Advanced Television

Simba sponsors Channel 5 drama

Sky Media and Paramount UK have revealed that Simba Hybrid will be the official sponsor of drama on Channel 5, plus the broadcaster’s ‘Evening’ programming strand, as well as on demand platform My5 throughout 2024. The seven figure, one-year partnership represents Channel 5’s biggest ever sponsorship and sees the British sleep tech brand renew its […]

January 3, 2024

WBD acquires BluTV

In a move that will further bolster its growing streaming business, with the international rollout of Max beginning in the next few months, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has acquired BluTV, an SVoD service in Turkey. The announcement follows three years of extensive partnership, which started in 2021 with the launch of discovery+ on BluTV and an […]

January 2, 2024

BBC Sounds podcast listening up 34%

In 2023 (January to November) there were over 2 billion plays of radio, music and podcasts on the BBC Sounds  app, as listeners continue to enjoy a wide range of audio content from across the BBC. Podcast listening saw an uplift of 34 per cent on BBC Sounds compared to the same period in 2022. […]

January 2, 2024

WBD and Paramount in merger talks

Studio giants Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Global are in early merger talks according to reports. A resultant deal would create a company with a market value of some $38bn (€34.7bn). It is understood that WBD President & CEO David Zaslav and Paramount CEO Bob Bakish discussed a possible deal over lunch in New […]

December 21, 2023By Colin Mann

Forecast: Studio SVoDs profitable within 18 months

A significant turnaround for studio direct streaming is just around the corner with all major studio streaming divisions (excluding sports operations) set to turn a consistent profit within 18 months, the latest research from Ampere Analysis suggests. The shift to profitability has wide-ranging implications for content production and the wider entertainment landscape with a reversal […]

December 21, 2023

MPs call for football gambling ads cut

The Premier League and other sports governing bodies should commit to cutting the volume of gambling adverts in stadiums, MPs say, in a report that urges the Government to do more to minimise children’s exposure to gambling advertising. The report on gambling regulation from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of […]

December 21, 2023By Colin Mann

Yahsat and Bayanat to merge

Abu Dhabi’s Yahsat (Al Yah Satellite) is planning to merge with Bayanat, which specialises with geospatial imagery and analytics. The combined company will trade as Space42. The news has more than a few surprises. First is that Yahsat will be the junior partner in the deal. The second is that the combined business has hired […]

December 21, 2023By Chris Forrester

Ofcom reveals most complained about programmes

During 2023, Ofcom received 69,236 complaints about 9,638 issues. It  completed 57 broadcast standards investigations; it found in 35 of these cases that its rules had been broken. During 2023, audience complaints about standards on TV continued to make the headlines with news coverage of the Israel Gaza conflict, the Coronation of King Charles and […]

December 21, 2023By Colin Mann

NEXTGEN TV reaches 22% US homes

As the broadcast and consumer electronics industries prepare for CES 2024 in Las Vegas in January, Pearl TV, the consortium of US broadcast companies leading the nation’s transition to NEXTGEN TV, and its network partners, have revealed that since the NEXTGEN TV rollout commenced in 2020, broadcasters have driven nearly 18 per cent year-over-year growth in […]

December 21, 2023By Colin Mann

Netgem TV, Sony Liv partnership

Digital video entertainment specialist Netgem TV has agreed a strategic partnership with Sony Liv, a premier content provider specialising in Asian TV content. This collaboration enhances Netgem TV’s commitment to offering diverse, high-quality programming to its customer base. With this new collaboration, Sony LIV strengthens its reach in the UK and Ireland. Netgem will be […]

December 21, 2023By Colin Mann