Michelle Donelan, UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recommending the Government drops its plans to privatise commercial public service broadcaster Channel 4. Donelan says she has concluded that pursuing a sale at this point is not the right decision and there are better ways […]
Spaniards are increasingly dedicating less time to watching free-to-air (FTA) television and more to watching pay-TV, according to data from Barlovento Comunicación. In 2022 Spaniards spent a daily average of 190 minutes watching FTA TV, down 11 per cent on the previous year at 214 minutes. 2022 is the year with the least FTA TV […]
Cricket Australia (CA) has extended its broadcast partnership with the Foxtel Group and Seven West Media for a further seven years in what is described as a record media rights deal for Australian cricket. Under the agreement, the Foxtel Group (including Fox Sports on Foxtel and streaming service, Kayo Sports), Seven and 7plus will broadcast […]
Berlusconi family-controlled MediaForEurope (MFE) is looking to take majority control of German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. MFE filed its formal notification at Austria’s Federal Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde) on December 13th. The filing talks about the “acquisition of de facto sole control” of the German media business. Investment bank Exane/BNPP suggests this could be a difficult move […]
João Cadete de Matos, the president of Portugal’s National Communications Authority (Anacom) has acknowledged that Meo (Altice Portugal) has requested the renewal of the DTT network licences. During a meeting with journalists, Cadete de Matos said that the regulator has six months to make an assessment, including financial issues, as ‘DTT has to be cost-orientated.’ […]
Pearl TV, the coalition of US broadcast companies transitioning to digital television standard NEXTGEN TV, is claiming major milestones in the rollout of NEXTGEN TV to US households and the broader ecosystem of partners that enable the deployment of devices and the broadcaster application platform, RUN3TV. These latest developments focus on consumer and innovation options […]
The BBC’s key digital products are performing well, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), the body that scrutinises public spending for the UK Parliament. To achieve its digital ambitions, the BBC will need to further develop its ‘digital-first’ plans, and consider whether it has sufficient resources to deliver its vision, says the NAO in […]
UK broadcast regulator Ofcom is consulting on proposed changes to the BBC’s Operating Licence. The BBC’s Operating Licence sets regulatory conditions designed to ensure that the BBC fulfils its Mission and Public Purposes; that audiences across the UK are well served by the BBC; and that it provides distinctive output and services. According to Ofcom, […]
On its 20th anniversary, Freeview has announced it is now home to an 60,000 hours of content. Having increased its on-demand offering by 20,000 hours since April 2022, Freeview is seeing in its 20th birthday with another milestone as more consumers consider cutting paid-for streaming subscriptions amid the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. With ITVX, […]
North America’s premier football league Major League Soccer (MLS) has agreed new four-year linear television agreements with FOX Sports and TelevisaUnivision in the US, plus TSN and RDS in Canada. Linear broadcasts will include select matches for the MLS regular season, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, MLS Cup and Leagues Cup. Leagues Cup see MLS and […]