Advanced Television

FTA

4Music returns to Freesat

Following the launch of Box Hits, The Box, Kiss, Magic and Kerrang! at the end of 2021, Freesat has now completed the suite of Channel 4 channels with the launch of 4Music. Viewers can access content immediately on channel number 181. With music shows like Only the Biggest Hits and Hotmix, 4Music brings the best […]

February 1, 2022

Virgin Media offers free TV channels for Feb

Virgin Media will give all TV customers access to a range of documentary, entertainment and music channels throughout February at no extra cost. Customers can watch channels including Comedy Central, Crime & Investigation, MTV, Sky History and more. A range of top Asian channels will also be made available from the Asian Mela pack. All […]

February 1, 2022

Analysis: Discovery extends commissioning lead

Discovery was the greatest global commissioner of TV shows in 2021, with a record-breaking 556 first-run TV titles commissioned in the year, according to Ampere Analysis. This extends Discovery’s lead of 46, recorded in 2020, to 153 titles by the end of 2021. ViacomCBS pipped Netflix for second place with 406 titles, compared to Netflix’s […]

January 27, 2022

Airey appointed Channel 4 interim Chair

UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has announced the appointment of industry veteran Dawn Airey as Channel 4’s interim Chair, replacing current Chair, Charles Gurassa, who departs on January 27th 2022. Airey joined the Channel 4 Board in December 2021 as a non-executive director. Her career includes roles as Chair and CEO of Channel 5, Managing Director […]

January 25, 2022By Colin Mann

Ex-BBC director: ‘Swap licence fee for household fee’

James Purnell, a former Director of Radio at the BBC, as well as its Director of Strategy and Digital, has suggested that the Corporation be funded by a household fee, also proposing that the BBC buy fellow public service broadcaster Chanel 4, whose future ownership is being considered by the Government. Writing in the Sunday […]

January 24, 2022By Colin Mann

Survey: 1 in 20 young adults watch BBC live

Only one in 20 of those aged 18-30 said that they watched any BBC television channels live every day, compared with close to half of the over-65s, according to a YouGov survey for the Sunday Times. The survey found that more than a third of under-30s said they “never” watched any BBC programming live, compared […]

January 24, 2022By Colin Mann

Spain: RTVE renews Extreme E rights

Extreme E has confirmed that Spanish broadcaster RTVE (Radiotelevisión Española) will televise all five of this season’s X Prix on its free to air linear channel. The Championship’s race highlights, review and magazine shows – which will all broadcast in Spanish – will join the line-up of coverage on RTVE’s primary sport channel, Teledeporte. In […]

January 21, 2022

DistroTV debuts free-to-stream Spanish bundle

DistroTV, the independent, free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform, has lauched DistroTV Español. The new free-to-stream channel bundle features 20+ Spanish-speaking channels and will be available to Spanish speakers in the US, as well as Spanish speakers in Latin America. This comes on the heels of the streaming platform’s push to expand its global audience […]

January 21, 2022

Analyst: UK TV sector facing perfect storm?

According to Richard Broughton, Director at Ampere Analysis, the UK government’s plan to freeze the BBC licence fee for two years – and to look at the abolition of the fee in 2027 – is just the latest in a number of major structural and political challenges facing the UK television sector. In a blog […]

January 20, 2022By Colin Mann

ITV scores live Gallagher Premiership Rugby

ITV has agreed a deal to air live Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches and a weekly highlights programme up until the end of the 2023-24 season. This season, four Premiership Rugby matches will be shown on ITV, in addition to the Final which will be on ITV4. The coverage kicks off with Sale Sharks taking on […]

January 20, 2022