Broadcast (Cable TV, DTH Satellite, Terrestrial) News

RCN, Grande and Wave Broadband join forces
May 22, 2017 – RCN Telecom Services has announced the combining of RCN, Grande Communications and Wave Broadband to create the sixth largest cable operator. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2017.
News categories: RCN, Wave Broadband, TPG Capital, Jim Holanda, Steve Simmons, Steve Weed, Cable TV, Digital TV, MandA, USA

DISH adds hands-free DVR control via Amazon Alexa
May 22, 2017 – DISH customers with a Hopper or Wally and an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap can now watch hands-free TV with Alexa. DISH is the first TV provider to offer direct compatibility with Amazon Alexa.
News categories: DISH, Amazon, Niraj Desai, Rob Pulciani, Digital TV, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart Home, USA, UX

ABS and SOLAR to launch FTA DTH service in the Philippines
May 22, 2017 – ABS and the SOLAR Group have formed a joint venture to launch the first nationwide Free-to-View Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service in the Philippines. The service will be available on C-band via ABS-6.
News categories: Asia Broadcast Satellite, SOLAR Group, Tom Choi, Wilson Y. Tieng, Digital TV, Philippines, Satellite

Top 50 operators take three-quarters of global pay TV revenues
May 22, 2017 – Despite adding 120 million subs between 2016 and 2022, subscription and PPV revenues for 522 operators will remain flat at around $185 billion. From this total, Digital TV Research estimates 30 pay TV operators earned more than $1 billion in 2016.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Simon Murray, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Subscribers, Worldwide

StarHub and Nielsen combine TV audience and consumer data
May 19, 2017 – StarHub and Nielsen have partnered to offer TV advertisers enhanced profiling options by fusing StarHub's TV audience measurement data with consumption statistics from Nielsen Consumer and Media View in Singapore.
News categories: StarHub, Nielsen, Germaine Ng Ferguson, Annette Kunst, Advertising, Big Data, Cable TV, Digital TV, Singapore

U.S. pay TV suffers Q1 subscriber losses for the first time
May 18, 2017 – Leichtman Research Group (LRG) has found that the largest pay-TV providers in the US lost about 410,000 net video subscribers in 1Q 2017, compared to a gain of about 10,000 subscribers in 1Q 2016.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Bruce Leichtman, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Subscribers, USA

RDK now powers 25 million STBs and broadband gateways
May 17, 2017 – At the 2017 Connected TV World Summit, RDK Management provided an update on the adoption of RDK (Reference Design Kit) software. RDK now powers more than 25 million set-top boxes and broadband gateways globally.
News categories: RDK Management, Steve Heeb, Cable TV, Digital TV, IBCShow, Market Research, RDK, Worldwide

ADB to supply STBs and RDK software to NOWO in Portugal
May 17, 2017 – ADB has announced a partnership with Portuguese telecommunications and multimedia service provider, NOWO, with scope to implement the commercial launch of its TV service with ADB STB Hardware and ADB RDK Middleware.
News categories: ADB, NOWO, Lennart Broers, Ana Teixeira, Cable TV, Digital TV, Portugal, RDK, Set Top Box

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