Daily Satellite TV News

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Telefónica in talks with DAZN

Telefónica is negotiating with DAZN in order to secure access to the 45% of LaLiga matches it does not hold rights to.

According to El Economista, the rights, which start from next season, were awarded last December. It adds that although the talks are unlikely to finish this month, if successful they will have to be concluded before June.

Telefónica and DAZN were awarded the rights for the next five seasons (2022-2027) for a total of €4.950 billion. Since then, the Spanish telco told the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that it would take any necessary measures to ensures its customers are offered complete coverage of LaLiga.

El Economista notes that Orange is also interested in holding talks with DAZN in order to offer its subscribers LaLiga from next season.

 

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Movistar+ secures NHL rights

Telefónica’s Movistar+ has obtained the NHL broadcasting rights for Spain.

According to the platform, it has reached an agreement for the rights for the next few seasons and will start broadcasting games from this week, with one on Tuesday January 11 and one on Thursday, January 14 on Movistar Desportes.

Movistar+ already has agreements in place with, amongst others, LaLiga, UEFA, DAZN, Discovery and Eurosport.

 

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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”.

 

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ProSiebenSat.1 to close TV channel apps in favour of Joyn

German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 has announced plans to put streaming platform Joyn at the centre of its digital strategy.

Individual channel and brand apps – with the exception of ran and Zappn in Austria and Switzerland – will be removed from app stores during spring 2022.

“In recent months, we have put our digital offer and the digital platforms on which we play out our content to the test. In the future, anyone who wants to experience content from our channel brands ProSieben, SAT.1, Kabel Eins or sixx on smart TVs, tablets or smartphones will not be able to avoid Joyn,” says Wolfgang Link, Executive Board member of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE and CEO Seven.One Entertainment Group.

Already Joyn, operated in partnership with Discovery, features a comprehensive media library, exclusive previews and catch-up. In all-around 100 primetime formats are available on the platform.

The first individual app to be removed will be the app of ProSieben’s science TV programme Galileo on January 31, 2022.

 

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ITV secures Premiership Rugby for free-to-air

ITV will show live Premiership Rugby matches and a weekly highlights programme up until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Four matches will be shown by the terrestrial broadcaster between now and the completion of the season in June. The coverage kicks off with Sale Sharks taking on Leicester Tigers on Sunday 30 January at 3pm, with the highlights show starting that evening. This year’s final will be seen on ITV 4, the first time the conclusion to the competition has been seen on free-to-air television.

In future seasons seven matches, including the final, will be available on ITV.

BT Sport will continue to show live matches every weekend and will simulcast the ITV game.

“Our ambition is to grow the game and make Gallagher Premiership Rugby available to as many people as possible,” said New Premiership Rugby Chief Executive Simon Massie-Taylor. “BT Sport have done an amazing job in building the core Premiership Rugby TV audience and the ITV partnership allows us to expand our reach into the households of millions of other rugby fans. This season our average match audience on BT Sport has risen 30% year on year, which shows the potential.”

Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, added: “We are delighted to announce this deal to bring regular free-to-air coverage of top-level club rugby to viewers across ITV’s platforms. It has been a pleasure working with BT Sport and our partners at Premiership Rugby in agreeing this deal and we look forward to showcasing the action and the stories from this elite league over the coming years.”

Channel 5 dropped its highlights programme at the end of the 2020/21 season.

 

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Digi starts to pay off debts

Digi Communications has partially paid off its debts following the sale of its Hungarian subsidiary to 4iG.

In a statement to investors, it says that between January 3, the date of the closing of the transaction, and January 19 the company and its subsidiaries made a repayment amounting to €272,017,424.

Digi received €625 million from the sale, which was undertaken by its Romanian subsidiary RCS&RDS, and will use some of the funds to invest in Western European markets.

Both RCS&RDS and Digi Hungary are key players in their countries’ respective electronic communications markets.

 

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Agcom sets out three Quality of Service measures for DAZN

Agcom has given details of the measures its imposing on streamer DAZN amid concerns over the quality of its Serie A football coverage.

The Italian regulator says its stepping in to protect the rights of subscriber to protect their rights to watch live matches without interruption. Its criteria includes difficulties in accessing the platform, video resolution, and unwarranted disconnections.

DAZN is being told to measure the parameters and make the information available to subscribers so they can then claim compensation through Agcom’s Conciliaweb arm. 25% of the monthly subscription fee can be claimed for each breach up to a maximum 100% for four breaches.

Agcom is also commencing the procedure to sanction DAZN after it failed to adequately respond to an order by the regulator to improve the reception of its service and its customer service.

There are also concerns over the reliability of audience data released by DAZN and whether it meets the current deadlines for audience measurement systems.

The regulator has invited DAZN to respond.

 

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Adjara Group buys Setanta Sports Ukraine

Setanta Sports has agreed to sell its business in Ukraine to Adjara Media Group for an undisclosed fee.

The deal will see the Georgian based entity take full control of Setanta Sports Ukraine, making Adjara the largest provider of sports content in the Eastern European market.

Setanta Sports operates two linear TV channels and an OTT service in Ukraine and was launched in 2019 by long-time Setanta executive Dwyer McCaughley and Setanta founder Michael O’Rourke. The channels are three years in operation and carry a large rights portfolio of international sports content. Both McCaughley and O’Rourke will remain on the Adjara board and continue to work with the CEO Giorgi Pruidze and the wider Adjara team.

Adjara Group already has significant TV operations in Eurasia following its purchase of Setanta Sports Eurasia in 2020 and now adds Ukraine to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The channels will continue to be branded Setanta Sports in all 14 markets and broadcast its portfolio of rights including English Premier League, FA Cup, Bundesliga, Belgian Pro League, SPFL, EFL Championship & Cup, UFC, Formula 1, ATP, WTA, Wimbledon, NHL, NBA, EuroLeague, Formula E and The Masters.

Setanta Sports Ukraine has distribution agreements with over 150 platform operators and is available in over 2 million homes in the market.

Commenting on the transaction, McCaughley said: “Following the sale of Setanta Sports Eurasia, the Adjara Group has already proven that they have the expertise to build an online OTT product that will transform Setanta Sports Ukraine into the market leading online sports content provider. This acquisition means sports fans in Ukraine will be offered unrivalled choice of the best international sports content across linear TV and OTT platforms with expert Ukrainian language commentary”.

Giorgi Pruidze, CEO of Setanta Sports Eurasia, added: “Ukraine is one of the most developed and competitive markets with high engagement already in OTT. Taking into consideration that Setanta Ukraine was operating across the country since 2019, covering over 2 million households, we envisioned Setanta Ukraine as the shortest path to accomplish our ambitious goals of being the go-to destination for all sports fans and offering an industry leading and unique OTT platform to Ukrainian users”.

 

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Discovery+ to launch in summer via Sky Deutschland

Discovery plans to launch its streaming service Discovery+ in Germany and Austria in summer 2022.

The cooperation partner is pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland, which will offer Discovery+ as an app on its TV platforms Sky Q and Sky X (Austria) as well as on smart TV Sky Glass when it launches in Germany and Austria.

Sky Q and future Sky Glass customers who register for Discovery+ will be able to use the app for 12 months at no additional cost.

The distribution agreement is part of an extended partnership between Sky Deutschland and Discovery ensuring the further carriage of Discovery Channel on the Sky platform in the coming years.

After Vodafone, Sky is the second partner to offer Discovery+ in Germany.

Discovery is already active in the German streaming market with Joyn, a joint venture with ProSiebenSat.1. This seems to be unaffected by the Discovery+ launch, at least for now.

Asked whether Discovery will remain a Joyn shareholder, a Discovery spokesperson told Broadband TV News: “The global roll-out of Discovery+ and associated partnerships are a milestone in Discovery’s strategy of increasing its focus on digital distribution channels and D2C offerings. In Germany, we already have an OTT service in the market with Joyn, our joint venture with P7S1, which is in line with our D2C strategy. Independently, we have continued our plans to launch D+ in the German market with strong partners.”

 

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beIN Sports welcomes French piracy victory

beIN Sports has become the first broadcaster to obtain a French court order against the illegal distribution of its content.

The broadcaster has seen its exclusive coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations highly pirated.

Caroline Guenneteau, deputy general secretary of beIN Media Group, welcomed the speed of the action taken by the Paris Court of Justice: “This first-ever court decision is the culmination of years of work and fight against piracy led by beIN Media Group and beIN Sports France, in order to protect the intellectual property of broadcasters and rights holders, and to preserve the sports ecosystem.”

Article L. 333-10 of the Sports Code, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) allows for offending sites and addresses to be blocked, preventing visitors from accessing the pirated content.

beIN Sports has suffered significantly from piracy, most notably from the Saudi Arabian beoutQ that was broadcast widely in the region, while beIN itself was denied access. Its coverage of Champions League, Bundesliga, Premier League, Formula 1 and NFL has also been widely pirated online.

 

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Ziggo to offer exclusive 4K coverage of Winter Olympics and Champions League

Ziggo customers will be able to will watch the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 4K picture quality, exclusively, via Eurosport 4K.

The Dutch cablenet is making the pop-up channel available to customers, who will also be able to enjoy future rounds of the Champions League from Ziggo Sport, also in ultra high definition.

The first match to be seen in 4K will be the February 15 tie between Sporting Portugal and Manchester City.

Customers will need a 4K/UHD receiver, such as the Mediabox Next.

Last year, Ziggo also offered the Summer Olympics in Japan via Eurosport 4K. In addition, sports enthusiasts could watch the European Football Championship matches, Premier League matches and Formula 1 races in 4K picture quality.

 

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Tele2 rebrands streaming service

Tele2 Sweden has launched a new streaming bundle, at the same time changing the name of Comhem Play to Tele2 Play.

The new bundle, known as Tele2 Play TV+, features streaming from the 21 most popular linear channels, along with movies, series and documentaries from partners including Paramount+ and Nordisk Film+. It’s priced at SEK 129 and is available to Tele2 and Comviq customers.

The channels included areTele2 Play Tv+ are SVT1, SVT2, SVT 24, SVT Barn, Kunskapskanalen, TV3, Tv4, Kanal 5, TV6, Sjuan, TV8, Kanal 9, TV10, Kanal 11, TV12, ATG Live, National Geographic, TLC, Godare, Expressen TV and Axess TV. It can be viewed across the EU via phone or tablet, anywhere in the EU on their phone or tablet. It is also available using Chromecast, Airplay, Samsung TV, Apple TV and Android TV.

The rebranded Tele2 Play effectively mirrors the customer’s linear TV subscription.

 

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Vision TV adds HbbTV app

VisionTV is now available through both HbbTV and MHEG apps. The HbbTV app was added to its Freeview channel earlier this month.

Last October, the DTG D-Book mandated the inclusion of HbbTV on the UK’s terrestrial platform for the first time and the technology is increasingly used by broadcasters for interactive applications.

Vision TV offers a gateway to further channels that are not found within Freeview’s terrestrial multiplexes.

“More than 18 million UK households access TV via Freeview, and this new development and evolution for VisionTV as an HbbTV App is a significant development and illustrates our commitment to meeting the changing media consumption needs of both our clients and viewers as well as keeping abreast with industry standards and technology,” said Doris Ojo, CEO, Vision247 Limited.

Channels include That’s TV, Spotlight, SportyStuff, CGTN, News Max, France24, Arise News, and much more Entertainment, News, Sports, Shopping, Christian and International channels. To access VisionTV via Freeview, viewers require a TV aerial and a compatible Smart TV or box connecting to the internet.

 

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Telenor to rebrand in Bulgaria

Telenor Bulgaria, which is part of PPF Group, will officially change its name to Yettel on March 1.

This will be following the expiry of its licence to use the name of the Norwegian telco.

Broadband TV News understands that this is part of a wider rebrand that also includes Telenor in Hungary and Serbia, though unlike the Bulgarian operation they have not yet made official announcements. Nor indeed has PPF Group itself.

Telenor sold its assets to PPF Group in 2018 in a deal worth €2.8 billion on an enterprise value basis.

 

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News channel to launch in Poland

The Polish TV production company Astro will launch a news channel on February 1.

According to the company, News24 will beginning technical broadcasts at 07.00 and in the coming weeks distribution contracts will be signed with TV operators. It adds that part of the funding for launching News24 has been obtained from ASI Tech Tier Investment, which acquired E shares worth a total of PLN1 million (€218,000).

Speaking to local media, Astro’s president Ryszard Krajewski said News24 will be fully operational in mid-February.

Astro was launched 16 years ago and produces entertainment programmes for the leading Polish broadcasters TVP, Polsat and TVN.

 

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Euronews partners with fuboTV

Euronews has signed a partnership agreement for North America and Spain with the sports-first live TV streaming platform fuboTV.

Under the terms of the deal, Euronews’ English language edition and Africanews’ English language edition are now available on the fuboTV platform in the US.

Euronews says that with this latest move, it continues to grow its presence in the OTT market in North America. Over the past two years, it has developed multiple partnerships with major digital players, including PlutoTV, Roku, Tubi, Plex, Distro TV with a major focus on growing its reach via connected TV and OTT platform providers across the US.

Commenting on the development, Maxime Carboni, director of worldwide distribution at Euronews, said: “We are very excited about this cooperation with fuboTV. Expanding our reach in North America in the OTT market with a strong partner like fuboTV fits in perfectly with our successful business and audience growth strategy, which has been transforming our access to US consumers across the last 2 years. News continues to be an audience driver for the Live TV experience and a place where innovation is critical. We are thrilled to share these values and continue our development in streaming with such a recognised partner like fuboTV”.

Euronews broadcasts in 160 countries and is distributed in over 440 million homes, including 68% of homes in the European Union and UK. With almost 21 million followers/subscribers on social media platforms and an average of 24.5 million+ unique monthly visitors on its website and app, it already has a strong digital audience, reaching 200 million monthly users across connected devices and OTT.

 

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BT Sport begins Premier League talks ahead of potential sale to DAZN

BT is in talks with the Premier League for approval for the £600 million sale of BT Sport to another broadcaster.

Streaming service DAZN is seen as the most likely candidate to complete the protracted sales process, though Discovery, owner of Eurosport, also remains interested in either a sale or a joint-venture with the telco.

The Times says the sale will be the main topic of discussion when the BT Board meets later ahead of Thursday’s third-quarter results.

The Premier League is the sports operation’s largest partner with a package to screen 52 matches a year including a Saturday lunchtime match. The £385 million contract runs until 2025 following its extension following the Covid crisis.

The broadcaster is also in the middle of a £1.2 billion three-year deal with Uefa for European club football until 2024, including the Champions League and the Europa League.

Last month Reuters, who spoke to four separate sources was told the deal is still to be finalised and could still collapse.
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.

 

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BT Sport and Eurosport UK to merge as BT drops DAZN

BT has entered into exclusive discussions with Discovery to create a new sport and entertainment offering for UK subscribers.

It follows months of talks with Sir Leonard Blavatnik’s streaming service DAZN, which was expected to lead to a complete sale of BT Sport. Only in January was DAZN said to be on the cusp of completing the £600 million deal.

Yesterday, BT was in talks with the Premier League over the future of the channel.

The new business would be a 50/50 joint venture, bringing together BT Sport with Eurosport UK. The combination would remain committed to retaining BT Sport’s existing major sports broadcast rights, while BT Sport customers would get access to Discovery’s sport and entertainment content, including the discovery+ app.

Marc Allera, CEO BT Consumer, said: “The proposed joint venture with Discovery, Inc. would create an exciting new sports broadcasting entity for the UK and would act as a perfect home for our BT Sport business. With a shared ambition for growth, as well as the combination of our world-class sports assets along with Discovery’s premium sports and entertainment content, our customers will benefit from even more content in more places.”

It’s a blow for DAZN and chairman Kevin Mayer, who said taking on BT Sport had become uneconomical: “We remain fully committed to growing our business and investing in the UK, as you will see in the near future. However, we respect that BT chose a different strategic path, and wish BT, BT Sport, and Discovery all the best for the future.”

BT Sport launched in August 2013 on the back of BT’s successful bid for Premier League rights, but also including Premiership Rugby, Moto GP and International Cricket. It was designed to help push BT’s broadband service and its BT TV packages.

Prices for the BT Sport package vary with customers on the BT-owned EE mobile network paying £10 a month to receive the service, while the cost to Sky TV homes is £27. Eurosport is currently found in pay-basic tiers.

The announcement will be seen as a blow to DAZN, which wants to build its UK profile, where it primarily focuses on boxing.

 

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4Music returns to Freesat

4Music has returned to the Freesat platform, completing the suite of channels that also includes Box Hits, The Box, Kiss, Magic and Kerrang, which debuted in December.

4Music, which is operated by Channel 4, mixes music shows including Only the Biggest Hits and Hotmix with comedy and entertainment The Goldbergs, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and, cult classic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Emily Doyle, Content Partnership Manager at Freesat, commented, “Freesat thrives on bringing our viewers the very best free-to-view entertainment – and 4Music is bursting with brilliant content. Recognising feedback from our customers about wanting to see more music and entertainment channels, this is another example of us working on partnerships which will actively help answer that call.”

4Music had been absent from Freesat since December 2018 following a decision to move to encrypted broadcasts.

 

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ITV to show new international women’s football tournament

ITV has secured the rights to live coverage of the new international women’s football tournament, the Arnold Clark Cup, next month.

The round-robin competition will feature England, Germany, Spain and Canada, and will take place at stadiums across England, which hosts the event.

ITV’s coverage will be presented by Laura Woods and featuring punditry from guests Ian Wright and Eni Aluko, with commentary from Seb Hutchinson and co-commentator Emma Hayes.

Laura Woods said: “The Arnold Clark Cup offers an exciting opportunity to see England take on top level opposition at a crucial stage in what is a huge year for them as they continue their World Cup qualification campaign, and be tested in a tournament as they build towards this summer’s Euros where they’re the host nation. I’m really looking forward to seeing them in action in front of home crowds in what promise to be tough matches.”

Matches, including England v Germany, England v Spain and England v Canada, will be shown across ITV, ITV4 and the ITV Hub.

Women’s football is fast becoming a regular fixture for both free-to-air networks and pay-TV platforms.