Finnish multiplay telco DNA is preparing to discontinue the distribution of the Discovery and Eurosport pay-TV channels starting from January 1st 2018, citing what it describes as “the unreasonably high” distribution fee increase demands that Discovery has presented during the agreement negotiations, and the fact that the risk of discontinued distribution has already occurred with […]
Pay-TV channel Disney Channel France has passed 1 million subscribers – the first channel to reach the milestone in France – and more than double the number of its closest competitor. Disney Channel France, which launched 20 years ago, has also become the most followed channel on social media in France. Its YouTube videos average […]
YouTube will launch a new subscription music streaming service in March 2018, according to reports. Record label Warner Music Group has already signed on while Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Merlin, a consortium of independent labels, are said to be in talks with the online video portal. The service, tentatively branded as ‘Remix’, […]
According to the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), an advertising industry initiative to fight criminal activity in the digital advertising supply chain, the use of TAG Certified distribution channels for digital advertising reduced the level of fraud by more than 83 per cent from the broader industry average. Among the findings of the study conducted by […]
Arqiva, the UK communications infrastructure company, has announcd that phase 4 of the BBC National DAB roll out has now completed, with the switching on of a new transmitter at Fakenham in North Norfolk. Phase 4 has seen an additional 163 sites deployed across the UK to deliver the BBC’s national radio services, including those […]
Representatives of European public service media and consumers have urged the European Parliament to reject the Proposal for a Regulation on Online Broadcasting during the plenary vote scheduled for December 12th, suggesting that they want to bring European audiovisual content closer to consumers in the EU. The European Broadcasting Organisation (EBU) and the Bureau Européen […]
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has decided to not oppose the proposed merger of Fox Sports and Foxtel after finding the transaction would not substantially lessen competition. Currently, News Corporation owns 100 per cent of Fox Sports and owns Foxtel jointly with Telstra. Under the merger, Foxtel and Fox Sports will be brought […]
The Japanese Supreme Court has ruled that TV owners in Japan must pay a “receiving fee” to public broadcaster NHK. Up until now the payment was seen as an obligation, but frequently ignored. The particular case before the court concerned an individual who argued that he would not pay the fee because NHK was biased […]
Italian free-to-air DTH platform TivúSat has further expanded its offer with two new channels from Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN). The latest additions are VH-1, which airs music videos and classic TV series, while Spike is targetted at a male audience aged 25-54 years, broadcasting mainly entertainment programmes and reality shows. Before launching on TivúSat, […]
Ian Brotherston, CEO at media facilities business TVT (which acquired the Amsterdam-based DMC play-out company from AMC Networks in July 2017) says that 2017 was proving to be a record year for his company. “We do a lot of work with Netflix and their march seems to go on and on and on. This is […]