ClipBlast! Version 3.0 released. Acting in effect as a “remote control for the Video Web,” the new release represents a major enhancement of ClipBlast!'s video search platform, with improvements that promise a richer, easier and more relevant experience for advertisers and content providers and the video viewers they aim to reach.

At the heart of ClipBlast! 3.0 is the Intelligent Index, which matches the content of the ad with the content of the video. Rather than relying exclusively on the content provider's description and metadata—which can be subjective or even nonexistent— ClipBlast!'s Intelligent Index uses proprietary

Truveo has unveiled video search sites for seven additional countries: Australia, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia and Turkey. This expansion establishes Truveo’s presence in 16 of the top 20 Internet countries and enables it to better serve its rapidly growing base of worldwide users.

Each new Truveo international destination features popular, high-quality video of regional interest and allows users to search and discover videos in their native language. These sites join Truveo’s rapidly growing family of video search sites, which also include: France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

NBC Universal and SanDisk announce that hit current TV shows from NBC, USA Network, SCI FI Channel, Bravo, and vintage library shows from NBC Universal will be available on Fanfare. SanDisk’s Fanfare service enables consumers to download TV shows and other premium video content from their PC for playback on their TV via the new Sansa TakeTV video player. The announcement was made by Jean-Briac Perrette, President, NBC Universal Digital Distribution and Sanjay Mehrotra, President and Chief Operating Officer, SanDisk.

Pando and PeerApp partner to enable Internet Service Providers to accelerate delivery of video and other digital media published by Pando's peer-assisted content delivery platform, improving consumers' experience while reducing network congestion. The partnership provides the first solution that lets content providers, content aggregators and service providers collaborate in peer-to-peer content delivery and share the benefits.

The partnership integrates Pando's industry-leading managed peer-to-peer distribution services with PeerApp's peer-to-peer acceleration and caching solutions for ISPs.

Tiscali launches TISCALI TV a television channel, transmitted over IP network and received directly on home TVs, will initially be available in the Cagliari, Milan and Rome areas and will be free until 31 March 2008. The service combines IP and DTT television programming and will be gradually expanded across Italy over the coming year.

TISCALI TV liberates the format
Innovation and simplicity. This combination has always characterised Tiscali research into products and services that respond to the most diverse and complex needs of human communication, while making use as friendly as possible. These two basic characteristics have resulted in Tiscali TV, a simple, ample, dynamic and democratic television whose primary objective is to give viewers their favourite programming, whenever they want it, with no restrictions on air times or assortment. This is how Tiscali TV liberates the television format.

NeuLion and The American Basketball Association announce a new partnership to deliver live games and consumer driven video on demand using NeuLion’s iPTV service directly to consumers’ television sets. In conjunction with Sports Video Group’s League Technology Summit in New York City on December 11, this announcement follows NeuLion’s successful launch of other IPTV networks for the National Hockey League, New York Knicks, National High School Coaches Association and others.

Leveraging NeuLion’s iPTV platform to broadcast live and video on demand content, streamed directly to the TV, the ABA will offer Chinese basketball games and other game footage through NeuLion’s Chinese media network - KyLinTV.

Dell’Oro Group reports that the worldwide set-top box market contracted 2 percent on a sequential basis in the third quarter of this year, despite strong growth in the IPTV and satellite set-top box market that was not enough to offset the decline in the cable market.

“Cable operators slowed their acquisition of set-top boxes in the third quarter after having accelerated purchases of mostly standard definition set-tops in the first half of 2007 when they were striving to convert analog subscribers to digital services before the FCC’s July 1st deadline that required that set-top boxes contain separate security modules,” commented Greg Collins, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group. “Because cable operators increased their purchases of set-tops ahead of demand, thereby building inventory, they had much less of a need to purchase new set-tops in 3Q07,” added Collins.

The NBA will employ Microsoft Silverlight on NBA.com to further enhance the online video experience for NBA fans around the world. Microsoft Silverlight, a cross-browser, multiplatform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web, will also be utilized on WNBA.com and NBADevelopmentLeague.com.

NBA.com will feature a full-screen NBA photo gallery, offer video highlights and deliver additional interactive applications throughout the site using Microsoft Silverlight. Through the use of Microsoft Corp.'s new application, the NBA will be able to provide further access to its extensive digital video library, integrate the video experience seamlessly into the site, and ultimately provide fans with access to more online video features.

AT&T U-verse launches in parts of St. Louis, Ballwin, Bridgeton, Chesterfield, Clayton, Creve Coeur, Florissant, Kirkwood, Maryland Heights, Mehlville, Oakville, Olivette, Sappington, Shrewsbury, St. Charles, St. Peters, University City and Webster Groves. AT&T will continue to increase U-verse availability throughout the area on an ongoing basis.

AT&T U-verse uses AT&T's new fiber-rich network to offer cutting-edge television and high speed Internet services. AT&T is the only national provider to offer a 100 percent IP-based television service, making U-verse TV "cooler than cable" and one of the most robust and feature-rich services available today.

UTStarcom announces its first IPTV win in Latin America for its industry-leading RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution with the launch of Brasil Telecom's Videon IPTV service. This is the telecom operator's first video offering to its customers.

Brasil Telecom, one of Brazil's leading wireless and fixed-line communications providers, has deployed UTStarcom's RollingStream solution as the sole end-to-end technology platform for its new Videon video-on-demand IPTV service in Brasilia with plans to expand the service to additional cities in the country's South and Midwest regions in the coming months. In addition to supporting the current subscriber base in Brasilia, the RollingStream system designed for Brasil Telecom maintains an additional capacity of 50,000 subscribers for the expansion.

Narrowstep and TSS Cross Media Group of Benelux launch a strategic partnership to offer advanced Internet TV solutions for telecoms, broadcasters and advertisers to effectively monetize video content over the Internet.

This partnership is part of Narrowste p's overall strategy to extend its presence globally through a network of international resellers. These resellers allow companies and organizations in a host of markets throughout Europe to utilize Narrowstep's video delivery platform, providing viewers with unique video content in the highest possible quality available over the Internet.

AT&T has lit the nation's first coast-to-coast network connections over new-generation IP/Multiprotocol Label Switching technology. The new-generation backbone network carries data at 40 Gbps without the need for multiplexing . AT&T has deployed 40 Gbps technology on more than 50,000 wavelength miles of its U.S. IP/MPLS backbone network to date, connecting major U.S. cities with the fastest available transport technology. This includes 18,000 miles of recently enhanced optical ultralong haul routes capable of eventually carrying customer voice and data traffic at speeds up to 100 Gbps with minimized latency. By year's end, more than 40 percent of the IP traffic carried over the company's backbone network will ride on this new-generation platform.

SureWest has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Everest Broadband for $173 million in cash. Everest is a privately held competitive provider of high-speed data, video and voice services in the greater Kansas City area. The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2008, will more than double SureWest’s triple-play residential subscriber base and facilitate the rapid expansion of its business services.

SureWest has been successfully transforming itself from a traditional provider of voice products to a full-service integrated communications company. This transaction significantly advances SureWest’s strategic transformation by bringing together two companies focused on delivering advanced services to a knowledgeable customer demographic that has historically demanded superior triple-play products.

SmugMug launches bigger photo display sizes and astounding video capabilities. Holidays bring crazy, funny, once-in-a-lifetime moments that we shoot and record as a vivid chronicle of our most treasured times. Now SmugMug displays these photo and video memories in all their glory, giving customers SmugMungous XLarge, X2Large, and X3Large photo viewing options and up to 1280x720x24p HD video.

USTelematics has enhanced its Voyager product line with the addition of Apple iTunes functionality and services, further strengthening Voyager’s feature package with the addition of the leading online music, movie, TV show and audio book download service. USTelematics’ new Voyager product line, the first to offer live IPTV for passenger automobiles, integrates an unparalleled suite of functions and features for the projected $58 billion mobile entertainment and data communications marketplace.