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HBO Now goes live

The HBO Now channel has gone live on the Apple TV set-top box, iPhone and iPad, ahead of the series premiere of HBO hit show Game of Thrones Season 5 on April 12th. The new Apple TV channel and iPhone and iPad app allow users to stream all of HBO’s original content, past and present, […]

April 8, 2015

Free shipping attracts most Prime subs

The chance to get free two-day Amazon shipping is a bigger driver of Amazon Prime subs in the US than the unlimited streaming of TV, according to a study from Strategy Analytics, which found that 55 per cent of US respondents who had Amazon Prime said free shipping was “very important” to their subscribing, while […]

April 8, 2015

Gervais movie exclusive for Netflix

Ricky Gervais’ new movie Special Correspondents will debut exclusively on Netflix in 2016. Gervais wrote and directed the movie, which, according to the synopsis, stars Eric Bana as “a struggling New York-based radio journalist, whose arrogance and decadent lifestyle has hindered his career. With his job on the line, he fakes front-line war reports from the […]

April 7, 2015By Nik Roseveare

Amazon Prime on Android tablets

Amazon Prime Instant Video is now available for Android tablets via a native app.  The free app gives users access to the platform’s streaming library and includes the same core features as the Android smartphone edition. Amazon’s X-Ray service, which displays supplemental information from IMDb on screen during playback, is included on the Android tablet […]

April 7, 2015

Sling adds HBO in time for Game of Thrones

Sling TV and HBO have confirmed that Sling TV will be the first live Internet TV service to offer linear and VoD content from HBO in the US. HBO will be available in time for the Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley season premieres on April 12th. Sling TV with HBO will be available on […]

April 2, 2015

Starz launches MENA SVoD service

Global media and entertainment company Starz has confirmed details of the Starz Play Arabia launch on April 2nd in 17 countries. The first international Starz Play is a new, premium content, direct-to-consumer multiplatform subscription video service developed in conjunction with the Parsifal Entertainment Group for select markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). […]

April 2, 2015

Netflix button on European remotes

Remote controls that come bundled with smart TVs in Europe will soon feature a dedicated Netflix shortcut button. Smart TVs from Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Toshiba and Vestel going into retail this year will come with a Netflix button providing a direct shortcut to the online streaming service. Bill Holmes, head of business development for Netflix […]

April 1, 2015

Accusations fly as Netflix slows Australia Internet

ISP iiNet has blamed Telstra – Australia’s main telco – for the slower Internet connection speeds that have hit some of its customers since the arrival of Netflix in the country. The online streaming service launched its Australian service last week and proved to be a hit with iiNet customers, accounting for 15 per cent […]

March 31, 2015

T-Mobile US offers free Netflix

T-Mobile is give its customers in the US one year of Netflix for free if they buy the Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge. A Netflix subscription costs $8.99 a month un the US. The global launch of the Galaxy S6 line of smartphones is scheduled for April 10th. In the fine print of […]

March 26, 2015

N. America pay-TV to fall $12bn by 2019

Pay-TV revenues, subscriptions and on-demand, in North America peaked in 2013 at $102.86 billion, according to a report from Digital TV Research. The latest edition of the Digital TV North America report forecasts that revenues will fall by 11.7 per cent or $12.04 billion between 2014 and 2020 to $90.71 billion in 2020. Cable revenues […]

March 23, 2015