Broadcast (Cable TV, DTH Satellite, Terrestrial) News

Liberty Global adds Netflix using Metrological app framework
Dec 28, 2016 – Metrological has announced a new method for operators to deploy premium OTT content on set top boxes (STBs). Liberty Global is the first to implement Metrological’s approach for its Netflix rollout.
News categories: Metrological, Liberty Global, Jeroen Ghijsen, Doron Hacmon, Apps, Cable TV, Digital TV, Ireland, Netherlands, Set Top Box, Streaming, Switzerland, UK

India revises timeline for Cable TV Digitization
Dec 23, 2016 – India's Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is extending the cut-off date for Phase IV of Cable TV Digitization to 31st March, 2017 due to uncertainty in the market caused by pending court cases and slow progress in STB installation.
News categories: I&B Ministry, Cable TV, Digital TV, India, Regulation, Set Top Box

ABS and Nepal Digital Cable to launch DTH on ABS-2
Dec 23, 2016 – ABS and Nepal Digital Cable (NDC) have signed a multi-transponder agreement to deliver DTH broadcast service to Nepal. The platform will broadcast over 170 TV channels of local and international content.
News categories: Asia Broadcast Satellite, Nepal Digital Cable, Tom Choi, Laxmi Prasad Paudyal, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Nepal, Satellite

Freeview UK embarks on an all HD future
Dec 22, 2016 – High definition TV will become the norm in the UK from 1st January 2017 as the Freeview logo is withdrawn from new SD TVs and set-top boxes. Freeview is the UK’s most widely used TV service, currently watched in 19m homes.
News categories: Freeview, DTG, Guy North, Richard Lindsay-Davies, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK

Telenet acquires SFR BeLux from Altice
Dec 22, 2016 – Telenet (Brussels: TNET) has entered into an agreement to acquire Coditel Brabant for €400 million from Coditel Holding, a subsidiary of Altice. Coditel Brabant, operating under the SFR brand, provides cable services in Brussels, Wallonia and Luxembourg and mobile telephony in Belgium.
News categories: Telenet, Altice, John Porter, Belgium, Cable TV, Digital TV, Luxembourg, MandA

Portugal adds 44,000 pay TV subscribers in 3Q 2016
Dec 19, 2016 – According to ANACOM there were 3.639 million subscribers to subscription TV in Portugal at the end of the third quarter of 2016, 44,000 more than in the previous quarter, and an extra 159,000 compared to the same point in 2015.
News categories: ANACOM, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Portugal, Satellite, Subscribers

EU cable TV continues to grow despite OTT competition
Dec 19, 2016 – The cable industry in the European Union has continued to grow amidst increasing competition from traditional and Over-The-Top (OTT) players, according to a report released by IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).
News categories: IHS Markit, Maria Rua Aguete, Cable TV, Digital TV, EU, Market Research

SES and CANAL+ in long-term capacity agreement
Dec 16, 2016 – SES (Paris; Luxembourg: SESG) and CANAL+ Group have confirmed the signature of a long-term, multi-year, multi-transponder framework agreement for SES satellite capacity in both France and Africa.
News categories: SES S.A, CANAL+ Group, Ferdinand Kayser, Sylvain Géron, Africa, Content Distribution, Digital TV, France, Satellite

Rogers adopts Comcast's X1 for next-gen IPTV
Dec 16, 2016 – Rogers Communications has announced that it will be deploying Comcast's X1 IP-based video platform to provide its customers with a next-generation of video experience.
News categories: Comcast, Rogers, Neil Smit, Alan Horn, Cable TV, Canada, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Middleware, Set Top Box