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FTA

FreeSports acquires Afghanistan, Zimbabwe cricket

FreeSports, owned and operated by Premier Sports, has signed a deal with RDA to broadcast all tests, ODIs and T20 fixtures involving Afghanistan and Zimbabwe live on free to air over the next three years. From March 2nd, both sides face one another in two tests which is set to be the first Test match […]

March 1, 2021

BBC calls for “radical” role reappraisal

Clare Sumner, Director of Policy at the BBC, has called for a radical reappraisal of the role the Corporation plays in shaping the wider broadcast market to inform the debate about its future. Delivering a keynote speech – The evolving role of the BBC – to the Westminster Media Forum policy conference on ‘The future […]

February 24, 2021By Colin Mann

Formula E extends Discovery partnership

With the first races in its seventh season just days away, Formula E and Discovery have extended their media partnership to show the all-electric racing series live across Europe. Discovery will utilise its extensive range of free-to-air, pay-tv and digital platforms to support the growth of Formula E, whose shareholders include Liberty Global and Discovery […]

February 24, 2021By Colin Mann

Mediaset scores Champions League FTA & streaming rights

Mediaset has been awarded the Italian free-to-air and streaming rights for the UEFA Champions League for another three years, until 2024. The broadcaster will be able to air the best match of each round of Europe’s premier football competition free-to-air as well as the final, which will also be available online for free. In addition, […]

February 19, 2021From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Formula E extends BBC FTA deal

With the start of Season 7 fast approaching,  all-electric racing series Formula E has confirmed another broadcast deal with the extension of its media partnership with BBC Sport to show the live in the UK. Comprehensive, live, free-to-air coverage will air on BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, with some races […]

February 19, 2021By Colin Mann

All Premier League on TV until fans return

The Premier League has confirmed all fixtures for the 2020/21 season will continue to be made available to fans to watch live in the UK. This arrangement will be extended until Government guidance permits supporters to return to stadiums. All matches will be shown via existing broadcast partners Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video […]

February 18, 2021By Colin Mann

Survey: Pandemic accelerates broadcasters’ digital migration plans

The global pandemic had major impacts on the TV industry in 2020, according to content consultancy 3Vision’s annual trends survey. Lockdowns changed audience consumption habits and caused disruption in broadcasting, production and advertising. Covid-19 has been a great accelerator of change in the TV business. Ninety-eight per cent of respondents agreed that the pandemic has […]

February 18, 2021

TF1 profits down threefold

Impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and a decline in the ad market, French commercial broadcaster TF1 group has posted a net profit result down to €55 million in 2020 instead of €154.8 million the previous year. Consolidated revenue reached €2.082 billion, down 11 per cent and the current operating profit margin established at 9.1 per […]

February 12, 2021From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris

Virgin Media boosts free TV offer

UK multiplay operator Virgin Media is extending its free TV offering by making a variety of entertainment, lifestyle and learning-based programming available for all 3.5 million TV customers, at no extra cost. The move coincides with the midterm academic break for many UK schools. From February 15th until March 16th, all Virgin TV customers in […]

February 12, 2021

Field test success for NEXTGEN TV

Newly-released field testing carried out by Sony Electronics has demonstrated the real-world advantages of next-generation TV broadcasting now being rolled out across the USA. The ATSC 3.0 or NEXTGEN TV standard allows a TV station to custom tailor its broadcast to reach simultaneously different types of viewers on a variety of devices – including those […]

February 12, 2021By Colin Mann