Advanced Television

BitTorrent launching original content

Technology firm BitTorrent will launch first original TV series, entitled Children of the Machine, in the autumn of 2015. The eight-episode show will be a free download on BitTorrent’s file-sharing network supported by advertising, although fans will be able to pay $4.95 for an ad-free version, or $9.95 for that plus bonus content. “This is […]

November 28, 2014

Portugal: 3.3m pay-TV subs

Portugal had about 3.3 million pay-TV subscribers at the end of September, a net addition of 46,500 on the second quarter (+1.4 per cent) and 132,000 (+4.2 per cent) more than in the same period in 2013. The pay-TV penetration rate stood at 55.6 per cent, according to data from the National Communications Authority (Anacom). […]

November 28, 2014From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Orange, PCCW informal talks on Dailymotion

French telco Orange has confirmed informal talks with Chinese group PCCW regarding video platform Dailymotion. CEO Stéphane Richard, who is seeking an investor to boost the international development of its 100 per cent subsidiary, met Richard Li, the son of Asia’s wealthiest man Li Ka-Shing, the founder of Hutchison conglomerate. The group owns PCCW, the […]

November 28, 2014From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris

Black Friday to boost 4K TV sales

TV makers and retailers have added Ultra-HD TVs to their Black Friday promotions for the first time. This time last year, the first wave of 4K TVs in the US carried prices of $7,000 and upwards. Today, retail giant Best Buy will have a 55-inch Samsung Ultra-HD Smart TV for $899.99, a price cut of […]

November 28, 2014

Telcos to pay for 4G interference in DTT

The Spanish Goverment is finalising a ruling whereby telco operators will take all responsability and assume the costs in any 4G interference in the transmission of DTT from January 1st when the DTT migration to another frequencies band is completed. Citizens will be able to claim damage before the State Secretary of Telecommunications (SETSI) for […]

November 28, 2014From David Del Valle in Madrid

Eutelsat, SuperTennis to air live 4K tennis

Satellite operator Eutelsat and Italian TV channel SuperTennis have teamed up to air the finals of the Italian Serie A1 tennis championship (male and female) in Ultra-HD.  The event, taking place 6th – 8th December at the 105 Stadium in Genoa, will be broadcast live on 4K1, the first satellite channel in Europe to convey […]

November 28, 2014From Branislav Pekic in Rome

RTL moves Hungary licences to Luxembourg

RTL Group has confirmed that it will operate its cable channels in Hungary under a Luxembourg licence in the future. From January, the licences for cable channels including RTL+, Film+ and Cool TV will come under RTL Group’s Luxembourg subsidiary CLT-UFA, which already houses the group’s channels in Belgium and the Netherlands. However, the move […]

November 28, 2014

6 new channels for Virgin TV Anywhere

Quad-play operator Virgin Media has added 4Music, CBS Action, CBS Drama, Extreme Sports, The Horror Channel and Sony SAB to Virgin TV Anywhere, which it claims is the UK’s most comprehensive TV on-the-go service. The addition of the new channels to the service brings the total number of channels available for Virgin TV customers to […]

November 28, 2014

Zenterio integrates Microsoft’s PlayReady

Zenterio, which develops an independent software platform for interactive TV, has announced that its software platform Zenterio OS will support the latest release of Microsoft PlayReady. Zenterio is an independent software supplier within the interactive TV services sector. PlayReady is a leading industry standard for protecting streaming of subscription-based content that’s used by leading IPTV […]

November 28, 2014

Viewster initiates DreamHack live streaming

This weekend Viewster is broadcasting live from the world’s largest digital festival, DreamHack Winter, where the best electronics sports athletes gather to compete for over $500,000 in prize money. At the aid of three different streams, Viewster users will get a unique opportunity to witness first-hand how full time professional StarCraft II, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike […]

November 28, 2014