The third incarnation of the popular Megaupload service just completed its first investment round, crowdfunding over a million dollars. With Kim Dotcom as the chief evangelist, the service hopes to revolutionize the file-sharing space next year. Interestingly, Megaupload 2.0 plans to outsource most of the storage to third-party providers and will manually review all takedown requests For many people Kim Dotcom is synonymous with Megaupload, the file-sharing giant that was tak

An update to the Google Cast app has seen the streaming application recast as Google Home. The update makes the device compatible with hardware for Google Home as well as the 4K-ready Chromecast Ultra. Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. It sits in an expanding market that also includes Apple’s Siri and Amazon Alexa. Google’s device will retail at $129 and is expected to make its debut on November 4. It’s cheaper than the full Alexa Unit,

The German appeal court of Celle has confirmed the legal assessment of the district court of Verden in the trial against a Sky Deutschland card sharing pirate. The district court imposed a 1-year prison sentence on probation on a 53-year old man from federal state Lower Saxony because of computer fraud in conjunction with circumventing technical protection measures in 65 cases in February 2016. The appeal court confirmed the conviction for computer fraud following the appeal

Luxembourg based satellite operator SES has started legal proceedings against Canal+ in order to receive back payments to the tune of €7.5 million. According to a report by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf the French pay TV broadcaster has not paid for its transponder lease on the SES-owned Astra satellite. SES started the proceedings with the Amsterdam court, according to the newspaper that has seen the operator’s filing with the court. Canal+ is using the Astra satellite at

Netflix had an unexpectedly successful third quarter, adding 3.2 million members internationally as opposed to the forecast 2 million. It also gained more than expected in the US (0.4 million v 0.3 million), with the over-performance driven primarily by stronger than expected acquisition due to excitement around Netflix original content. In its latest set of results, the company says that the regulatory environment for foreign digital content services in China has become chal

Freesat has launched a new marketing campaign highlighting both its satellite-delivered TV services and the companion mobile app. It’s the first campaign by new agency Mr. President. The brief and strategy behind the cross-media campaign aims to reach pay-TV subscribers who are considering switching from their current provider and looking for an alternative which delivers a quality service that saves money. The campaign will run from October to take advantage of the peak sell

Those thinking about camming movies in a UK cinema have a fresh adversary to contend with. A new anti-piracy unit called the Film Content Protection Agency has just been launched with a mission to prevent people recording first-run movies. Unfortunately, the unit is already citing misleading legal information on its website. According to the movie industry the most damaging form of piracy involves the distribution of films that are not yet released or are enjoying their first

France’s Canal+ Group is entirely revamping its TV packages and widening its distribution channels through deals with Free and Orange. The Canalsat brand will be phased out. The announcement comes after continuing declining subscription figures for the main Canal+ premium channels. The group is distributing third party thematic channels under the Canalsat umbrella, but this brand is now being phased out. Subscribers will be able to pick and mix their own deals around the Cana

Weakness in the UK advertising market, coupled with rival screenings of UEFA Euro 2016 and the Paralympics hit Sky in the last quarter. But the addition of 100,000 new customers – including Italy’s highest Q1 customer growth for four years – means the pay-TV business remains on track. Group revenue was up 7% to £3.1 billion, with like-for-like revenue up over 5%. Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, said: “I’m pleased with the start we have made to the year, with like-for-l

All users of the BBC's iPlayer service will have to log in with a personal account from early 2017. Users of BBC services can already create an online account - known as a BBC ID - but this is not currently required in order to access iPlayer. At the end of last month, BBC ID holders have also had to add a postcode to their account. TV Licensing has access to the information but the BBC says it has no current plans to use it for enforcement purposes. The corporation says the