It's In The News: a central thread

[Toto]

Originally Posted by popper

you have to wonder why he's not got rid of all of it, and more so, who took the shares off his hands (i didnt bother to look).

perhaps he's waiting for the price to rise a bit ,he's lost a few quid in this quarters dividends payout on what he offloaded so far, so its interesting.

Yeh, quite possibly.

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/item/56673/254/260/3


Good on sky for hitting back, saw the ad in last weeks sunday mail.
About time they rolled their sleeves up with branson.

I didn't realise you read the Mail, arcam - I always thought of you as an Independent or Guardian reader.

Anyhoo, back on topic - I see in the article you quoted that Sky said "cable customers are "missing out" on hit shows such as Lost and 24"

Funny, I thought those series had finished.

[Downloads]

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/item/56673/254/260/3


Good on sky for hitting back, saw the ad in last weeks sunday mail.
About time they rolled their sleeves up with branson.

Hitting what what back and with what? Just seems like bluster to me, an excuse for more adverts.

[cimt]

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/item/56673/254/260/3


Good on sky for hitting back, saw the ad in last weeks sunday mail.
About time they rolled their sleeves up with branson.

Reminds me of the Mac vs PC adverts always on Myspace "Hello I'm Mac and I'm excellent, and I'm PC and I'm always breaking." Stuff like that, it's pathetic really. Acting like a bunch of kids.

[popper]

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=9839
"
MySpace threatening net bandwidth

YouTube & Facebook also hurting businesses

...
The social-networking sites "are generating much more DNS queries per user than other sites," said Keith Oborn, network systems product architect with Virgin Media.

"Because of the way MySpace pages are structured, a single page can generate hundreds of DNS queries."

Oborn said the fact that many of these social-networking sites, including MySpace and YouTube, are served by content-delivery networks adds to the DNS traffic.

"They're making use of an awful lot of short TTLs [time to live values]," Oborn said. "That increases the load on the DNS servers.

The same thing would happen for an enterprise customer as you see happening on a service provider network."

Oborn said it's rare for one website to account for 10 percent of DNS traffic.

"MySpace is the one that everybody knows about," he said. "It's the thing we need to keep a careful eye on in DNS land."

Virgin Media is addressing this phenomenon by upgrading its DNS infrastructure to the latest version of Nominum's software, which uses a technique called Anycast to provide load balancing for improved redundancy.

Virgin Media will complete the upgrade this summer.
With the new configuration, Virgin Media said it "could do 2.5 million DNS queries per second, but all we need is 50,000 or 60,000”, Obort said.

"We have a lot of overcapacity in DNS, which is both cheap and good to have. ... It cost us a few hundred thousand pounds at most."
Virgin Media is anticipating continued growth in its DNS traffic, driven in part by social-networking sites.

"Overall our DNS traffic is growing twice as fast as the number of users," Oborn said. ..."

[popper]

everyones commenting in the other thread, so heres the latest 'in the news' link posted there.
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...l#post34341600
From The Times
July 1, 2007
Branson response paves way for $10bn buyout of Virgin Media

[popper]

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...l#post34342415
Branson making his private equity mark

By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in London
Published: July 2 2007 20:32 | Last updated: July 2 2007 20:32

[popper]

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?...lass=0&id=2650
"
ITV 'mulls sale of Freeview slots to Virgin'

ITV is reportedly discussing the sale of some of its Freeview channel slots with Virgin Media. Broadcastnow.co.uk said the talks came as ITV re-evaluated its digital channel strategy.

According to sources contacted by Broadcast, ITV has shelved earlier reported plans to launch a movie channel in the slot once occupied by ITV Play, and then ITV2+1.

Virgin Media is due to launch its free-to-view Virgin 1 channel in the autumn but its Freeview position is restricted to an 8pm to 6am slot. By using the ITV slot the channel could be available 24 hours each day."...

---------- Post added at 18:22 ---------- Previous post was at 18:16 ----------

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/10...l#post34381981
Burch played no part in Virgin auction
Rob Shepherd
23 August

[popper]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008...rss&feed=media
"
Multi-million pay bonanza for Virgin Media chiefs

• James Robinson, media editor The Observer,
• Sunday January 6 2008

Two directors at cable company Virgin Media have been awarded lucrative share options, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, America's stock market regulator.

Former Five chief executive David Elstein and Edwin Banks have each been granted shares worth millions of dollars. Elstein was handed 187,500 shares, worth around $2.8m (£1.4m), and Banks was awarded 125,000 shares, worth approximately $1.87m.

Banks has provoked controversy as a director because he has close links with Bill Huff, the US investor who used to control NTL. NTL merged with Virgin Mobile to form Virgin Media in 2006.

He worked for Huff's New Jersey-based hedge fund, which still owns a small stake in Virgin Media.

Other large investors in Virgin Media objected to his presence on the board last year, claiming it gave Huff too much influence over company strategy.

That prompted the resignation of another ex-Huff employee, William Connors, who was also on the board.

The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, although it generates its profits in the UK.

The group has a history of paying its board members handsomely: last year, it emerged that its top executives were paid almost $45m (£22.4m) in 2006, while Sir Richard Branson, who ..."

---------- Post added at 04:40 ---------- Previous post was at 04:29 ----------

http://www.cbronline.com/article_new...7-1F7D1EEC783C
"
Ofcom to ensure broadband charges are fair

4th January 2008
By Staff writer
Ofcom, the UK's telecoms regulator has launched an investigation into the hidden costs consumers claim are being charged by mobile phone and broadband companies, reports TimesOnline.

Ofcom claims to have seen an increase in complaints from customers, who state that they had received unexpected bill amounts for itemised bills, non-direct-debit payment and premium-rate technical helplines, for the services they are subscribed to.

...

The telecoms watchdog plans to launch a consultation document about the charges. Ofcom states that this is an attempt to regularise the billing system and make sure that they are clear.

Ed Richards, head of Ofcom, said: "Consumers of communications services see headline prices fall, but they must not be misled... they need confidence that any additional charges are fair, transparent and justified."

Ofcom's report also indicates that several companies charge customers to fix problems. Virgin Media converted its broadband technical helpline to a premium-rate number, charging 25p a minute.

The company claimed it was necessary to stop people from calling the helpline about problems other than broadband.

The report also points out that companies sometimes levy penalties for payment by means other than direct debit.

An administration fee of £3.50 is charged by Orange for each phone on an account not paid by direct debit, Virgin Media charges £5 a month, while BT has fixed the rate at £4.50 per quarter.

BT sources claim that the company had to introduce the charge because "some payment methods are more costly to process than others".

Ofcom also state that a few mobile companies penalise customers who ask to end their 12-or 18-month contract early.

In such cases, the customers are asked to pay the full monthly rental due for the remainder of the contract period.

The customers are also charged for late payment of bills and restoring a service after it has been suspended for late payment.

According to Weller, customers could be misled because the stealth charges often are not levied for the first three months of a contract.

The fees appear in the fourth month, by which time the customer would have stopped scrutinising the bill."

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by popper

http://www.cbronline.com/article_new...7-1F7D1EEC783C
"
Ofcom to ensure broadband charges are fair

4th January 2008
By Staff writer
Ofcom, the UK's telecoms regulator has launched an investigation into the hidden costs consumers claim are being charged by mobile phone and broadband companies, reports TimesOnline.

Ofcom claims to have seen an increase in complaints from customers, who state that they had received unexpected bill amounts for itemised bills, non-direct-debit payment and premium-rate technical helplines, for the services they are subscribed to.

...

The telecoms watchdog plans to launch a consultation document about the charges. Ofcom states that this is an attempt to regularise the billing system and make sure that they are clear.

Ed Richards, head of Ofcom, said: "Consumers of communications services see headline prices fall, but they must not be misled... they need confidence that any additional charges are fair, transparent and justified."

Ofcom's report also indicates that several companies charge customers to fix problems. Virgin Media converted its broadband technical helpline to a premium-rate number, charging 25p a minute.

The company claimed it was necessary to stop people from calling the helpline about problems other than broadband.

The report also points out that companies sometimes levy penalties for payment by means other than direct debit.

An administration fee of £3.50 is charged by Orange for each phone on an account not paid by direct debit, Virgin Media charges £5 a month, while BT has fixed the rate at £4.50 per quarter.

BT sources claim that the company had to introduce the charge because "some payment methods are more costly to process than others".

Ofcom also state that a few mobile companies penalise customers who ask to end their 12-or 18-month contract early.

In such cases, the customers are asked to pay the full monthly rental due for the remainder of the contract period.

The customers are also charged for late payment of bills and restoring a service after it has been suspended for late payment.

According to Weller, customers could be misled because the stealth charges often are not levied for the first three months of a contract.

The fees appear in the fourth month, by which time the customer would have stopped scrutinising the bill."

Let the battle commence.

[popper]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01...rter_ntl_suit/
"
Number 10 spinner fingered in NTL investor 'bullsh*t' suit


By Chris Williams → More by this author
Published Monday 14th January 2008 12:50 GMT

The man Gordon Brown hopes will pull the government out of its popularity slump was accused of deliberately misleading investors over the financial status of NTL when he was its COO.

Documents filed in a New York class action suit - the cable firm was listed on Wall Street - claimed that after a 2001 conference call Stephen Carter was asked "how can you... persuade investors to believe that NTL is going to be OK when you know it isn't?"

He allegedly replied: "What I tell them is nine-tenths bullshit and one-tenth selected facts."

Carter was poached from a City PR firm and appointed strategy chief by the Prime Minster last week.

The case was settled for $9m without admitting liability by an insurance company acting on behalf of Carter and nine other directors in 2006.

At the time of the call, NTL was saddled with massive debts from investment in the UK cable network. Much of the bill has been inherited by the current owner Virgin Media, which was formed after NTL merged with Telewest in 2006.

Carter left his job as NTL's chief operating officer in 2002. The suit said he and other senior executives illegally lied to spin their way out of the share price nosedive triggered as the full extent of its financial woes emerged.

The conversation is recalled in evidence from his former customer marketing director Charles Darley. It piles further embarrassment on the government, as it tries to move on from a series of scandals that have brought its integrity into question in many eyes.

According to The Times, Carter declined to comment other than to say that US court actions were “often complex and long-running”, while his lawyer said Carter flatly denied the allegations.

We asked Number 10 for comment - we're still waiting.®"

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by popper

He allegedly replied: "What I tell them is nine-tenths bullshit and one-tenth selected facts."

Obviously a natural born politician who missed his calling somewhat when he entered commerce.

[popper]

i missed this related mobile tv news from last year and only realised after reading todays news and the second news link below.
http://www.mobilechoiceuk.com/News/V...TV+service/756
"
Virgin Mobile ditches its mobile TV service

27 July 2007

Virgin Mobile is pulling the plug on its mobile TV service less than a year after its launch.

The move has prompted some experts to question consumers' propensity for watching television on a small mobile screen. However, it could be argued that Virgin did itself no favours by launching the service with only one handset - the unusual and unfortunate looking Lobster 700TV phone.


Viegin Mobile launched its TV service last October with a £2.5 million advertising campaign starring Pamela Anderson. However, the takeip has not matched the marketing spend, with around 10,000 customers signing up to the service.

Although service providers like 3, Orange and Vodafone offer customers mobile TV content via 3G, Virgin Mobile was the first UK operator to offer consumers a digital broadcast TV service. However, technology begind the service only enabled a limited number of TV channels, including BBC1, ITV1, Channel 4, E4 and ITN News.

Since then, the European Commission has since voiced its support for DVB-H technology, as favoured by the likes of Nokia and O2, which enables up to 16 channels.

The bandwidth supporting the mobile TV content was supplied by BT Movio, which - due to its disappointing experience with Virgin - has since cancelled its deal with radio company GCap to provide spectrum for broadcasting TV content to mobile phones."

i did link the odd choice to use DAB-IP for the broadcast mobile TV service ,all in the name to be first.

didnt do the NTL/TW/VM executive much good though did it, given they picked the cheap and nasty option, even though it was clear even then that DVB-H(2) is the future for EU wide multi platform long term growth.

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/11...-relating.html

---------------------------------
http://www.mobilechoiceuk.com/News/V...+Player+X/1019
"
Virgin Mobile signs games and video deal with Player X

21 January 2008

Virgin Mobile customers will soon have access to a raft of Player X's games and videos


Under the terms of the deal, Player X says it will source all entertainment and adult comedy mobile video content as well as choosing games content for the Virgin Mobile portal.

It means that Virgin Mobile customers could soon be tuning in to Player X's Knight Rider mobile 'Retrosodes'; three minute animated mobile TV programmes based on Michael Hassellhoff's cult Eighties show.

Other Player X content on offer includes mobile games Family Fortunes and Etch a Sketch, and made for mobile TV shows like Zapper TV and Geek TV."

the VM executive just dont seem to have a clue when it comes to picking the right thing that UK customers might want to pay for and have it grow long term, shame.
-----------------
just like then, im now wondering if its werth posting to the board today, as i dont seem to be getting any good tech related threads or feedback going....

its getting real boring reading and answering the same basic (wireless)questions over and over , perhaps its time to move on elsewere, and let others post the odd interesting news thread now and then when they can be bothered, rather than keep this one going.

[popper]

well, if the high courts take the Gemstar side, its potentially one way to force a replacement for the antiquated liberate middleware i suppose, after all its probably cheaper to replace that than pay licensing fees if they can find something else that isnt covered by the patents OC.

rebol/view tcp:ip scripting gui being a good case on point.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01..._virgin_media/
"
Virgin Media trashes patent infringement accusations

TV Guide™ firm cries foul

By Chris Williams → More by this author
Published Thursday 24th January 2008 17:23 GMT

Virgin Media has slammed a High Court patent infringement lawsuit brought by the firm behind the massive US TV Guide franchise as an act of "flagrant opportunism".

TV Guide has gone all techie thanks to the rise of digital cable, and Gemstar-TV Guide International reckons it has now has "one of the world's most extensive patent portfolios directed to interactive programming guides".

It claims the UK cable monopoly owes it licensing payments because of features in its set-top boxes. The firm says it asked Virgin nicely to pay up, but failed to reach a settlement


...

A Virgin Media spokesman replied: "We're confident the courts will see Gemstar's action for what it is: a piece of flagrant opportunism. We have been advised by our external counsel that the case is without merit and we will defend it vigorously."

The patents in question are EP(UK)0969662, EP(UK)1377049, and EP(UK)1613066, relating to techniques for providing an interactive programming guide and handling recordings from it.

Gemstar-TV Guide insists other unnamed European operators have coughed up, so Virgin Media should too. ®"

[injuneer]

Virgin Media director, David Elstein resigns.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitalt...gin-board.html