Broadband TV News
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Freesat names Michelle Wilding-Baker as head of digital marketing
Freesat has appointed Michelle Wilding-Baker as its new Head of Digital Marketing. Michelle will be responsible for overseeing all of Freesat’s digital footprint as well as its content and social strategies. She joins the subscription-free satellite servi
Broadband TV NewsMadrid court upholds Mediaset merger suspension
A Spanish judge has rejected an appeal by Mediaset over the temporary suspension of its merger into MediaForEurope. It means plans to roll its companies into a single Dutch-held entity are on hold until a Spanish court has decided whether or not it is law
Long march for OTT in Poland
Almost one in five (19.4%) users of cable or DTH services in Poland are considering completely switching to OTT video. However, according to Consumer Surveys 2019, produced by the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) and looking at private customers,
Norwegian Film Institute selects NAGRA’s DVnor Organizer
The Norwegian Film Institute has adopted Nagra’s media asset management platform, DVnor Organizer for the storage and distribution of its films to more than 170 film festivals worldwide. The solution will enable the NFI to receive, store and distribute ne
Raindance partners with indy film streamer paus
A new streaming service featuring independent cinema has agreed a partnership with the UK’s largest independent film festival. Paus, which goes live in March, will offer a selection of independent and award-winning short films and documentaries curated by
Marcin Boroszko set for Kino Polska TV
SPI International have put forward Marcin Boroszko for membership of the Kino Polska TV supervisory board. A general meeting of the shareholders in Kino Polska TV, in which SPI International holds a 65.15% stake, will take place on February 27. In a note,
BT launches new ‘flexible’ TV packages
BT is introducing a range of TV packages that will allow customers to change the channels they receive on a monthly basis. At the same time the telco is launching NOW TV, giving customers access to channels including Sky Sports and Sky Atlantic. It alread
New STB for Okko
The Russian company SberDevices has developed a new set-top box for Okko, one of the country’s leading OTT services. Quoting RBC and SberDevices’s head Konstantin Kruglov, Kommersant reports that quite a few of the devices were manufactured in China prior
TRT expands to Malta
TRT World has entered into a partnership with the Maltese telco company Melita. As a result, the channel is now available to Melita TV subscribers on extended and extended basic TV products. Commenting on the development, Furkan Han, TRT World’s head of g
Vodafone sees little chance of success for legal action against EU approval of Unitymedia takeover
Vodafone does not expect the lawsuits filed by Deutsche Telekom, Tele Columbus and NetCologne against the approval of the takeover of Unitymedia by the European Commission to succeed. “In a 15-month procedure, the EU Commission has thoroughly examined the
Nat Geo extends Telekom Romania reach
Telekom Romania has added a further National Geographic channel to its line-up. Following the reintroduction of National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild on December 27, it will make Nat Geo People available to all its subscribers from February 18. National Ge
NENT Group extends Disney deal for Viaplay and Viasat
Viaplay and Viasat have secured the latest 20th Century Studios films along with distribution of Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD in the Nordic region. There will also be new and returning ABC series including Emergence and Grey’s Anatomy that
UPC Polska outlines 2020 strategy
UPC Polska plans to focus more on the provision of mobile services this year. Speaking in a press conference following the release of the company’s latest set of results and quoted by Wirtualne Media, its CEO Robert Redeleanu said that its objective is to
FreeWheel appoints former Canal executive Virginie Dremeaux
Addressable TV firm FreeWheel has appointed former Director of Digital Development at Canal+, Virginie Dremeaux, as Executive Director, Product and Sales Marketing International. Dremeaux has over 20 years experience in TV and digital advertising. She was
New look for Insight TV
Insight TV has teamed up with the media design agency CapeRock to sharpen and re-energise its visual identity. The rebrand includes the redesign of the word and brand mark, the brand identity, channel identity and the music of the channel. It also entails
Bulgarian pubcaster facing bankruptcy
The Bulgarian public broadcaster BNT is currently running a deficit of BGN40 million (€20.45 million). Moreover, reports Capital, quoting its general director Emil Koslukov, the figure could rise up to BGN71 million further by the end of the year. Figures
Spiegel TV Wissen and Spiegel Geschichte join waipu.tv
German internet TV platform waipu.tv has added pay-TV channels Spiegel TV Wissen and Spiegel Geschichte to its line-up. The two documentary channels are part of the Perfect subscription package. The carriage agreement with waipu.tv was announced in Decemb
EU approval of Vodafone/Unitymedia cable deal faces legal action
German network operators Deutsche Telekom, Tele Columbus and NetCologne are taking legal action against the European Commission’s decision to approve the controversial takeover of Liberty Global’s German cable company Unitymedia by Vodafone. Three so-call
Downing Street wants BBC to switch to subscription model
The extent of Britain’s Conservative government’s agenda on the BBC has become clear with a plan to replace the £154.50 Licence Fee with a subscription. Under plans listed in The Sunday Times the broadcaster could also face a dramatic downsizing and be fo
Eutelsat see revenues decline
Paris based operator Eutelsat Communications is boasting a 78% EBITDA margin, although it saw a 3.3% decline in six-monthly revenues. It’s looking to the new Eutelsat 7C satellite to bring incremental capacity and revenues to and from the Sub-Saharan Afri
Canal+ Group boasts 20 million subscribers
Bolstered by the inclusion of the M7 Group, Canal+ can now claim 20.3 million subscribers including 8.4 million in mainland France. It’s an increase of 3.1 million subscribers at the end of 2018. In 2019, Canal+ Group’s revenues were €5,268 million, up 2.
Liberty faces falling cable revenues
Liberty Global says its residential cable revenue fell by 0.1% to $1,902.1 million across its European territories after falls in revenue in Switzerland, Belgium and the UK & Ireland. This contrasts with the 5.2% year-on-year increase in mobile revenu
Canal+: Disney Cinéma to close in favour of Disney+
Disney Cinéma is to close in the French market once new streaming service Disney+ makes its debut on Canal+. The channel, which is part of the French paycaster’s Series Cine Pack is expected to cease broadcasting in the next few weeks. It was originally l
Virgin’s Project Lightning passes two million
Virgin Media’s new build programme helped the Liberty Media cablenet grow subscriber numbers in 2019. It added 154,000 new premises under the scheme in Q4 and 505,000 in 2019; The operator’s cumulative New Build now stands at 2.1 million. Lutz Schüler CEO
Netflix maintains Polish VOD lead
Netflix remains the leading on demand service in Poland despite failing to reach the heights it attained at the end of 2019. Data produced by Gemius/PBI for Wirtualne Media shows that it had 4,787,163 real users in January, down from 5,306,302 a month ear
Discovery responds to Telekom Romania
Discovery has provided an official response to accusations made against it by Telekom Romania. In it, Victoria Davies, SVP, general manager for Discovery in CEEMCA, says: “We are once again surprised by the statements recently made by Telekom Romania. Dis
Liberty holds steady in CEE
Liberty Global ended 2019 on a positive note in the two Central and East European markets in which it still retains a presence. The number of net customer additions in Poland and Slovakia last year was 35,200, compared to 12,900 in 2018. At the same time,
Megogo unveils Android media console
Megogo has launched the new Megogo Box media console with advanced functionality and 4K support. Android TV-based, it allows users to access services that requite smart features on any TV set. By connecting the console to the TV, they can receive full fun
Vasil Latsanich to leave Beeline
Beeline’s CEO Vasil Latsanich will leave his post at the end of June. He joined Veon, Beeline’s parent company in Amsterdam, in July 2017 and six months later was appointed the CEO of Veon’s Russian business unit, operating under the Beeline brand. In a s
Tricolor launches film channels
Russia’s leading pay-TV operator Tricolor has added nine new proprietary film channels to its line-up. As a result, it now has 21 such channels in its portfolio. Commenting on the development, Nikolai Orlov, deputy DG for content at Tricolor, said: “Trico