Menu
What's new
«•» GeoSharing Worlds No.1 Satellite Forum «•»

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Daily Satellite TV News

Top Spanish clubs sue LaLiga and CVC

Athletico Bilbao, Barcelona and Real Madrid have decided to take legal action against LaLiga, its president, Javier Tebas and the private equity fund CVC following a strategic agreement signed between the parties last Sunday (December 12).

The agreement set in motion Boost LaLiga (“LaLiga Impulso”), a project to boost the global growth of LaLiga and its clubs. It saw LaLiga valued with LaLiga valued at a historic €24.25 billion by leading independent experts Rothschild & Co and Duff & Phelps, will result in the league and clubs receive a total of €1.994 billion which will be used for technology, innovation, internationalisation, and sporting growth initiatives.

In a joint statement, the clubs said: “Athletic Club, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid report that they have taken legal action in response to the agreements adopted by the La Liga Assembly in relation to the so-called Impulse Project that LaLiga intends to undertake with the CVC venture capital fund, as it is an illegal transaction that causes irreparable damage to the Spanish football sector as a whole and flagrantly violates the most elementary principles of Spanish sports law and the LaLiga statutes”.
 
Digi secures Premier League rights

Romania’s Digi Sport, which is operated by RCS&RDS, will offer viewers coverage of the Premier League for the next three seasons.

As a result, for the first time in its history it will simultaneously broadcast all five top European football leagues – Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Premier League.

Commenting on the development, Serghei Bulgac, CEO of Digi/RCS&RDS, said: “We are pleased to announce that Digi Sport will broadcast the next three seasons of the Premier League, content that perfectly complements the variety of sports competitions brought to the homes of millions of football and sports fans in general. The quality content, the team of professionals, their enthusiasm and experience, and, last but not least, the notoriety help us to be leaders on the Romanian sports channels market”.

Digi subscribers will be able to watch Premier League matches on Digi Sport channels, on Digi 4K, on the website www.digisport.ro, but also through the free Digi online app.
 
YouTube restores Disney channels

Google is once more carrying Disney channels following an agreement between the two parties.

In a statement on Twitter, YouTube TV said: “We’re happy to announce that we’ve reached a deal with Disney and have already started to restore access to channels like ESPN and FX, and Disney recordings that were previously in your Library. Your local ABC station will also be turning on throughout the day”.

The channels had been blocked in YouTube for two days after the parties had previously failed to reach a deal.

Significantly, YouTube then reduced the monthly cost of YouTube TV from $64.99 to $49.99.

It has now been restores to its original amount, but with customers receiving a one-off discount of $15
 
Comcast, Disney and Netflix lead streaming investment

Global content spend saw double digit growth and is expected to exceed $220 billion this year.

According to a new report by Ampere Analysis, growth has been driven by SVOD platforms. Investment rose 14% compared to last year, representing an increase of over $20 billion.

It adds that Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount+ invested over $8 billion in original content in 2021.
Content expenditure by commercial and public service broadcasters bounded back this year, after being damaged in 2020 by ad spend cut-backs and production halts during the earlier phases of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this recovery, content spend from these groups still remains below 2019 levels, largely due to ongoing pressures on revenue (primarily TV advertising revenue) – a consequence of a mixture of viewing shifts to online video, and lingering economic effects influencing advertiser expenditure.
 
Channel 5 joins Digital UK

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have entered into a new Digital UK members’ agreement, marking the first time that the venture has been wholly owned by all four PSBs.

ViacomCBS-owned Channel 5 joins Digital UK with immediate effect.

Earlier this year Digital UK merged with Freesat (UK) Ltd, bringing the two free-to-air organisations together and aligning technical developents across the two platforms.

Caroline Thomson, Chair of Digital UK said: “The future of free-to-view television is critical to providing all UK viewers with high-quality British content and we look forward to working with all public service broadcasters to develop and deliver continually evolving and compelling free TV services across Freeview and Freesat.”

Sarah Rose, Chief Commercial & Operations Officer, ViacomCBS UK, added: “We’re delighted Channel 5 has joined the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to help shape the future of free-to-view TV as part of Digital UK. Channel 5 plays a distinctive role in public service broadcasting in the UK and, as part of ViacomCBS can bring a unique perspective to the opportunities that lie ahead.

Freeview and Freesat bring together the best of the UK’s free content, live and on-demand, from leading broadcasters, including the UK PSBs. Freeview Play is available on the majority of smart TVs sold in the UK and features 30,000 hours of on-demand content while Freesat’s 4K TV Boxes are recordable and provide 100% coverage
 
Polsat unveils 2023+ strategy

Poland’s Polsat Plus Group has decided to establish a third strategic pillar to add to its existing ones of connectivity and content.

Discussing its 2023+ strategy, it says that this will entail “building a position on the clean, energy market, in particular from the sun, wind, biomass, thermal waste treatment and building a complete value chain of a hydrogen-based economy, which creates opportunities to build a new stream of revenues for Polsat Plus Group and will bring tangible social benefits in the form of greenhouse gas emissions reduction. It adds that it will also include an “analysis of additional development opportunities in other prospective directions such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR)”.

It outlining the strategy for its existing pillars, it says this will involve:

“Growth of revenue from services provided to individual and business customers through the consistent building of our customer base value by maximising the number of users of our services as well as the number of services offered to each customer and simultaneously increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.

“Growth of revenue from produced and purchased video content by expanding its distribution, including a search for new channels of exploitation of rights, maintaining the audience shares of channels produced by us.

“Use of opportunities arising from the advancing technological changes and market opportunities in order to expand the scope of our products and services”.
 
Slovak pubcaster launches sports channel

The Slovak public broadcaster RTVS has added a sports channel to its portfolio.

Its schedule will from next year include hundreds of hours of top European football including highlights from the Champions League, LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga.

Commenting further on RTVS Sport, Matej Hajko, director of the sports section, said: “In addition, of course, we have the rights to live broadcasts from the next two seasons of the European League and the European Conference League, as well as to matches of Slovak football teams in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League and two other European competitions. This really gives a premium mosaic of top television football content.

“Top European club football has always had its place in RTVS sports broadcasting, especially through broadcasts from European cup competitions. After less than four years, the Champions League returns to our screens in a summary of the best and most important of football matches”.

Quoted by Zive, Hajko also said that the sports channel would have an annual budget of €11 million and that it would not compete with the sports channel operated by the commercial broadcaster Joj.

As previously reported by Broadband TV News, RTVS Sport will be broadcast in terrestrial DVB-T networks in both HEVC and MPEG-4 compression formats. It will also be offered by Skylink as a DTH service from the Astra 23.5 degrees East orbital position and by cable and IPTV operators in their basic packages.
 
Successful launch for Türksat-5B

Türksat-5B will be placed in orbit next June and become active after a 1.5-month test period, according to Adil Karaismailoglu, Turkey’s minister of transport and infrastructure.

Speaking at the satellite’s launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, he added that while Türksat 5A serves more than 30% of the world in TV broadcasting, Türksat 5B, where data communication will be dominant, will cover different regions of the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, North and South Africa, as well as countries such as Nigeria. With Türksat 6A the coverage area will continue to increase.

He continued: “For the first time, a satellite with domestic and national components will operate in space, but the most important thing for us is the completely domestic and national satellite Türksat 6A. Our domestic and national contribution in technology will continue to increase.

We want to use 5G with completely domestic and national infrastructure. We are planning 6G after it. The interest of young people is very valuable for us, especially in order to become a country that produces, develops and exports technology”.
 
Euronews sold to Portuguese fund

Alpac Capital has agreed to purchase international news channel Euronews from Media Globe Networks (MGN).

It ends a six-year ownership by the Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, a period that had been shared in part by the US broadcaster NBC, which sold its 25% stake last year. During this time the Lyon-based channel has moved from its presenterless format to contemporary presentation, though faced the loss of its European Commission funding and industrial action brought about by a series of redundancies.

A statement from Euronews said revenue from affiliates and partnerships had grown by over 400%, while there had been a 43% increase in advertising revenues overall and 67% growth in digital advertising, exceeding targets for the year.

Revenue diversification activity (affiliates & partnerships) grew by +400%, strongly contributing to this growth, alongside a +43% increase in advertising revenues overall and a 67% growth in digital advertising. It’s anticipated the 2022 budget will reduce operating losses by half.

Naguib Sawiris, Exiting Chairman of Euronews’ Supervisory Board and Chairman of MGN, said: “My driving ambition has always been to see Euronews succeed. We invested in the media because we saw its potential and we were proven right. Euronews is unique in its resolutely impartial approach and commitment to offering multiple viewpoints to its audiences in their native language.

Alpac Capital is a venture capital fund based in Portugal, run by Pedro Vargas David and Luis Santos, who are described as committed Europeans. “I belong to the generation that was born and grew up with Europe, and who considers it an opportunity,” said David. “If it has brought us peace for decades, it is also a great place for expression and debate. I am deeply convinced that Euronews, because of the quality of its teams and its potential, can be the place where all the voices of Europe are expressed.”

Michael Peters, CEO of the Company since 2011, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors, replacing Sawiris in a revised structure.

The transaction is expected to be finalised in 2022, subject to final approvals.
 
Four Discovery channels join waipu.tv

German TV streaming provider waipu.tv is extending its offer with four HD channels from Discovery Deutschland.

Parent company Exaring expanded its long-standing partnership with the broadcaster for this purpose. At the same time, it was agreed to continue advertising sales through dynamic ad substitution.

As a first result of the agreement, waipu.tv customers can now also receive Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 and Discovery Channel. Animal Planet will be added at the beginning of 2022.

While Eurosport 1 is available to customers from the Comfort package, the three pay-TV channels Eurosport 2, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet are included in the Perfect Plus package and the pay-TV option.

In addition to the new channels, the partners have also agreed on the further distribution of all other linear TV channels from Discovery. This means that DMAX, TLC, Home & Garden TV and Tele 5 will continue to be available to waipu.tv customers. The agreement also includes time-shifted TV, cloud-based recordings, mobile TV and multiscreen access.

On DMAX, TLC, Home & Garden TV and Tele 5, advertisers are offered waipu.tv’s dynamic ad substitution solution. This enables targeted advertising during the channels’ commercial breaks.
 
Eutelsat teams up with Orion

Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Russia’s Orion Group of companies to offer high-speed satellite internet services.

They will be made available to existing Telekarta (Orion) subscribers living in Eutelsat Konnect’s coverage area, namely the European part of Russia to the regions bordering the Far Eastern Federal District.

According to the terms of the agreement, Orion will provide its agent network for the sale of satellite equipment required to connect satellite internet services. It will also provide the first line of technical support for subscribers and installers based on the Orion Connect contact centre. Meanwhile, satellite internet services and tariffication will be provided by the satellite operator Konnect Russia.

The equipment will be sold at a subsidised price of R9,990 (€119). Subscribers will be offered unlimited and package tariffs with speeds up to 100 Mbps costing from R1,990 a month. Subscribers who have a valid contract with Orion and who connect to the satellite internet service for the first time will be offered 30% cashback in the first six months.

Commenting on the agreement, Kirill Makhnovsky, Orion’s general manager, said: “Orion is very interested and enthusiastic about partner projects that allow us to create additional value for our subscribers, relying on the existing infrastructure and technical capabilities of the satellite media platform. The project with the satellite operator Konnect, Russia is just that. I am sure it will be useful to all participants and will have a positive effect on the development of the subscriber base and dealer network”.
 
New Channel 5 programmes on Pluto TV

Pluto TV has extended its content partnership with sister service Channel 5, bringing three new channels to the streaming service.

Channel 5 programming on Pluto TV, currently available as My5 Crime and My5 GPs has now been repackaged into two branded channels.

“These new FAST channels from Channel 5 show the potential of Pluto TV for content partners, who can remix and repackage evergreen content to reach fans new and old”, said Dan Fahy, SVP Streaming, ViacomCBS UK.“The addition of the new Channel 5 channels to the service strengthens Pluto TV’s range of local and international programming in way that is compelling to viewers who enjoy the linear streaming experience, while also consolidating Pluto TV’s position as the leading FAST player in the UK.”

In all, the suite of five branded channels will expand Channel 5’s presence on Pluto TV;
5 Cruising with Jane McDonald – based on the travelogue which won Channel 5 its first BAFTA award; 5 Destination Britain will bring together some of the best shows celebrating the beauty of the UK’s regions and counties, featuring titles such as Britain by Bike with Larry & George Lamb and Walking Britain’s Lost Railways, featuring Rob Bell; 5 Building Britain will showcase the country’s most impressive structures, with range of programmes spotlighting historic and modern triumphs of engineering; 5 GPs Behind Closed Doors – formerly My5 GPs – will become the home of the only series on British TV to be set inside a working general practice. The channel will follow the stories of staff and patients at surgeries on the front line of NHS care across the UK and My5 Crime will become 5 Cops on Pluto TV. The channel will air some of the best-performing factual crime series from Channel 5’s catalogue, including Police Interceptors and Traffic Cops.

The launch of the 5-branded channels follows news that the latest season of Star Trek: Discovery will debut on Pluto TV viewers in the UK, as well as Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland this winter.
 
Apple TV+ launches on Sky Deutschland

The Apple TV+ app has today launched on Sky Q in Germany, ahead of the Christmas holiday period.

The app is expected to be made available later this afternoon (Tuesday). It will also be introduced on Sky Glass when the streaming TV is launched in Germany during 2022.

Apple TV content including award-winning comedy Ted Lasso and The Morning Show will be integrated into the Sky TV experience with links direct from the homepage and app areas of the Sky Q box.
 
DAZN, Movistar secure LaLiga rights

Spain’s LaLiga has conclude a tender for broadcast rights of LaLiga Santander in Spain and Andorra for the seasons 2022/2023 to 2026/2027, awarding licences to DAZN and Telefónica’s Movistar.

Worth a total of €4.95 billion over the five-season period, they will see Movistar broadcast a total of five matches per matchday plus three full matchdays, while DAZN will broadcast five matches per matchday.

LaLiga notes that the total figure represents an increase compared to the previous cycle for similar packages.

It also says that LaLiga SmartBank, the hospitality channel, and the LaLiga Santander free-to-air match are expected to be put out for tender between February and March 2022.

LaLiga adds that it has managed to keep its audiovisual revenues steady at a time when most major European leagues reached a ceiling or experienced reduced valuations in their most recent cycles in which many industry experts were predicting significant decreases.

Bids for a five-year period have contributed to greater stability in the medium term and have generated greater certainty among bidders to invest in LaLiga content.

LaLiga also says that in addition to this tender, for which many bids were received, it has has also recently closed highly competitive international broadcast agreements in the US, Mexico, and Latin America.
 
Sky Italia to launch Sky Cinema 4K channel

120 films will be available in the Ultra HD 4K format when Sky Cinema 4K launches on January 28.

Unlike its UK counterpart, which has so far relied on side channels and on demand for its 4K service, Sky Italia is launching a dedicated channel. It will be available at no additional cost to all Sky Cinema customers with Sky Q via satellite and with optional HD or Ultra HD service.

There are currently 11 other channels in the Sky Cinema package.

Launch titles include Fast & Furious 9, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men In Black and Ghostbusters.
 
ERT updates OTT platform

The Greek public broadcaster ERT has launched the latest version of its ERTFLIX OTT platform.

The new backend implementation and the updated interface are the results of cooperation with the Greek systems company Telmaco and Insys Video Technologies.
ERTFLIX is built on the InsysGO solution created by Insys Video Technologies and provides users with access to five live channels and numerous movies, series, and other on-demand content through the VOD zone.

Commenting on the update, Ioannis Vougiouklakis, CTO of ERT, said: “We aim to give the Greek viewers the best possible experience. As a state broadcaster, we are always trying to take advantage of the latest technologies in the field. With this project, our goal was to make the new ERTFLIX similar to other successful OTT products, despite the fact that we offer our content without subscriptions. With Telmaco and Insys Video Technologies, we managed to launch the new ERTFLIX in a short period of time and successfully supported the fresh new season content with an improved user experience and new features”.

ERT owns a significant number of media assets created over many years. Viewers across Greece can access the entire library. The content with international rights is also available worldwide. ERTFLIX can be accessed via web browsers, mobile devices (Android, iOS, Huawei App Gallery), and Android TV, and is available in Greek or English. The Insys OTT backend was also integrated with the existing HbbTV, Tizen and WebOS apps.

Ernest Kalaczynski, project & key account manager at Insys Video Technologies, added: “The ERTFLIX platform is a popular Greek OTT service with several thousand users per month. By cooperating with Telmaco, we have created a scalable solution that is able to handle high peaks. That way, it remains efficient even as many users are using the platform simultaneously”, says. “We are glad this partnership has allowed us to expand our reach, and we are looking forward to next projects”.

Constantinos Moraitis, CTO of Telmaco, said: “We have committed to making ERTFLIX as easy to use as possible, delivering a unified experience and features across the different networks and devices. Project integration included many tasks alignment, such as content transcoding, origin, packaging, or enhancements to the video quality. We are delighted to be working with ERT and Insys Video Technologies, delivering products that can further monetize its content investments. ERT has succeeded to expand the brand name with this implementation. We believe that other FTA TV stations will follow this example”.
 
DAZN-BT Sport sale could complete this month

The protracted £600 million sale of BT Sport to DAZN is expected to reach its endpoint in the next few weeks.

Streaming service DAZN wants to increase its UK profile through the purchase of the channels that were originally established as a means to grow BT’s broadband and TV base. They would give the Sir Len Blavatnik-backed channel access to the Premier League, Champions League and Ashes cricket.

Reuters, who spoke to four separate sources, has been told the deal is still to be finalised and could still collapse.

In September a deal between DAZN and BT was already said to be ready for completion within weeks.

Three months later, Discovery, the operator of Eurosport, emerged as a potential rival. Two of the sources told Reuters that despite Discovery’s recent interest, DAZN remained the favourite to secure the channels.

It’s understood that a major obstacle has been securing agreements both with the rights holders and with distributors Sky and Virgin Media.

In the UK, DAZN is largely known for its boxing coverage, and the acquisition of BT Sport would bring considerable opportunity, and sports rights, to the unprofitable broadcaster.
 
Euskaltel teams up with DAZN

Spain’s Euskaltel has reached an agreement with the global live and on demand streaming platform DAZN.

As a result, Euskaltel’s customers can now access the best competitions from the world of motorsport, tennis, basketball, boxing, football and other sports on various devices (smart TVs, tablets and games consoles), as well as on Euskaltel’s 4K receiver.

The agreement with DAZN includes a three-month promotion for those who sign up to the service before the end of January.

Furthermore, there is no contract period for receiving DAZN, with subscribers being able to cancel at any time.

The Euskaltel Group operates Euskatel in the Basque Country, R in Galicia and Telecable in Asturias.

It has been part of the Masmovil Group since August 2021.
 
TF1-M6 channel sale underway

Interest in the digital TV channels run by TF1 and M6 is said to be intensifying.

A merger between the two French commercial broadcasters is underway with TFX, TF1 Series Films, Gulli and 6TER being sold off to allay competition concerns. All of them hold terrestrial licences with children’s channel Gulli attracting offers between 110 and 150 million Euros.

Alain Weill, owner of news magazine L’Express, is one of the potential buyers for the channels alongside Altice, Mediaset, Mediawan, Unique Heritage Media, Reworld Media, Xilam and Vivendi.

A final decision is expected at the end of April.

TF1, M6, Bouygues and RTL Group announced the merger plans in May 2021, resulting in the creation of a major new French media group. The transaction is aimed to close by the end of 2022.
 
OSN extends HBO contract

OSN has strengthened its partnership with HBO by extending an exclusive licensing agreement covering the MENA region.

As part of the deal, OSN Streaming will be the exclusive home to complete boxsets of favourite HBO series. It will also mark the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by making all eight Harry Potter Films available to subscribers in 2022.

Commenting on the development, Nick Forward, MD streaming & chief content officer at OSN, said: “HBO is the most respected name in global television, and we couldn’t be more pleased to extend and expand our longstanding partnership. Together with the addition of an incredible line-up of Warner Bros. movies and series to our customers, this deal continues to demonstrate OSN’s commitment to bringing more of the world’s very best TV to OSN’s customer”.

OSN is the leading entertainment hub in the MENA region and also has long-term partnerships in place with – amongst others – Disney, NBC Universal, Fox, Paramount, MGM and Sony.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top