– YouTube: The video sharing site’s policing policy has brought more controversy in Europe. Germany’s Central Council of Jews is reportedly considering suing Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) for allowing videos that allegedly incite neo-Nazi racial hatred, Reuters says. A German TV investigation today centers on clips of a 1940 anti-semitic movie and a far-right rock band and hears from a parliamentarian who says the site “aides and abets incitement of the people”. Last month, BBC’s Panorama documentary series criticized YouTube’s moderation policy for allowing mobile video clips of youngsters engaged in violent acts in the U.K.
– Telegraph.co.uk: The Daily Telegraph’s website is expanding its online video offering, Telegraph TV, in a move that will see it switch to Brightcove’s media player before the end of the year. The newspaper already uses a Flash application to power its news videos, produced by ITV after an alliance the pair forged last year that also sees Telegraph reporters appear in more ITN output. Now it is set to recast its video channel with arts, fashion, travel and rolling news content. Release.
– Canal+: Vivendi’s (EPA: VIV) French TV subsidiary has signed deals with three broadband providers to supply programs on their ADSL services. The network signed with Neuf Cegetal (another Vivendi unit, EPA: NEUF), Iliad’s Free ISP and France Telecom’s (EPA: FTE) Orange to offer programming from TPS Star, Sport+, Cinéstar, Cinéculte, Cinétoile, Piwi and Télétoon, according to Les Echos (via Thomson).
– Aardman: Bristol, U.K.-based Aardman Animations, the company behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, has added a new video website to wallaceandgromit.com where visitors can see clips from previous and forthcoming shorts and full-length features. The video is powered by a player from Roo. Guardian and Media Week say the feature will include pre-roll and banner advertising, though at present only banner ads seem to be visible.
– BBC: Canonical, maker of the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system, has joined criticism of the BBC’s iPlayer catch-up TV application, which, for now, thanks to its Kontiki DRM solution, (Correction: Kontiki DRM is not involved in BBC iPlayer) works only on Windows XP. Canonical’s Chris Kenyon, via Personal Computer World: “To link the ability to download content from the BBC, a publicly funded body, to the use of one operating system is anti-competitive and at odds with the BBC charter. Locking access to BBC iPlayer content to phones and internet tablets running Windows is short sighted and bad for fee-payers. Platform neutral means that we need a solution that supports Linux and Apple’s OSX.” It bears noting the BBC has repeatedly promised iPlayer will eventually work on other platforms.