Advanced Television

Pay TV

UK consults on content portability

The UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched a consultation on its proposed approach to enforcement of the EU Portability Regulation which ends on January 31st 2018. From April 1st 2018, online streaming services will be required to allow EU-based subscribers access to paid-for content when temporarily in another EU Member State, for example when […]

January 5, 2018By Colin Mann

F1 2017: Strong TV and digital audience growth

The 2017 season saw Formula 1 register an increase in audience figures across both TV and digital platforms compared to the previous year, with F1 the fastest growing sport brand on social media platforms. The TV cumulative audience – i.e., the aggregate of the average audience of all the F1 programmes broadcast across the year […]

January 5, 2018By Colin Mann

ICASA invites new DTT channels

South Africa’s media regulator ICASA is inviting applications from broadcasters wishing to apply for multiplex spectrum on the nation’s third (MUX-3) DTT service. ICASA initially made a similar announcement back in September 2015 but did not issue licences. MultiChoice is already operating one of the available multiplexes for its GOtv system. Multiplexer 3 (MUX-3) is […]

January 5, 2018By Chris Forrester

Spain: FTA loses ground on pay-TV

The rapid take-up of pay-TV in Spain is causing FTA TV channels to lose viewers. In 2017, the three largest FTA TV stations – Tele 5, Antena 3 and the pubcaster La 1 – pulled in a combined audience rating of 36 per cent, down 1.3 per cent on 2016. It is the lowest rating […]

January 3, 2018From David Del Valle in Madrid

Liberty completes LatAm split-off

Suggesting the newly-listed company is well-positioned to leverage world-class technology, innovation and scale, Liberty Latin America, which has telecommunications operations in Chile, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America, has completed its previously-announced split-off from international TV and broadband company Liberty Global and its launch as an independent, publicly-traded company. Following the […]

January 3, 2018

Mediaset wins Italian World Cup rights

For the first time ever, Italian state broadcaster RAI will not transmit the FIFA Football World Cup. Commercial rival Mediaset has won the exclusive rights to air the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in Italy as well as in Spain. Mediaset has promised it will broadcast all 64 matches of the tournament, which takes […]

January 2, 2018From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Jail terms for Hong Kong pirates

Three offenders involved in a Hong Kong piracy syndicate which circumvented pay-TV channels have been sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 21 to 27 months. The case stemmed from action in 2014 by Hong Kong Customs authorities, who raided four residential premises, a warehouse and a commercial electronics retail outlet, arresting nine people and seizing 38 […]

December 28, 2017By Colin Mann

DNA, Discovery agree distribution deal

The continued availability of the Discovery and Eurosport pay-TV channels on Finnish multiplay telco DNA’s platforms at the turn of the year has been assured, with DNA and Discovery reaching an agreement regarding the distribution of the channels. The discontinuation would have affected the viewing of many channels on cable and terrestrial networks as well […]

December 28, 2017

Liberty Global sells Austrian operations to T-Mobile Austria

International TV and broadband company Liberty Global has reached an agreement to sell its Austrian operations, UPC Austria, to Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile Austria. At September 30th, 2017, UPC Austria’s network passed 1.4 million homes and served 654,000 customers who subscribed to 513,000 broadband, 450,000 voice and 468,000 video services. Liberty Global will sell UPC […]

December 22, 2017

Netflix US subs equal to cable TV

A PricewaterhouseCoopers study of nearly 2,000 Americans aged 18 to 59 has revealed that the percentage of consumers who watched cable TV and Netflix in 2017 were even. The survey shows that 73 per cent of respondents subscribed to a pay-TV service this year, which is down from 76 per cent in 2016, and 79 per […]

December 20, 2017