Digital TV Business, Technology and Market Research News

Hearst Television moves to impressions-based selling of Local TV ad inventory
Sep 18, 2019 – Hearst Television has announced that its stations will begin transacting advertising-sales agreements based on audience impressions – a metric reflecting a program's viewer numbers and the common audience-measurement currency for video-viewing platforms.
News categories: Hearst Television, Jordan Wertlieb, Eric Meyrowitz, Advertising, Digital TV, USA

Roku releases U.S. cord-cutting study
Sep 18, 2019 – The Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) study predicts that around 60 million TV households will access video on their TV exclusively through streaming within the next five years. If this happens, streamers will surpass traditional Pay TV viewers for the first time.
News categories: Roku, Matthew Anderson, Digital TV, Market Research, OTT, USA

Facebook introduces Portal TV set-top box
Sep 18, 2019 – Facebook is expanding its Portal family of home video-calling devices with three new models: Portal, Portal Mini and Portal TV. Portal TV brings smart video-calling to the largest screen in the home.
News categories: Facebook, Australia, Canada, Digital TV, France, Italy, New Zealand, OTT, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Spain, Tablet, UK, USA

CTA launches 8K Ultra HD logo program
Sep 18, 2019 – The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and its member companies have announced the official industry display definition and logo for 8K Ultra High-Definition (UHD) televisions – for use beginning with 2020 model products.
News categories: Consumer Technology Association, Gary Shapiro, Digital TV, Smart TV, USA

SVOD subscriptions soar by 38% in 2018
Sep 18, 2019 – Gross SVOD subscriptions increased by 139 million in 2018 to 508 million, up by 38%. The net subscriber count rose by 83 million in 2018 to reach 357 million, up31%, according to Digital TV Research.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Simon Murray, Digital TV, Market Research, OTT, Subscribers, Worldwide

Subscriptions now account for nearly 86% of US internet TV and movie spending
Sep 17, 2019 – New research from Parks Associates finds that subscriptions, formerly representing just over half of total online video spending in 2012, now account for nearly 86% of all U.S. internet spending on TV and movies.
News categories: Parks Associates, Brett Sappington, Digital TV, Market Research, OTT, USA

NBCUniversal streaming service to be called 'Peacock'
Sep 17, 2019 – NBCUniversal has announced 'Peacock' as the name for its new streaming service. Peacock rolls out in April of 2020 with over 15,000 hours of content and takes center stage at the end of July during the 2020 Summer Olympics.
News categories: NBCUniversal, Peacock, Bonnie Hammer, Digital TV, OTT, USA

Vizio adds additional Alexa capabilities to SmartCast TVs
Sep 17, 2019 – VIZIO has announced support for new Alexa voice features on VIZIO SmartCast TVs. With the latest update, users can now use Alexa to search for movies or shows by title, genre, or cast members – just by using their voice and a nearby Echo device.
News categories: VIZIO, Bill Baxter, Digital TV, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA

LIWEST latest Austrian operator to deploy IPTV with Verimatrix and Ocilion
Sep 17, 2019 – LIWEST Kabelmedien has deployed Ocilion’s IPTV solutions integrated with Verimatrix (Paris: VMX) security. LIWEST joins kabelplus and Salzburg AG as the third Austrian operator to leverage the combined strengths of the partner companies.
News categories: Verimatrix, Ocilion, LIWEST, Steve Oetegenn, Hans Kühberger, Philipp-Thomas Müller, Austria, Cable TV, Content Distribution, Content Protection, Digital TV, IBC2019, Set Top Box