UK (United Kingdom, Great Britain & Northern Ireland) Digital TV News

Freeview channels move into the cloud with BT
Mar 9, 2023 – The contract between BT and D3&4 has seen BT switch on cloud processing for regionalised TV across all of D3&4's Freeview channels – ready for distribution to regions across the UK.
News categories: BT, Faisal Mahomed, Greg Bensberg, Content Distribution, Digital TV, UK

FAST to account for 20% of UK ad-supported video market by 2027
Mar 2, 2023 – Blue Ant International has released findings from a study, conducted by Omdia, revealing that FAST will account for nearly 20% of the UK's $3bn premium online ad-supported video market by 2027.
News categories: Blue Ant, Lilla Hurst, Advertising, Digital TV, Market Research, Streaming, UK

UK SVOD households down 0.6% in 4Q 2022
Feb 17, 2023 – Data from Barb's Establishment Survey show that 19.42 million UK homes (67.7% of households) had access to an SVOD service in Q4 2022. This was a -0.6% decrease from 19.54 million in Q3 2022.
News categories: Barb, Digital TV, Market Research, Streaming, UK

EU clears creation of DT, Orange, Telefónica, Vodafone ad-tech JV
Feb 10, 2023 – The EU has approved unconditionally the creation of a JV by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone. The JV will offer a platform that generates a unique code allowing brands and publishers to recognize users on their websites or applications.
News categories: European Commission, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, EU, France, Germany, Italy, Regulation, Spain, UK

CTV and gaming to generate annual digital ad spend of £4bn in the UK by 2026
Feb 7, 2023 – According to IAB UK, an ongoing shift to streaming among audiences, new ad-based models, and an increase in ad-supported viewing are set to drive ad spend from £1.17bn in 2021 to £2.31bn in 2026.
News categories: IAB UK, Hannah Bewley, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Streaming, UK

Sky rolls out Entertainment OS 1.1 update
Feb 2, 2023 – Sky is rolling out new features to Entertainment OS, its Sky Glass and Sky Stream operating system. Entertainment OS 1.1 brings Personalised Playlists, a new 'Play' voice command, more ways to find content, and enhanced Bluetooth features.
News categories: Sky, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, TV OS, UK, UX

Comedy most pirated genre of entertainment
Feb 2, 2023 – Synamedia has unveiled research, conducted by Ampere Analysis, analysing the impact of sports and entertainment piracy and the potential revenues that would result from converting pirate viewers to legal subscribers.
News categories: Synamedia, Ampere Analysis, Avigail Gutman, Guy Bisson, Brazil, Content Protection, Digital TV, Germany, India, Italy, Market Research, Thailand, UK, USA

BARB launches API giving clients direct access to viewing data
Jan 31, 2023 – BARB has beta launched an API to give its clients more flexibility in how they access BARB viewing data. The API includes three types of linear viewing data: programme audiences, advertising spots and impacts by time segments.
News categories: BARB, Jim Jarrett, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, UK

ITV increases investment in InfoSum
Jan 24, 2023 – ITV has announced a further investment in data technology company InfoSum, increasing its investment by 50%. InfoSum technology is used in a range of new and existing advertising products from ITV.
News categories: ITV, InfoSum, Rhys Mclachlan, Brian Lesser, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, MandA, UK