Broadcast (Cable TV, DTH Satellite, Terrestrial) News

Africa ends 1Q 2014 with 14.5 million pay TV subscribers
Jul 11, 2014 – According to Dataxis, at the end of March 2014 there were 14.5 million pay TV subscribers in Africa, up from 11.6 million at the same date in 2013, an increase over the year of 25%.
News categories: Dataxis, Africa, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, MMDS, Satellite, Subscribers, Terrestrial

Zambia contracts with StarTimes for DTT broadcasting system
Jul 10, 2014 – Zambia's Government has signed a US $9 million contract with Star Software Technology Company Limited of China for the supply, installation and commissioning of phase one of the National Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting System in the country.
News categories: StarTimes, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, Emmanuel Mwamba, Bert Mushala, Ken Xie, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Terrestrial, Zambia

IRT and BR to add HEVC to DVB-T2 testbed in Munich
Jul 10, 2014 – Germany's Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT) has announced that with Bayerische Rundfunk (BR) it is planning a trial of DVB-T2 broadcasting using HEVC compression. The trial is an extension of the DVB-T2 trial that the companies began in the Munich area in 2010.
News categories: Institut für Rundfunktechnik, Bayerische Rundfunk, Digital TV, DVB-T2, Germany, Terrestrial

Cogeco TV customers down 9,620 in quarter to end-May 2014
Jul 10, 2014 – Cogeco Cable (TSX: CCA) has announced results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014, ended May 31, 2014. Third-quarter net losses for Television service customers stood at 9,620 compared to 8,407 for the same period of fiscal 2013.
News categories: Cogeco, Cable TV, Canada, Results, Subscribers, USA

Montenegro adds 3,983 pay TV subscribers in 2Q 2014
Jul 9, 2014 – The Agency for Electronic Media in Montenegro has released television subscriber figures. As at June 30, 2014, the number of connections for the distribution of radio and TV programmes was 153,601, up 8,651 year-on-year (6.0%).
News categories: Agencije za elektronske medije, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Mobile, Montenegro, Satellite, Subscribers, Terrestrial

Czech Republic trials DVB-T2 with HEVC compression
Jul 8, 2014 – České Radiokomunikace (ČRa) has announced the start of a trial of DVB-T2 digital terrestrial television transmission using High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) compression. The trial uses the Žižkov transmitter in Prague.
News categories: České Radiokomunikace, Content Distribution, Czech Republic, Digital TV, DVB-T2, Terrestrial

Digicel set to launch pay TV in Papua New Guinea
Jul 8, 2014 – Digicel Papua New Guinea (Digicel PNG) has said that it plans to launch a terrestrial pay television service in November. The new TV offering, which is expected to grow to 30-40 channels, would be both free-to-air and prepaid.
News categories: Digicel PNG, Digital TV, DVB-T2, Melanesia, Set Top Box, Terrestrial

EUTELSAT 3B satellite fully fired up at 3°E
Jul 6, 2014 – Following its successful launch on May 26, Eutelsat (Paris: ETL) has announced that the EUTELSAT 3B satellite is now fully fired up and providing commercial services at 3° East.
News categories: EUTELSAT, Michel de Rosen, Content Distribution, Middle-East, Satellite

Tata Sky unveils plans for 4K set top box
Jul 5, 2014 – Tata Sky has announced plans to launch 4k set top boxes in India early next year. The plans were unveiled when Tata Sky showcased the first ever Live telecast with 4K technology on SONY SIX HD using a 4k set top box.
News categories: Tata Sky, Vikram Mehra, Prasana Krishnan, Digital TV, India, Satellite, Set Top Box