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discovery+ free for all Sky subs

Streaming service discovery+ is now available at no extra charge to all Sky TV subscribers. Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers can sign up for discovery+ as part of their monthly Sky TV subscription, saving £6.99/€6.99 a month. Sky TV customers who are already have the 12-months discovery+ Entertainment pass will now be […]

January 16, 2023By Nik Roseveare

Spain: Telcos raise subscription prices

Spanish telcos Movistar, Vodafone and Orange are raising their subscription fees to mitigate declining revenues. On average, Movistar and Vodafone are increasing their monthly fees by 6.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively. Moving with the tide, Orange is also set to rise its fees between €2 and €5 a month from March. Movistar […]

January 13, 2023From David Del Valle in Madrid

DirecTV lay-offs

DirecTV is cutting around 10 per cent of management staff as more pay-TV subscribers cut the cord. “We’re adjusting our operations costs to align with these changes and will continue to invest in new entertainment products and service enhancements,” said the US pay-TV provider. DirecTV was spun off from AT&T to private-equity in 2021 in […]

January 13, 2023

Forecast: US sports OTT revenues to double by 2027

According to Parks Associates’ research, annual sports OTT subscription revenue in the US was $13.1 billion (€12.2bn) in 2022 and will almost double to approximately $22.6 billion in 2027, a 73 per cent increase over the next five years. The new industry report, OTT & Sports: Services and Strategies for Growth, examines key trends in […]

January 12, 2023By Colin Mann

DAZN: “Highest grossing sports app of 2022”

DAZN Group has published its 2022 Annual Review providing an update on its strategic priorities and critical milestones. DAZN said it had the highest grossing sports app of 2022 (despite losses), and is now live in 225 countries and territories. It is also a market-leader in Italy, Japan, DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and Spain where it holds top-tier domestic football […]

January 12, 2023

UKTV Play user base up 27% YOY

Figures from commercial broadcaster UKTV indicate that following a year of increased investment and focus on its free streaming service UKTV Play, it has grown direct-to-consumer views by over a quarter and added a further one million registered users. The network also achieved record SOCI (share of commercial impacts) in 2022, up 2.1 per cent […]

January 12, 2023By Colin Mann

DAZN drops $2.3bn; refunds for poor service

DAZN, the sports streaming service, reportedly made a loss of $2.33 billion (€2.17bn) in 2021 as it spent heavily on various European football rights, meaning it has lost $5 billion in the last three years. Operating losses were $1.36 billion up from $1.15 billion in the previous year. Meanwhile, in Italy, DAZN, under pressure from […]

January 11, 2023

SkyShowtime picks up WBD cancels

SkyShowtime has acquired exclusive European rights for 21 local series from Warner Bros Discovery, including some of HBO Max’s most popular shows from the region. In total, the deal provides SkyShowtime 168 episodes – over 150 hours – of new and previously aired original programming. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal includes three new […]

January 10, 2023

Orange, Canal+ near OCS deal

Orange and the Canal+ Group have signed a memorandum of understanding anticipating the acquisition by the Canal+ Group of all capital held by Orange in the OCS pay-TV package and in Orange Studio, the film and series co-production subsidiary. The Canal+ Group will become the sole shareholder of the two companies following this transaction. Orange […]

January 9, 2023By Colin Mann

Forecast: Africa at 57m pay-TV subs by 2028

About 16 million pay-TV subscribers will be added in Africa between 2022 and 2028 to take the total to 57 million, according to the Africa Pay TV Forecasts report from analyst firm Digital TV Research. Subscriber numbers will climb by 38 per cent over this period, but pay-TV revenues will rise by only 29 per […]

January 9, 2023