Gemstar–TV Guide International
Formerly | United Video Satellite Group, Inc., Trakker, Inc., Prevue Networks, Inc. |
---|---|
Company type | Macrovision Solutions Corporation |
Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | United States |
Products | Interactive program guide Video recorder scheduling codes Magazines Cable television |
Gemstar–TV Guide International, Inc. was a
History
As United Video
In 1978, United Video Satellite Group, Inc. was founded in Tulsa, OK. United Video itself dated back to 1965, founded by Gene Schneider, and was originally a cable company in the Tulsa area, originally under the names of GenCo and then LVO Cable (during a period when they were owned by LVO Corporation, an oil company). The name United Video came from an acquisition in 1970: a small, microwave-based TV relay operation serving the Illinois towns of Ottawa, Streator and Pontiac with TV signals from Chicago. The microwave business expanded to serve other cable companies and regions, including Iowa, Louisiana, and Oklahoma itself, carrying distant stations to rural communities.
Thanks to their experience in distributing Chicago's WGN-TV via microwave, they were chosen to distribute WGN's signal nationwide via satellite uplink (after a period where UV competed with several other firms, including another Tulsa-based uplink firm, Southern Satellite Systems). They began uplinking the signal from a facility in Monee, Illinois, to the Satcom-3 satellite on November 9, 1978.[2] Soon, several other stations began to be uplinked for national distribution by UVSG, including WGN's then-sister station WPIX in New York, KTVT in Dallas, and KPLR in St. Louis. (With the rise of satellite, this meant that microwave transmission of distant stations was now outmoded, with UVSG selling their microwave systems by 1980.)
A side venture was the
Another side venture formed from the idea of carrying something over their main signal was the
As Gemstar-TV Guide International
On October 5, 1999, Gemstar International Group Ltd. (which was founded by
In 2000, SoftBook was acquired by Gemstar, who also acquired Softbook's competitor, the Rocket eBook), and merged them into the Gemstar eBook Group and released an e-reader called the RCA eBook Reader.[14]
Gemstar had inherited much of its patent portfolio through its 1997 acquisition of StarSight Telecast, which had previously litigated against companies such as General Instrument and Scientific Atlanta.[15] StarSight Telecast had reportedly settled its ongoing disputes with Scientific Atlanta in 1997, entering into a licensing arrangement and marketing relationship, accepting an initial licensing payment.[16] The company eventually prevailed in its licensing dispute with General Instrument in 1999, although an injunction was denied on the basis that General Instrument had not infringed the relevant patents in any commercial products.[17]
Gemstar's initial agreement with Scientific Atlanta expired in 1999, leading to various legal proceedings. Already in December 1998, Scientific Atlanta had filed a legal action alleging that Gemstar had violated federal antitrust laws and had misused its patents, seeking damages and judgements of non-infringement related to a number of Gemstar's patents. A declaration of invalidity was sought for eight patents in particular. Following up in 1999, Scientific Atlanta sued Gemstar's StarSight Telecast subsidiary for patent infringement. Such disputes also involved the
In 2002, Gemstar disclosed that it had not collected $108 million in booked revenue. The genesis of the uncollected revenue stemmed from expired licensing agreements, mainly with cable
During this time period,
On July 9, 2007, Gemstar chairman Anthea Disney announced that its board of directors has "authorized the Company and its advisors to explore strategic alternatives intended to maximize shareholder value, which may include a sale of the Company."[23] This move was seen by many analysts as an attempt on the part of Murdoch, who was a 41% shareholder in Gemstar, to raise cash for its attempt to buy Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones.
On December 7, 2007, Gemstar signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Macrovision (later
On November 27, 2009,
Virgin Media has successfully defended claims by Rovi and Patent 11 has been revoked. Rovi has been ordered by the Court of Appeal to reimburse Virgin Media's legal costs.[29]
Rovi Corporation continues to execute and license its patents including patents from Gemstar-TV Guide to companies worldwide (including those based in the United Kingdom); in particular, in 2010 deal, the company signed a deal with
References
- ^ "SEC".
- ^ "Superstation breakthrough" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications, Inc. October 30, 1976. p. 25. Retrieved September 26, 2018 – via American Radio History.
"Superstation breakthrough" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. October 30, 1978. p. 26. Retrieved April 29, 2019 – via American Radio History. - ^ a b "Music companies agree to merge". Kilgore News Herald. January 10, 1989. p. 8. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ "Capital Cities-ABC has satellite stake". The Daily Dispatch. January 3, 1989. p. D1. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- The Miami Herald. August 1, 1989. p. 4B. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ "Official: Cumulus Buys Dial Global, Spins Some Stations To Townsquare; Peak Stations Sold To Townsquare, Fresno Spun To Cumulus". All Access. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ^ "Dial Global becomes WestwoodOne ahead of Cumulus acquisition". Los Angeles Times. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
- ^ "Roy L. Bliss 2001 Oral and Video History". www.cablecenter.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ Writer, D. R. STEWART World Staff. "Rovi Corp. now owns what was once United Video Satellite". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
- ^ On-Screen Guides: The Vanguard of Interactive Television, Red Herring, October 1993, page32
- ^ Electronic Rival To Buy TV Guide, The Washington Post, October 5, 1999.
- ^ Tourtellotte, Bob (1999-09-06). Analyst: IPG fight may soon be over. Broadcasting & Cable, September 6, 1999. Archived 2014-06-11 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Jane Spencer and Kara Scannell "As Fraud Case Unravels, Executive Is At Large," The Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2007 (subscription required to view full article)
- ^ "Gemstar buys two e-book makers", CNET, 2000-01-20
- ^ Hall, Lee (9 August 1999). "Gemstar, TV Guide battle to be TV's digital traffic cop". Electronic Media. pp. 15, 21. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Bournellis, Cynthia; Cohen, Sarah (14 April 1997). "Data Topics". Electronic News. p. 54. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Berger, Robin (11 October 1999). "StarSight Wins Fight with GI". Electronic Media. p. 16. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ISBN 0870516043. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Federal Register. Vol. 70. National Archives and Records Administration. 23 September 2005. pp. 55919–55920. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "This Isn't the Show Henry Yuen Expected". BusinessWeek. 20 June 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Sherman, Jay (8 March 2004). "Gemstar-TV Guide Reports Narrowed Losses". TelevisionWeek. p. 20. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Aptiv Digital acquired by Gemstar-TV Guide
- ^ Gemstar-TV Guide International "Gemstar-TV Guide International Announces Review of Strategic Alternatives" Archived 2007-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ""Macrovision Agrees to Acquire Gemstar-TV Guide"". Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ^ ""Macrovision Closes Acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide"". Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ "Virgin Media wins Gemstar EPG ruling". Broadband TV News. 2009-11-27.
- ^ "Ruling on Litigation with Virgin Media". Rovi Corporation. 2009-11-30. Archived from the original on 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- ^ "Virgin Media Wins United Kingdom Appeal Affirming Gemstar Patent Ruling". Bloomberg. 2011-03-29.
- ^ "Virgin Media wins final Rovi patent battle". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
- ^ [1] Archived 2010-09-24 at the Wayback Machine"Rovi Signs Sky to an Extended IPG Patent License Agreement"
External links
- www.rovicorp.com – Rovi Corporation official website