Advanced Television

Pay TV

Kenya: MultiChoice’s DStv subscribers evaporate

MultiChoice, Africa’s major pay-TV operator, is now controlled by Canal+. The new management will need to act swiftly to cut subscriber losses. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has reported that MultiChoice’s DStv arm had just 188,824 active accounts as at June 30th. This is dramatically down on the 1.19 million a year earlier. DStv […]

September 26, 2025By Chris Forrester

NCTA touts cable industry’s economic impact

The US cable industry is delivering economic benefits nationwide, generating $568.7 billion (€487.9bn) in total economic output and supporting 1.3 million jobs across the country, according to a report commissioned by NCTA – The Internet & Television Association and conducted by Chmura Economics & Analytics. Additional findings in the study, Investing In America 2024: The […]

September 26, 2025

Astro boosts pay-TV subs

Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad strengthened its growth momentum in the second quarter of FY26 (Q2FY26), with pay-TV gross customer additions rising 5 per cent QoQ as more households embraced the simplicity and value of Astro One packs in their entertainment choices. This stronger take-up was supported by improved customer loyalty, with churn easing 25 per cent […]

September 25, 2025

Study: US cable TV users stay despite low satisfaction

Many US cable television subscribers remain with their providers due to barriers such as restrictive contracts, limited provider availability by location, and the complexity of switching, which is why subscribers stay despite lower satisfaction levels than live TV streaming, according to the J.D. Power 2025 US Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study. Specifically, Cable TV customers […]

September 19, 2025

France: Ligue1+ exceeds 1m subs

At a meeting of the board of directors of the LFP, Nicolas de Tavernost, MD of LFP Media, announced its in-house Ligue 1+ OTT platform has surpassed 1 million subscribers just one month into the new football season. LFP initially indicated that it was targeting 1 million subscribers by the end of the season. As […]

September 17, 2025

Survey: 60% of ‘sports super fans’ in US use sports-only streamers

About half of the US say they are sports fan, meaning that they follow sports “at least somewhat closely”. Only 17 per cent are super fans, defined as people who say they follow sports “very or extremely closely”, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC. About four in 10 fans use sports-only streaming platforms […]

September 17, 2025

Sky to cut a further 600 jobs

Sky is set to cut 600 jobs in the UK as it focuses on switching to streaming existing services after a period of product launches. Some 900 jobs will be affected by the reorganisation, according to the FT, with about 600 roles set to be cut across the company’s UK businesses. The remainder are expected […]

September 16, 2025

Irish shops targeted in anti-piracy sting

FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) and partners have carried out a major enforcement operation against Irish retail outlets enabling access to illegal TV streaming services, sending a strong warning to those breaking the law and putting consumers at risk. In this latest action, FACT teams, working alongside Sky, delivered legal notices to 15 shops and […]

September 15, 2025By Colin Mann

Philippines: Globe urges online piracy action

Philippines multiplay operator Globe Telecom has called on lawmakers to prioritise the passage of site-blocking legislation that would allow the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to direct Internet service providers to block piracy websites. According to Globe, the measure is critical to protecting local creatives and ensuring the Philippines keeps pace with international […]

September 15, 2025By Colin Mann

Data: Portugal sees slowest pay-TV growth in 19 years

Portugal experienced the slowest annual growth in pay-TV subscribers since 2006, adding only 40,000 new subscribers (+0.9 per cent) in the second quarter of 2025, reaching a total of 4.7 million. According to data published by the National Communications Authority (Anacom), fibre optic connections continue to dominate the market, accounting for 68.2 per cent of […]

September 12, 2025From Branislav Pekic in Rome