Brexit blamed for drop in UK-based channels
The number of channels based in the UK has seen an annual drop of 5%, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory’s MAVISE TV and VOD database. … [Read More...]
Newsline
NBC Sky World News launch this summer
The new NBC Sky World News will make its debut this summer, it has been confirmed. … [Read More...]
Serbian ‘cable war’ intensifies
Telekom Srbija has claimed that United Media does not want a solution to the dispute with cable operators over the carriage of its channels. … [Read More...]
Vodafone adds Fix&Foxi TV to German cable
Vodafone Deutschland will make German children's and family channel Fix&Foxi TV available on its cable network. … [Read More...]
TV tops Czech ad chart
TV ad spend grew by 8% in the Czech Republic in 2019. … [Read More...]
RTL Croatia upgrades to HD
RTL Croatia has reiterated its trust in SGT technologies (Hexaglobe Group) by selecting BCE to renew its broadcasting system and upgrade to HD. … [Read More...]
Swisscom to offer TV subscription with Netflix
Swiss telco Swisscom will bundle its IPTV platform Swisscom TV with streaming service Netflix through a joint subscription from January 27, 2020. … [Read More...]
Major change for Ukrainian sports channels
The procedure for receiving the Media Group Ukraine (MGU) channels Futbol 1 and Futbol 2 will change on February 1. … [Read More...]
DFL invests in startup Movez
Germany's national football association DFL acquires a stake in Israeli-based mobile app startup Movez. … [Read More...]
Sky Deutschland rolls out sports highlights to more devices
German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland is now making all highlight videos of live sports events available on the Sky Q app (Apple TV and Samsung TVs), the Sky Q Mini box and through the Sky Go app on mobile devices. … [Read More...]
Empreno seeking to reverse Vivacom sale
Empreno Ventures has decided to focus on Luxembourg proceedings in order to reverse the sale of the Bulgarian incumbent telco Vivacom. … [Read More...]
Central & East Europe
New business channel for Poland
Poland will see the launch of a new business TV channel in March. … [Read More...]
HbbTV first for Czech Prima
FTV Prima has become the first TV broadcaster in the Czech Republic to provide an up-to-date offer of real estate on its HbbTV platform. … [Read More...]
Polkomtel hit by video streaming fine
The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has fined Polkomtel over PLN50 million (€11.8 million) for charging customers who had purchased a broadband package additional fees for video streaming. … [Read More...]
Channels
Formula 1 to remain on Canal+ until 2022
Canal+ has extended its exclusive agreement to broadcast Formula 1 motor racing in 2021 and 2022. … [Read More...]
Netflix ready for new competitors
Netflix ended 2019 on a high, growing Q4 revenues 31% year-on-year and posting a full-year total of over $20 billion. Furthermore, it surpassed 100 million paid members outside the US in the fourth quarter. … [Read More...]
Discovery rebrands Home as HGTV
Discovery has rebranded Home under the HGTV name, creating a bespoke brand identity for the UK inspired by British design trends, with a new logo, idents and website. … [Read More...]
Editors’ Choice
Bitmovin and University of Klagenfurt in multi-million Euro streaming project
Online video technology specialist Bitmovin is working with the University of Klagenfurt and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs on a research project to develop enhancements to video streaming. … [Read More...]
BARB begins multiple screen reporting
Over 6.1 million people watched television through a PC or tablet in the four weeks to January 5, 2020. Of these 410,000 didn’t watch any television on a TV set. … [Read More...]
Disney+ EMEA launch date brought forward
The Walt Disney Company’s D2C and International segment has brought forward the launch date of Disney+ in Western Europe to March 24. … [Read More...]
IBC 2019 – Roundup
IBC 2019 Roundup Interviews – SERAPHIC
Julian Clover finds out about SERAPHIC’s latest product development from Xinwen Xue, VP Product Management, while CEO Ye Wang talks about Talk about the influence of AI, 5G and IoT on TV and, OTT operation.
IBC 2019 Roundup Interviews – Plume
Julian Clover speaks to Plume founder Adam Hotchkiss about the importance of security in the smart home and how any threat can be counteracted.
IBC 2019 Roundup Interviews – Netgem
Sylvain Thevenot, managing director, Netgem and Alex Benjamin, Sales Director, Elisa BingeTV tell Julian Clover how Netgem technology can help run a future-proof and cost-effective TV service.