Advanced Television

Broadcast

2009 ad forecast drops

Global advertising spending is set to fall 6.9 per cent this year to $453 billion with the Internet the only medium to attract higher expenditure on ads, media agency ZenithOptimedia said, cutting a previous forecast. ZenithOptimedia predicts the rate of decline would slow towards the end of the year and said spending might pick up […]

April 14, 2009

France may postpone analogue TV switch-off

France’s analogue TV switch-off could be postponed to 2013 or 2014, from its current deadline of 30th November 2011, according to Philippe Levrier, the head of France Tele Numerique, a public body tasked with helping the public adopt the new broadcasting system. French newspaper Les Echos reports that he has informed digital development minister Nathalie […]

April 10, 2009

French Freesat set for June

French digital terrestrial channels will be available from June on the Eutelsat Atlantic Bird 3 satellite in a package to be marketed as Fransat. The satellite has always been used to broadcast the DTT channels to homes beyond DTT reception. The 18 channels will be available from June for free though viewers will need to […]

April 10, 2009

4OD now on Macs

Channel 4 television’s online catch-up service, 4oD Catch-Up, is finally available to Mac and Linux users after the broadcaster introduced a new streaming service. The service offers a selection of shows from Channel 4 and E4 up to 30 days after their original broadcast.

April 10, 2009

EC to probe public broadcaster expansion

Moves by European public sector broadcasters to expand their activities into new areas, such as mobile TV and video on demand, could be subject to more prior scrutiny under revisions to controversial proposals published by Brussels. The European Commission is in the process of revising its 2001 guidelines for applying EU state aid rules to […]

April 10, 2009

Spain issues digital pay TV licences

Spanish television channels can apply for licences to broadcast digital pay television programmes, starting immediately, the government has said. Broadcasters applications for licences to offer digital pay TV programmes will be subject to approval by the cabinet, the Industry Ministry said. The Ministry clarified in a subsequent press release that it has not authorised concessions […]

April 10, 2009

10m VOD for C+ Demande

Canal Plus says there have been over 10 million video-on-demand views on its Canal Plus A La Demande service. Canal + issued usage data that revealed 32.6% of all VOD activity related to movies, 23.3% to TV series and 19.8% to magazine and general entertainment shows. Canal Plus launched its VOD service one year ago. […]

April 10, 2009

Most Americans not cutting back on pay TV

Nearly 70 per cent of consumers responding to the survey, sponsored by market research provider Pike & Fischer, said they plan to keep their current cable or satellite TV service this year. Only two of the 600 respondents to the survey, conducted in March with the help of Amplitude Research, said they plan to drop […]

April 10, 2009

Half of UK digital homes choosing pay TV

Almost half of digital television households in the UK are now choosing to pay for access to additional television channels, with satellite and cable services driving growth of digital TV according to research from Ofcom. Its Digital Progress Report for the fourth quarter of 2008 reveals that 49.5 per cent of households have a pay […]

April 7, 2009

UK consumers OK with online ads

Brits are happy to watch advertising on the Internet or their mobile phones if this means they will get videos, music or other content for free, a survey has found. About 60 per cent of people polled by KPMG, the professional services group, said they would rather watch advertising on the Internet in return for […]

April 7, 2009