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Altice: Live viewing steady; time-shifted, DVR rise

From a nail-biter World Series matchup and breathtaking Summer Olympics Games to some of the highest-rated political debates in history, 2016 provided no shortage of must-watch television. To provide insights about consumer television viewing activity, cable MSO Altice USA has released its first Altice USA Data Flash Review, which analysed 2016 viewing trends of its […]

January 12, 2017

Trump could be good news for satellite

A major study of Europe’s media stocks from equity analysts at Berenberg Bank includes a close look at the prospects for the satellite sector. Included in the report are detailed examinations for Europe’s two major satellite operators, SES and Eutelsat. The report says that new US President Donald Trump could be good news for satellite […]

January 12, 2017

SES refinances O3b debt

Satellite operator SES is saving €60 million annually in debt interest repayments having successfully refinanced $1.3 billion of debt inherited when it fully acquired O3b last year. Since acquiring the remaining shares in O3b, SES has refinanced the entire $1.4 billion of gross debt at a materially lower average funding rate. This will deliver a […]

January 12, 2017By Chris Forrester

Discovery Italia sees 14% growth in ad revenue

Italy’s third largest broadcaster Discovery Italia closed 2016 with advertising sales of €200 million, up 14 per cent over the previous year. There were good news on the audience rating front as well. In November (the latest figures available), the average share in the 24 hours was 6.69 per cent and 5.65 per cent in […]

January 12, 2017From Branislav Pekic in Rome

BBC closing Latino pay-TV channels

The BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, is reportedly withdrawing its Latino-versioned pay-TV channels including BBC Entertainment, CBeebies and BBC Earth. The channels go dark in April. The news does not affect BBC World News. “This decision is driven by the growing demand in the market for our shows and will allow us to deliver our […]

January 12, 2017By Chris Forrester

DPP opens DPP Marketplace

The Digital Production Partnership (DPP) has revealed its latest initiative: DPP Marketplace. The new Marketplace is an online media services shop where DPP Member companies can advertise their products and services to the wider industry. From a customer point of view DPP Marketplace is a one-stop way to source solutions from companies committed to innovation. […]

January 12, 2017

BBC to revamp iPlayer

BBC Director-General Tony Hall has said the corporation needs to reinvent its on-demand iPlayer service to make the leap from a catch-up service to a “must-visit” destination in its own right in the face of rapid growth by its competitors such as Netflix. In a wide-ranging New Year message to BBC staff on ‘Reinventing the […]

January 11, 2017By Colin Mann

Facebook testing ‘mid-roll’ ads

Facebook is preparing to test mid-roll video advertising – in which ads are played midway through a video that a user is watching. The ads would likely first appear in Facebook videos by professional publishers, according to reports. To date, the Facebook has resisted allowing pre-roll ads, that play before a video starts, which are […]

January 11, 2017

EC court action over Spain’s DTT aid

The European Commission is referring Spain to the Court of Justice under Article 108(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The move follows Spain’s failure to recover subsidies it granted to finance the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) in remote areas of, respectively, Castilla-la-Mancha and the rest […]

January 11, 2017By Colin Mann

BT Sport to live stream NBA on Freeview, Facebook

BT Sport is to offer a free simulcast of the NBA Global Game between the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers on January 12th to fans across the UK on Facebook, Freeview and Virgin Media. It will be the first time an NBA game will be shown live on Facebook in the UK. Fans will be […]

January 11, 2017By Nik Roseveare