Rovi launches search engine website + acquires SideReel.com

Rovi, a behind-the-scenes force in everything from metadata to copyright protection, recently launched AllRovi.com, a search-and-recommendation engine for entertainment content, and bolstered that effort with the acquisition of SideReel.com, a leading source of links to TV content online.

What’s different about this Rovi move is that its core product, electronic programming guides, is essentially getting some exposure on the open web as opposed to the connected devices that has been its focal point to date.

Rovi is going to be a strong player given the depth of content and personalization technology they bring to the game.While AllRovi.com has plenty of film and music content to bring to the mix, Sidereel will have them covered on the TV side.

To read more about this, click here.

Ruckus Wireless' Wi-Fi Approach to the Mobile Broadband Challenge

The bandwidth challenges inherent to today's mobile broadband services are well-reported, particularly with the heavy usage of AT&T's iPhone customers on its 3G network. Although mobile broadband network upgrades continue, operators are looking at other solutions to reduce network constraints. Wi-Fi is one such solution, and most of the activity has been focused on encouraging users to leverage the Wi-Fi connections on their smartphones along with the in-home access point (which is now found in nearly 30% of U.S. households).

However, Ruckus Wireless today announced what it calls "carrier grade" Wi-Fi products - including an outdoor access, a backhaul bridge, indoor equipment, and sytem-wide remote Wi-Fi management software - positioned as a strategic solution to the demand for mobile broadband access. Ruckus notes that the consumption of mobile bandwidth is outpacing revenue growth, and operators will need a Wi-Fi solution to augment 3G and 4G networks.

We're pleased to welcome Ruckus Wireless to our CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit - 15 and 16 November - in Amsterdam. They will be represented on a panel discussion titled Mobile Broadband: Devices, Strategies, and Consumer Demand.

NDS to Demonstrate its Über-gateway at the SCTE Show

There have been a number of announcements this year regarding cable operators' push toward deploying customer premise equipment that takes on the functionality of the residential gateway, set-top boxes, media server, and manager of remote user interfaces. So far, I've seen news from Liberty Global, and NDS is preparing to introduce its version at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo next week.

Demonstrations will include:

Secure end-to-end delivery of triple and quad play services from a single managed gateway device: featuring NDS’ Unified Gateway - an advanced media server that enables unified delivery of video, data and voice services in and outside of the home network from a single point-of-access. The Unified Gateway integrates residential gateway, home networking connectivity and optional DVR functions through a single home-based device. It helps MSOs to converge and launch new offerings with home network connectivity supporting a wide range of IP-enabled entertainment and communication devices.

Unified end-user experiences across multiple devices: using NDS Snowflake - an advanced user interface (UI) that provides an integrated portal for broadcast, DVR, on-demand and over-the-top programming. Snowflake UI enables high performance and unified experiences for the end user, on a wide variety of connected-devices, such as TVs, set-top boxes, DVRs, PCs, and smartphones.

More Set-top Box/Home Network Convergence: Netgem is Evaluating the Purchase of Pirelli

There are certainly synergies that exist between companies in the set-top box and residential gateway markets, and the acquisitions have followed, with a particular focus on the European market. First, there was NDS and Jungo back in late 2006. Pace Micro has been on a tear in 2010, acquiring both Bewan Systems and 2Wire. Of course, one cannot forget Technicolor, which brings requisite hardware, software, and content delivery to the table.

Now, Netgem has confirmed that it is evaluating the purchase of Pirelli Broadband Solutions. Pirelli Broadband Solutions specialises in products and platforms for the broadband connected homes and offices. Its business covers residential access gateways, hybrid IPTV set-top boxes , remote management and embedded middlewares.

Alcatel-Lucent's Velocix and Its Strategic Alliance Program

Here's more evidence that the incumbent video infrastructure companies are quickly rolling the devleopment of solutions for multi-content and multi-platform delivery.

On Wednesday, Alcatel-Lucent announced a strategic alliance program for the Velocix Digital Media Delivery Platform to ensure that service providers can benefit from a range of pre-integrated technology components to accelerate the deployment of multiscreen consumer solutions.

Initial members of this alliance program include: 3Crowd, Adobe, Aspera, Blue Coat Systems, Clearleap, Elemental Technologies, Harmonic, Inlet Technologies, Microsoft, RGB Networks, Rights Tracker, thePlatform™, and VidZapper.

Focused on digital media delivery solutions, this program creates an ecosystem of some of the major players in the application and content provider space similar to Alcatel-Lucent’s leading role in the award winning, multi-industry ng Connect Program, which focuses on the development of next generation of broadband services based on Long Term Evolution (LTE). This open collaboration will result in innovative and creative bundled multimedia offers that service provides can quickly deploy and take to market.

This new strategic alliance program brings together key players throughout the industry to foster collaboration in four main focus areas: • Manage – For Content Management, Ingestion and Encoding • Publish – Players, EPG/UI and Feed Aggregation • Monetise – Ad management, Revenue enablers, Transaction processing • Deliver – Velocix Digital Media Delivery Platform provides the delivery capabilities Alliance members will benefit from direct interaction with engineering and development teams to accelerate solution design and enable knowledge and skill sharing to accelerate deal cycles.

Telcordia Helps Mexico Accelerate Mobile Data Adoption

Telcordia, a global leader in the development of fixed, mobile and broadband communications software and services, announced a contract with the Number Portability Technical Committee and Comision Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL), Mexico's telecommunications regulator, to provide the distribution and query service of number portability in the country for SMS and content providers and other emerging players in the mobile content ecosystem, effectively helping to accelerate the use and adoption of advanced services in Mexico.

Content providers and operators are looking to extend their reach to subscribers with the introduction of MMS, location-based content and other personalized data services. With new opportunities come additional challenges when providers try to interconnect networks and services. As the provider of data exchange services, Telcordia enables operators and Web-based providers to deliver next-generation applications and services across partner networks by providing accurate and authoritative subscriber routing information.

As the center point connecting users, operators and content providers in a market of this size, Telcordia will serve as an authoritative and trusted source for number portability data exchange services and is at the forefront of delivering this service and establishing relationships with the key service and content providers in Mexico.

Macrovision Announces Intent to Change Name to Rovi

Macrovision Solutions Corporation, a digital entertainment technology leader, announced its intention to formally change its name to Rovi. The Rovi brand is part of the company's new brand identity that includes a new corporate visual design. Macrovision will continue to operate under the Macrovision name until the annual meeting of stockholders being held on July 15, 2009, at which time the name change will be considered for approval. If the stockholders approve the change of the company name, the company's trading symbol on the NASDAQ Global Select Market would also be changed at that time.

Macrovision has transformed the company to be a leader in enabling the rapid adoption of digital entertainment. They have accomplished this by a series of strategic acquisitions, divestitures and continued innovation of our product portfolio, and as a result, the company is dramatically different then it was just a year ago.

As Rovi, they will unite their technology and people under one shared identity that speaks to who they have become and how they will drive our strategy moving forward as a technology leader that powers the discovery and enjoyment of digital entertainment.

For more information, read this press release.

Creating a More Holistic Customer Support Environment: A Q&A with Alcatel-Lucent

You know the golf adage "Drive for show; putt for dough?" I think that helps describe the digital lifestyles market today, where connected TVs, Apple's product introductions, and online video tend to dominate discussions, but where enhancements to customer support elements are more quietly being deployed and are having a sigificant impact on customer support cost reductions and in generating some serious revenue.

Case in point? Let's look at U.S. revenue estimates for 2008 for all online video (including that consumed at the Xbox)? A little over $1B. These estimates are from Internet Video: Direct-to-Consumer Services (Second Edition).

Now, 2008 revenues for digital home tech support services - including home computer and home network set-up and troubleshooting? For U.S. households, that figure comes in at $3.2B! This estimate is from our recently-completed report Digital Home Tech Support: Analysis and Forecasts.

Remote technical support is a very dynamic side of the home IT tech support business, and our recently-completed study Customer Support in the Digital Home finds that 3-4 million U.S. broadband households used remote technical support services in 2008, and reports growing interest in having their home computers and home networking remotely diagnosed and troubleshooted with remote experts. The interest in remote tech support services was notable, particularly compared to findings from our 2006 study Managing the Digital Home: Installation and Support Services. The message we're getting from consumers is "Fix my home technical problems as quickly and conveniently as possible, and I'll pay for it!" Indeed, our revenue forecasts for the entire home technical support market indicate that remote technical support services will account for a growing share of revenues - more than 40% by year-end 2013.

There are some exciting things occuring for consumer-facing IT support services, and in allowing service providers to reduce customer support costs and create new revenue-generating services wrapped around support. So, CONNECTIONS™ was an ideal venue to showcase sponsors (Alcatel-Lucent, Affinegy, BluePhone, Cisco, PlumChoice, Radialpoint, Retrevo, SingleClick Systems, Support.com, and Telcordia) and feature several panels that dive into tech support and customer support issues. Our panels included:

• Driving the Next Dollar: The Role of VAS (with panelists from Affinegy, Calix, Radialpoint, SupportSoft, and Synacor);
• Service Provider Home Networking Strategies: RGs and Services (with panelists from 2Wire, Alcatel-Lucent, Jungo, Motorola, and PUCC);
• Truth in Networking (with panelists from Actiontec, Best Buy, D-Link, and NETGEAR);
• Remote Technical Support (with panelists from BluePhone, CrossLoop, PlumChoice, Support.com, and Telcordia); and
• Building the Holistic Support Environment (with panelists from Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, and Retrevo).

I enjoyed the Building the Holistic Support Environment as the penultimate session for CONNECTIONS 2009, as it gave us the opportunity to explore the "what's next" area of enhancements to customer support services. As with some of the other panels, I've asked our participants if they would be willing to answer some follow-up questions. Ben Geller, Senior Director of Marketing, Motive Product Group, Alcatel-Lucent, was kind enough to take some time to respond to a virtual interview. Here's the transcript:

Parks Associates: We've described a holistic customer support experience in which one or several entities extends the “break/fix” or troubleshooting relationship with a customer to additional services that could include 1) new product or service recommendations; and 2) the use of analytics to best match consumers with products or services that best suit their needs. How does Alcatel-Lucent describe its role in creating more holistic support between service providers and customers?

Ben Geller: Alcatel-Lucent offers a unique portfolio of digital life management solutions marketed under the Motive brand. These solutions will make it easier for service providers to offer, activate, support and manage a wide range of high-speed internet, VoIP, video, mobile and converged services. Motive digital life management technology gives service providers the tools they need to help customers set up and manage the services and devices that power their digital life while delivering a positive, consistent experience at home or on-the-go throughout the entire service lifecycle.

Parks Associates: What would you say are the key elements of what Alcatel-Lucent is offering its customers in the holistic support space? How would you classify your offerings?

Ben Geller: Key Elements of offerings from ALU’s Motive Product Division are:

1. The ability to go beyond basic network management and device management and provide a 360° view and extended management control across the elements of the entire service delivery ecosystem (customer premises, back office, network and partner domain).
2. Easy to use, intuitive self-service tools for consumers that leverage multiple contact channels – Portal, email, chat, IVR, and desktop client.
3. Easy-to-use tools for the help, designed to guide frontline call center agents through the problem triage, trouble shooting and resolution process.
4. Support for converged services via real-time visibility and control over fixed-line and mobile services and devices, deliver help desk a single UI that consolidates management visibility and control over fixed and mobile services and devices.
5. Multi-platform and multi-protocol support; support for a wide range of mobile platforms and PC operating systems and support for TR-069, OMA-DM, OMA-DS, UPnP, and proprietary protocols.

Parks Associates: There is lots of talk today about the amount of investment that a service provider needs to make in its customer support elements. What are you advising service providers to put in place insofar as the critical elements to enhancing the support experience?

Ben Geller: First, we are advising providers to look beyond device management and evolve toward true service management. Therefore part of our messaging and approach is based on helping providers leverage their current investments in device management, OSS/BSS, NMS and EMS systems. Currently, these systems offer providers “stove pipe or functional” views into their customers experience. There are management solutions within our portfolio (Motive ServiceView) that use critical information from these functional systems to deliver providers a real-time perspective of the customers service experience. These mean that help desk personnel do not have to swivel chair across multiple systems in an attempt to isolate a problem or determine root cause (which make the customer service experience better, faster and more effective) and providers can get more out of their existing service delivery and management investments.

Parks Associates: What is Alcatel-Lucent able to show its customers in terms of the return on investment?

Ben Geller: The Motive Product Division conducts regular quarterly business reviews with customers for the sole purpose of evaluating actual results against expected results. These review offer both Motive and the service provider an opportunity to understand what’s working right and where possible course corrections are needed.

Parks Associates: Let's talk some specific data, which you've shared with us in the past. In the broadband service provider business, new service and product rollouts (like home networking) have tended to generate a big increase in support calls. Can you share some success stories in helping service providers reduce them?

Ben Geller: Our customers tell us time and time again that creating an easy, consistent, and personalized experience across service and devices throughout the purchase, installation, maintenance, and support phases of the customer service lifecycle is a key factor with respect to lowering support costs and ensuring customer satisfaction. In the context of service installation, Motive self-activation tools help providers increase their first-time install success rates. [Geller's specific examples include the following:]

• One of our customers measured improvement in this area by realizing an increase in first-time install rate success from just under 60% to over 98%, while reducing ‘first-30 day’ supports call by 75%.
• In the context of customer technical support, our customers tell us that subscribers who use Motive self-service technology to troubleshoot and resolve issues are five times less likely to call for help when compared to subscribers that do not use self help.
• Finally, in the context of home device management we’ve helped service providers drive substantial cost savings via the ability to remotely manage and proactively push out device updates.

We heard of several instances when a provider has learned about a firmware flaw in a device that needed to be resolved immediately due to security or service instability concerns. In the past, the way to address this problem would be to replace the flawed modems. Correcting a problem of this magnitude would require a substantial investment in additional modems, shipping, managing the support calls, and loss of revenue due to service outages while the recall took place. From a customer satisfaction standpoint, most providers feel that addressing this type of support issue with a recall would further erode customer confidence and would negate any gains made in providing a seamless customer service experience.

Using Motive solutions providers are able to correct the issue without requiring subscriber interaction, technician visits and costly device swaps saving them millions of dollars. These results are indicative of the benefits being realized by the more than 100 service provides around the world who are using Motive service management solution.

Parks Associates: What tools do you see as critical in building a more holistic support environment? Beyond TR-069, what is needed?

Ben Geller: When it comes to device management specifically, having management technologies that support industry standards is certainly an important part of developing and executing delivery of a holistic support environment. However, standards can’t often keep pace with real-time requirements from the field. In the event device management standards do not go far enough, it is important to have the ability quickly extend management technology to leverage proprietary or custom functions exposed by CPE manufacturers. That’s why the Motive Product Division continues to remain vendor agnostic. We maintain interoperability relationships with over 70 of the world’s leading CPE and handset manufactures and have a proven track record of delivering custom device management functions in the absence of industry standards.

Parks Associates: Beyond broadband and home network management, what other things/services can be managed?

Ben Geller: That’s a pretty open ended question but I’ll offer a few perspectives. First, we think the future of broadband is mobile. Second, we also see providers (fixed and mobile) looking for new ways to work with 3rd party application and content providers to offer new services. Therefore, it is increasing more important to extend robust service management capabilities into the wireless world (for mobile operators) and extend management visibility and control deeper into the partner domain. Simply being able to manage a device (home of mobile) is not enough. Our service management capabilities are currently evolving from the ability to manage to the last ten feet of the last mile to managing the entire service delivery ecosystem. Solutions such as Motive ServiceView help providers get a real-time, accurate view of their customers service experience (beyond the home or devices they carry around in their hand) and subsequently offers the ability to automate corrective actions across the service delivery ecosystem when appropriate.

Cable and IPTV VoD resistant to economic trends, revenues to exceed $11 billion in 2013

Parks Associates workshop offers strategies to monetize video services, digital devices, energy management, advertising --

With U.S. households reluctant to cancel home services despite the down economy, growth in cable and IPTV VoD services will remain strong, with revenues exceeding $11 billion by 2013, according to Parks Associates. The international research firm is hosting the pre-show workshop Monetizing Connectivity in the Home on June 2, 2009, at CONNECTIONS™, to analyze the opportunities and successful business strategies for advanced products and services.

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, taking place in Santa Clara, Calif., June 2-4, tracks developments, trends, and opportunities in the four key areas Communications & Entertainment Services, New Media and Digital Content, Home Systems, and Consumer Electronics. The Parks Associates pre-show workshop is an excellent primer to the event and includes research and forecasts for interactive video services, mobile solutions, energy management, advertising, and connected devices.

At the workshop, the Parks Associates analyst team will provide comprehensive insight, analysis, and forecasts of the digital living markets, including consumer research and the best strategies on how to gain and retain customers in a difficult economy.

Workshop Sessions
Unlocking Interactive Television Services
Connected Consumer Electronics – Cloud Media and Servers
Mobile Innovations: Service, Hardware, and Applications
Advertising in a Three-screen World
Digital Home Technical Support
Energy Management

CONNECTIONS™ includes interactive panels with over 80 speakers, moderated by Parks Associates’ expert analysts and featuring the latest research on converging content, services, and hardware. Register now at http://www.connectionsconference.com or contact sales@parksassociates.com, 972-490-1113, for more information.

For information on Digital Lifestyles: 2009 Outlook, visit http://www.parksassociates.com.

Time Warner tests "TV Everywhere" plan

Cable network giant, Time Warner has a plan to distribute pay TV programming via web sites like Hulu, Yahoo TV, and YouTube. Whether through a mobile device or a computer, viewers will just have to prove they already subscribe to pay TV (cable, satellite or telco's TV offerings).

The "TV Everywhere" plan enables a cable subscriber (or person from that household) to have online access to the programming included in their current cable TV bundle. Full details are still being worked out although the goal is to prevent households from cancelling their cable TV subscriptions. The number of people per account is undetermined. There might also be a web-only option for non-cable TV subscribers.

Regardless of service provider (DirectTV, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, etc.), one would be able to watch content from networks like HBO or TNT. We will also have to wait to see if other cable networks adopt this plan too. However, Viacom and NBCU are moving forward with free cable distribution online because it helps boost awareness and ratings for their shows. Although, Time Warner argues that the trend of consumers ditching pay TV for free online content is an important and increasing issue.

To read more about this topic, please read the Advertising Age's article "TV Everywhere -- As Long As You Pay for It."

Ericsson 's Connected Home Gateway enables remote access to multimedia devices

Ericsson will launch Connected Home Gateway software at Spain's Mobile World Congress later this month. Consumers can then use their mobile phone or laptops to interact with their computers, TVs and/or media players. This allows the sharing of photos and videos without even being home.

By being the main multimedia outlet, the Connected Home Gateway acts as a single service-delivery platform and allows remote management for service provisioning and maintenance. As a single point of entry for IPTV and other communication services, it creates a secure connection between the digital home network and the telecommunications network.

For more information, visit http://www.ericsson.com/ or http://www.ericsson.mobi/.

To read the full press release, click here.

New White Paper, CONNECTIONS™ Conferences focus on digital content, networked devices, home systems, and consumer electronics

International research firm Parks Associates released a new white paper today, The Future of Networked Devices and Digital Content, which tracks developments and areas of growth for the digital living industries in anticipation of upcoming CONNECTIONS™ events.

The paper addresses the core topics Communications & Entertainment Services, New Media and Digital Content, Home Systems, and Consumer Electronics. These topics will be under discussion at the next two CONNECTIONS™ events:

CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit
Nice, France
March 31

CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase
Santa Clara, California
June 2-4

The CONNECTIONS™ white paper notes that increased competition and the commoditization of voice and bandwidth are pushing providers toward advanced services including fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). They will rely on femtocells to realize their FMC strategies, which will boost the number of these devices shipped worldwide to 100 million in 2013.

In addition, carriers and manufacturers have the opportunity to craft new customer support services as part of bundling and product design. U.S. remote tech support service for consumers was a $650 million market in 2008, and this service area will only expand.

For over a decade, CONNECTIONS™ has been the site for discussions on networking standards, including multiple sessions devoted to wireless and powerline control technologies. Parks Associates forecasts five million smart meters installed in the U.S. by 2012, ensuring home controls will again be an important area of discussion and display in 2009.

The Future of Networked Devices and Digital Content is available as a free download on the CONNECTIONS™ websites www.connectionsconference.com and www.connectionseurope.com.

The deadline to submit to be considered a speaker for either event is Friday, January 23, 2009.

Will online sites take over pay TV?

At CONNECTIONS™, we often have to address questions regarding the direction of different digital living markets, the trends, opportunities, and potential pitfalls. Parks Associates research, conducted throughout the year and surveying tens of thousands of consumers, forms the foundation for these discussions. Our analysts combine their industry and consumer knowledge with our speakers’ market experience to provide attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the new opportunities.

Digital entertainment is one area that will get plenty of attention at CONNECTIONS™ in 2009. The past two years have witnessed tremendous growth in online video viewing, particularly for premium content such as television shows. In a 2008 study, Parks Associates found that more than 26 million U.S. adults with home broadband access watch TV shows on the Internet through services such as Hulu, Joost, Veoh Networks, or network portals.

So, CONNECTIONS™ will tackle the key question – will consumers begin to see their pay TV services as expendable, since so much television content is available online free of charge (and with many fewer advertisements)? Today, the number of “cable cutters” is negligible. TV 2.0: The Consumer Perspective found that 0.6% of U.S. broadband households don't pay for TV service but are watching or downloading TV shows over the Internet. That would be around 400,000 households.

Despite the popularity of Internet video, cable VoD services retain a tremendous advantage in terms of quality-of-service and the quantity of high-definition offerings. In sizing the potential market for both broadband video and pay-TV VoD services for the next five years, we see significant revenues coming to the operators for these transactional services.

These calculations do not take into account revenues from ad-supported free VoD content, though. To succeed in the free VoD space, operators will have to fine-tune their content management systems and advertising relationships in order to capitalize on nonlinear advertising revenues. Cable operators will likely follow a model similar to the Comcast Fancast development by providing a broadband VoD service that can spur advertising sales and ties back to the existing digital cable service through applications such as remote DVR programming and personal online content features. Cable operators that can develop seamless user experiences between the broadband and cable TV worlds will have an edge on their competition.

Finally, Parks Associates’ data indicate that even among active Internet video users, their likelihood of cancelling pay TV services is no higher than for all respondents. Access to live news, sports, and other exclusive programming, as well as more content in on-demand and high-definition formats, will continue to attract consumers to pay TV services. Parks Associates will track these trends throughout the year, both U.S. and worldwide, and CONNECTIONS™ sessions will feature the latest data and expert analysis on these figures and how they might change over time.

Hot Topic for CONNECTIONS™ 2009: Widgets on the TV

CONNECTIONS™ has followed developments in interactive and digital entertainment for several years, and at each event, we highlight the new television features the industry is offering to consumers. This year CONNECTIONS™ will feature multiple sessions on the key TV 2.0 applications generating market attention – and widgets (and, more broadly, customization and Web-based applications) will be a key point of interest in 2009.

Parks Associates, the host of CONNECTIONS™, recently completed TV 2.0: The Consumer Perspective, a study examining, among other things, consumer attitudes toward new television services. The study, which will figure prominently in several upcoming CONNECTIONS™ sessions, finds that a fair number of consumers are interested in the ability to have Internet-like experiences on their televisions. Twenty percent of U.S. adults in broadband households express a strong interest in having widgets on their TVs. These widgets would allow them to customize on-screen tickers to display information such as news, sports, weather, and traffic. In addition, 23% want media-sharing capability on their TVs (for example, the ability to view pictures from a photo-sharing site).

Consumers also want to interact with one another via their TVs. Again, TV 2.0: The Consumer Perspective finds 14% of consumers are interested in the ability to chat with other people viewing the same program (25% of 18-24 year olds) and 13% like the ability to recommend (and receive recommendations) about programs (22% of 18-24 year olds).

Needless to say, bringing Internet features to the TV is a gamble, as Microsoft, Apple, Sony, and many others will attest. However, the idea has merit and can be successful with consumers if the provider offers the right features. Yahoo! and Intel are moving in the right general direction, and many similar products will be unveiled in the near future. At CONNECTIONS™, we will drill down further into this topic, but at the outset, companies contemplating such products and services must keep a few things in mind if they are to have a winning strategy:

1. New services must be very simple to set up and use
2. Every service/function must have a distinct purpose that makes the lives of customers easier
3. The company (or companies) behind the launch must have a solid business model to accompany every new service

At CONNECTIONS™, we will look further into widgets and other TV 2.0 topics – and you will be able to see what other companies are planning in this space!

Is your company planning or about to launch a new TV 2.0 feature? Sponsor CONNECTIONS™, and you can show your new offering at the CONNECTIONS™ Showcase.

Vudu CEO Mark Jung has left the company

Vudu, the online TV box, has lost its second senior executive in the last three months: first the CFO, layoffs, and now CEO Mark Jung has left after exactly a year, we have confirmed from the company.

Reported by PaidContent.org

Parks Associates finds mobile broadband operators face challenges in managing traffic and user control

Refined business models will control network use and yield more revenue --

The tremendous growth of mobile broadband usage, with annual growth rates of 200% in parts of North America and upwards of 800% in parts of Europe, will create future challenges for service providers if not properly managed.

A new custom study from Parks Associates, Mobile Broadband in North America and Europe: Change is Key to Continuing Profitability, found that many carriers rely on outdated business models, excessive pricing or flat-rate billing, to manage traffic. Excessive pricing slows growth and invites cutthroat competition. Flat-rate carriers charge a single rate for unlimited service, which does not effectively monetize traffic. Both models are unsustainable given current growth trends.

The custom study, conducted by Parks Associates on behalf of Camiant, a global provider of policy control for the wireless, fixed, and cable industries, included interviews with executives at major mobile broadband providers in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. The study determined adoption and usage of mobile broadband and carriers’ capabilities with respect to network and user control.

Denissov and Camiant’s VP of Business Development Randy Fuller will present the study findings during a free webcast on Wednesday, November 12, at 12 p.m. ET.

Mobile Broadband in North America and Europe: Change is Key to Continuing Profitability

On Wednesday, November 12th at 12 PM ET (11 AM CT), Parks Associates and Camiant will be hosting a webcast that addresses mobile broadband in North America and in Europe.

Since mobile broadband markets are blooming, mobile carriers in Europe and North America alike see strong growth in mobile subscribers and massive growth in non-messaging mobile data traffic. Yet there are troubles on the horizon. Many carriers use rudimentary network control and business models to monetize the service. These models leave money on the table in the short term and condition abusive consumer use cases in the long term.

This webinar will address the following key focus areas: 1). Mobile broadband adoption and data traffic; 2). Market forecasts and growth trends; 3). Regional differences in business models and traffic growth patterns (Eastern and Western Europe, U.S. and Canada); 4). Managing mobile broadband network use: drawbacks and challenges; and 5). Need for more refined network controls and business models.

To sign up for this free webcast, please complete this online form: http://www.parksassociates.com/camiant/index.htm

Broadcast industry needs to improve the quality of video content and lower the cost per deliverable

AmberFin releases the results of a research survey conducted at this year's IBC conference in Amsterdam.

The results clearly demonstrate the use of multiple platforms such as broadband, IPTV and mobile handsets as key drivers for the industry moving forward. The quality of content was named as a key factor affecting take up of these newer delivery platforms.

For more information, visit: http://www.amberfin.com/