TV Services (Pay TV, OTT, Broadcasting) News

Rakuten TV to expand reach to more than 40 countries in 2019
Mar 14, 2019 – Rakuten TV has announced Pan-European expansion plans through partnerships with Samsung, LG, Philips and Hisense to introduce a remote control button on their smart TV units in Summer 2019 directly linking to the Rakuten TV streaming service.
News categories: Rakuten, Jacinto Roca, Digital TV, Europe, Smart TV, Streaming, UX

Bezeq plans migration of 'yes' from satellite to OTT
Mar 14, 2019 – Bezeq (TASE: BEZQ) has announced that it plans to migrate its 'yes' service from satellite transmission to broadcasting over the Internet (OTT) in a gradual process that is expected to be spread over several years.
News categories: Bezeq, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Israel, Satellite, Streaming

TDG: Disney+ likely to be well received
Mar 13, 2019 – New research from The Diffusion Group (TDG) finds that Disney’s upcoming direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription service, Disney+, will likely to see solid interest — assuming it comes to market at the right price.
News categories: The Diffusion Group, Michael Greeson, Digital TV, Market Research, Streaming, USA

Saankhya Labs develops 5G Broadcast and Direct to Mobile TV technologies
Mar 13, 2019 – Saankhya Labs has announced solutions for 5G Broadcast and Direct to Mobile TV (DTM). 5G Broadcast allows telcos to offload video traffic from their mobile network onto the 'cellularized' broadcast network. DTM enables mobile devices to receive terrestrial TV.
News categories: Saankhya Labs, Parag Naik, 5G, Content Distribution, Digital TV, India, Mobile, MWC24, Semiconductor, Terrestrial, Worldwide

Benin signs up with SES for DTT distribution and DTH
Mar 13, 2019 – Viewers in the Republic of Benin are now receiving 15 new FTA channels from satellite, thanks to an agreement that Benin has signed with SES. A number of HD channels will be broadcast - the first HD channels to be available over DTT in Africa.
News categories: SES S.A, Clint Brown, Darius Quenum, Benin, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Satellite, Terrestrial

DIRECTV NOW packages get slimmer and pricier, but include HBO
Mar 12, 2019 – AT&T is launching two AT&T video packages that include premium access to HBO. The DIRECTV NOW PLUS ($50 per month) and MAX ($70) packages come with dozens of live TV channels, including local ones, and an on-demand library of movies and TV shows.
News categories: AT&T, Digital TV, Streaming, USA

ZTE and Netgem to jointly address the European fibre market
Mar 12, 2019 – Netgem and ZTE have partnered to offer connected home solutions to European fibre operators. ZTE will provide devices, production capability and financing. Netgem will provide software assets, content relationships and integration expertise.
News categories: Netgem, ZTE, Joseph Haddad, Fang Hui, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Europe, Fibre, Set Top Box, UX

U.S. media companies and VIZIO form addressable advertising consortium
Mar 12, 2019 – U.S. media and technology companies, in collaboration with smart TV company VIZIO, have announced the formation of a consortium dedicated to the development and deployment of a new, open standard for addressable advertising on connected TVs.
News categories: VIZIO, Project OAR, William Wang, Mike Dean, Jesse Redniss, Dave Clark, Jodie McAfee, Advertising, Content Identification, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

iKO Media Group successfully re-launches Kurdsat TV
Mar 12, 2019 – iKO Media Group has announced a re-launch of Kurdish television station Kurdsat. The station was re-launched in SD and HD on a global scale – in the US, Latin America, Middle East and Europe. In addition, iKO provided their OTT platform, iKOFLiX.
News categories: iKO Media, Kurdsat, David Treadway, Amanj Kamal, Asia, CABSAT, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Europe, Latin America, Middle-East, Streaming