UK

Ofcom gives provisional green light to 12-month BBC iPlayer plan

UK media regulator Ofcom has provisionally given the BBC a green light for its planned changes to BBC iPlayer, subject to certain conditions and guidance. The regulator said that it accepts that the BBC needs to keep pace with changes in consumption habits. “We have provisionally found that the proposed changes to BBC iPlayer would […]

Amazon secures WTA tennis for UK and Ireland

Amazon has secured exclusive rights to Women’s Tennis Association matches in a four-year deal for the UK and Ireland, giving Prime members exclusive access to WTA tournaments from 2020 to 2024. Amazon said that the WTA will join Prime Video’s tennis coverage of 37 ATP Tour events from 2019 to 2023, and the US Open from […]

BBC and Discovery complete UKTV split

BBC Studios and Discovery have completed the deal to split up the channels in their joint British TV venture, UKTV. It follows an agreement between the two parties – announced in April – which sees BBC Studios take control of the venture’s seven entertainment channels, including Alibi, Dave, Drama, Eden, Gold, W and Yesterday, while […]

BARB taps Kantar to launch four-screen audience measurement

UK audience research bureau BARB has commissioned audience measurement specialist Kantar to rollout its new Focal Meter router meter across all broadband homes on the UK’s television audience measurement panel. The Kantar Focal Meter ill measure viewing across four screens (TVs, smartphones, tablets and PCs) to IP-delivered video content from all broadcasters and complement the […]

Channel 4 unveils Project Agora for targeted VOD advertising

UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 has unveiled new targeted advertising capability that will be launched commercially this autumn. Showcasing the technology, codenamed Project Agora, at a  Channel 4 Upfronts event at London’s Roundhouse, chief commercial officer Jonathan Allan said that the Channel 4-developed technology will enable advertisers to match their own custom audience segments across […]

Ofcom CEO Sharon White to step down

Ofcom CEO Sharon White is to step down towards the end of the year to become chairman of The John Lewis Partnership. White joined Ofcom in March 2015 from HM Treasury where she was Second Permanent Secretary. Lord Burns, Ofcom Chairman, said: “Sharon has been an outstanding Chief Executive for Ofcom and will be missed by […]

Ofcom greenlights BBC/Discovery deal for UKTV

British regulator Ofcom will not conduct a formal investigation into the BBC’s deal with Discovery to divide up UKTV. This effectively means that the proposed deal – that will see Discovery take control of three channels and the BBC take control of seven – now has official approval. Discovery, which became a co-owner of UKTV […]

PwC: video streaming and web advertising to drive UK media and entertainment growth

Video streaming and spending on internet advertising will help drive growth in the UK entertainment and media sector to the tune of £10 billion (€11 billion) over the next five, years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment & Media Outlook report. According to the 2019-23 Outlook report, the UK media and entertainment sector will be worth […]

Half of UK homes are SVOD subscribers

A little under 50% of television homes in the UK are subscribed to at least one SVOD platform. According to the latest statistics from BARB, the number of homes with SVOD services has risen by 8.37% – just over a million – in Q1 2019. The total is 13.33 million. The number of Netflix subscribers […]

UK SVOD numbers jump by a million in Q1

The number of UK homes accessing at least one of the three main streaming services available in the country – Netflix, Amazon Prime or Now TV – grew by 8.4% in the first quarter to reach 13.3 million, according to the latest UK Television Landscape Report from audience measurement outfit BARB. According to BARB, the […]

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