Advanced Television

Report: Social media spend set to skyrocket

Findings from the 2024 Retail Advertising Outlook Report from omnichannel advertising specialist Mediaocean reveals that paid social media spend for retail brands looks likely to skyrocket in 2024, with 72 per cent of respondents planning on increasing spend in this channel (highest). Retail ad spend will rise on a macro scale, with industry optimism reflected […]

April 3, 2024

AST SpaceMobile hit by delays

AST SpaceMobile is being rebranded to AST Networks. That was the one positive slice of news to emerge from its end-of-year results. The company’s overall news didn’t help confidence with investors and its share price crashed 13.6 per cent on April 1st and another 24 per cent on April 2nd. AST undoubtedly has a great […]

April 3, 2024By Chris Forrester

Gracenote speeds US FAST channel deployment

Content data specialist Gracenote has expanded its FAST Programme to the US helping content owners and providers more easily launch new free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. Now, US-based content owners can distribute their TV programmes and movies to leading streaming platforms along with industry-standard Gracenote metadata ensuring their offerings are discoverable and monetisable. First […]

April 3, 2024

Major expansion for FilmBox channels

Channel management and curation specialist SPI International has announced the launch of three dynamic channels—FilmBox Action, FilmBox Family, and FilmBox Middle East—in key regions, including South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, and Tunisia in partnership with mobile payment specialist Digital Virgo. The FilmBox line-up will be […]

April 3, 2024

Research: Telecom capex declined in 2023

According to findings from research firm Dell’Oro Group, telecom operators are now scaling back their investments in 5G. Preliminary data show that worldwide telecom capex, the sum of wireless and wireline/other telecom carrier investments, declined for the full year 2023 in nominal USD terms, recording the first contraction since 2017. This deceleration in the broader […]

April 3, 2024

VMO2 warns of rivals’ price rise ‘double whammy’

Research from UK multiplay telco Virgin Media O2 claims that millions of consumers who have mobile phone contracts with rival telcos EE and Three are set to receive a price rise so-called ‘double whammy’ on bills this year in a move costing Brits tens-of-millions of pounds. Both operators have millions of customers on classic bundled […]

April 3, 2024

Analysis: BBC defies UK commissioning downturn

A report from Ampere Analysis reveals an 18 per cent decline in 2023 in the UK’s market for scripted TV commissions (Drama, Sci-Fi, Crime & Thriller, etc.) as major UK broadcasters cut spend and most global SVoDs trimmed investment in international content. Changes in consumer behaviour and a weak advertising market saw pay-TV operators and […]

March 25, 2024By Colin Mann

Research: Social media significant news gateway

Online intermediaries, such as social media, search engines and other online aggregators exert a significant influence on the news stories people consume, according to research from UK media regulator Ofcom. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of UK adults use online intermediaries to access news, with Meta – the company which owns Facebook and Instagram – […]

March 25, 2024By Colin Mann

Forecast: E Europe OTT revenues to soar

OTT TV episode and movie revenues for 22 Eastern European countries will reach $6.96 billion (€6.43bn) in 2029, up from $3.82 billion in 2023, according to the Eastern Europe OTT TV & Video Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research. From the $3.1 billion additional revenues between 2023 and 2029, Russia will provide $1 […]

March 25, 2024

CMA has Vodafone/Three merger concerns

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has suggested that a proposed Vodafone/Three merger, which seeks to combine two of the four UK mobile network operators, could lead to higher prices for customers and affect investment in UK mobile networks. The CMA launched its initial Phase 1 investigation in January 2024 after it was notified […]

March 22, 2024By Colin Mann