Freesat Approaches 2 Million Mark
The UK’s free satellite TV service, Freesat, was available to 1.9 million households at the end of September. 8,000 new subscribers were added in Q3, and 32,000 in the first 9 months of 2014.
Gartner: SVoD Holds Strong Growth Potential
Pay-TV is the largest segment of the overall consumer video services market, representing 96.3% of spending this year. Gartner expects this to fall to 94.2% by 2018, while subscription VoD (SVoD) services will grow. The SVoD segment holds the strongest growth potential; Gartner predicts 28.1% growth this year and 18.2% in 2015. North America and … Read more
HbbTV 2.0 “Hopefully” Coming This Year
Micahel Probst, director of the EU-supported Hbb-Next project, has said that HbbTV 2.0 will “hopefully” be released this year. V2.0 will also include four new features contributed by Probst’s group, including synchronised video content across devices and control of TVs using face- and gesture-recognition.
Intel Treads on ARM’s Toes With HDMI Dongle
A new HDMI dongle – apparently the first using an Intel chip – is now being sold in China. The ‘Meegopad T01’ is more expensive, but also more powerful, than similar ARM-powered units. Costing $125, the device features an Intel Bay Trail Atom processor and supports Windows 8.1, Android and Linux (so can be used … Read more
Montenegro Sets Aside Digital Switch Funds
Funds have been secured for Montenegro’s digital switchover. The launch of the country’s digital platform is scheduled for 1st December, with ASO on 17th June 2015. Almost
More BSkyB Customers Take on HD
46,000 new customers joined BSkyB in Q3, with the company ending the quarter at 10.73 million subscribers. 273,000 households were added compared to the same period last year. Of the total subscriber figure, roughly half (5.3 million) were taking HD services, compared to 4.9 million last year.
OSCE Reports on Armenia’s Digital Switch
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has issued a report on digital switchover in Armenia. According to the report, the technical components of the switchover are the most advanced, but many provisions of the legislative framework do not comply with international standards. For example, the introduction of new players and expansion of … Read more
Serbians Told Date to Apply for Free STB
A deadline of 30th June 2015 has been set to apply for a free (government-subsidised) set-top box in Serbia. Demand for digital receivers, which is currently low in the country, is expected to increase when the ASO date approaches next year.
UHF Report to be Examined Next Month
A draft report on the future of Europe’s ultra-high frequency (UHF) band (470 – 694MHz) has been finalised. The report was authored by Task Group 6, under the ECC. ‘Draft ECC Report 224’ will be reviewed by the ECC at a meeting in late November. The report focuses on possible uses for the UHF band, … Read more
Ziggo Loses TV-Only Customers
TV customers of Dutch cable operator Ziggo rose 5,000 in Q3, to 2.3 million, representing 87.1% penetration. However, the number of TV-only subscribers fell by 20.2% YoY, to 634,000.
Americans Hungry for Online Video
According to Adobe’s Video Benchmark Report, online TV consumption in the USA, across all devices, is up 388% YoY. While consumption is fragmented across platforms, games consoles and OTT devices gained the largest percentage of market share (up 194% YoY, to 10% of total online video consumption from 3% in 2013). Android apps grew 28%, … Read more
Google Removes Nexus Player Over FCC Approval
Google’s Nexus Player (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 41) Android TV product went on sale earlier this month, but has since been removed from the online store. Google said that the device has not yet been approved by the FCC, although this is expected ‘imminently’.
