcos now well in hand, many vendors are turning their attention toward smaller independent telcos. These companies represent a vast market of very small opportunities, and one-size-fits-all vendor approaches need not apply. That means adapting existing IPTV gear and software to the unique cost and scalability needs of the small guys. Vendors like Innovate Systems, Quative and Thomson are just of few of the vendors currently making the effort.

For more:
- see this report at Telephony

Related articles:
SureWest is one independent telco that is making IPTV work SureWest report
Canadian independent Bruce Telecom is an IPTV player worth watching Bruce Telecom report