UK govt publishes consultation on future of TV distribution
UNITED KINGDOM 23 JUN

UK govt publishes consultation on future of TV distribution

The UK government has published a Media Green Paper on proposed reform to the UK's public service media system. This consults on options to force social media firms and video sharing platforms to make PSM news content more prominent and easy to find on their platforms. This includes news content from the BBC, Channel 4, 5, ITV, STV, S4C and other trustworthy providers. For instance, one option could be for a range of local/national news publishers being more likely placed at the top of social media feeds, h

LTN to deploy fully managed IP network for PBS
UNITED STATES 23 JUN

LTN to deploy fully managed IP network for PBS

US public service broadcasting company PBS has awarded LTN, IP-based video transport and network services provider, a contract to upgrade content distribution and contribution across over 330 public TV stations. The multi-year agreement will see LTN deploy a fully managed IP network - providing ISP services, end-to-end connectivity and 2-way video transport across all TV station locations. 

Czech broadcaster Prima gets licence for new sports channel
CZECH REPUBLIC 23 JUN

Czech broadcaster Prima gets licence for new sports channel

Czech broadcaster FTV Prima has received a licence for the launch of a new sports TV channel from the National Broadcasting Council. The licence for the Prima Sport channel is valid for 12 years, and the company has been cleared to broadcast on DVB-T2 and the Internet. 

Canal+ and Amazon Fire TV announce enhanced collaboration in Europe
EUROPE 23 JUN

Canal+ and Amazon Fire TV announce enhanced collaboration in Europe

Canal+, the global media and entertainment group, and Amazon Fire TV have announced a new strategic collaboration spanning multiple European countries. The agreement is built around an enhanced cooperation between Canal+ and Amazon, enabling deeper integration of the Canal+ App across Fire TV devices.

Comcast Universal Ads platform launches with UK broadcasters
UNITED KINGDOM 23 JUN

Comcast Universal Ads platform launches with UK broadcasters

Comcast has launched the 'Universal Ads' self-service advertising platform in the UK in partnership with broadcasters ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. This will allow SMBs to run a single campaign across Channel 4 Sales, Sky Media and ITV Media for the first time. The Universal Ads platform makes buying premium TV advertising really simple, allowing brands to have a campaign live in minutes using a single, self-service platform. The UK broadcasting partnership was announced at Cannes Lions 2025, with the launch mark

Namibia's Cran rejects Starlink, public appeals over licence denial
NAMIBIA 23 JUN

Namibia's Cran rejects Starlink, public appeals over licence denial

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has dismissed all 624 public petitions and Starlink's own appeal to reconsider its March decision rejecting the company's telecommunications licence application. Cran received 624 public reconsideration requests. However, 622 of these applications failed to meet basic procedural and jurisdictional requirements, it said in a statement. The requests lacked essential details, such as clearly identifying the challenged decision, stating specific grounds

Disney+ signs distribution deal with Orange Belgium
BELGIUM 23 JUN

Disney+ signs distribution deal with Orange Belgium

Orange Belgium has added Disney+ to its offering, so mobile, broadband and TV customers can subscribe directly to the streaming service with their telecom subscriptions. This adds to other video services such as Be tv, Netflix and Orange Sport.

Rubin named head of Spanish cinema at Movistar Plus
SPAIN 23 JUN

Rubin named head of Spanish cinema at Movistar Plus

Telefonica has continued the organisational overhaul at its pay-TV platform Movistar Plus by announcing the appointment of María Rubín as the new head of Spanish cinema, reporting directly to content director Juan Andrés García Ropero. The new departmental chief has decades of experience in the audiovisual and film industries, having developed her professional career at Movistar Plus and previously at Canal+. 

South Korean broadcasters record third consecutive year of revenue decline
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 23 JUN

South Korean broadcasters record third consecutive year of revenue decline

Revenue across South Korea's broadcasting sector fell for a third consecutive year in 2025, declining 0.8 percent year-on-year to KRW 18.65 trillion, as advertising revenue continued to weaken across most segments of the market. The figures, published by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), cover 371 broadcasting operators including terrestrial broadcasters, pay TV providers and programme providers. Total broadcasting advertising revenue fell 12.3 percent to KRW 2.01 trillion, with declines recorded a

Korea launches KRW 200 bln New Space Fund as AI satellite programme begins
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 23 JUN

Korea launches KRW 200 bln New Space Fund as AI satellite programme begins

The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) has outlined new measures to support the country's space industry and launched an initiative to deploy AI-enabled satellite information services in partnership with local governments and private companies. At the second meeting of its public-private aerospace industry council in Seoul, KASA met with 28 companies spanning aircraft manufacturing, satellites, launch vehicles and emerging space technologies to discuss industry development priorities. The agency said it

Japanese broadcasters complete 5G network slicing trial using long-distance transport
JAPAN 23 JUN

Japanese broadcasters complete 5G network slicing trial using long-distance transport

Media Links, Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), Seiko Solutions and TBS Television have completed a trial using carrier 5G technology to transport broadcast transport stream (TS) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP) signals between Osaka and the Tokyo area. The companies said the trial was the first in Japan to demonstrate long-distance transmission of broadcast TS and PTP signals using carrier 5G connectivity.

Korean streaming user base rises 4% as Netflix retains lead
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 23 JUN

Korean streaming user base rises 4% as Netflix retains lead

The combined monthly active user base of major over-the-top (OTT) video streaming applications in South Korea reached 22.09 million in May 2026, up 4 percent from 21.24 million a year earlier, according to data released by market intelligence firm Wiseapp Retail. The company said streaming usage has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7 percent over the past three years. The findings are based on statistical estimates derived from a panel of South Korean smartphone users, covering an estimated popul

CHINA 23 JUN

China's Spacesail demos direct-to-cell satellite calls on standard smartphones

Chinese satellite internet company Spacesail has announced it successfully routed voice calls directly through a satellite using standard smartphones, Xinhua news agency reports. During the field test, users had access to full signal strength and voice quality that matched standard terrestrial 5G networks, Spacesail said. Also, its compatibility with existing mobile networks paves the way for integrated space-ground communications, the company added.

NEW ZEALAND 23 JUN

Sky NZ to provide coverage of Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Sky New Zealand has outlined its broadcast plans for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, including free-to-air coverage on Three and expanded live coverage across its pay television and streaming platforms. The broadcaster said Three and ThreeNow will serve as its free-to-air Commonwealth Games outlets throughout the event, carrying a daily simulcast of Sky Sport's dedicated Games coverage from 7pm until 6pm the following day, alongside scheduled news programming and a nightly edition of Crowd Goes Wild.

UNITED STATES 22 JUN

Instagram app expands to Samsung smart TVs, tries horizontal videos

Instagram is expanding on smart TVs, with a new distribution deal with Samsung in the US and additional features for its smart TV app. The social network launched on Google TV last year and it has been working since then to improve the experience. It's available now for Samsung smart TVs from 2020 or newer, in the US only to start. Along with its presence on Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, Instagram is available across the majority of connected TV devices in the US, parent company Meta said.

UNITED KINGDOM 22 JUN

NatureTime natural world content launches on ITVX

UK broadcaster ITV has signed a content agreement with Blue Ant Media to make its NatureTime natural world programming brand available on the ITVX streaming platform. NatureTime documentaries and series will be available on ITV in summer 2026 as part of a co-branded block and FAST channel. The partners will also launch content on a new YouTube channel called ITV NatureTime. 

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 22 JUN

Waiken ILW, Tappp debut live sports data panel on DGO, Sky+ in South America

Waiken ILW, the telecommunications holding company created by Grupo Werthein, has partnered with interactive TV firm Tappp to launch a live sports data panel on the DGO and Sky+ platforms. The feature, called "Sports Experience", has been integrated into DGO across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay, as well as on Sky+ in Brazil.

UNITED KINGDOM 22 JUN

Channel 4 agrees five new ad inventory partnerships

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has announced five new premium ad inventory partnerships. This will see its VoD ad inventory become available across the global platforms of Amazon Ads, Hawk (Azerion subsidiary), FreeWheel, PubMatic and Yahoo DSP. This will significantly boost programmatic opportunities for advertisers, and follows a recently expanded partnership with Google Display & Video 360 to overlay Google Audiences on Channel 4 inventory. 

EUROPE 22 JUN

ESA's Galileo strengthens IoT connectivity with quasi-pilot signal technology

Europe's GNSS platform Galileo has been updated to enhance its performance in low-powered IoT and smart city devices. Pre-launch testing conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) indicates signal acquisition times will be enhanced by a factor of three, with the number of operations required to establish a data call reduced by a factor of eight.

GLOBAL 22 JUN

Nagravision Venturi update targets AI-driven piracy in pay-TV sector

Kudelski Group's Nagravision unit is launching a unified streaming security suite to support revenue protection amid AI-assisted piracy campaigns. Dubbed Nagra Venturi, the platform supports streamers and rights holders in their efforts to identify and prevent privacy.

GLOBAL 22 JUN

Eutelsat, AST Networks expand LEO maritime connectivity partnership

Eutelsat has signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar agreement with AST Networks to provide low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services, extending a longstanding partnership between the two companies. The deal follows the deployment of Eutelsat's OneWeb LEO services within AST Networks' maritime offering and is designed to meet soaring demand for high-performance satellite connectivity at sea.

AFRICA 22 JUN

Canal Plus brings DStv to Samsung smart TVs in Africa

Canal Plus has extended its partnership with Samsung to bring smart TV services to MultiChoice Group's English and Portuguese-speaking African territories. From June, new Samsung smart TVs sold in these markets will come with the DStv Stream app pre-installed.

PORTUGAL 22 JUN

Nos enhances World Cup viewing with interactive features

Portuguese telecom operator Nos has introduced five interactive features on is TV platform developed exclusively for the World Cup football tournament. The features enable users to tailor sports consumption directly to their interests, such as tracking specific national teams or instantly reviewing key match events. The offering includes a dedicated World Cup Area for immediate match access; a Goal Summary feature for direct navigation to scoring highlights; a Follow Team function for curated team tracking;

UNITED STATES 22 JUN

Spectrum adds Netflix to App Store

Charter Communications' Spectrum business has announced that TV customers can now buy a Netflix membership in the Spectrum App Store. The app store allows customers to discover, buy, activate and upgrade streaming services. Elena Ritchie, Senior Vice President (SVP) for Video at Spectrum, said the addition supports its commitment to providing customers with "Seamless Entertainment" and more choice. Spectrum TV customers get more than USD 125 per month of retail streaming app value included in their TV plans

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Background

21 JUN 22:52

The week in telecom: sovereignty debate comes to VivaTech, Ericsson succession and Fox buys Roku

1 JUN 00:13

The week in telecom: EU telcos push sovereign services as governments question foreign tech investors

23 MEI 23:42

The week in telecom: Starlink ready to go public, Singapore telco M&A and Google courts AI subscribers at I/O

18 MEI 00:31

The week in telecom: US operators mount rural satellite challenge, Cisco cashes in on AI boom