Television operating systems in Europe are fragmented across a number of brands. V, formerly known as VIDAA, the smart television operating system developed by Hisense, is forecast to overtake LG webOS in 2026. Chinese brands are taking share from Korean companies, much as they stole the lead from Japanese brands.

Research company Omdia says the rapid growth of V has been driven by the strong momentum of Hisense and its expanding footprint across Europe. It has significantly increased its market share in recent years, supported by competitive pricing, broader distribution, and high-profile global marketing campaigns.

Shipment of televisions powered by V are closing the gap with webOS from LG, with shipments expected to surpass it in 2026.

The dominant platform is Android, driven by another Chinese company, TCL and localised brands. Android has just over a 30% share of the market by annual shipments.

Android overtook Tizen from Samsung, which now accounts for less than a quarter of shipments in Europe, followed by LG webOS at about a fifth.

V is expected to rank third in 2026. The rise of V shows that Chinese manufacturers are gaining ground on their Korean counterparts in both shipments and platform influence.

“Samsung and LG have built large installed bases over the past decade, reaching tens of millions of households,” said David Tett, principal analyst at Omdia. “However, Chinese vendors are rapidly expanding their installed base, driven by strong shipment growth across Europe.”

Titan OS, a European smart television operating system developed by a company of that name based in Barcelona, is used to power some televisions from brands including Philips and JVC. It now has about 5% of shipments in Europe, putting it ahead of FireTV, TiVo OS, and Roku.

That only goes to demonstrate howe fragmented the television operating system is in Europe, and how much there is to play for.

omdia.tech.informa.com

Research suggests that the average person in the United Kingdom spends a total of more than one full day a year searching for something to watch. Some might be surprised it is only that long. The solution is apparently smarter searching and recommendations based on your mood.

The research was cited by EE, the consumer brand for BT, to support the new Smart Search feature on its EE TV product. Based on a survey of 2,000 respondents, it found that on average they reported spending a total of 28 hours a year searching for something to watch.

Nearly half said they would give up and rewatch the same old shows just to avoid the agony of deciding.

Over half believe they spend longer browsing than actually watching.

Two thirds admit to having nodded off before they have even chosen something.

28 hours sounds like a long time. It is 1680 minutes spread over a year. Let us assume they watch for 250 days a year, that is about 6.75 minutes a day spent deciding what to watch. That is a self-reported average.

Some research suggests that some people may spend even longer looking for something to watch.

The idea that people spend longer browsing than actually watching seems a bit of a stretch, but the perception shows the apparent problem.

The solution from EE is called Smart Search. Inevitably, it uses artificial intelligence to interpret natural language. Instead of needing an exact title, viewers can describe what they are after by mood, plot, theme, or even a half-remembered line from a show.

We have seen this before. The problem is that when people are browsing, they may not actually know what they want to watch. They may be looking for inspiration. If they see the same old things listed, they are no more inspired than the last time they saw them.

The example given is “show me good films with plot twists”. At least that might filter out bad films predictable plots, which to be fair covers a lot of cases, although no-one goes out to make such movies.

Mood Matcher is designed to address the problem of not knowing what you want to watch by offering recommendations based on questions on how you are feeling.

The idea is that you are asked what you are in the mood for, for example something dark, light, heartfelt, thought-provoking, or fast paced.

If only it were that simple. The psychology of viewing is probably a lot more complex than that, but it is a point of differentiation

Both features are available on the EE TV app on compatible devices, with plans to roll out to EE TV Pro and EE TV Box Edge customers.

Luciano Oliveira, who is responsible for home and television products at EE, said: “With the sheer amount of great movies, boxsets, and sport now available, we hear the nation’s frustration with spending more time searching than actually watching.

“Smart Search and Mood Matcher on EE TV are the perfect antidote — together, they take the effort out of choosing so you can get straight to the entertainment you love, with the hardest part of your evening now being choosing the right snacks, not the show.”

www.ee.co.uk

France Télévisions and YouTube have entered into a strategic partnership to increase access to public service media and combat misinformation. It means that the French broadcaster will offer all of its news and current affairs output though YouTube.

The alliance is part of the France Télévisions ‘streaming first’ strategy. The partnership will make thousands of hours of programming available online each year, shortly after broadcast. The idea is to ensure that its news programmes reach audiences wherever they are and on any device.

France Télévisions and YouTube are joining forces to accelerate the discovery, consumption and reach of France Télévisions news programming across all platforms.

The partnership will include the availability of all national and local news broadcasts and all daily and weekly current affairs and investigative magazine programmes.

It will involve an enhanced editorial presence of France Télévisions programming on YouTube, with curated channels by programme and theme, as well as programming produced especially for YouTube.

With this, to provide increased protection against misinformation and manipulated material, YouTube will facilitate the adoption of Likeness ID, its tool for detecting AI-generated content that uses the image or identity of public figures without their consent.

France Télévisions will directly commercialise its advertising inventory on the YouTube platform.

The announcement says that this collaboration is based on the clear vision that the future of broadcasting revolves around streaming.

“This strategic partnership with YouTube accelerates France Télévisions’ “streaming first” strategy,” said Delphine Ernotte Cunci, the chair and chief executive of France Télévisions. “It strengthens the reach of France Télévisions’ news content among all audiences, including those furthest removed from traditional media.”

Justine Ryst, the managing director of YouTube France, said: We are proud of this strategic partnership with France Télévisions and are convinced that YouTube and public service broadcasters complement each other perfectly.”

The announcement comes 21 years after the first video was uploaded to YouTube. We have come from uploads like ‘Me at the zoo’ to France Télévisions offering its entire news and current affairs output on YouTube, which is now owned by Google.

Earlier in the year, the BBC announced a deal with YouTube to make programmes specifically for YouTube. More recently, it announced that Matt Brittin, who was previously president of business and operations for Google across Europe, would become its new director general.

www.france.tv
www.youtube.com