Advanced Television

PSBs to integrate Digital UK and Freesat

UK public service broadcasters the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 plan to integrate Digital UK – the joint venture which facilitates the provision of Freeview TV services and Freesat – which offers access to the UK’s subscription-free satellite television service. They say the integration of Digital UK and Freesat will help ensure viewers continue to […]

February 10, 2021By Colin Mann

Report: Media another growing generational divide

There was a significant drop in the correlation between how the younger and older generations spent their time with commercial media during lockdown 2020, highlighting the need to deploy diverse media plans, according to the findings a new TouchPoints report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). The report, Making sense. The commercial media […]

February 9, 2021

Analyst: MENA to add 18m SVoD subs

The 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region will have 32.65 million SVoD subscriptions by 2026, up from the 14.16 million recorded at end-2020, according to the Middle East and North Africa OTT TV and Video Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research. Turkey will remain the market leader by a […]

February 9, 2021

TV licence fee increase confirmed

The UK Government has confirmed that from April 1st 2021, the cost of the annual television licence fee will increase from £157.50 (€178.90) to £159.00. The Government, which is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee, announced in 2016 it would rise in line with inflation for five years from April 1st 2017. […]

February 9, 2021By Colin Mann

TikTok, Universal Music Group expand alliance

Music-based entertainment Universal Music Group (UMG) and short-form video app TikTok have revealed a global agreement that they say delivers equitable compensation for recording artists and songwriters and significantly expands and enhances the companies’ existing relationship, promoting the development of new innovative experiences and the ability to forge deeper bonds between fans and the artists […]

February 9, 2021

Report: BT adds £24bn to UK economy

Multiplay telco BT Group is responsible for generating £1 (€1.14) in every £75 produced in the UK economy, according to an independent report, The Economic Impact of BT Group in the UK, by consultancy firm Hatch, which calculates that BT generated more than £24 billion in gross value added (GVA) during the last financial year. […]

February 9, 2021By Colin Mann

SPE’s Marsh new BASE Chair

The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE), the body which represents the interests of publishers and rights-owners of pre-recorded filmed entertainment, has appointed Rob Marsh, Vice President Commercial (Home Entertainment) at Sony Pictures Entertainment, as the organisation’s new Chair announced with immediate effect. Marsh, who joined BASE Council in 2019, will serve as Chair alongside […]

February 9, 2021By Colin Mann

Wi-Fi 6 CPEs debut on OpenSync

Together with leading Consumer Premises Equipment (CPE) partners – ADTRAN, Askey, CIG, Hitron, Kaon, Sagemcom, Sercomm, Technicolor, and Zyxel Communications – Smart Home Services specialist Plume has confirmed the availability of over 20 Wi-Fi 6 devices fully supported by open-source silicon-to-cloud framework OpenSync. The initial list of CPE providers who are launching Wi-Fi 6 CPEs […]

February 9, 2021

F1 maintains strong audience position

Formula 1 has released its annual audience figures, which show viewership trends comparing well to other sports that were affected by shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the fact that the revised 2020 season had four fewer races than 2019, Formula 1 maintained a strong audience position with an average audience per Grand Prix […]

February 8, 2021By Colin Mann

ITV Management Board appointments

UK commercial PSB ITV has confirmed that Magnus Brooke, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, and Dan Colton, Group Strategy and Transformation Director, are to join the company’s Management Board with immediate effect. The appointments follow the announcement of ITV’s restructure of its broadcast business and completes its review of governance to ensure ITV and […]

February 8, 2021