Advanced Television

The Queen’s Gambit watched by 62m Netflix homes

Netflix, which is increasingly becoming less coy with sharing its viewing figures – at least when it has something to boast about – has declared its The Queen’s Gambit series as being a record-setting title. In a tweet, the streamer revealed: “A record-setting 62 million households chose to watch The Queen’s Gambit in its first […]

November 24, 2020By Nik Roseveare

AAPA calls for EU anti-piracy fight support

In anticipation of several key European Commission proposals such as the Digital Services Act and the EU IP Action Plan, trade body the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has shared its position on how to strengthen the fight against online piracy and the protection of intellectual property rights at the European Union level. The Alliance welcomes […]

November 24, 2020By Colin Mann

Panel: “Satellite good for 20 more years, at least”

A recent Eutelsat-organised Webinar heard comments from Rotana’s COO Michael Cairns. Asked in simple terms how Rotana saw its immediate challenges, he said that they had launched two new channels during the Covid crises (for Kids and Comedy) and the broadcaster had also supplied many of its programmes to OTT platforms (such as Shahid, OSN […]

November 24, 2020

Spain: Orange, DAZN air Premier League in bars & cafes

Orange has signed an agreement with DAZN to make the new linear channel DAZN fútbol available in its television offer for venues, such as bars, cafes and restaurants. DAZN fútbol will broadcast live and exclusive coverage of the Premier League in Spain. This is the first commercial premises deal closed by DAZN in Spain, which […]

November 24, 2020

Data: Audiences dwindling for US awards shows

Throughout this pandemic year, audiences have eagerly watched more TV, but award shows seem shut out of the COVID boost. The American Music Awards (AMA) on November 22nd were the latest in a string of award shows down year over year, with 4 million households tuning in, according to Samba TV. That’s down 20 per […]

November 24, 2020

Taylor Swift folklore sessions on Disney+

An intimate concert film featuring Taylor Swift with Aaron Dessner (The National), Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on November 25th. Titled folklore: the long pond studio sessions, the performance was filmed in upstate New York in September, with each song from the folklore album performed live, and […]

November 24, 2020By Nik Roseveare

MBC, Rotana sign carriage agreement

MBC Group and Rotana Media,  the Arab broadcasting groups, have signed a new carriage agreement. MBC operates an OTT platform, Shahid VIP, and a new agreement means that Rotana’s considerable movie slate, drama series and other channels are now all carried by the platform. Described as a “long-term partnership” the deal will allow Shahid VIP […]

November 24, 2020By Chris Forrester

Forecast: Over 13bn active smart home devices by 2025

A report from Juniper Research has found that there will be almost 13.5 billion smart home devices in active use by 2025, compared to an expected 7.4 billion at year end 2020. Smart entertainment devices take the bulk of revenue attributable to smart home devices, as over $230 billion in 2025. Voice assistant capabilities are

November 24, 2020

Thespie streaming boosts West End economy

Theatre discovery platform Thespie has announced the Reunited Series, bringing together more than two dozen of the UK’s top musical theatre artists for a series of filmed concerts premiering throughout December. Developed by Aimie Atkinson, Thespie’s Creative Producer and the Olivier nominated star of Pretty Woman and SIX), each concert presents ensemble music performances (filmed […]

November 24, 2020

StarzPlay strengthens partnership with Lionsgate Play India

StarzPlay, the SVoD service in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has demonstrated its competencies in creating end-to-end OTT infrastructure by signing a new multi-year project with Lionsgate Play India. This follows the successful partnership between StarzPlayand Lionsgate Play, forged a year ago where StarzPlay leveraged its in-house technology to provide its managed […]

November 24, 2020