TV Services (Pay TV, OTT, Broadcasting) News

ViacomCBS expands YouTube TV distribution agreement
May 7, 2020 – ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC) and Google have announced a distribution agreement to deliver more content from ViacomCBS’ portfolio of news, entertainment and sports networks for YouTube TV subscribers.
News categories: ViacomCBS, YouTube TV, Ray Hopkins, Lori Conkling, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Streaming, USA

DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 413,000 in 1Q 2020
May 7, 2020 – DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) has reported results for the quarter ending March 31, 2020. The company closed with 11.32 million Pay-TV subscribers, (9.01 million DISH TV and 2.31 million Sling TV) down approximately 413,000 in the quarter.
News categories: DISH Network, COVID-19, Digital TV, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

Joyn chooses Mixpanel for user analytics
May 7, 2020 – German streaming service, Joyn, has selected Mixpanel to analyze user behavior. Mixpanel's product analytics allows teams to analyze how and why their users engage, convert, and remain in real-time across devices to improve user experience.
News categories: Mixpanel, Joyn, Neil Rahilly, Christoph Wiese, Big Data, Digital TV, Germany, QoE, Streaming

Liberty Global and Telefónica to merge UK operations
May 7, 2020 – Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB, LBTYK) and Telefónica (Madrid: TEF) have agreed to merge their operating businesses in the UK to form a 50:50 joint venture. The combination will create an integrated communications provider with over 46 million subscribers.
News categories: Liberty Global, Telefónica, Mike Fries, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, Cable TV, MandA, Mobile, UK

COVID-19 will drive greater usage of TVOD services in 2020
May 7, 2020 – Parks Associates predicts that consumer usage of TVOD services will increase significantly in 2020. According to the firm, in Q1 2020, 14% of US broadband households had used a TVOD service over the past 30 days, a five-point increase from the previous year.
News categories: Parks Associates, Steve Nason, COVID-19, Digital TV, Market Research, Streaming, USA

Synamedia, Thomson Broadcast, Triveni Digital offer ATSC 3.0 Channel-in-the-Cloud
May 6, 2020 – Synamedia has announced an ATSC 3.0-ready cloud solution with Thomson Broadcast and Triveni Digital, providing a fast way for station operators to trial ATSC 3.0 with minimal disruption to their existing stations before investing in on-premise equipment.
News categories: Synamedia, Thomson Broadcast, Triveni Digital, Julien Signes, Aby Alexander, Mark Simpson, ATSC 3, Content Distribution, Digital TV, USA

Synamedia announces ATSC 3.0 IRD for cable operators
May 6, 2020 – Synamedia has developed an ATSC 3.0 receiver based on its Media Edge Gateway receiver/decoder (IRD). The solution can function as both an RF and IP receiver, and will enable cable operators to capitalize on the next-generation distribution market.
News categories: Synamedia, Julien Signes, ATSC 3, Cable TV, Content Identification, Digital TV, USA

TiVo Stream 4K launches in U.S. retail
May 6, 2020 – TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) has announced the retail availability of TiVo Stream 4K, providing customers with a unifying streamer. Consumers can access live television from SLING TV alongside their favorite streaming video services.
News categories: TiVo, Sling TV, Dave Shull, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Streaming, USA

SonyLIV selects Intertrust's cloud-based multi-DRM
May 6, 2020 – Intertrust’s cloud-based multi-DRM service, ExpressPlay DRM, has been selected by SonyLIV to protect content streaming and downloads on all devices. The partnership covers all channels and entertainment programming on the SonyLIV platform.
News categories: Intertrust, SonyLIV, Talal G. Shamoon, Manish Verma, Digital TV, DRM, India, Streaming