Middle-East and North Africa Digital TV News

ITU Region-1 DTT switchover deadline passes
Jun 17, 2015 – The deadline for the switchover from analogue to digital television has passed for 119 countries belonging to ITU Region-1 (Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia) and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
News categories: International Telecommunication Union, Houlin Zhao, Africa, Asia, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Europe, Middle-East, Terrestrial

Nine countries in the Arab world have IPTV providers
Jun 16, 2015 – In April, fourteen service providers in nine countries in the Arab World offered IPTV services. Research by the Arab Advisors Group revealed that GCC countries had the largest number of IPTV providers in the region.
News categories: Arab Advisors, Hiba Al Atiyat, Bahrain, Digital TV, Egypt, IPTV, Jordan, Lebanon, Market Research, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE

ITU symposium to mark switchover from analogue to digital TV
Jun 1, 2015 – The deadline for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, set for 17 June 2015, is applicable for all countries belonging to ITU Region-1 and Iran. ITU will mark this milestone with a symposium at its headquarters in Geneva.
News categories: International Telecommunication Union, Houlin Zhao, Africa, Asia, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Europe, Middle-East, Terrestrial

Pay satellite TV homes to reach 265 million by 2020
May 27, 2015 – The number of pay satellite TV [DBS or DTH] homes will reach 265 million by 2020, up from 203 million at end-2014 and 143 million at end-2010, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Africa, Asia, Digital TV, Europe, Latin America, Market Research, Middle-East, North America, Satellite, Subscribers, Worldwide

134 million digital TV homes to be added in 2015
May 20, 2015 – The number of digital TV homes worldwide will increase by more than 1 billion between 2010 and 2020 to 1.65 billion – or up by 180%, according to Digital TV Research. The total will climb by 134 million homes in 2015 alone.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Africa, Asia, Brazil, China, Digital TV, Europe, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latin America, Market Research, Mexico, Middle-East, North America, Russia, USA, Worldwide

Pay TV growing fastest in the MENA region
Apr 26, 2015 – According to IHS (NYSE: IHS), 2014 was another year of substantial growth for the pay TV market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with pay TV revenues jumping from €702 million in 2013 to €873 million in 2014.
News categories: IHS Inc, Constantinos Papavassilopoulos, Algeria, Bahrain, Digital TV, Egypt, IPTV, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Market Research, Middle-East, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Satellite, Saudi Arabia, Subscribers, Tunisia, UAE

Turkey's TRT launches HbbTV services with Sofia Digital
Apr 7, 2015 – The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has started hybrid TV services on their HD channels utilizing HbbTV technology by Sofia Digital. The 'TRT ARTI' services are available via TRT’s HDTV channels broadcast via Turksat.
News categories: Sofia Digital, TRT, YolDigital, Ruhi Tas, Mehmet Can Hakli, Digital TV, HbbTV, Satellite, Turkey

HDTV progressing well in the Arab World
Apr 6, 2015 – According to a new report from Arab Advisors Group, by March 2015, the satellites covering the Arab World carried 195 HD channels up from 134 HD channels by February 2014.
News categories: Arab Advisors, Noor Asmar, Digital TV, Market Research, Middle-East, Satellite

STARZ PLAY Arabia launches in Middle East & North Africa
Apr 1, 2015 – Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) has announced details of the STARZ PLAY Arabia which has launched in 17 countries. STARZ PLAY is a direct-to-consumer multiplatform subscription video service for select markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
News categories: Starz, Parsifal Entertainment, Maaz Sheikh, Chris Albrecht, John Penney, Peter Ekelund, Digital TV, Middle-East, Mobile, Streaming