The BBC has published its annual plan outlining its strategic and creative priorities for the coming year. This also provides background context on the media market in which the BBC operates. The report notes that “we are well on the way to digital transition” although we might observe that television has been completely digital since 2012. There is only a very brief mention of Freely, the online television platform launched last year.
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The largest owner of low-power television stations in the United States has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to allow the use of 5G Broadcast as a voluntary alternative to ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 transmission standards. It sees an opportunity to repurpose valuable UHF spectrum for use with 5G networks.
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Comcast Media360 aims to streamline video operations for broadcasters and media providers. Announced in advance of the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Comcast Technology Solutions is offering a solution to consolidate video management workflows, increase efficiency, and lower costs across live and on-demand delivery.
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There are now over 100 million households in Europe with at least one television set that supports the HbbTV standard for hybrid broadcast broadband television. That is likely to reach 108 million by the end of 2025 and over 120 million in 2026. That means that over half of all homes in Europe will support HbbTV.
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The Public Media Alliance has published research from a comparative analysis of Public Service Media in the Age of Platforms. It provides an illuminating analysis of the difference between the promotion of programmes by genre in the ‘prime space’ on online video platforms compared to their prevalence in the prime time schedules on the main channel of their respective broadcasters.
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There are over 12,700 audiovisual media services available in Europe. One in four of them is an on-demand service. Television channels still represent the majority of services available, with 9,434 available across Europe. Average television viewing time has remained remarkably consistent across Europe over the last 10 years, at 3.5 hours a day, plus or minus three minutes.
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