Worldwide (not region-specific) Digital TV News

CBS and Viacom to combine
Aug 13, 2019 – CBS (NYSE: CBS.A, CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) have agreed to merge. The combined company, ViacomCBS, will be a global, multiplatform, premium content company, with the assets, capabilities and scale to be one of the most important content producers and providers in the world.
News categories: Viacom, CBS, Bob Bakish, Joe Ianniello, Shari Redstone, Digital TV, MandA, USA, Worldwide

Smart speakers with screens took off in 2018
Aug 9, 2019 – The global home audio hardware market grew 20% last year to reach 154 million units, with a further 19% growth projected in 2019, according to Futuresource Consulting. The sector witnessed 5% revenue growth, with trade values reaching $14.5 billion.
News categories: Futuresource Consulting, Guy Hammett, Market Research, Smart Home, Worldwide

Huawei launches HarmonyOS distributed operating system
Aug 9, 2019 – At the Huawei Developer Conference, Huawei launched HarmonyOS – its microkernel-based, distributed operating system. HarmonyOS will first be used for smart devices like smart watches, smart screens, in-vehicle systems, and smart speakers.
News categories: Huawei, Richard Yu, China, Digital TV, Middleware, Smart Home, Worldwide

RTI introduces driver for IP control of LG Smart TVs
Aug 7, 2019 – RTI has developed a driver for IP control of select 2018 and 2019 LG AI ThinQ TVs, including OLED and select NanoCell models. The driver simplifies the integration of LG TVs into RTI automation and control systems to provide consumers with premium control options.
News categories: RTI Corp, LG Electronics, Ed McConaghay, Joseph Colombo, Digital TV, Smart Home, Smart TV, Worldwide

Worldwide Pay TV market far from dead
Aug 6, 2019 – The increasing adoption of video streaming platforms has created significant challenges to traditional pay TV. Yet, despite this, the overall pay TV market is expected to grow to more than 1.1 billion subscribers in 2024, according to ABI Research.
News categories: ABI Research, Khin Sandi Lynn, Android TV, Digital TV, Market Research, Worldwide

Lotame launches Lotame TV connected TV product suite
Aug 5, 2019 – Lotame has launched its connected TV product suite: Lotame TV. Lotame TV enables advertisers to connect, build, target, activate, and analyze TV viewership audiences for cross-screen digital campaigns through DSP partners such as AppNexus, Verizon Media, Google DBM, The Trade Desk, Adobe, and Amobee.
News categories: Lotame, Tricia Masturzo, Greg Hampton, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, Streaming, USA, Worldwide

Sony captured 30% of VR hardware revenues in 2018
Aug 5, 2019 – Strategy Analytics' data on the VR headset market shows a decline in annual hardware revenues for the first time. The decline is confined to the low value segment however. The forecast shows continued growth in the Console and PC-tethered VR segments.
News categories: Strategy Analytics, David MacQueen, David Kerr, Market Research, Metaverse, Worldwide

Anevia adds full Dynamic Ad Insertion to its OTT offer
Jul 31, 2019 – Anevia has announced the launch of its Dynamic Ad Insertion solution. Anevia’s OTT video-delivery offering already included ad-enabling and ad-preparation. With the addition of ad-stitching and ad-routing, the offering is now a complete, pre-integrated DAI solution.
News categories: Anevia, Laurent Lafarge, Damien Lucas, Advertising, Digital TV, Streaming, Worldwide

StreamMetrics introduces esports streaming audience measurement service
Jul 30, 2019 – StreamMetrics has launched StreamMetrics Audience Measurement, a syndicated data service that demystifies live-stream and esports viewership by accurately measuring audience size, demographics, and engagement to provide geographically-relevant data.
News categories: StreamMetrics, Gearoid O’Brien, Seamus McAteer, Scott O’Neill, Big Data, Digital TV, Streaming, Worldwide