Advanced Television

Pay TV

Sky extends Warner Bros movie deal

Sky has announced an extension to its deal with Warner Bros. The deal will give viewers in the UK, German and Austria the chance to see Warner Bros films such as Wonder Woman premiere on Sky Cinema sooner than ever before (following the home entertainment window). The agreement with Warner Bros. further strengthens the group’s […]

January 25, 2018

Rupert’s reasons to be grumpy

You would think just making it to 86 years-old would make a man reasonably pleased. Add billions of dollars of wealth and being married to Jerry Hall and you’d think a grin would be in order. But Rupert Murdoch is all about the grimace just now. And he has some reason. The family empire he […]

January 24, 2018

T-Mobile closes Layer3 TV acquisition

US mobile telco T-Mobile US has completed the previously-announced acquisition of Denver-based television innovator Layer3 TV. The Layer3 TV team has joined T-Mobile and will drive the telco’s initiative to launch a disruptive new TV service in 2018. In December 2017, the self-styled ‘Un-carrier’ unveiled its plans to ‘Un-carrier your TV’, fuelled by the talent […]

January 24, 2018

Fox/Sky deal ‘not in the public interest’

UK competition watchdog the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has published the provisional findings from its in-depth examination of the proposed acquisition of Sky Plc by 21st Century Fox, advising that Fox taking full control of Sky is not in the public interest because of media plurality concerns, but not because of a lack of a […]

January 23, 2018By Colin Mann

Sky and Fox: You have to laugh at CMA!

The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is a truly wonderful organisation. Its self-proclaimed role is to work to promote competition for the benefit of consumers. Its decision on January 23rd to “provisionally find that the Fox/Sky deal is not in the public interest” seems wholly contrary to that mission statement. With the world – and […]

January 23, 2018

Vodafone Spain low cost convergent package

Vodafone has launched a low cost convergent package called Vodafone One Light for €45.05 a month. The package includes symmetrical optic fibre at speed of up to 50 Mbps, a mobile line with 200 minutes of calls, 3GB of data and Chat Pass. Subscribers will also be able to enjoy the Vodafone TV Total package […]

January 23, 2018From David Del Valle in Madrid

EY: Net tops TV for UK household attention

Over half of UK households (56 per cent) spend more time on the Internet (including streaming) than watching TV, up from 49 per cent in 2016, according to findings from consultancy firm EY’s latest annual digital home survey of 2,500 UK consumers. This is the first time

January 22, 2018

Ofcom: TalkTalk most complained about ISP

Ofcom has published its quarterly data on the volume of consumer complaints it has received against major providers of telecoms and pay-TV services. The latest report covers the three-month period from July to September 2017 (Q3), and includes complaints made about providers of home broadband, landline telephone, pay-monthly mobile and pay-TV services. There was a […]

January 22, 2018

DISH files illegal IPTV suits

US pay-TV platform DISH has filed two lawsuits with the aim of ending distribution of Arabic channels and content for which it has the exclusive licences. The complaints against Spider-TV and Tiger Star are similar, alleging that the entities are capturing broadcasts of certain TV channels licensed exclusively to DISH, including MBC and Al Jazeera […]

January 19, 2018By Colin Mann

Canal+ goes UHD

Canal+ is launching its Ultra-HD DTH service on a newly-designed set-top box (Le Decodeur) today, January 18th. The UHD signal will be carried by SES from its 19.2 degrees East orbital position. Using their existing satellite dish, all Canal+ French satellite subscribers will be able to enjoy a wide range of premium UHD content, including […]

January 18, 2018By Chris Forrester