Cognizant acquires itaas; Blonder Tongue wins patent infringement suit against Ktech

More cable news from across the Web:

> Cognizant agreed to acquire itaas and its technology that helps cable and telecom providers deliver digital video services across traditional cable, broadcast, and telecommunications network environments and on connected consumer devices such as set-tops, tablets, and smartphones. Press release

> An appeals court confirmed Blonder Tongue Laboratories' victory in a patent infringement lawsuit initiated by Ktech Telecommunications. Press release

> Elected officials in Longmont, Colo. will vote on a 10-year franchise agreement with Comcast that generates nearly $1 million per year annually for the city and requires that Comcast provide an HD channel to carry the city's local programming. Story

> Apple added A&E and the History Channel to its Apple TV device for users with a cable TV subscription. Blog

> Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes got a 26 percent raise in 2013 thanks to option awards that hiked his base salary from $2 million to $7.84 million. Story

> The Australian Broadcasting Corp. isn't happy about Sky News' plans to launch an international IPTV platform, the Australia Channel, that rivals the Australia Network multimedia platform. Story

> Research analysts at UBS AG upgraded Time Warner Cable from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating. Story

> Armenian fixed and mobile provider ArmenTel (Beeline) could "soon' launch a mobile TV service using SPB TV but no dates have been confirmed. Story

> The Russian pay-TV market grew by 16 percent in 2013 with satellite leading the way while cable grew 1.5 percent. Story

Telecom News

> Alaska Communications has jumped into the superfast broadband game by offering local businesses up to 1 Gigabit speeds in Anchorage thanks to an ongoing expansion of its fiber network. Full article

Wireless News

> Apple and Google are battling each other for the most popular mobile games: Each company wants to offer its respective users the latest and greatest mobile games, and both are offering mobile gaming developers promotional incentives to encourage them to focus only on iOS or Android with their game launches. Full article

And finally … Lenovo is using Hillcrest Labs in-air pointing and motion control software technology in a new line of Smart TVs. Press release