Hot topics click link for more
Streaming the entertainment revolution
The rise and fall
It isn’t exactly the FTSI 100 but Netflix has joined a rather exclusive club. The UK Office of National Statistics added the subscription video service to its basket of consumer goods and services watched for the rise and fall of prices. Video on demand subscription services, including Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, will now be part of the Consumer Prices Index calculation. Cut from the statistics were DVD rental prices as well as wallpaper paste and hardwood flooring.
Separately, the UK Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) reported video on demand subscription sales in 2013 – that would be Netflix, LoveFilms, et.al. – exploded 120% over the previous year. Music streaming subscription sales – that would be Spotify, Deezer, et-al. – rose 34%. Overall, the home entertainment business saw its first annual sales gain in five years, up 4% over 2012 to GPB 5.3 billion (about €6.3 billion), with web-driven services up 13.9% to GBP 3.18 billion (about €3.8 billion).
“The entertainment revolution has been driven by new and existing retailers taking huge gambles and investing in technology and new delivery mechanisms,” said ERA director general Kim Bayley, quoted by the Guardian (March 12). “This is stark evidence of the revolution in entertainment consumption being driven by entertainment retailers. The fact that 60p in the entertainment pound is now spent online and 26p in the pound is for access to content rather than ownership is a testament to the huge investment and technological ingenuity of retailers in providing consumers with new ways to enjoy the music, video and games they love.”
Then they came for the radio
Listen for the steps
“Unknown armed men” disabled the last Ukrainian radio stations in Crimea by the middle of Friday afternoon, said National Television and Radio Council deputy chairman Larisa Mudrak, quoted by Telekritika (March 14). On Monday (March 9) Ukrainian analogue television channels were pulled off the air and from cable networks, replaced by Russian channels. Forces of the Russian Federation have occupied the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula ahead of a hastily called and internationally unrecognized referendum on joining the Russian Federation scheduled for Sunday.
TRK Breeze, located in Kerch, lost transmission from “damaged electrical cables and electric part of the radio tower,” said the station’s website, about 14h00 local time. Radio ERA FM, which rebroadcasts Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), lost FM transmission in Krasnoperekopsk and Kerch, replaced by “propaganda broadcasts spreading anti-Ukrainian appeals…to support the illegal referendum,” said the station’s website.
“We have appealed to the police and prosecutors to immediately take steps to protect our radios and restore law and order,” said Ms Mudrak.
Billionaire media mogul busted
perhaps a message
Austrian authorities confirmed the arrest of Ukrainian billionaire Dmitry Firtash in Vienna on an international warrant issued by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mr. Firtash is principal owner of Ukrainian TV broadcaster Inter as well as much, much more. He was arrested Wednesday (March 12) by officers from the Austrian Office of Organized Crime and the EKO Cobra counter-terrorism unit.
“As a result of year of investigation by the American FBI and a warrant by a US Federal District Court, the Vienna Public Prosecutor issued a national arrest order against the person,” said Federal Criminal Police spokesperson Mario Hejl, quoted by Vienna newspaper Kurier (March 13). The US warrant charges Mr. Firtash with international business bribery and forming a criminal organization. He currently sits in a Vienna jail while Austrian courts and the Ministry of Justice consider extradition. (See more on media in Ukraine here)
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry indicated embassy officials in Vienna are prepared to offer consular assistance, reported Telekritika (March 13). Austrian officials insisted that the arrest was entirely coincidental to sanctions against former Ukrainian officials. Mr. Firtash was once aligned with the former government then seemed to switch sides.
A precipitous decline in reliable sources
Six degrees from Gazprom?
A major challenge in sorting through media developments is identifying the most reliable sources. The dismissal this week of Russian news portal Lenta.ru chief editor Galina Timchenko was, then, disturbing. Lenta.ru has been a reasonably reliable source for news from Russia – media-related and otherwise.
Ms Timchenko was apparently fired a few days after internet censor Roscomnadzor sent a warning about links to an interview with Ukrainian dissident Dmitry Jaros. No reason was given at the Wednesday morning meeting with Playbill Rambler SUP co-owner Alexander Mamut. She was immediately replaced by company public and governmental relations executive Alexei Goreslavsky, known as a social media specialist for political campaigns. (See more on media in Russia here)
Editorial staff at Lenta.ru posted on the site (March 12) that Goreslavsky is “controlled directly from the Kremlin offices” and that several would follow Ms Timchenko out the door. Playbill Rambler SUP is a joint venture formed last year when Interros owner and billionaire Vladmir Potanin reduced his media footprint, selling the ProfMedia broadcasting assets to Gazprom Media and merging internet assets – including Lenta.ru – Mr. Mamut’s SUP Media.
Ms Timchenko worked for Lenta.ru since the launch in 1999 and was named chief editor in 2004. Earlier she had worked for business daily Kommersant.
Completely unrelated (winky blinky), Kommersant CEO Pavel Filenkov announced the closure Kommersant Ukraine for financial and editorial reasons. “We require absolute coverage of all points of view, presenting the views from all sides,” he said, quoted by Telekritika (March 13). “We understand that now in Ukraine presenting a completely Russian point of view can lead to risks. These risks can be for the company, for the brand and for individuals.” Kommersant is owned by billionaire Alisher Usmanov who also heads the Gazprom investment arm.
Radio reporter assassinated in Kabul
Questions remain
Asia correspondent for Sweden’s public radio Nils Horner was shot and killed on a Kabul street corner Tuesday morning. The 51 year old was felled by several bullets to the back of his head from a silenced pistol fired by one of two men described as “in their 20s,” said AFP (March 11), and dressed “in western clothes,” said Sveriges Radio (March 11). Witnesses quoted by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladt said the assailants were “in military uniforms.” He was dead on arrival at a local hospital.
Diplomatic sources called the broad daylight attack rare in the well-guarded neighborhood in which many embassies and NGO offices are located. A Taliban spokesperson said their fighters were “not involved,” reported AFP. Horner arrived in Afghanistan Sunday (March 9) to cover the approaching elections. Also on Sunday, the Taliban ordered fighters to “disrupt” the April 5th elections.
A Kabul police spokesperson would not speculate whether Horner was targeted as a media worker or as a foreigner. Reports differ on whether or not suspects have been arrested. Since February 15th 20 media workers have been attacked in Afghanistan, noted Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF).
“Nils was one of our best and most experienced correspondents and what has happened to him today is terrible,” said Sveriges Radio CEO Cilla Benkö in a statement. “It is one of the worst days in the history of Swedish Radio.”
Net neutrality slips away
Telecom has a plan
Groveling of politicians notwithstanding, net neutrality – the idea of all data on the web treated equally – is being chipped away. Sweden’s leading telecom TeliaSonera is leading the charge to charge popular video providers Netflix, HBO, Viaplay and similar content providers for network access. For competitive reasons it’s difficult for telecoms to raise the rates for home consumers.
“During the peak hours between 8pm and 10pm video streaming uses more than 50% of our broadband network,” said Telia strategy director Freenasp Mobedjina to Dagens Industri (March 10). “That’s twice as much as a couple of years ago.” Those two evening hours eat 20% of Telia’s daily broadband capacity.
To solve the problem, the company is offering high capacity providers what it calls the Content Distribution Network. Netflix, for one, has resisted higher fees for ISP access but is adjusting the attitude in Sweden.
ViaSat, provider of Viaplay and owned by MTG, is not pleased. “We think about net neutrality,” said Viaplay CEO Niclas Ekdahl to SvD Business (March 10). “It feels wrong to the end consumer who does not have access to their content with a good speed and quality.” Legal wrangling is set to begin.
TeliaSonora isn’t blinking. “Once consumers had to pay for voice by the minute,” said spokesperson Björn Berg to Dagens Media (March 10), “and now fills the time with data. We believe the charge is necessary in order to expand and invest in the future.”
YouTube access limited in Russia
Out of sight, out of mind?
St. Petersburg, Russia ISP InterZet blocked access to YouTube for a few hours Monday. InterZet customers attempting to access YouTube were presented with a screen quoting Russian law on extremist content. An InterZet customer service representative told lenta.ru (Monday 10) that access was restored once the prohibited content was removed. The official Russian agency policing internet content – Roskomnadzor - did not publish a notice of violation on its website.
This follows Moscow ISP Acad blocking access to the video portal last week. Tech watchers in Russia suspect a banned pro-Ukrainian video uploaded to YouTube.
State broadcaster to close, license fee to disappear
New service without political appointees
Closing the current organization and, mostly, ending the household radio and TV license fee will save public broadcasting in Israel, said Communications Minister Gilad Erdan. Both the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and Israeli Educational Television will disappear and a new organization, yet to be named or detailed, will rise with fewer employees and more independence from government. The plan follows recommendations of a commission report led by independent film producer Ram Landes.
“What we want is something better, cheaper and divorced from political influence,” said Finance Minister Yair Lapid at a press conference announcing the decision, quoted by jpost.com (March 7). IBA senior directors are government appointees and, if final approval from the Israeli Knesset (parliament) is forthcoming, will be replaced. The IBA staff of about 1,600 will be downsized to about 600. Three TV channels – Hebrew, Arabic and a children’s channel - will emerge. The eight radio channels will remain but without advertising.
Earlier last week the Knesset Finance Committee reported that the IBA spent NIS 30 million (about €6 million) in 2013 for lawyers to chase down errant license fee payers. The new public broadcasting organization will be financed through the State budget and, except for radio, advertising after the household license fee disappears in 2015.
|
