Search results : 1348

The digitisation of cable television in Germany is progressing. In December 2005, after years of negotiations, cable operator Kabel Deutschland GmbH (KDG) and TV broadcaster RTL reached an agreement on the distribution of the channels that make up the " RTL family", ie RTL Television, RTL 2, Super RTL, n-tv and VOX via the so-called Simulcast system. Simulcast means that these channels will, for an interim period, be broadcast in analogue form as well as digitally via cable in the 13 Bundesländer served by KDG. In the meantime, KDG has also signed agreements to carry six other private channels...

On 10 January 2006, the Kommission zur Ermittlung der Konzentration im Medienbereich (Commission on Concentration in the Media - KEK) decided that it could not approve the proposed merger between Axel Springer AG and ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. The procedures (nos. KEK 293-1 to 293-5), which were submitted to the KEK on 8 and 17 August 2005, concern Springer's buy-out of ProSiebenSat.1 (see IRIS 2005-9: 8). The takeover is also being investigated by the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Authority), which has already stated that the merger is likely to be prohibited. The KEK acts on behalf of the responsible...

The countrywide development of handheld television is to be launched with pilot projects in Hamburg and Berlin using the DVB-H and DMB standards. With this in mind, the respective Land media authorities, the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg media authority - mabb) and the Hamburgische Anstalt für neue Medien (Hamburg new media authority - HAM) have invited companies to bid for DVB-H and (in Hamburg) DMB transmission capacities. DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) is a standard created by the Digital Video Broadcasting Group for the transmission of TV signals to handheld...

On 5 December 2005, the Landeszentrale für Medien und Kommunikation (Regional Media and Communications Office - LMK) of Rheinland-Pfalz imposed a fine of EUR 12,000 against an Internet Service Provider. In the LMK's opinion, the ISP had offered users paedophile content, thus breaching the provisions of the Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Agreement on Youth Protection in the Media - JMStV). Under Art. 4.9 JMStV, content is unlawful if it portrays children and young people in an unnatural sexual way. The ISP had linked its sub-domains via a portal. In these domains, it had set up preview...

According to a survey by the Gemeinsame Stelle Programm, Werbung, Medienkompetenz der Landesmedienanstalten (Joint body on programming, advertising and media competence of the regional media authorities - GSPWM), the rules on isolated advertising spots are, in most cases, complied with by German private broadcasters. After random checks on 15 private TV broadcasters, the GSPWM found that isolated spots are mainly broadcast in the form of split-screen advertising. This system, in which the screen is divided into an advertising section and a programme section, is admissible under Art. 7.4 of the...