– Orange: France Telecom has licensed several archive shows for its mobile subsidiary’s IPTV service from Granada International, the distribution arm for the company that makes such shows as Coronation Street. Programs including Space 1999, Inspector Morse and The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes will feature on Orange’s ADSL broadband-powered video-on-demand set-top-box and on the internet in France as part of a three-year deal. Granada has previously offered this line-up to VOD operators elsewhere in the world, including Japan. (via WorldScreen).
– Diana: VH1 has the US rights to the upcoming six-hour concert to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and will stream it on VH1.com, where it will also be available on-demand later. Aside from the regular VH1 TV channel, the July 1 event, staged by Princes William and Harry, will also go out on MTV’s MHD hi-def channel and with a one-hour delay on VH1 Classic. (Release). BBC is the UK broadcast partner and will also stream online as well as on BBC One. Showing media savvy, the princes have embarked on a round of UK and US interviews ahead of the August anniversary of their mother’s death, and posted their own interview promoting the summer concert on the event’s official website.
— iTunes Festival: Apple will try to drive customers to the iTunes Store by adding to the UK’s burgeoning summer music festival scene its own iTunes Festival: London event. Over 60 artists including Amy Winehouse, Stereophonics and Groove Armada will perform at London’s Institute for Contemporary Arts between July 1 and 31. It’s hardly Glastonbury — some 350 tickets will be handed out to competition winners, while each set will be recorded for sale later on iTunes Store. The naming of the event suggests London will not be alone in staging future iTunes Festivals. (Release).