Europe Digital TV News

Disney+ to lead the next OTT boom in Western Europe
May 31, 2019 – Digital TV Research forecasts 131.20 million gross SVOD subscriptions in Western Europe by 2024, doubling from 65.19 million by end-2018. About 13 million subscribers will be added in 2019 alone, with a similar number of additions expected in 2020.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Simon Murray, Digital TV, Europe, Streaming, Subscribers

Friend MTS extends content protection deal with United Media
May 30, 2019 – Friend MTS has announced a deal extension with United Media to continue to provide anti-piracy protection for its premium sports content. United Media is part of United Group which operates in all six countries of former Yugoslavia.
News categories: Friend MTS, United Media, Simon Hanna, Duško Martić, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Content Protection, Croatia, Digital TV, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia

Sony report reveals how TV has impacted the living room
May 29, 2019 – Despite changing décor, family behaviour and streamed content taking a leap forward, the humble TV is still the heart of the living room according to a Sony report released in conjunction with a survey of 6,000 European consumers and commentary from industry experts.
News categories: Sony Corp, Takayuki Miyama, Emma Kenny, Belgium, Digital TV, France, Germany, Italy, Market Research, Netherlands, UK

HD PLUS and NAGRA extend content protection partnership to Smart TVs
May 29, 2019 – NAGRA (SIX:KUD.S) and HD PLUS have renewed their technology partnership and extended it to include content protection on Smart TVs. NAGRA content protection supports the HD PLUS solution for Smart TVs not requiring an external device, such as a CAM or STB.
News categories: NAGRA, HD PLUS, Thierry Legrand, Georges Agnes, Apps, Content Protection, Digital TV, Germany, Satellite, Smart TV

CANAL+ Group to acquire M7
May 27, 2019 – CANAL+ Group has announces the acquisition of M7, owned by Astorg. M7 is an aggregator and distributor of local and international channels via satellite and OTT platforms with a presence in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
News categories: CANAL+ Group, M7 Group, Maxime Saada, Jacques du Puy, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Digital TV, Hungary, MandA, Netherlands, Romania, Satellite, Slovakia, Streaming

10 million streaming subscriptions in the Nordics
May 27, 2019 – Streaming video continues to grow rapidly in the Nordics, Mediavision concludes in its recently published analysis of the Nordic TV and video market. An increasing number of consumers subscribe to SVOD and year-on-year the growth is 800,000 new subscribing households.
News categories: Mediavision, Marie Nilsson, Denmark, Digital TV, Finland, Norway, Streaming, Subscribers, Sweden

Virgin Media's live UHD coverage of Roland-Garros first in UK with HDR
May 25, 2019 – Virgin Media will become the first UK TV platform to broadcast an event in 4K UHD with HDR when Eurosport’s coverage of Roland-Garros starts on May 26. Virgin Media will use Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) technology in the transmissions to its V6 set top box.
News categories: Virgin Media, Eurosport, David Bouchier, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Set Top Box, UK

EQT acquires Maltese telecom operator Melita
May 23, 2019 – EQT has signed an agreement to acquire Melita from Apax Partners and Fortino Capital. Melita services customers on Malta with mainly four types of products: Gigabit broadband services, mobile and fixed telephony as well as TV services.
News categories: Melita, EQT, Harald Rösch, Ulrich Köllensperger, Cable TV, Digital TV, Malta, MandA

Sky Deutschland adds multiroom box to Sky Q offering
May 23, 2019 – One year after the launch of Sky Q by Sky Deutschland, the company has added a Sky Q Mini Box for multiroom viewing and expanded platform support for the Sky Q app, so that customers can enjoy their Sky programming on even more devices at home.
News categories: Sky Deutschland, Julia Laukemann, Apps, Austria, Digital TV, Germany, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart Home