North America Digital TV News

Sling TV ad slots now available programmatically through SpotX
May 16, 2017 – Advertisers seeking targeted consumer segments across premium over-the-top (OTT) video can now bid in real time on anonymous targeted impressions on Sling TV using one of the newly introduced top addressable data segments.
News categories: Sling TV, SpotX, Adam Lowy, Ben Abbatiello, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, Streaming, USA

Element announces Fire TV Edition Smart TVs featuring Alexa
May 16, 2017 – Element Electronics has announced pre-order and availability of a line of 4K Ultra HD smart TVs – Amazon Fire TV Edition. They are the first 4K smart TVs with the Amazon Fire TV experience built in, including Amazon's Alexa voice remote.
News categories: Element Electronics, Amazon, Sung Choi, Sandeep Gupta, Digital TV, Middleware, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

U.S. pay TV subscribers decline 802,000 in first quarter
May 16, 2017 – Traditional multichannel defections picked up speed in the first quarter with an estimated loss of 802,000 subscriptions, according to Kagan. The 0.8% decline in a single quarter occurred in the historically strong first three months of the year.
News categories: Kagan, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

Bell Canada launches 500 channel live TV app
May 15, 2017 – Bell Canada has launched Fibe Alt TV, a new way to watch live and on-demand television. With no traditional TV subscription or set-top box required, Alt TV is accessed through the Fibe TV app and offers up to 500 channels.
News categories: Bell Canada, Wade Oosterman, Rizwan Jamal, Apps, Canada, Digital TV, Mobile, Streaming

Global pay TV subscribers to reach 1.09 billion
May 15, 2017 – Digital TV Research forecasts 134 million additional pay TV subscribers between 2016 and 2022 to take the total to 1.09 billion. The number of pay TV subscribers will pass the 1 billion mark in early 2018.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Simon Murray, Africa, Asia, Cable TV, Digital TV, Europe, IPTV, Latin America, Market Research, Middle-East, North America, Satellite, Subscribers, Terrestrial, Worldwide

C&W buys Marpin 2K4 to add cable TV to Flow Dominica
May 12, 2017 – Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W), the operator of Flow, has announced that it has acquired Dominican cable company Marpin 2K4. The addition of Marpin means that Flow Dominica will soon be able to offer cable television services in addition to its mobile, telephony and broadband services.
News categories: Flow, Marpin 2K4, Jeffrey Baptiste, Cable TV, Caribbean, Digital TV, MandA

52% of U.S. cord cutters cancelled their pay TV in the last 2 years
May 11, 2017 – According to The Diffusion Group (TDG), more than half of Cord Cutters cancelled their legacy pay-TV service in the two calendar years of 2015 and 2016. Remarkably, one-third of Cord Cutters cancelled service in 2016 alone.
News categories: The Diffusion Group, Michael Greeson, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, USA

comScore offers measurement of OTT viewing on TV screens
May 11, 2017 – comScore has announced comScore OTT Intelligence, a syndicated service that measures U.S. household viewing of OTT content on TV screens. The service is based on the company's Total Home Panel that measures consumer behavior across home network-connected devices.
News categories: comScore, Mike Rich, Big Data, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

DataXu offers self-service OTT TV ad placement platform
May 10, 2017 – DataXu has announced the first self-serve TV buying platform that enables brands and agencies of all sizes to connect the dots between digital and TV, reaching custom audiences and accessing insights covering the full gamut of addressable devices.
News categories: DataXu, Tore Tellefsen, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, USA