French TV group AB has concluded a distribution deal with Canalsat to continue to have nine of its HD channels transmitted on the platform. RTL 9, AB1, AB Moteurs, Mangas, Action, Toute l’histoire, as well as newly launched Trek and Science & Vie TV are part of the global line-up. The deal doesn’t include movie […]
Ofcom has published the conclusions of its third review of public service TV broadcasting, the first review since 2008, suggesting that broadcasters need to adapt their models to maximise commercial revenues and efficiencies, and the PSB system needs to evolve as the trend towards online viewing grows. The review examines how the BBC, ITV, STV, […]
UK over-the-top television platform TVPlayer is to launch TVPlayer Plus, a subscription service, this summer. TVPlayer Plus will be priced from £4.99 (€7.05) per month (with no contract) and enables live streaming of 25+ premium television channels, including Lifetime, HISTORY, H2, Crime + Investigation, Gold, Alibi, Watch, Good Food, Eden, Home, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID […]
Findings from the second annual TiVo Spring 2015 Binge Viewing Survey indicate that binge viewing, defined as viewing more than three episodes of a series in a day, has continued its meteoric rise in both perception and popularity. Negative perception of binge viewing has greatly decreased, to only 30 per cent of respondents (versus 53 […]
The BBC Trust has published its provisional conclusions on the BBC Executive’s proposals to reinvent BBC Three as an online-only service, launch a +1 channel for BBC One; evolve BBC iPlayer; and extend the hours of CBBC. In assessing the proposals, the Trust carried out a Public Value Test, which requires it to judge whether […]
There were 276 million requests to BBC iPlayer in May. This was an increase of 2 per cent month on month, and bucked the trend of declining requests the streaming service has reported for much of the year. TV requests were up 10 per cent year on year to 222 million, with an additional 20 […]
Digital UK and Freeview have confirmed that set-top box manufacturer Manhattan TV will launch a range of Freeview Play products early next year. The UK-owned company will offer a standalone receiver (T3) and two digital recorders (T3-R), providing 500GB and 1TB hard drive options. All products will include Wi-fi connectivity as standard and be available […]
Telecoms provider Lebara, best known for calling plans to enable migrant communities to connect, has launched Lebara Play, which aims to bridge the content gap by providing a new entertainment service for migrants. The service claims to be the only multi-ethnic entertainment service bringing together free and premium, fully-licensed content in 13 languages in one […]
The BBC has revealed details of an experiment it conducted allowing people to control TVs using nothing but their brainwaves. In collaboration with tech company This Place, the corporation claims to have developed a way people can select programmes using a cheap, brainwave-reading headset. The headset works with an experimental version of the BBC’s iPlayer […]
The launch and enhancement of NOW TV, Sky’s subscription-free OTT streaming service, has enabled the operator to tap into new pockets of demand, according to Stephen Van Rooyen, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer. Speaking at the Future of Broadcasting Conference in London, Van Rooyen said that the broadcaster has long since moved away from being […]