Broadcast (Cable TV, DTH Satellite, Terrestrial) News

Fibre continues to add share in Portugal in 3Q 2015
Dec 2, 2015 – According to Portugal’s Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), there were 3.473 million subscribers to subscription TV in the country at the end of the third quarter of 2015, 42,000 more than in the previous quarter, with fibre adding 45,500 during the period.
News categories: ANACOM, Cable TV, Digital TV, Fibre, IPTV, Market Research, Portugal, Satellite, Subscribers

Freeview Play comes to Panasonic PVR and Blu-Ray products
Dec 2, 2015 – Panasonic has announced that its UK customers will now be able to enjoy Freeview Play on its new PVR and Blu-ray recorders. Customers can now benefit from on demand and all Freeview channels on both its 2015 TV range and its PVR and Blu-ray products.
News categories: Freeview, Panasonic, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Terrestrial, UK

Russia's Express-AM8 satellite starts broadcasting
Dec 1, 2015 – Following the completion of in-orbit testing, Russia’s communications and broadcasting satellite, Express-AM8, has been commissioned, at 14°E. Express-AM8 is intended for TV broadcasting, data and internet access and other communications services.
News categories: RSCC, Yuri Prokhorov, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Russia, Satellite

ACCESS NetFront Browser powers Pixsan Universal Television Kit
Nov 30, 2015 – ACCESS CO. and Pixsan have announced that the ACCESS NetFront Browser DTV Profile HbbTV Edition will be available pre-integrated with Pixsan's Universal Television Kit (UTK). NetFront Browser provides HTML5 and HbbTV 2.0 functionality to the UTK.
News categories: ACCESS CO, Pixsan, Dr. Neale Foster, Jon Williams, Digital TV, HbbTV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Terrestrial, UK, Worldwide

Mexico adds 437,000 pay TV subscribers in 2Q 2015
Nov 29, 2015 – According to Mexico’s Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, in the second quarter of 2015, pay TV subscriptions in the country were up 10.0% versus the the same point one year before. Mexico added 437 thousand pay TV subscribers to end the quarter with a subscriber total of 16.98 million.
News categories: Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, Cable TV, Digital TV, Mexico, Satellite, Subscribers

PEMRA shortlists 8 companies in DTH licence tender
Nov 29, 2015 – The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has shortlisted eight applicant companies for participation in the bidding for DTH Licensing scheduled to be held on December 07, 2015.
News categories: PEMRA, Digital TV, Licensing, Pakistan, Regulation, Satellite

EMEA UHF spectrum to remain with DTT until at least 2023
Nov 26, 2015 – At the ITU’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) representatives of over 150 governments took the decision that UHF spectrum will remain exclusively allocated to terrestrial TV services in ITU Region 1 well into the next decade.
News categories: European Broadcasting Union, International Telecommunication Union, Simon Fell, Africa, Digital TV, Europe, Middle-East, Terrestrial

SkyVision launches satellite TV platforms for Africa
Nov 26, 2015 – SkyVision Global Networks has announced a partnership with satellite operator, ABS, to launch two video platforms on ABS-3A. These will provide DVB-S and DVB-S2 content, including HD, across Sub-Saharan Africa.
News categories: SkyVision, Asia Broadcast Satellite, Ori Waterman, Tom Choi, Africa, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Satellite

Venezuela's Pay TV subscribers up 146,000 in 2Q 2015
Nov 24, 2015 – According to preliminary statistics published by its Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL), pay TV subscriptions in Venezuela at the end of June 2015 were 4.80 million, up from 4.47 million at the end of the second quarter of 2014.
News categories: CONATEL, Cable TV, Digital TV, Market Research, Satellite, Subscribers, Venezuela