Zattoo claims copyright case for channel carriage
Zattoo, which is now offering live online streams of the leading British terrestrial television channels, is claiming it has the right to do so under the United Kingdom Copyright Act. Zattoo says it “operates strictly legitimately on the basis of agreements with broadcasters and the copyright law” but the British broadcasters say they have no agreements with the streaming startup company. The law seems ambiguous at best.

ITV receives record fine for phoney competitions
ITV, the leading commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom, has been fined a total of nearly £5.7 million for misleading premium rate telephone competitions. The fines, the highest ever imposed by the communications regulator Ofcom or its predecessors, reflect repeated serious failures and breaches of broadcasting codes. ITV was found to have disregarded the terms and conditions of its competitions, selecting finalists for on screen suitability rather than at random.

Vusion introduces high-quality video streaming solution
Vusion is a four-year old Silicon Valley startup company, formerly known as Jittr Networks, that is entering the market to compete with companies like Move Networks to deliver high quality video online video. The company has come out of stealth mode to reveal a new streaming media solution that claims to enable high-definition video over existing best efforts broadband networks.

Rok gains Jalipo in paper deal worth over $16 million
Rok Entertainment, a mobile streaming video company, has acquired online video operator Jalipo in a shares deal valued at $16.8 million. Jalipo provides pay-per-view video on demand and live channels over the internet based on a system of credits.

Freesat launches free satellite television alternative to Sky
Freesat is a free digital satellite television service now available across the United Kingdom, launched as a not-for-profit joint venture by the BBC and ITV. It offers around 50 television and radio channels, with up to 200 expected to be available by the end of the year. The BBC HD high-definition channel is available at launch. ITV HD will be offered as a red button service exclusively on Freesat.