Vodafone TV is now available in the United Kingdom, bringing together Freely with online video services and other entertainment through a set-top box powered by Netgem. It marks the latest attempt by Vodafone to add television to its connectivity proposition, more than a decade after it first planned to launch a television service in the United Kingdom.
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BT is bringing back the BT TV brand, less than three years after it became EE TV. The name may be returning, but the proposition is even more familiar. BT TV is not so much a new television service as the latest iteration of a proposition that BT has been pursuing for two decades. We may have seen this movie before.
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Amazon has introduced a new Fire TV Stick 4K, running its Vega operating system and promising faster access to programming than the built-in interfaces of leading smart televisions. This suggests that even as almost every television sold today is smart, there may still be a role for relatively inexpensive plug-in products that can upgrade the viewing experience.
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Matt Brittin is beginning to set out how his leadership of the BBC may differ from that of his predecessors. The first major interview with director general was promoted on BBC outlets but significantly was also posted in full on YouTube. The former Google executive says he wants to remain true to the public service mission of the BBC while being “really radical” about how it is delivered. That could mean fewer conventional channels and services, more investment in iPlayer and other digital platforms, and a more data-informed approach to understanding what the BBC produces and how well it serves its audiences.
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More than half of the top 100 creators on YouTube are now watched more on television screens than on any other type of device. YouTube is responding by giving creators what it calls the “prime time treatment”, introducing seasons and episodes for short-form series and adapting more of its service for television viewing. It is another indication that the world’s largest online video platform is increasingly becoming part of television itself.
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European broadcasters are resisting moves to reopen the debate on radio frequencies used for television, even as some countries prepare for a future without digital terrestrial television. The European Broadcasting Union argues that it is premature to revisit the international settlement on the spectrum used for television. Behind the technical arguments is a more fundamental question: should international spectrum policy determine when countries give up terrestrial transmission?
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