Advanced Television

OTT

Contract-free OTT Foxtel Play

Australian pay-TV provider Foxtel has announced the upcoming launch of a contract-free OTT service – Foxtel Play – to be available across a range of computers, TVs and games consoles. Richard Freudenstein, Foxtel Chief Executive, revealed the initiative at the ASTRA conference in Sydney. Launching in June this year, Foxtel Play customers will be able […]

March 14, 2013By Colin Mann

Netflix switches on Facebook

Netflix has revealed a new feature that allows subscribers to let their Facebook friends know what television shows and movies they are watching and also see friends’ viewing activity. Netflix said customers will have an option in their Netflix settings to connect to Facebook. If they agree to share information, lists of friends’ movie and […]

March 13, 2013

Lovefilm to stream Amazon original content

Lovefilm is streaming a pilot of a new kids’ show developed by Amazon Studios. It is the first of 12 pilots from the online shopping giant’s creative arm and the first to be streamed in the UK. The show, ‘Sara Solves It’, is an educational show aimed at children and parents – and represents the […]

March 8, 2013

TVCatchup.com outlawed

Websites that retransmit live TV online without permission from broadcasters are in breach of copyright, Europe’s highest court has ruled. The landmark ruling means that many sites showing live TV in the UK, including TVCatchup.com, must now obtain rights clearance from broadcasters. The case was brought by ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 against TVCatchup.com, […]

March 7, 2013

Tesco launches personalised Clubcard TV

As revealed February 11 by advanced-television.com, UK supermarket retailer Tesco has confirmed the launch of Clubcard TV to its 16 million Clubcard loyalty card customers. Hundreds of movies and TV shows are available to watch for free online, with content specifically tailored to family and kids. Michael Comish, CEO of Tesco Digital Entertainment, said: “Clubcard […]

March 6, 2013By Colin Mann

TalkTalk’s Dunstone interim YouView chairman

Open IPTV platform YouView has revealed that Sir Charles Dunstone is to be its interim chairman following the resignation of Lord Alan Sugar. As Chairman of TalkTalk Group, Sir Charles has been involved with YouView since TalkTalk became a shareholder in 2009. YouView says it will now begin a search for a permanent non-executive chairman. […]

March 6, 2013

Mobile ops share of content market drops

Revenues from mobile content, monetised through direct carrier billing, is expected to rise from $2 billion last year to more than $13 billion by 2017, according to a report from Juniper Research. The report observed that operator storefronts and portals now accounted for just 6 per cent of content downloads worldwide, with Google Play and […]

March 6, 2013

blinkbox attacks Netflix over exclusivity claim

Michael Comish, CEO of Tesco-owned UK entertainment streaming service blinkbox, has written an open letter to Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix, questioning the latter’s claim to the exclusive availability of popular movie The Hunger Games in the UK and Ireland. In a press release on March 1st, Netflix had claimed the title would […]

March 4, 2013By Colin Mann

Smartphones and tablets drive iPlayer up

Big increases in mobile and tablet use helped drive BBC iPlayer to a record-breaking January, according to the latest statistics released by the BBC. There were 272 million iPlayer requests in January, up 26 per cent on the previous month. TV requests passed the 200 million mark for the first time. There were 37 million […]

March 4, 2013

FilmOn adds 500 new channels

Meida mogul Alki David has announced that 500 new channels have been launched by FilmOn.com – which he claims makes it the world’s largest free provider of Internet television. Speaking in London as he unveiled major licensing deals with premium content publishers such Disney, ESPN and Fox, David said: “Whether you’re interested in news and […]

March 4, 2013