Plastic money use rises 5 in August JCC Payment Systems says
By Stelios OrphanidesCypriot credit card holders spent €178.4m for purchases in August which is 5 per cent higher compared to what the spent a year before, JCC Payment Systems said.In January to August, overall spending with the use of plastic money rose 4 per cent to below €1.5bn compared to the respective period of 2014, JCC said in an emailed statement today.You May LikePopularEverythingColorado Mom Adopted Two Children, Months Later She Learned Who They Really ArePopularEverythingUndoLivestlyChip And Joanna’s $18M Mansion Is Perfect, But It’s The Backyard Everyone Is Talking AboutLivestlyUndoModernizeIf Your Home Has Old Roofing, Read ThisModernizeUndo Pensioner dies after crash on Paphos-Polis roadUndoCypriot tycoon launches ‘Bank of Cannabis’UndoThree arrested in connection with hotel theftsUndoby Taboolaby Taboola
Categories: News State Rep. Peter Pettalia, right, welcomed his wife Karen and brother Joseph Pettalia to the House chamber on Tuesday evening for Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2016 State of the State address. “I applaud the governor’s foresight to make sure that Michigan remains the leader in transportation,” said the Presque Isle lawmaker, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “As he said, it may not be cars as we now know them, it may take some other form like the autonomous vehicles at the test sites at Willow Run or the expansion at U of M and other training facilities and education opportunities that will get us ahead of that game and ahead of the curve to keep jobs in Michigan.” On the most anticipated topic of the governor’s address, the Flint water crisis, Rep. Pettalia had this to say of Snyder’s speech: “I believe that his sincerity to the people of Flint is genuine. The governor said he sees the problem and that the buck stops with him, so he’s not going to play the blame game, we’re going to focus on fixing the problem. I support that.” The State of the State address is given annually by the governor to provide citizens an update on the current condition of the state and to detail Michigan’s executive branch goals for the coming year. 20Jan Rep. Pettalia applauds governor’s annual address
Categories: Hughes News,News 13Apr Rep. Hughes, Sullivan Township residents testify for HB 5330 State Rep. Holly Hughes joined Sullivan Township Treasurer Tammy Gillette, and her husband, Brent, in testifying Tuesday before the House Committee on Natural Resources in support of House Bill 5330.HB 5330 would allow the transfer of state Department of Natural Resources property to Sullivan Township in Muskegon County. The parcel is approximately 0.45 of an acre with the legislation allowing for conditions to be set in terms of use, although area officials seek to make the land into a township park.“Sullivan Township will make this park property, which is not currently being used, into a place the citizens of the township and Muskegon County can enjoy year round,” said Rep. Holly Hughes, R-Montague. “It was nice to work with old Fruitport classmates on a hometown project!”“The township board is in full support of keeping the property for our residents use and for the Musketawa Trail users,” said Tammy Gillette. “We appreciate Rep. Hughes’ help on this project.”The land has been purchased by the DNR using Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) money, which is supported by mineral leases in the state of Michigan with proceeds used to both acquire and develop public recreation lands.Brent Gillette spoke of the property’s historical significance to the committee, highlighting that it was a former railroad stop that is now a stopping point for users of the 25-mile Musketawa Trail.“We believe in keeping this as a park, based on its importance in the community,” said Brent Gillette. “This park is the halfway point between Muskegon and Ravenna and it’s now a common stopping point for the rail-to-trails path that is the Musketawa Trail. We also want to keep it as a historical site, even if the junction that used to be there is no longer in existence.”No vote was taken on HB 5330 by the committee.State Rep. Holly Hughes (left) testifies to the House Committee on Natural Resources today in Lansing. Hughes was joined by Sullivan Township Treasurer Tammy Gillette and her husband, Brent, while speaking in support of transferring state DNR land for a small township park in House Bill 5330.
05Jan New law protects minors from opioid addiction Categories: Griffin News,News State Rep. Beth Griffin’s legislation to help protect minors from opioid addiction was signed into Michigan law by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley Wednesday.Part of a package focused on combating the opioid drug epidemic, Griffin’s legislation requires the Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Commission to develop recommendations for student instruction addressing the risks associated with prescription drug abuse. Her legislation also instructs the Michigan Department of Education to develop a model program of instruction on prescription drug abuse that is grade and age appropriate based on the commission’s recommendations.“We cannot expect our young people to educate themselves about the risks and potential for dependence when using opioid medications; that responsibility is ours as educators,” said Rep. Griffin, a mother of two and former middle school teacher. “This epidemic isn’t going away any time soon. It’s up to us to protect our next generation from the life-threatening ramifications of addiction.”Other bills in the package increase access to opioid addiction treatment, and require doctors to educate patients about the potential hazards of opioids prior to prescribing them.House Bills 4406 and 4407 are now Public Act 254 and 255 of 2017.
ShareTweetShareEmail0 SharesFebruary 25, 2014; Washington PostOne day after the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, signed into law a bill that makes the punishments for acts of homosexuality, and even for reaching out to or otherwise supporting gays, more stringent, the Red Pepper, a Ugandan tabloid published a front-page story under the headline “EXPOSED!” with a list of what it termed the country’s “200 top” gays, some of whom are not out and are possibly not gay.One of those on the list is Pepe Julian Onziema, a gay activist who predicts that the new law could incite homophobic violence. He asserted that many on the list “are scared and they need help…Some want to leave the country and they are asking to be helped.”Ben Byarabaha of the Red Pepper said that only well-known activists were named with their full names, and that for those not “out,” they tried to use nicknames. Onziema says that the tabloid has printed enough information to identify many of those who were not referred to by their full names.“Some of the employers have read the paper, and from the descriptions they can tell who these people are,” he said.A similar list that called for the execution of gay people was published in 2011 by another tabloid, after which David Kato, called the father of Uganda’s gay rights movement and Uganda first openly gay man, was killed. Jacqueline Kasha, another Ugandan activist who is also on the list, tweeted, “The media witch hunt is back.”In an attempt to quell any public outcry, the law contains provisions which would punish “conspiracy to commit homosexuality” and “aiding and abetting homosexuality” with seven years in prison.—Ruth McCambridgeShareTweetShareEmail0 Shares
ShareTweetShareEmail0 Shares April 15, 2014; American Al JazeeraAs we have mentioned before, groups that monitor human rights often play a huge role in informing the public. These are, in effect, valuable journalists who can highlight problems that might otherwise remain hidden; in this case, the “problem” in question is a steep rise in murders of environmental activists who went up against big economic systems.The chart below exhibits the degree to which the killing of environmental activists has spiked in the last few years. It also shows Brazil’s contribution to that death toll. The numbers have been drawn from a report produced by Global Witness entitled “Deadly Environment.” Global Witness is an NGO based in the UK that says it works to expose the economic networks behind environmental destruction.The key findings in the report are:At least 908 people were killed in 35 countries protecting rights to land and the environment between 2002 and 2013, with the death rate rising in the last four years to an average of two activists a week.2012 was the worst year so far to be an environmental defender, with 147 killings—nearly three times more than in 2002.Impunity for these crimes is rife: Only 10 perpetrators are known to have been convicted between 2002 and 2013, just over one percent of the overall incidence of killings.The problem is particularly acute in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Brazil is the most dangerous place to defend rights to land and the environment, with 448 killings, followed by Honduras (109) and the Philippines (67).The report’s summary says that indigenous communities are particularly hard hit because their land rights are often not recognized, “leaving them open to exploitation by powerful economic interests who brand them as ‘anti-development’… Land rights form the backdrop to most of the known killings, as companies and governments routinely strike secretive deals for large chunks of land and forests to grow cash crops like rubber, palm oil and [soybeans]. At least 661—over two-thirds—of the killings took place in the context of conflicts over the ownership, control and use of land, in combination with other factors. The report focuses in detail on the situation in Brazil, where land disputes and industrial logging are key drivers, and the Philippines, where violence appears closely linked to the mining sector.”—Ruth McCambridgeShareTweetShareEmail0 Shares
Share12TweetShare7Email19 SharesNorthampton Massachusetts / 6SN7November 19, 2015; Daily Hampshire GazettePILOTs—payments in lieu of taxes—are back, this time in the small city of Northampton in western Massachusetts. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that city councilors, after little debate, voted unanimously to endorse the PILOTs, a proposal put forward by the mayor.The program asks 10 of the city’s largest nonprofit, tax-exempt property owners to make voluntary contributions to city coffers. During the public debate over the proposal, advocates and opponents of the idea weighed in, including Smith College, which was in opposition.The college is Northampton’s largest taxpayer and one of its largest employers. While its spokesperson said it is committed to working with the city, it questions whether PILOTs are the most appropriate approach, proposing a different voluntary contribution program with greater flexibility.“I would leave the nonprofits alone and just expect the city to live within its means,” added the chairman of the local Republican organization.Cities in the eastern U.S. often look to PILOTs to help them deal with the fiscal realities they confront—a need for new revenue in the face of declining state funding. Northampton is home to a number of large tax-exempt nonprofits, including Smith, a nationally renowned, independent women’s liberal arts college.Northampton’s PILOT program exempts social service agencies, calls for a phasing in over five years and extends a community service credit to organizations which pay part of their PILOT obligation through in-kind services. Boston has a similar PILOT program.These nonprofits point out that they are integral to the community and “provide an economically stabilizing effect.” But PILOT advocates say that the city provides them services in return.Earlier in November, the same New Jersey judge that called nonprofit hospitals a “legal fiction” ruled that Princeton University has the burden of proof when it comes to its property tax exemption, a ruling that is likely to result in a settlement that increases its PILOT payments to the town quite significantly. As other hospitals and universities face the “whether” and “how much” questions of PILOT payments, this context should be taken into account.—Larry KaplanShare12TweetShare7Email19 Shares
Share19Tweet8ShareEmail27 SharesJune 11, 2018; New York Times and Washington PostIn January 2018, NPQ published an article suggesting that nonprofits brace for another attack on voting rights. The gist of that article was the case being heard by the Supreme Court about Ohio’s efforts to purge its voter rolls of people who had not voted in two federal election cycles and not returned a mailed notification that asks them to verify their address.Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Ohio. What was once a warning has become much more than that; now, nonprofits need to think about how they will work on voter registration, a longstanding nonpartisan way to prod constituents to exercise their rights. With this decision, registering people to vote is no longer enough; nonprofits must ensure that people who are registered maintain that right.The case, Husted v. A. Phillip Randolph Institute, concerned Ohio’s process of purging voters. When the case was first filed, the Obama Judiciary Department sided with the plaintiff, but the Department switched sides when Trump came into office. This is highly unusual, but one of a number of such cases under the current administration.The case concerned Larry Harmon, a software engineer and Navy veteran who lives near Akron, Ohio. He voted in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections but did not vote in 2012, saying he was unimpressed by the candidates. He also sat out the midterm elections in 2010 and 2014.But in 2015, Mr. Harmon did want to vote against a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana and found that his name had been stricken from the voting rolls. State officials said that they had done so after sending Mr. Harmon a notice in 2011 asking him to confirm his eligibility to vote and that he did not respond. Mr. Harmon said he did not remember receiving a noticeThe majority ruling written by Justice Samuel Alito was clear in his view that while the National Voting Registration Act (NVRA) states that one cannot be removed from the voter rolls for not voting, Ohio did not violate that. “Instead,” he wrote, “Ohio removes registrants only if they have failed to vote and have failed to respond to a notice.” Writing for the minority, Justice Stephen Breyer disagreed. He said that most voters were unlikely to return a card to reaffirm their address and thus their voting status. Breyer pointed to the more than one million Ohio voters (approximately 13 percent of Ohio’s population) who did not return cards. “The streets of Ohio’s cities are not filled with moving vans,” he said.But it was Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a separate dissent, who got to the heart of the matter. Writing for Slate, Dahlia Lithwick, looked at her dissent:Sotomayor notes that the majority’s reading of the federal statutes “entirely ignores the history of voter suppression against which the NVRA was enacted and upholds a program that appears to further the very disenfranchisement of minority and low-income voters that Congress set out to eradicate.” She also takes time to explain the ways in which poor, minority, and elderly voters are disproportionately apt to be purged because of the reality of their lives, including “language-access problems, mail delivery issues, inflexible work schedules, and transportation issues.”As many who care about voter rights and fear the discrimination that this ruling could portend, Sotomayor may have pointed to some ways to fight back. Justice Sotomayor indicated that another provision of the Motor Voter law requires that any removal program “be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act.” If more states enact laws like Ohio’s, it will become apparent that these laws have discriminatory effects. For those who fear this Supreme Court decision may disenfranchise the poor, the elderly, minorities, and people of color, this will be the opportunity to move to change these laws within their states. In the meantime, it will be important to stand now as watchdogs and supporters of those most likely to feel the brunt of this decision and protect their right to actually vote with as much zeal as we protect their right to register to vote.—Carole LevineShare19Tweet8ShareEmail27 Shares
Share63Tweet22ShareEmail85 SharesFoodhini.June 8, 2018; Next CityThe anti-immigrant and refugee narrative on the rise in the United States in recent years ignores and overlooks the contributions made by these groups for centuries to American society. Refugees have been displaced and forced from their homes; they cannot return to their countries of origin because of natural disasters, wars and armed conflict, political or religious persecution, and a range of other reasons. Often, the resettlement process is long and challenging, and after placement, the clock begins for refugees to become self-sufficient and contributing members of society. This means overcoming language and cultural barriers, learning new economic systems and business practices, and an array of other obstacles that increase the complexity of successfully integrating.An increasing number of programs and initiatives supporting refugee resettlement efforts are emphasizing microenterprise and business development efforts as a path to independence, in addition to English language classes, housing support, and case management. A large portion of these new refugee businesses are food-based, letting them preserve their cultures while making a living.Food incubators give these refugee business startups strategic support by providing training, technical assistance, business development, financing, and market access. According to a 2016 report from PolicyLink and the Margarite Case Foundation, entitled “An Equitable Food System: Good for Families, Communities, and the Economy,” the food industry represents $1.8 trillion, accounting for 13 percent of the economy and employing one in six workers—about 20 million—at farms, food processing facilities, warehouses, grocery stores, and restaurants. Given its scope, and the market for unique food experiences, food-based businesses are a natural fit for refugees.In cities throughout the country, nonprofits and for-profit ventures are exploring this approach. In Washington, D.C., for example, a startup business called Foodhini provides delivery services of fresh meals prepared by immigrant and refugee chefs, featuring food from Eritrea, Iran, the Philippines, Laos, Syria, and Tibet. In New Haven, Connecticut, the nonprofit CitySeed takes a different approach through its Sanctuary Kitchen program, which hosts refugee-led cooking demonstrations, hands-on cooking classes, supper club meals, and other culinary events and opportunities, all of which provide income opportunities for refugee chefs.In Salt Lake City, this trend can be seen through the work of a local nonprofit called Spice Kitchen Incubator, a project of the International Rescue Committee. By providing access to commercial kitchen spaces, among other services, Spice Kitchen Incubator offers refugees the opportunity to explore the American values of entrepreneurship and business as they share their cultures through food.Many city and county governments are taking note of the success of these types of programs. The National League of Cities’ Center for City Solutions and Applied Research recently released a Municipal Action Guide on Food-Based Business Incubator Programs, which provides an overview of the types of incubator programs, the actions that municipal governments can take to support these efforts, and why these types of programs help build strong, resilient local food systems by using an equity lens. The publication also cites several examples of incubators, including farm incubators like Maine’s New American Sustainable Agriculture Project. (As many established farmers approach retirement age, more small farmers are needed, which has drawn attention to the growth of farm incubators. One great resource on farm incubators, including tips for refugee populations, is a toolkit developed by the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative. The toolkit is called “The Farm Incubator Toolkit: A Guide Growing the Next Generation of Farmers” and has suggestions for planning, developing, and managing a farm incubator.)A big part of the interest in incubators from nonprofits and government entities is the growth and success of incubators nationally. According to a 2016 report, between August 2013 and March 2016, the number of kitchen incubators in America increased by more than 50 percent to over 200 facilities. “Of the 61 facilities surveyed,” the report says, “82 percent said revenue increased over the past three years, and 84 percent were breaking even or making money.” The report builds on a prior study that looked at a variety of kitchen incubator models to support culinary businesses.The growth and effectiveness of incubators has garnered the support of various funders too. For example, the Community Economic Development grant from the Administration for Children and Families has supported multiple community development corporations that are implementing the incubator model to grow “agripreneurs” across the country. The grant program has a specific focus on food projects and has several resources dedicated to measuring the impact of food-related community and economic development projects.Overall, this movement toward building the efficacy of refugees by leveraging their assets and skills in food preparation and cultivation is growing. Since many refugees must transition into American life quickly, in part because of limitations on the length of Refugee Cash Assistance and other support programs, food incubators are a promising and unique approach that nonprofits that serve refugee and immigrant populations should consider exploring with their partners.—Derrick RhaynShare63Tweet22ShareEmail85 Shares
Polish pay TV platform Cyfrowy Polsat is launching five new channels to its service in February.The satellite pay TV operator is adding BBC HD, AXN Spin, History HD, ID Investigation Discovery and local channel TTV on February 1.BBC HD, AXN Spin and History HD will be available via the company’s Extra HD package, while ID will be part of the Family package. TTV, which is already available via the country’s digital terrestrial service, is available free-to-air to all Cyfrowy Polsat subs.
BBC director-general Mark Thompson is to become president of the CEO of The New York Times later this year.Thompson will relocate to New York and start at the newspaper publisher in November, reporting to chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. He will also join the company’s board of directors.“The New York Times is one of the world’s greatest news providers and a media brand of immense future potential both in the US and around the world. It is a real privilege to be asked to join the Times Company as it embarks on the next chapter in its history,” said Thompson. “I’m particularly excited to be coming to The New York Times Company as it extends its influence digitally and globally. I look forward to working with the board, Arthur and his highly talented management team to build on the success that has already been achieved and to explore new ways of bringing journalism of exceptional quality, integrity and depth to readers and users everywhere.”Thompson was appointed as BBC director-general in 2004, following the resignation of Greg Dyke, and was previously CEO of Channel 4 for two years.
Almost half of the world’s TV homes will be watching over the top TV services by 2020, with China leading the way, according to new research.UK-based analysis house Digital TV Research forecasts that the number of people watching OTT TV over fixed networks will hit 706.5 million by 2020, 47% of the total number of TV homes.To put the forecasts into context, about 196 million accessed OTT services in 2010 and the 2014 total is expected to be 374.4 million.The bulk of the new OTT homes – 61% of the global additions – will come in the Asia Pacific region. China alone will add140 million OTT viewers, meaning it will account for 220 million of the 706.5 million total in 2020.China will overtake the US in terms of the number of OTT viewers this year and by 2020 will have more OTT viewers than all of Europe.As a proportion of TV homes, South Korea will lead the way in 2020, with 79.8% of the country’s homes accessing an OTT service.The bulk of the OTT viewers will be watching free, ad-supported services, according to Digital TV Research. It said 199 million of the 2020 total will pay to access an SVOD service, which equates to 13.4% of all homes. That compares with an end-2014 forecast of 6.1% of all homes taking an SVOD package.
Glenn HowerPassword-sharing for over-the-top (OTT) video services like Netflix will cost the content industry US$500 million (€450 million) in 2015, according to Parks Associates.The research firm’s ‘Cost of Piracy’ report claims that 6% of US broadband homes use an OTT video service that is paid for by a person living outside of the household.Among people aged 18-24, 20% of OTT users were found to use an OTT video service paid by someone outside the home – the highest of any age group. The equivalent figure for OTT users aged 25-34 year-olds was 10%.“Credential sharing has a measurable impact on video services, particularly in the OTT video service area, where young subscribers are active. The impact on OTT video revenues is especially troublesome as OTT providers are investing large sums of money to boost their original content offerings,” said Parks Associates research analyst, Glenn Hower.“While credential sharing predominantly impacts OTT service revenues, the process will affect pay TV operators in a similar fashion as they develop and deploy their own OTT and TV Everywhere offerings. The motivation for credential sharing is primarily economic, and a move to consolidate video service subscriptions among family and friends stands to impact digital video services of all types in the near future.”
Shipments of gesture-sensing control interfaces, on devices including smart TVs, are set to grow 10% year-on-year to reach 1.8 billion units in 2015, according to IHS.The research firm claims that the shipments will rise as emerging virtual reality games, smartwatches, smart TVs and other consumer electronics and IT applications enter the market.Optical-based 3D depth sensing technologies will account for 66% of sensor unit shipments for games console applications in 2015, according to IHS.The research claims that Apple TV will also likely adopt the structured light technology Apple acquired from PrimeSense, which would lead to 35% year-on-year growth in gesture sensing control for smart TV applications.“Mainstream consumers have been aware of gesture sensing control, since the debut of the Nintendo Wii in 2006. Now almost a decade later, gesture sensing control is poised to become the second most common user interface for smart devices after touch screens,” said Calvin Hsieh, director for touch and user interfaces for IHS.He claims that gesture controls will be complementary to touch screens as each technology is appropriate for specific applications: “Smart TVs, for example, are not good candidates for touch screens, because they are too far from viewers. On the other hand, gesture sensing control is especially suitable for future immersive augmented reality and virtual reality computing.”
OTT specialist Ooyala has signed up Meredith Corp, provider of the Martha Stewart Living site, as the first customer for its IQ standalone analytics system.Ooyala will provide Meredith with video engagement and performance analytics across its sites, including include Martha Stewart Living, Allrecipes and Better Homes & Gardens.Previously, Meredith utilised Ooyala to power video and provide analytic insights for its Martha Stewart Living site, and chose Ooyala IQ to expand their analytics for viewer engagement and content performance across all web and mobile-web inventory.Now, it will use Ooyala to aggregate analytics from multiple video players into a unified solution across its Parents, Allrecipes, Better Homes & Gardens and other properties.“Given Meredith’s robust digital advertising growth, it is essential its teams understand how its content is performing well across the broad portfolio of sites,” said Ooyala CEO Ramesh Srinivasan.“This is reflective of a larger trend occurring in the industry. As media companies continue to be acquired and merge, measurement and reporting fragments, engendering the need for a single provider to unify analytics across networks. Ooyala IQ provides a single view of the video metrics driving ad supported businesses, irrespective of the video player, giving premium publishers a tool to unify cross-property analytics. ”
Telefónica had 8.3 million TV customers at the end of the year, up 12% year-on-year, with strong growth of 10% recorded in Spain alongside growth of 16% in Spanish-speaking Latin America and 10% in the economically challenged Brazilian market.Overall, Telefónica added 117,000 pay TV customers in the quarter to December, including 4.6 million satellite TV customers. The rate of growth was 12% higher than for the same period in 2014.Video revenues for the group in the quarter reached €628 million, up 14% on the same period in 2014. Video revenues for the full year amounted to €2.142 billion, up 27.3%.Pay TV penetration among Movistar Fusión customers in Spain reached 62%. Telefónica had 3.7 million pay TV customers in Spain at the end of December, including 926,000 from the former Canal+ operation.Overall, Telefónica posted full-year revenues of €47.2 billion, up 8.7%, and Net income of €2.74 billion, down 8.5%.
Peer-to-peer video sharing platform BitTorrent is looking to launch a “tent-pole live news channel” to run on its recently launched live video streaming platform.The plans, which were reported first by Variety, were detailed in a job ad for a San Francisco-based news director – the “first dedicated member” of the BitTorrent news channel team.“You’ll decide what we choose to cover. You will define how we cover it. You will make sure our journalistic integrity and standards remain unquestionable. You’ll hire a team of San Francisco based journalists and presenters, and create and maintain a worldwide network of stringers,” said the job ad.BitTorrent launched a multichannel app for live and linear programming at the INTX event in the US in May. It claimed that BitTorrent Live solves the problems associated with provisioning and latency of live online broadcasting.The platform is designed to offer a mix of content – spanning news, sports, music, technology and youth culture – and will use BitTorrent’s proprietary peer-to-peer live streaming protocol. BitTorrent claims this will enable live video delivery with a sub-10 second latency and without the need for expensive CDN distribution and pre-provisioning.
Sweden-based TV operating system provider Zenterio has secured a contract from Mexico’s largest cable operator Megacable to enhance its existing TV platform and build new IPTV and OTT applications.The deal marks a breakthrough for Zentior in the Latin American market. The company’s operating system will run on all new set-top-boxes being deployed and will be used to migrate several different legacy boxes to provide a unified service.Megacable will use Zenerio’s JetUI software to provide a unified user experience across all devices, according to Zenterio. Megacable will use Zenterio’s UI to expand its distribution to IPTV and OTT.The completed TV platform, including Zenterio OS and Zenterio’s HTML UI framework, will run on six different set-top models initially, including three based on DOCSIS and three on Ethernet, and will support live DVB-C broadcasts, hybrid OTT, adaptive streaming, network DVR and time-shifting as well as start-over TV, catch-up TV, video on demand and social sharing.The project is part of a migration of Megacable to embrace IPTV ans well as cable technology, including a change in back-end and conditional access sytems.The first IPTV services will be launched early next year. Megacable has a base of about three million subscribers.Henrique Yamuni, CEO, Megacable, said: “Through our agreement with Zenterio, we will be able to provide a superior user experience and make it easier and more intuitive for our subscribers to find and enjoy their favorite shows. The solution will also give us a unified user experience across all platforms and the opportunity to monetize additional content models. At Megacable we strive to be a cutting edge company offering innovative solutions to our subscribers and we are certain that Zenterio will help us towards achieving this.”
Middle East pay TV provider BeIN Media has struck a new multiplatform licensing deal with CBS Studios International, giving it access to a raft of CBS and CW programming.The deal means that BeIN Media channels will broadcast CBS series including Macgyver, The Good fight, Bull, Salvation and The Late, Late Show with James Corden for the first time.The agreement also covers first-window rights to new series including crime drama Instinct, military drama Seal Team and CW drama Valor. Content will also be available on BeIN’s on-demand platform as part of its SVOD offering, as well as via catch-up.“We are excited to be working with the BeIN Media Group on this significant agreement for the MENA region,” said Stephen Tague, EVP, client relations, EMEA, CBS Studios International.“The deal further demonstrates CBS’ ability to produce industry-leading programming that helps drive subscription platforms and entertain audiences around the world.”Yousef Al-Obaidly, deputy CEO of BeIN Media Group, said: “BeIN is extremely pleased to welcome CBS to beIN network. Through this deal, TV lovers in MENA will be able to watch a wide selection of great series on BeIN Series channel. This agreement cements BeIN’s position as a premium content broadcaster in MENA.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the company will launch new services this year, fuelling speculation that an Apple television offering is on the horizon.Apple CEO, Tim CookIn an exclusive interview with CNBC, Cook said “you will see us announce new services this year, there will more things coming.”While Cook didn’t go into specifics, he indicated that healthcare and wellbeing is one area that Apple is focusing on, predicting that its efforts in this space will eventually be seen by others as “Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind”.Though he made no specific mention of a TV-streaming service, Cook’s comments came in the same week as a number of TV manufacturers – including Sony, LG and Vizio – announced at CES partnerships to integrate Apple’s Airplay 2 standard into their TVs. This will allow users to share videos, photos, music and podcasts from their Apple devices to their TV.Samsung also announced that it will debut a new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app on Samsung Smart TVs in more than 100 countries, marking the first time that iTunes content will be available via this category of device.Apple has made a bigger push into the TV hardware space in the past year, providing its Apple TV box to a number of operators via deals with companies like Free in France, Salt in Switzerland and Charter Communications in the US.In June 2017 Apple also started to move into original programming by hiring Sony Pictures Television’s co-presidents Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg to lead its efforts in this area.Since then it has appointed former Channel 4 content chief Jay Hunt as European creative director of worldwide video and BBC Films veteran Joe Oppenheimer as a creative executive for its international team. Apple also struck a multiyear deal with Oprah Winfrey.An October report on technology business news site, The Information, claimed that Apple plans to launch a subscription TV service in more than 100 countries, in an effort to compete with the likes of Amazon and Netflix.