Digital TV News: Channel 5

Freeview UK multiplex licences renewed until 2034
Aug 17, 2021 – The government has announced that it is extending the five national multiplex licences for the UK's Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform - better known as Freeview - until 2034.
News categories: Freeview, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Terrestrial, UK

Paramount+ to launch on Sky across Europe
Aug 5, 2021 – ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC, VIACA) and Sky (NASDAQ: CMCSA) have announced that Paramount+ will launch on Sky platforms in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA) in 2022.
News categories: ViacomCBS, Sky, Paramount+, Raffaele Annecchino, Stephen van Rooyen, Advertising, Apps, Austria, Digital TV, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Satellite, Switzerland, UK

Brits spend a third of waking hours watching TV and video
Aug 5, 2021 – UK adults sought solace in screens and streaming in 2020, spending a third of their waking hours watching TV and online video content, according to Ofcom’s annual study of the nation’s media habits.
News categories: Ofcom, Yih-Choung Teh, Broadcast, Digital TV, Market Research, Streaming, UK

NEXTGEN TV expands to 11 stations in Phoenix
Jul 14, 2021 – As the first market in the U.S. to experience NEXTGEN TV when it launched in 2018, audiences in the Phoenix area can now enjoy an expanded roster of 11 local stations delivering the next generation broadcast technology.
News categories: Pearl TV, E.W. Scripps, Univision Communications, Anne Schelle, Brian Lawlor, Greg Coburn, ATSC 3, Content Distribution, Digital TV, USA

Sacramento TV stations launch NEXTGEN TV
Jul 8, 2021 – Six Sacramento TV stations (KOVR, KCRA, KQCA, KTXL, KXTV and KUVS) have banded together to launch NEXTGEN TV. Sacramento is the first city in Northern California to launch a commercial NEXTGEN TV service.
News categories: Pearl TV, Anne Schelle, Ariel Roblin, Kurt Rao, ATSC 3, Content Distribution, Digital TV, USA

UK broadcasters launch ad campaign measurement tool
Jun 9, 2021 – Sky, ITV and Channel 4 are working together to launch CFlight, an advertising metric that captures live, on-demand and time-shifted commercial impressions across all mainstream viewing platforms in the UK.
News categories: Sky Media, ITV, Channel 4, NBCUniversal, Tim Pearson, Kelly Williams, Veriça Djurdjevic, Kelly Abcarian, Advertising, Digital TV, UK

500,000 UK subscribers for Britbox
Mar 9, 2021 – BritBox UK has announced that it has hit its target of half a million subscriptions. The SVOD service, created by the BBC and ITV with content also from Channel 4 and Channel 5, launched at the end of 2019.
News categories: ITV, Carolyn McCall, Digital TV, Streaming, Subscribers, UK

Accessible TV Guide rolls out on Freeview Play
Oct 29, 2020 – Freeview has announced the first roll out of its Accessible TV Guide, now available on supported Freeview Play devices in the UK. The Guide will make it simpler for viewers with accessibility needs to discover and find content more easily.
News categories: Freeview, Simon Hunt, Gary Thomas, John Paton, Kristina Barrick, Vikki Cook, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK, UX

Ofcom releases Media Nations 2020 report
Aug 5, 2020 – A surge in screen time during lockdown saw UK adults spend 40% of their waking day watching TV and online video services, Ofcom has found. People spend twice as much time watching subscription streaming services: 34 minutes in 2019, and 1 hour 11 minutes in April 2020.
News categories: Ofcom, COVID-19, Digital TV, Market Research, UK