Advanced Television

FTA

CME divests Croatia, Slovenia operations for €230m

Media and entertainment company Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) has agreed to sell its leading broadcast operations in Croatia (Nova TV) and in Slovenia (POP TV) to Slovenia Broadband S.à r.l., a subsidiary of United Group B.V, subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The transaction – which CME says will assist in […]

July 10, 2017By Colin Mann

Research: Australians embrace new content and platform options

The Q1 (January-March) 2017 Australian Video Viewing Report – from audience research bodies Regional TAM, OzTAM and Nielsen – shows video viewing behaviour continues to shift with growing content, device and platform choices. The report examines the times of day when Australians watch video as well as the amount of time they devote to doing […]

July 10, 2017

Report: PSBs boost factual, sports and kids programme spend

UK regulator Ofcom has published its Public Service Broadcasting Annual Research Report for 2017. The report assesses the performance of the designated public service broadcasters – the BBC, ITV, STV, UTV, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5. While all BBC public service television channels are PSB channels, only the primary channels of each of the […]

July 7, 2017

BBC £34m investment in children’s content

BBC Director-General Tony Hall has announced that the Corporation will spend an additional £34 million (€38.7m) on content and services for children over the next three years, describing it as its biggest investment in children’s services in a generation, enabling the Corporation to deliver an enhanced online offer for its youngest audiences. This new investment […]

July 4, 2017

Quest and Quest Red launch on Freesat

Freesat, the UK’s subscription-free satellite TV platform, and Discovery Networks have partnered to launch Quest and Quest Red on Freesat. The two channels are now available for Freesat viewers to watch on channel numbers 167 and 169. Freesat viewers can now enjoy popular programmes such as Salvage Hunters, Wheeler Dealers and Spanish Civil War with […]

July 4, 2017

Italy: Sony launching second FTA channel

Sony Pictures Television Networks will launch Cine Sony in Italy on September 7th, a new Free-To-Air channel dedicated to the world of cinema airing on LCN 55. Sony Pictures Television Networks is expanding its FTA footprint and increasing investment in the Italian market with Cine Sony following the launch of kids’ channel, POP on LCN […]

July 3, 2017

Live cricket returns to BBC TV

The BBC and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have agreed a new five-year, strategic partnership that brings live cricket back to BBC TV for the first time in 21 years. The deal, which runs from 2020 to 2024, sees the BBC become the exclusive, free-to-air home for cricket. Cricket will take centre stage across […]

June 30, 2017By Colin Mann

TV market in Africa/Middle East to grow 30% to 2021

The TV market in Africa/the Middle East will grow by 30 per cent between 2016 and 2021, going from €10.3 billion to €13.3 billion, according to a report from IDATE. This momentum, which is driven largely by sub-Saharan Africa, represents the world’s fastest-growing TV market, not only today but also for the five years to […]

June 29, 2017

Watchdog relaxes Canal+ rights restraints

France’s Autorité de la concurrence (Competition Authority) has relaxed certain obligations imposed on the Canal+ Group which will allow it to distribute a ‘premium’ channel such as beIN Sports, exclusively in its bundles. The Authority also lifted existing restrictions on the purchase of rights to American films, while maintaining the constraints imposed on Canal+ for […]

June 23, 2017By Colin Mann and Chris Forrester

Italy to get new FTA channel this autumn

Italian media group De Agostini Editore will launch a new national free-to-air channel this autumn. Branded ‘Alpha’ it will mainly target a male audience and will use channel position 59 on the national DTT network. This will be the group’s second FTA channel – ‘Super!’ broadcasts entertainment programmes for a younger audience and is available […]

June 21, 2017From Branislav Pekic in Rome