Advanced Television

BBC halts red button closure

The BBC has responded to protests and suspended the closure of its red button text service just one day before it was due to start being phased out. The news comes after a petition, organised by the National Federation of the Blind of the UK, was handed in to the BBC and Downing Street earlier […]

January 29, 2020

Research: OTT revenue to top $200bn

The OTT video market will surpass $200 billion (€182bn) by 2024, with 90 per cent of that value fuelled by subscription and advertising revenue, according to a report by ABI Research. New services such as Disney+ and Apple TV+, coupled with aggressive pricing and packaging, and continued expansion by incumbents are pushing the Subscription Video […]

January 29, 2020

Survey: TV execs forecast further growth

Following another year of rapid development which saw major content owners launch direct to consumer services, and pay-TV operators forge new partnerships, broadcaster innovation and even more investment in scripted content, senior media executives have forecast further growth in key areas throughout 2020, according to the annual Trends Survey from content consultancy 3Vision, which collates […]

January 29, 2020

Ofcom boost for service upgrades

UK comms regulator Ofcom has made changes to its regulations that will help broadband companies upgrade customers to faster broadband more efficiently, and support digital infrastructure provider Openreach’s trials in Salisbury and Mildenhall. Openreach’s trials in Salisbury and Mildenhall will test the processes for moving customers off older broadband and telephone services, as part of […]

January 29, 2020By Colin Mann

Apple posts record Q1; Apple TV+ no impact

Apple has published financial results for its fiscal 2020 first quarter ended December 28th 201 – the first quarter since its Apple TV+ streaming service went live. The tech giant posted quarterly revenue of $91.8 billion (€83.4bn), an increase of 9 per cent from the year-ago quarter and an all-time record, and quarterly earnings per […]

January 29, 2020

Spain: Nearly 60% subscribe to pay-TV

In Spain, 57 per cent of the population currently  have a pay-TV service, according to a report from the Media Association AIMC. Netflix and Movistar and the market leaders in their respective sectors, SVoD and IPTV. Netflix has overtaken Movistar with a potential audience of 35.3 per cent. Movistar reaches 20 per cent, followed by […]

January 29, 2020From David Del Valle in Madrid

US C-Band spectrum valuation: $43-$77bn

Last week, Eutelsat, in a submission to the FCC, argued that any auction proceeds from the upcoming sale of C-band satellite spectrum should be limited to a total of $7 billion (€6.36bn). Now, with two independent valuations, the C-Band Alliance (of Intelsat, SES and Telesat) has told the FCC  that while the actual valuation cannot […]

January 29, 2020By Chris Forrester

iPlayer exceeds 4bn requests in 2019

The BBC iPlayer surpassed 4 billion requests to stream programmes for the first time ever in 2019, ending the year with an all-time record high of 4.4 billion requests. The figure is up around 12 per cent on 2018. December was BBC iPlayer’s best month of all time, achieving a record-high 447 million requests in […]

January 29, 2020

Comtech acquires Gilat for $532.5m

Advanced communications solutions provider Comtech Telecommunications and Gilat Satellite Networks have confirmed that Comtech has agreed to acquire the satellite networking technology, solutions and services specialist  in a cash and stock transaction for $10.25 (€9.31) per Gilat ordinary share of which 70 per cent will be paid in cash and 30 per cent in Comtech […]

January 29, 2020

EU greenlights Huawei 5G

The EU has followed the UK’s example, allowing members to decide what part Huawei can play in their 5G networks, resisting pressure from Washington for an outright ban. EU members can either restrict or exclude high-risk 5G vendors like Huawei from core parts of their telecoms networks, according to the new guidelines, which seek to […]

January 29, 2020