Market news - Page №4

Internet search giant Google has released its annual review of the most popular and fastest-rising search terms of the year, compiling the results into a snappy video that pithily sums up the year in less than three minutes.

MELBOURNE, Florida, December 6, 2012 — Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has reached an agreement to sell Broadcast Communications to an affiliate of The Gores Group, LLC for $225 million. The price includes $160 million in cash at closing, a $15 million subordinated promissory note and an earnout of up to $50 million based on future performance. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory review and closing conditions and is expected to be completed in early calendar year 2013. On May 1, 2012, Harris announced plans to divest Broadcast Communications.

While the broadcast world has high hopes for ultra-high-definition (UHD), it presents a number of problems, according to UK firm Futuresource Consulting — not least the need for compatible hardware and much higher data transmission rates.

Over half of EU citizens can now access super-fast broadband services, while basic broadband speeds are nearly ubiquitous, according to a new study produced by UK firm Point Research.

US firm Infonetics Research has issued new figures for the global pay-TV industry, and it’s not pretty reading for the cablecos.

Both over-the-top (OTT) video and operator-owned multiscreen (TV Everywhere) services continue to grow in the UK, and the island nation now leads its European neighbours for adoption of both.

Switzerland’s biggest telco has promised free access to its IPTV service ‘Swisscom TV’ to all of its DSL broadband customers, and more than doubled the number of channels available to its existing IPTV subs.

Over-the-top (OTT) video services will generate an estimated US$ 8.2bn worldwide this year – a figure which will likely quadruple over the next five years to reach US$ 32bn by 2017, according to US firm ABI Research.

The number of pay-TV providers in Western Europe offering multiscreen services will almost double over the next four years from approximately 50 in 2012 to 90 by 2016, according to US research firm Park Associates.

There were 69mn subscribers to managed IPTV services globally by the end of the first half of this year, with all regions seeing strong uptake and together adding 15.9mn customers over the preceding 12 months, according to new figures from industry body the Broadband Forum.

South Korean telco LG Uplus has partnered with Google to deliver its managed IPTV service via Google TV set-top boxes, becoming the first IPTV operator to do so, according to local news agency Yonhap News.

Fast emerging as the new hot topic for broadcasters and TV operators looking to increase viewer engagement, social TV services are set for meteoric growth over the next five years, according to a new report from US firm MarketsandMarkets.

The number of high-definition channels in Europe continues to rise sharply, with a total of 941 available across the continent by October 2012, compared to 274 at the end of 2009 and 612 by the end of 2011, according to public body the European Audiovisual Observatory.

Chinese telco China Unicom has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the acquisition of 1.34mn IPTV set-top boxes, of which roughly half would be SD and half HD.

Infotainment portal Sina.com.cn reports that the tender follows closely on the heels of a separate RFP issued by rival China Telecom last August for around 4.86mn smart, SD and HD IPTV set-top boxes.

Consumer demand for televisions with the ultra-high-definition 4K resolution will remain negligible for the foreseeable future, with shipments never accounting for more than 1 percent of the global LCD TV market during the next five years, says research firm IHS.

Worldwide shipments of 4K LCD TVs are predicted to reach 2.1mn units by 2017, up from 4,000 this year, but still only accounting for 0.8 percent of global shipments by 2017.