Cable TV (CATV, DVB-C, MMDS, …) News

Comcast considering superior all-cash offer to acquire 21st Century Fox
May 23, 2018 – Comcast has confirmed that it is in the advanced stages of preparing an offer for the businesses that Fox has agreed to sell to Disney. Any offer for Fox would be all-cash and at a premium to the value of the current offer from Disney.
News categories: Comcast, 21st Century Fox, Disney, Cable TV, Digital TV, Europe, MandA, Satellite, USA

Video streaming outperforms subscription TV in customer satisfaction in the U.S.
May 22, 2018 – Customer satisfaction with video streaming services in the U.S. far eclipses that of subscription TV, according to an ACSI customer satisfaction report. In the report video streaming services had a score of 75, way above subscription TV’s score of 62.
News categories: American Customer Satisfaction Index, David VanAmburg, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, USA, UX

U.S. legacy multichannel subscriptions remain under pressure
May 17, 2018 – Traditional multichannel video losses in the first quarter of 2018 showed modest improvement over the same period in 2017, but the magnitude of the decline remains elevated, according to Kagan, a research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.
News categories: S&P Global, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Subscribers, USA

Major U.S. pay TV providers lost ~305,000 subscribers in 1Q 2018
May 17, 2018 – Leichtman Research Group (LRG) has found that the largest pay-TV providers in the U.S. – representing about 95% of the market – lost about 305,000 net video subscribers in 1Q 2018, compared to a pro forma loss of about 515,000 subscribers in 1Q 2017.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Bruce Leichtman, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

Vodafone to acquire Liberty Global’s operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania
May 9, 2018 – Vodafone has announced that it has agreed to acquire Unitymedia in Germany and Liberty Global’s operations (excluding its 'Direct Home' business) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania, for a total enterprise value of €18.4 billion.
News categories: Vodafone, Liberty Global, Mike Fries, Cable TV, Czech Republic, Digital TV, Germany, Hungary, MandA, Romania

Hub Entertainment Research surveys USA TV service value perceptions
Apr 30, 2018 – Hub Entertainment Research has released findings from its annual study on the perceived value of TV services. The results reveal a large gap in perceived value between online TV services and traditional cable, satellite, or fiber optic services.
News categories: Hub Entertainment Research, Jon Giegengack, Peter Fondulas, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, USA

Charter residential video customers down 122,000 in 1Q 2018
Apr 27, 2018 – Charter Communications has reported results for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Residential video customers decreased by 122,000 in the quarter. As of March 31, 2018, Charter had 16.4 million residential video customers.
News categories: Charter, Cable TV, Results, Subscribers, USA

Megacable adds 61k video subscribers in 1Q 2018
Apr 26, 2018 – Megacable (BMV:MEGA.CPO) has announced results for the first quarter of 2018. At the close of 1Q18, the video segment reached 3,101,244 subscribers, a 6.6% growth or 193 thousand net adds, compared to 1Q17.
News categories: Megacable, Cable TV, Mexico, Results, Set Top Box, Subscribers

Tile lost item tracking added to Xfinity X1 Voice Remote
Apr 26, 2018 – Comcast has announced a new partnership with Tile that will enable Xfinity customers to use their Xfinity X1 Voice Remote to locate Tile devices anywhere and see the results of their search on the television.
News categories: Comcast, Tile, Sri Solur, Mike Farley, Cable TV, Digital TV, Smart Home, USA