Smart TV (Connected TV, Integrated Digital Television, IDTV) News

UK's Freeview Play platform to receive £125 million investment
Jun 11, 2018 – The UK’s top broadcast companies have signed an agreement to accelerate Freeview’s transition to a fully hybrid platform. The collaboration will see an investment of £125 million to build on the success of Freeview Play, the UK market leader in free-to-view connected TV.
News categories: Digital UK, Jonathan Thompson, Digital TV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK

Sofia Digital makes possible Smart TV app for Malaysia's tonton
Jun 7, 2018 – A Smart TV app for Malaysian OTT service provider tonton has been developed by Sofia Digital. The company delivered a turnkey service which included development, integration, and certification of each TV-vendor Appstore submission process.
News categories: Sofia Digital, tonton, Mika Kanerva, Airin Zainu, Apps, Digital TV, Malaysia, Smart TV, Streaming

Metraco Daiko smart TVs to have Foxxum TV App Store pre-installed
Jun 1, 2018 – Metraco, a leader in the Consumer Electronics industry in Morocco, has chosen Foxxum as a partner for its Daiko own-branded Smart TVs. The TVs will be sold from May 2018 with Foxxum’s TV App Store pre-installed.
News categories: Foxxum, Metraco, Ronny Lutzi, Youssef Dairy, Apps, Digital TV, Morocco, Smart TV

Arçelik selects SERAPHIC browser solutions for Grundig smart TVs
May 31, 2018 – Arçelik has announced a collaboration with SERAPHIC to deploy SERAPHIC's range of browser solutions across its Grundig brand. The new products will be unveiled for European markets including Turkey, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Serbia.
News categories: SERAPHIC, Arçelik, Ye Wang, Veli Ağ, Digital TV, Europe, HbbTV, HTML5, Smart TV

Vewd and Kaltura build Sesame Street connected TV app
May 29, 2018 – Sesame Workshop has launched a Sesame Street streaming TV app for Vewd-enabled connected TV devices. The app is available on connected TV devices from Sony, Samsung, HiSense, Tivo, Vestel and many more.
News categories: Vewd, Kaltura, Sesame Workshop, Aneesh Rajaram, Gideon Gilboa, Jenny Gioia, Apps, Digital TV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

Amazon Alexa Skill available on 2018 LG AI-enabled TVs
May 29, 2018 – LG Electronics USA has announced that 2018 LG OLED TVs and LG SUPER UHD TVs with AI ThinQ are now compatible with Alexa-enabled devices through the LG SmartThinQ Skill for Amazon Alexa.
News categories: LG Electronics, Tim Alessi, Big Data, Digital TV, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA

Global LCD TV shipments up more than 7% in 1Q 2018
May 29, 2018 – Global TV shipments increased by 7.9 percent to 50.6 million units in the first quarter of 2018 compared to a year ago, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO). LCD TV shipments rose 7.5 percent to 50.1 million units.
News categories: IHS Markit, Paul Gagnon, Digital TV, Market Research, Smart TV, Worldwide

MStar releases ECP-compliant CI+ 2.0 CAM solution in USB form factor
May 23, 2018 – MStar Semiconductor has launched an Enhanced Content Protection (ECP) compliant CI+ 2.0 CAM solution in USB form factor and Android TV, which will allow consumers to receive pay TV services on their TVs by leveraging USB-based CAMs.
News categories: MStar Semi, Wayne Tsai, ANGA COM, CAM, Digital TV, Middleware, Semiconductor, Smart TV, Worldwide

More than 50% of U.S. broadband households own a smart TV
May 21, 2018 – Parks Associates’ new report 'Smart TVs vs. Streaming Media Players: Winning Over Consumers' reports that more than 50% of U.S. broadband households own a smart TV and more than 40% own a streaming media player.
News categories: Parks Associates, Jennifer Kent, Blu-ray, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA