Broadcast (Cable TV, DTH Satellite, Terrestrial) News

U.S. multichannel subscriber losses top 1 million in 3Q 2017
Nov 16, 2017 – Legacy U.S. multichannel customer defections accelerated in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2017, coming in just shy of the 1.2-million mark to bring year-to-date losses to 2.9 million according to data compiled by Kagan.
News categories: Kagan, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

Sinclair Broadcast and ONE Media set for ATSC 3.0 deployment
Nov 16, 2017 – Sinclair Broadcast (Nasdaq: SBGI) and its subsidiary, ONE Media 3.0 have announced their intention to fully deploy ATSC 3.0 on Sinclair’s stations nationwide pursuant to the FCC’s action approving the new platform.
News categories: Sinclair Broadcast, ONE Media, Christopher Ripley, David Smith, ATSC 3, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Mobile, Terrestrial, USA

FCC authorizes ATSC 3.0 transmission standard
Nov 16, 2017 – The Federal Communications Commission has adopted rules to let television broadcasters use the Next Generation broadcast television transmission standard, also called ATSC 3.0, on a voluntary, market-driven basis.
News categories: Federal Communications Commission, ATSC 3, Digital TV, Regulation, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, USA

ADB wins new project with Melita in Malta
Nov 16, 2017 – ADB has announced that Melita has chosen ADB to implement the commercial launch of its TV service. Melita will benefit from ADB’s experience in the STB market together with innovative applications provided via the RDK middleware.
News categories: ADB, Melita, Lennart Broers, Simon Poljsak, Cable TV, Digital TV, Malta, RDK, Set Top Box

Sun Direct adds more HD channels with Harmonic HEVC
Nov 15, 2017 – Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) has announced that Sun Direct has deployed a Harmonic HEVC media processing solution within its all-IP workflow in order to expand its HD service offering. Harmonic's encoder and multiplexer enable Sun Direct to deliver an additional 80 HD channels.
News categories: Harmonic, Sun Direct, Tony Berthaud, S. Kannan, Content Distribution, India, Satellite

U.S. DBS subscriber losses in 3Q 2017 worse than in any previous quarter
Nov 15, 2017 – Leichtman Research Group (LRG) has found that the largest pay-TV providers in the US -- representing about 95% of the market -- lost about 405,000 net video subscribers in 3Q 2017, compared to a loss of about 250,000 subscribers in 3Q 2016.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Bruce Leichtman, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, Subscribers, USA

DISH to ship voice remote with all Hopper DVRs
Nov 14, 2017 – DISH has released a voice remote that ships with all Hopper DVRs. Upgraded with motion-activated backlighting and two customizable buttons, the remote interprets natural language to control navigation, search and content selection on compatible set-top boxes.
News categories: DISH Network, Niraj Desai, Digital TV, Satellite, Set Top Box, USA, UX

Comcast to bring Xfinity TV Partner App to Sony smart TVs
Nov 14, 2017 – Comcast and Sony have announced that Xfinity TV customers will be able to access their cable service on Sony Android TVs. Beginning in 2018, Xfinity TV customers will be able to enjoy live and on demand programming as well as their cloud DVR recordings via the Xfinity TV Partner app.
News categories: Comcast, Sony Electronics, Mike Gatzke, Kevin Brinkman, Apps, Cable TV, Digital TV, Smart TV, TV Everywhere, USA

Broadcasters announce ATSC 3.0 'Model Market' in Phoenix, Arizona
Nov 14, 2017 – E.W. Scripps, Fox Television Stations, Meredith Local Media, Nexstar Media, TEGNA, Telemundo Station Group, Univision and Pearl TV have announced a project in Phoenix, Arizona to show how ATSC 3.0 can be deployed while maintaining existing digital TV service for viewers.
News categories: Pearl TV, Anne Schelle, ATSC 3, Digital TV, Terrestrial, USA