Advanced Television

ShortsTV secures Airtel Xstream deal

Short form video entertainment network ShortsTV has formed its first partnership with a major mobile network operator which will see it offer the ShortsTV video-on-demand service to Airtel’s 340 million subscribers in India to watch on mobiles or TVs through Airtel Xstream. ShortsTV through Airtel Xstream has launched an expansive catalogue of quality short movies […]

February 26, 2021By Colin Mann

Study: Viewers favour Netflix for original content

More and more shows and movies available on TV platforms are being prominently branded as ‘original’. The Evolution of Video Branding study from Hub Entertainment Research explores what consumers assume about such content and how the term influences viewing decisions. Highlights from the study:

February 25, 2021

SES renews Sky deal; FY revenue dips

Ahead of its results announcement, SES confirmed it had extended its contract with Sky UK that will result in a €90 million gain in its secured backlog. SES added: “By the end of the renewed contract, Sky UK will have been an SES customer continuously for almost four decades.” “This is a significant, multi-transponder, multi-year […]

February 25, 2021By Chris Forrester

FCC announces C-band auction winners

The US’s Federal Communications Commission has announced the winning bidders and the final bid totals in Auction 107 – commonly referred to as the C-band auction. Net winning bids totalled $81,114,481,921 (€66.48bn) and gross winning bids totalled $81,168,677,645 . Twenty-one bidders won all of the available 5,684 licences. “It is essential to America’s economic recovery […]

February 25, 2021By Colin Mann

Radio, audio and podcast nominations for this year’s BPG Awards revealed

Louis Theroux, Emma Barnett, Stanley Tucci, Iain Dale, DJ Ace, Seani B, Jacqui Smith, Frank Skinner and Clara Amfo are among a wide range of broadcasters shortlisted in this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) audio awards, for performances on radio and in podcasts. Theroux is nominated for his lockdown podcast ‘Grounded with Louis Theroux’, which […]

February 25, 2021

Sakaan appointed BritBox international CEO

BBC Studios and ITV have confirmed that Reemah Sakaan, currently Group Director ITV SVoD, has been appointed as BritBox International’s new CEO charged with steering the roll out of their joint venture SVoD service to up to 25 countries worldwide Sakaan will start in April 2021 and will lead a team of around 100 content, […]

February 24, 2021

Study: Lockdown + piracy = toxic cybersecurity combination

Millions of Americans who are conducting sensitive or confidential work on home networks during the Covid-19 crisis are substantially more likely to face malware and other security threats if they also have piracy devices and apps in their homes, according to a new study from Internet threat education body Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA). A research […]

February 24, 2021By Colin Mann

FCC proposes freeing up more 5G spectrum

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has shared with her colleagues a draft Order that would make much-needed mid-band spectrum available for 5G. If adopted at the Commission’s March 17th Open Meeting, 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band would be made available for auction and 5G deployment across the contiguous US. The […]

February 24, 2021By Colin Mann

BBC calls for “radical” role reappraisal

Clare Sumner, Director of Policy at the BBC, has called for a radical reappraisal of the role the Corporation plays in shaping the wider broadcast market to inform the debate about its future. Delivering a keynote speech – The evolving role of the BBC – to the Westminster Media Forum policy conference on ‘The future […]

February 24, 2021By Colin Mann

Redbox selects SpotX

Video advertising platform SpotX has formed a new strategic partnership with multi-channel streaming platform Redbox to serve as a strategic supply-side platform (SSP) to power the video monetisation of Redbox’s free live TV and AVoD content. “As a company that’s focused on creating the very best ad-supported streaming destination to entertain millions of Redbox customers, […]

February 24, 2021