DirecTV is entering the home security and automation business by acquiring Pennsylvania-based LifeShield Home Security.

DirecTV announced on Tuesday it had bought LifeShield for an undisclosed sum. DirecTV said it is leveraging LifeShield's self-installed security and monitoring platform to reach out to consumers starting in early 2014. With an estimated 20 percent of U.S. homes owning security systems, new entrants see plenty of potential growth in the business.

The Federal Communications Commission is initiating an inquiry into the competitive practices of the Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) industry because of allegations that some operators are “warehousing” satellite orbital locations and frequency assignments and are barring competitors from purchasing capacity on their satellites.

Liberty Global plc has completed its acquisition of British cable operator Virgin Media Inc. in a stock and cash merger valued at approximately US$ 24 billion (€18.26 billion) following shareholder approvals, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Mike Fries, President and CEO of Liberty Global, said the combined company now provides over 47 million video, voice and broadband services to 25 million customers located principally in 12 European countries.

According to The Diffusion Group (TDG), more than four years after the first public announcement of the cable industry’s ‘TV Everywhere’ (TVE) initiative, deployment to America’s multichannel TV subscribers remains at less than 50%.

Asia-Pacific’s premier multichannel TV industry association turned the spotlight on the “land of smiles” with CASBAA Thailand in View 2013, recently held on 30 May at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.

The IBC Conference to be held from September 12-17, 2013 in Amsterdam,  is at the heart of the industry. Over the course of its six days more than 300 high-profile speakers in more than 60 hard-hitting and high-level sessions will discuss in detail the current state of the industry and help draw the roadmap for its development.

Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will be adopting  8K broadcasts, which is 16 times the resolution of current HDTV, by 2016, two years ahead of schedule. Japanese broadcaster  NHK said it already has plans to conduct trials 8K Super Hi-Vision TV in 2016. Reports say NHK is preparing to build a compact, more-easily managed camera that can capture in the double 4K resolution.

In the meantime, Japan has announced it will use 4K broadcast in July 2014 during the final match of the 2014 World Cup.

CBS Corp. has acquired full control of TV Guide’s online and mobile apps divisions after buying out the 50 percent share held by Lionsgate Entertainment.This latest deal makes CBS the outright owner of Lionsgate’s digital assets, including TVGuide.com and TV Guide Mobile, which provide news and information about TV shows and movies in addition to TV listings.

CASBAA  organised its ninth TV Upfronts in the region and the second in Malaysia on May 28, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur. The Upfronts promote multichannel TV as an ideal platform for marketers to reach their target demographics and the KL event attracted over 100 guests representing advertising agencies, clients, broadcasters and media.

The new edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report reveals thatmobile-data traffic will continue to grow significantly in the coming years, a trend driven mainly by video. Overall data traffic is expected to grow 12-fold by the end of 2018. Increasing usage is driven by continual growth in the amount of content available as well as the improved network speeds that come with HSPA and LTE development.