Advanced Television

FTA

Research: Virgin likely to lose TV subs after UKTV blackout  

Virgin Media customers say they are more likely to cancel their TV subscriptions because of the withdrawal of the UKTV channels, according to independent research conducted by research firm Kantar TNS, which provides evidence

July 26, 2018By Colin Mann

Australia: Nine acquires Fairfax

Australia’s Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media Limited have entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement under which the companies will merge to establish Nine as one of Australia’s leading independent media companies. The Proposed Transaction will, subject to required approvals, be implemented by Nine acquiring all Fairfax shares in a deal valued at A$4 billion (€2.5bn). […]

July 26, 2018

BBC: Green button programme restart

The BBC says it has made it even easier for viewers to make sure they never miss a moment of BBC TV shows. A new function lets TV viewers with a connected and capable smart TV start watching programmes from the beginning, whilst they’re still being broadcast, simply by pressing the green button on their […]

July 26, 2018

ITV H1 revenues up 8%; plans D2C boost

ITV, the UK commercial broadcaster, has reported total external revenue up 8 per cent at £1.5 billion (2017: £1.4 billion) with non-advertising revenues up 14 per cent at £958 million (2017: £837 million). Total ITV Studios revenue up 16 per cent at £803 million (2017: £692 million), including £12 million of unfavourable currency impact. ITV […]

July 25, 2018

Virgin TV replaces UKTV channels

The failure of Virgin Media and UKTV to reach agreement on the carriage dispute between the pair saw the programmer’s 10 channels (including the five free-to-air channels such as Dave) replaced on Virgin TV at 00:01 on July 22nd. “We are as disappointed as our customers that we have had to replace UKTV’s channels,” commented […]

July 23, 2018By Colin Mann

Eleven Sports to show PGA for free across UK

Global sports provider Eleven Sports has secured exclusive rights to the 2018 PGA Championship in the UK and Ireland. The centenary edition of the golf major, which runs from August 9th to 12th at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis Missouri, will be the official launch event on Eleven Sports. There will be three […]

July 23, 2018

BBC UHD trials: 1.6m requests

Following the BBC’s Ultra HD trials this summer, the Corporation has revealed that BBC iPlayer received over 1.6 million requests for its live Ultra HD coverage of the World Cup and Wimbledon. The trial successfully delivered all 29 BBC One World Cup games and every Centre Court match at Wimbledon – all live in Ultra […]

July 19, 2018By Colin Mann

Ofcom: SVoD subs surpass pay-TV

The number of UK subscriptions to streaming services such as Netflix has overtaken those to traditional pay-TV for the first time, marking a major shift in the UK’s viewing habits, according to findings in regulator Ofcom’s Media Nations report, a comprehensive study of major trends in the UK’s television, radio and audio sectors. The amount […]

July 18, 2018

Spain: FTA most watched channels on pay-TV

Free-to-air TV channels are the most widely watched by viewers on pay-TV platforms in Spain. A study from Mediaset reveals that an average of 67.9 per cent of pay-TV viewers watched FTA TV channels from January 1st to July 15th. In that period, TV consumption via pay-TV platforms amounted to 23 per cent of the […]

July 18, 2018From David Del Valle in Madrid

Fight Network launches FTA in UK

Fight Network, the multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, has launched as a FTA channel across the UK, available on the Sky and Freesat platforms. “We are delighted to expand Fight Network’s global footprint to the UK,” commented Peter Einstein, COO of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of Fight Network. […]

July 17, 2018By Nik Roseveare