Broadband TV News
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N24 to be renamed WELT in January 2018
German news channel N24 will become WELT (translated “World”) on January 18, 2018. With the move announced in July 2015, the channel will adopt the brand of newspaper Die Welt published by Axel Springer. The German media company acquired N24 on December 9
Broadband TV NewsGerman federal election: capacity on four Eutelsat satellites mobilised
Capacity on four satellites operated by Eutelsat Communications is mobilised by German and international media to cover the German federal election on Sunday September 24, which will see up to 62 million voters go to the polls. The equivalent of 300 hours
Get ensures Norwegian content available
The chief executive of Norwegian cablenet Get says its essential there’s a place for local content in on demand and streaming services. “In connection with the Nordic Serial Days (Nordiske Seriedager), which are now being held, we are launching in collabo
Bazalgette review sets recommendations for UK Creative Industries
The Government is to inject £80 million into the UK’s creative industries after a review found they could be worth £128.4 billion to the UK economy by 2025. The review, commissioned by the government and led by ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, outlines
T-We open to all Canal Digital customers
Canal Digital has expanded its T-We portal to all customers of the Norwegian cablenet. T-We is now included in the basic TV package, where it was previously confined to those customers taking Broadband 30 or better, and customers subscribing directly to T
UPC Polska to become MVNO
Poland’s leading cable operator UPC Polska has signed a cooperation agreement with the mobile company Play. As a result, it will start offering its subscribers mobile services. Commenting on the development, Jørgen Bang-Jensen, the president of Play, said
Mediametrie adds OTT Molotov to 4 Screen tracking offer
France’s audience measurement organisation, Médiamétrie, to include OTT in its 4-screen TV audience ratings with French OTT platform Molotov. Starting in October 2017, Médiamétrie will provide 4-screen TV audience measurement subscribers with performance
Inaugural HbbTV Awards open for entries
The inaugural HbbTV Awards are now open for entries from across the HbbTV community. The Awards, which take place on 17th October 2017 in Rome at the 6th annual HbbTV Symposium, recognise those companies that demonstrate the best adoption of HbbTV, with t
New DTT tender in Ukraine
The Ukrainian National Council has decided to hold a tender for local and regional broadcasting on the country’s MX-5 multiplex. In a statement, it says that an announcement will be published shortly in the newspaper Voice of Ukraine. MX-5 is a DVB-T2 (MP
Chris Dziadul Reports: Brexit and TV channel licensing
Brexit could have far-reaching consequences for the licensing of TV channels within the EU. While having the potential to threaten the UK as a major industry hub, it could open up opportunities for other countries to take its place. One of those countries
Major change in Czech cable
The Czech cable operator RIO Media has been acquired by Kaprain Industrial Holding from Argus Capital for an undisclosed fee. Rozhlas.cz reports that following the closure of the deal, which has to be approved by the Office for Protection of Competition (
Portuguese regulator criticises Altice acquisition
Portugal’s media regulator has delivered a blow to the plans of Altice to acquire commercial TV channel TVI. Anacom has told competition authority AdC that the European Commission’s 30% ceiling on media shareholdings would be exceeded in a number of areas
Official referral for Fox-Sky merger
The culture secretary has officially referred the proposed merger between 21st Century Fox and Sky Plc to the Competition Markets Authority (CMA). The Phase 2 investigation is on grounds on media plurality and genuine commitment to broadcasting standards
Major landmark for Russian OTT
Paid revenues for Russian online VOD services have exceeded those from advertising for the first time. Quoting data produced by Telecom Daily, Vedomosti reports that in the first half of this year the paid model contributed to 53.3% of total income, with
Liberty Global launches Converged Connectivity App
A new Connect App sill offer Liberty Global customers connectivity across mobile and WiFi networks in and out of the home. The news was announced ast this year’s Liberty Global Tech Summit 2017 in Amsterdam. The app has been available for some time, at no
Fox to premiere TV series on Twitter
Fox Broadcasting Company and Twitter will partner on a wide range of streaming initiatives to launch returning series Empire and The Mick, as well as the network’s new comedy, Ghosted. The new series Ghosted will be streamed on Twitter before the actual f
Lithuania bans Russian channel
The Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) has decided to restrict the free reception of the Russian channel for a period of six months. In a statement, the regulator says the decision will come into force upon once it is approved by the Vilniu
ER Telecom gains new asset
The Russian cable operator ER Telecom has bought the St Petersburg-based b2b operator Direct Telecom for a fee believed to be in the region of R350-400 million (€5.03-5.75 million). According to Vedomosti, the acquisition was undertaken through West Call,
EQT looking to acquire Caiway cablenet
Swedish private equity from EQT is looking to acquire CAIW Holding, following the earlier acquisition of Delta Kabel. According to a report by Telecompaper, various sources have confirmed the talks, but it is not clear at what stage the current talks are.
Mike Fries: Amazon is our biggest challenger
Cable operators face many challenges, but Liberty Global’s Mike Fries names Amazon as the biggest threat to the industry. “We are standing in their way,” according to Fries, who finds it an uncomfortable thought that he does not know what Amazon’s game pl
Western Europe to reach 65 million SVOD subs
Western European SVOD revenues will increase to $6.5 billion by 2022, up from $2.8 billion in 2016. SVOD [subscription video on-demand] became the region’s largest OTT revenue source in 2016 by overtaking AVOD. SVOD’s share of OTT revenues will continue t
Christian Drobnyk joins Nat Geo
Christian Drobnyk has been appointed executive VP, programming strategy and acquisitions for National Geographic Channels. In this role, he will be based in New York and oversee the programme scheduling strategy, planning and acquisitions for National Geo
Cartoon Network localises in Czech/Slovakia
A localised version of Cartoon Network has been launched in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The channel is being distributed by a number of platforms in the two countries including Digi Slovakia, Digi Czech Republic, T-Mobile Czech Republic, UPC cable an
RTVi Archive gets licence
German media commission KEK has granted RTVi Germany the green light for the new entertainment channel RTVi Archive. Berlin-based media authority MABB can now go ahead and issue the broadcast licence. RTVi Archive will be distributed as pay-TV service via
Gigaworld to unlock €250bn wave of innovation
Gigaworld is to unlock a wave of innovation worth at least €250 billion per year to the European economy by 2025. New research from Arthur D. Little estimates that Gigaworld – the world enabled by widespread access to high quality, gigabit internet in whi
FTTH overtakes DSL in Spain
FTTH is now outperforming DSL in Spain, according to the latest data produced by the regulator CNMC. It shows that as of the end of July there were 5.7 million FTTH lines, or 107,712 more than a month earlier. Movistar was the market leader, claiming 56.1
Financial woes deepen at Romania’s TVR
Senior management at TVR face the prospect of dismissal due to the Romanian public broadcaster’s disappointing financial performance in 2016. According to Mediafax, a report into TVR’s activities was voted on by the joint commissions of culture in the Sen
Arris to deliver 4K set-tops to Altice Group
Arris International is to deploy next generation 4K HDR set-tops to Altice Group operations in the United States and Europe. Shipments are slated to commence early in 2018. Altice-owned Portugal Telecom have selected the Arris set-tops for its MEO 4K TV s
French VOD platform Afrostream to close
After two years of service, French VOD platform Afrostream is to close down its service. In a letter to its subscribers Afrostream said: “Unfortunately, our passion and combined efforts have not been matched by sufficient funds to allow us to raise the fi
EchoStar 105/SES-11 shipped for SpaceX launch
The new EchoStar 105/SES-11 spacecraft, built by Airbus, has been shipped from the Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for its forthcoming launch by SpaceX in October. The first satellite that EchoStar has constructed with m