Netflix agrees global pay-TV rights to Sony films
GLOBAL 08:19

Netflix agrees global pay-TV rights to Sony films

Netflix has struck a deal for early access to new films from Sony Pictures Entertainment. In the exclusive multi-year agreement, Sony's feature films will stream on Netflix worldwide following their cinema and home rental release windows. Netflix's access to the so-called Pay-1 window will start rolling out gradually later this year as individual territory rights become available, with full global availability on Netflix by early 2029. As part of this deal, Netflix will also license rights to select library

Lionsgate sells streaming platform Lionsgate Play Asia to founder Rohit Jain
ASIA 08:12

Lionsgate sells streaming platform Lionsgate Play Asia to founder Rohit Jain

Lionsgate has sold the Lionsgate Play streaming platform in South Asia and Southeast Asia to Rohit Jain, founder and former president of Lionsgate Play Asia. Under the terms of this multi-year deal, Lionsgate will continue to license the 'Lionsgate Play' brand name to Jain and provide ongoing access to the studio's library of film and TV content.

Canal Plus and BeIN Sports lose appeal against French football league
FRANCE 07:37

Canal Plus and BeIN Sports lose appeal against French football league

France's football league governing body, the LFP, has welcomed a ruling by the Paris appeal court in the long‑running legal dispute with pay-TV operators Canal Plus and BeIN Sports over the fallout from the 2018 football rights auction. The court sided with the LFP in rejecting a compensation claim from the two operators, which amounts to around EUR 660 million according to L'Equipe. Reacting to the court decision, Canal Plus said that it would examine the available avenues to continue defending its claim.

NTT Docomo and Netflix launch spring promotion for d Point rebates
JAPAN 06:19

NTT Docomo and Netflix launch spring promotion for d Point rebates

NTT Docomo and Netflix have announced a new joint promotional campaign aimed at encouraging new Netflix subscriptions among Docomo mobile customers. The campaign, titled "Docomo × Netflix: Watch Now! Spring Points Cashback Festival," will run from 16 January to 31 March 2026. The promotion targets customers on selected Docomo plans, including Docomo Max, Docomo Poikatsu Max, Docomo Poikatsu 20 and ahamo. 

Talpa improves profitability in 2024 results
NETHERLANDS 15 JAN

Talpa improves profitability in 2024 results

Dutch broadcaster Talpa reported improved results for 2024 thanks to the sale of its e-commerce activities. According to a recent public filing, the company's revenues from continuing activities rose 1.6 percent to EUR 419 million, and the EBITDA margin nearly doubled to 10.3 percent.

T-Mobile Czechia adds Music Box channels
CZECH REPUBLIC 15 JAN

T-Mobile Czechia adds Music Box channels

T-Mobile Czech Republic has added four additional channels to its pay-TV lineup. The list includes Music Box Hits, Music Box Dance and Music Box Classic from the broadcaster Music Box. The channel Magenta Music from the operator has also become available for subscribers.

Digi Slovakia expands pay-TV lineup with Music Box channels
SLOVAKIA 15 JAN

Digi Slovakia expands pay-TV lineup with Music Box channels

Digi Slovakia has expanded its pay-TV lineup with the channels Music Box Hits, Music Box Classic and Music Box Dance. The channels are available using the online TV service TV Digi, as well as the service Digi Go. Music Box Hits is added to the package L and upper bundles, and the channels Music Box Classic and Music Box Dance are included in M and upper packages.

Viaplay extends darts rights in Netherlands
NETHERLANDS 15 JAN

Viaplay extends darts rights in Netherlands

Viaplay has extended its broadcast rights in the Netherlands for major international darts tournaments. As a result it will continue to show events like the World and European Championships, World Masters and World Matchplay through 2032. 

Evergent Technologies secures investment from NBA
GLOBAL 15 JAN

Evergent Technologies secures investment from NBA

Evergent Technologies, telco customer management and monetisation provider, has secured a strategic investment from the National Basketball Association (NBA). This investment comes at the same time as the NBA and Evergent extend their multi-year partnership. This partnership, launched in 2022, has delivered strong subscriber growth and worldwide roll-out of the NBA League Pass to more than 185 countries.

Telenor to bring new Android TV box to Sweden and Finland
SCANDINAVIA 15 JAN

Telenor to bring new Android TV box to Sweden and Finland

Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) said that it is preparing to expand provision of its Android TV launcher for Telenor's television services in Sweden and Finland, after supplying it for the recently introduced T-We Boks III in Norway. Hardware and software were provided by Kaon with Tech4home supplying the remote control. The T-We Boks III forms the foundation for a unified Nordic TV platform, with upcoming deployments planned for Telenor Sweden and DNA Finland.

Illegal UK sports streams reached 1.6 billion in 1st-half 2025 - study
UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Illegal UK sports streams reached 1.6 billion in 1st-half 2025 - study

The number of illegal streams of sports events (lasting over 90 seconds) in the UK reached 3.1 billion in 2024 across the Top 10 GB sports, rising to 1.6 billion illegal streams in the first-half of 2025, according to data from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG). The 'GB National 2025 and 2025 First Half Illegal Streaming of Sports Events and Illegal Gambling' report, shows that spyware, malware, keystroke loggers and other ID/data theft mechanics were behind 89 percent of illegal GB sports views in 202

Freely reaches over one million weekly users during festive period
UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Freely reaches over one million weekly users during festive period

Everyone TV said the Freely PSB streaming platform reached over one million weekly users during the Christmas week, making Freely the UK's fastest growing TV platform in 2025. During the festive period, over half (55%) of Freely's one million weekly users accessed the service every day to stream content. Two thirds of Freely users stream all of their TV content. The free streaming platform is backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5. 

IRELAND 15 JAN

Virgin Media Ireland signs up Irish rugby star with Six Nations coverage

Virgin Media Ireland has announced that former Ireland international rugby player Conor Murray will join Virgin Media Television's Rugby Panel, working as an analyst for the 2026 Guinness Six Nations Championship. The tournament starts on 05 February. Brian Gleeson, Head of Sport for Virgin Media Television, said he would provide "invaluable insight" into the modern rugby game and the set-up of the Ireland team. 

ANGOLA 15 JAN

Q-Kon partners with Sistec to bring satellite connectivity to Angola

Africa-based satellite communication service provider Q-Kon has announced a partnership with Angolan IT and telecoms provider Sistemas, Tecnologias e Industria (Sistec). Under the partnership, Q-Kon will support Sistec with its multi-orbit Twoobii services, which encompass both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary (GEO) satellite technology. The offering is tailored to meet the demanding requirements of the enterprise market, maritime sector and on-demand connectivity applications. 

SPAIN 15 JAN

Telefonica adds basketball and movie channels to satellite TV service

Telefonica Spain is adding three basketball-focused channels and two movie ones to the satellite TV offer of its Movistar Plus+ service, available in SD via the Astra 1N satellite. They include Dazn Basketball, Basketball 1 and Basketball 3, part of the operator's deal with the sports streamer and featuring live games from Spain's ACB league and the Euroleague tournament.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 15 JAN

Claro Sports, Prisa Media ink LatAm content deal

America Movil's Claro Sports has launched a partnership with Spain's Prisa Media to co-produce and distribute sports content across multiple platforms in Mexico and Latin America. The collaboration brings together Prisa's sports daily AS and radio network W Deportes with Claro Sports to offer programming on streaming services, television and social media aimed at expanding their combined audience footprint in the Americas.

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Barb data shows more Brits now watch YouTube than BBC

The latest data from TV ratings agency Barb shows that YouTube has overtaken the BBC for the first time in the UK, reports The Telegraph newspaper. The data shows that 51.93 million Brits watched YouTube in December, compared to 50.85 million people watching the BBC. YouTube also out-performed the BBC in October and November 2025, with the online video platform now attracting a higher number of viewers than all BBC channels together (BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3 and BBC 4).

ARGENTINA 15 JAN

Argentina's Telefe launches international production studio

Argentina's leading free-to-air channel Telefe has launched Telefe Studios, a new international business unit aimed at expanding its creative and production capabilities globally. The initiative is designed to strengthen Telefe's presence in the international entertainment industry, combining content development, co-production, distribution and digital innovation under one umbrella.

FRANCE 15 JAN

Amazon Prime Video adds M6+ to French content catalogue

Amazon Prime Video has expanded its content library in France through a new distribution agreement with local broadcaster M6. Under this latest deal, Prime Video customers will gain direct access to more than 30,000 hours of content on M6+, the broadcaster's streaming platform, along with four linear channels (M6, W9, 6ter and Gulli). Through this partnership, M6 also aims to bolster the activities of its in-house advertising agency, M6 Unlimited.

SPAIN 15 JAN

Prime Video to air RTVE's live channels in Spain

Amazon Prime Video has reached an agreement with Spain's national broadcaster RTVE to distribute the latter's full lineup of channels on its service at no extra cost. As a result, Prime members in Spain can already access live broadcasts of La 1, La 2, Canal 24H, Clan and Teledeporte at no extra cost via a dedicated section on the Live TV homepage.

NIGERIA 15 JAN

Amazon Leo obtains Nigerian landing permit

Amazon Leo has secured a landing permit from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and will begin operations from 2026, TechCabal reported, referring to it by its old name, Project Kuiper. It said the NCC has granted Amazon's satellite internet service a seven-year landing permit, allowing it to launch its constellation over Nigerian territory in 2026. The NCC says its the decision reflects Nigeria's commitment to "promoting competition, innovation and investment" in satellite communications while ad

ITALY 15 JAN

WBD, Amazon Prime Video ink multi-year HBO Max deal in Italy, Germany and Austria

Amazon Prime Video has announced a new multi-year agreement with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) to distribute the latter's HBO Max streaming service in Italy, Germany and Austria. The deal also extends existing European partnerships in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium.

UNITED STATES 15 JAN

Versant completes acquisition of Free TV Networks

Versant has completed its acquisition of Free TV Networks (FTN), a provider of national premium free over-the-air digital broadcast networks and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. FTN will operate within Versant as a dedicated business, expanding the company's reach across OTA and FAST distribution, extending its footprint beyond traditional pay-TV, and scaling access to audiences engaging with free, ad-supported TV.

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

UKTV streaming service U views climb 15% in 2025, linear viewing share rises 3%

UKTV, which belongs to BBC Studios, said that views of its free streaming service 'U' grew by 15 percent in 2025, with average monthly active U users up by 23 percent and U registrations rising 18 percent. UKTV's linear TV channels, including U&Alibi, U&Dave, U&Yesterday, U&Drama and U&Eden achieved a record viewing share, with network growth from 4.8 percent in 2024 to 4.97 percent last year, up 3 percent. UKTV's Share of Commercial Impacts (SOCI), measuring how much of the ad-based television audience it

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Background

15 JAN 08:55

Fairphone still a small player but market share growing in Netherlands

12 JAN 00:04

The week in telecoms: CES brings Wi-Fi 8 and more smart glasses, while Warner sticks with Netflix

5 JAN 00:52

The week in telecom: Finnish security check, M&A completions and telco job cuts

23 DEC 2025 10:32

Netherlands TV-video market grows 2.6% in Q3 to EUR 759 mln