Advanced Television

Sundance Channel to premiere indie movies

Off the heels of substantial distribution growth of Sundance Channel Global in 2014, the network has announced a number of film acquisitions from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.  The five newly acquired films will premiere exclusively on Sundance Channel Global, shortly after the festival this year. The film titles include Chorus, Chlorine, The Amina Profile, […]

January 26, 2015

Frost & Sullivan recognizes VeEX with 2015 Global Emerging Company of the Year Award

Based on its recent analysis of the network deployment and field service market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes VeEX, with the 2015 Global Emerging Company of the Year Award. VeEX’s prominence in the test and measurement field is an indication of the company’s keen understanding of the market. In line with customer demand, VeEX invents and […]

January 26, 2015

Measat appoints Tan as Senior Sales Director

Measat Satellite Systems has announced that Alex Tan had been appointed as Senior Sales Director – Broadcast Sales. Tab is moving from his previous role as Senior Sales Director, Telecoms & VAS – Asia Pacific. In his new role in Broadcast Sales, Alex will be working with Measat’s Vice President of Broadcast Sales to develop […]

January 26, 2015

Telefónica confirms £10bn Hutchison O2 UK deal

Telefónica has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Hutchison Whampoa in relation to Hutchison’s potential acquisition of O2 UK, Telefónica’s subsidiary in the UK, for £10.25 billion (€13.5bn) in cash. The agreement includes an initial amount of £9.25 billion which would be paid at closing of the transaction and an additional deferred payment of £1 […]

January 23, 2015

Telefónica to drop Canal Plus acquisition?

Tough approval conditions from the Spanish competition watchdog CNMC could see an end to Telefónica’s acquisition of Canal Plus. Negotiations between CNMC and Telefónica are reportedly about to collapse since the telco will not agree to share content and TV rights with rivals (Orange, Vodafone-ONO) as the CNMC is demanding to give its go-ahead to […]

January 23, 2015From David Del Valle in Madrid

Netflix: Pirate Popcorn our biggest competitor

Netflix has said that piracy is one of its “biggest competitors” and, in a letter to shareholders, singled out the torrent-sharing app Popcorn Time as a serious rival. The Popcorn Time app allows users to browse a catalogue of films and TV shows, select one for more information, and then begin streaming it after a […]

January 23, 2015

Wuaki.TV eyes European expansion

Spain-based streaming company Wuaki.tv has revealed plans to launch its service in The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Austria and Sweden during 2015, following the platform’s launch in France, Italy and Germany in 2014. Since Wuaki.tv was acquired by Japan’s Rakuten in 2012, its key aim has been to use Spain as a launching […]

January 23, 2015

Booming sports costs worry broadcasters

Multichannel operators have been suffering a decline in margin on video for years, in large part as a result to the rapidly escalating cost of sports, according to SNL Kagan, who note that there are other factors at play such as retransmission consent payments and the expanding size of the bundle. The research firm took […]

January 23, 2015

Children’s TV viewing drifts towards paid-VoD

The 2015 Childwise Monitor, an annual report looking at children’s media consumption, shows that the equipment mix is changing. Most children have their own computer or tablet, phone, games console and television – but console, television and to an extent, phone ownership, is falling. Tablet ownership continues to grow, although it’s slowing. The major tablet […]

January 23, 2015By Nik Roseveare

NBCUniversal pulls channel from Russia

NBCUniversal is pulling its channel out of the Russian market, blaming the challenging economic environment for pay-TV channels. The decision comes amid media law changes in the country that have presented economic difficulties for international channel operators and means the E! Entertainment and Universal Channel will no longer have a presence in Russia. “Due to the […]

January 23, 2015