Pay-TV is skyrocketing in popularity all throughout Europe. Ninety-five operators across 25 countries in the European pay-TV market added 10 million subscriptions in the last 10 years. What will the next five years look like for this market? Pay-TV households will increase by 10.2 percent to 186 million between 2012 and 2017. During this timespan, cable services will decline by 4.9 percent while Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services will increase by 35.9 percent. What’s the reason for this explosive growth? The growth of HDTV channels is part of the answer—since the end of 2009…

The French were not able to maintain their 75% tax on the super rich, so now they’re aiming for the super, super, super rich by going after companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Their latest scheme: an Internet tax that will affect those collecting personal data from French citizens. This concept emerged late last week in a report commissioned by President François Hollande that details the unfair ways that large American internet-based companies are able to circumvent the French tax system and still remain relevant to its citizens. According to the report, personal data is the “raw…