Official TV/Film Video Entertainment Apps & Services thread

Amazon seems to be profiting from its sports rights. Something to keep an eye open for in the future - there could be some surprises further down the line.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.co…ncrease-as-britbox-grows/

Amazon’s increased interest in sports rights has been rewarded with a rise in the number of Amazon Prime Video subscribers.

Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand barometer says that during Q4 an additional 1.3 million UK households took out a new video streaming subscription with almost half of these going to Amazon.

Subsequently, Amazon has been added to the Sky Q platform and can be expected to add further subscriptions in the first quarter of the new year.

In addition to increasing overall Prime membership, now at 53% of UK households, Amazon also saw an increase in the proportion of Prime members using Prime Video, rising to 62.6% up from 60.5% the previous quarter.

The combination of Premier League football, international rugby and tennis was the carrot for more than 1 in 4 new subscribers over the quarter. The Boys continues to perform well for Amazon, showing as the number 4 most enjoyed SVOD title during Q4.

Personally, I can’t see many people paying out for this streamer. To be successful, it would need many more news channels from around the world than this to appear on the app, with plenty of documentaries, discussions, interviews with prominent people and politicians in the news and a weather channel.

I can’t see Murdoch’s venture getting very far either.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.co…forward-streaming-launch/

The main terrestrial channels may collaborate to set up a free ‘catch-up’ streamer incorporating BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bu…ng-player-keep-us-giants/

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British broadcasters are joining forces to develop a single free streaming app they hope will prevent them being overwhelmed by the US tech giants.

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are in talks to build a new service that will aggregate live broadcasts and catch-up programming in one place.

The discussions, hosted by the industry joint venture Freeview, aims to both make it easier for viewers to navigate the proliferation of streaming apps and ensure that British broadcasters have the heft to claim their place on the “homescreen” of smart TVs, in competition with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney+ and others.

The broadcasters plan to allow viewers to use a single sign-in and to pool audience data to improve programme recommendations. It means that viewers who enjoy a crime drama from the BBC could be recommended one from ITV, for instance.

Documentary + has launched in the UK and around the world.

https://www.digitaltveurope.co…vod-documentary-launches/

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Documentary+, a new non-scripted AVOD platform, has launched.

The service is available for free around the world and promises a large curated collection of feature-length and short documentary films from the likes of Spike Jonze, Terrence Malick, Kathryn Bigelow, and Werner Herzog.

The streamer is a joint venture between non-fiction film studio XTR and the late Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, who invested US$17.5 million in Documentary+ before he died in November 2020.

Documentary+ doesn’t launch with any exclusive content, but XTR hopes that titles including the Michael Jordan biopic One Man and His Shoes and classics including The Imposter and the Oscar-winning Born Into Brothels will entice viewers. The company will also look to acquire content at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, with it also showing eight features at the show.

New AVOD service ‘YouLook’ has launched in the UK.

https://advanced-television.co…ook-avod-goes-beta-in-uk/

YouLook, a new AVoD service, is now live in a beta release to customers in the UK and Ireland.

As part of the extended beta programme, which began December 31st 2020, the service will be available on iOS, Android and Amazon Firestick platforms in the next month.

YouLook currently offers a range of classic movies, alongside food & drink and motorsport content. Planned expansion includes fashion and beauty, history, health & wellness, music & arts and nature & wildlife in the coming months.

The two founders, ex-BBC, Sky and 20th Century Fox executive David Smyth (CEO) and ex-Northern Shell and MCap executive Jason Mawer (CCO), have been joined by former Discovery Nordics executive Benedicte Steinsrud as Director of Acquisitions.

The business is partnering with Pinewood-based Broadcast Systems Europe for its technology platform experience, and with co-creation experts Latimer for its marketing. Digital sales house Media 16 will handle YouLook’s advertising sales.

Programming is being supplied by UK and international distributors, and the service is building its content offering ahead of the fully-fledged launch scheduled later this quarter.

David Smyth, CEO said: “We have created this service in the past year at a time when changes in viewing behaviour have accelerated and developed during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are developing a new advertising-funded video on demand service because we think the market is naturally moving in that direction. Consumers are tightening their belts, but still want a compelling viewing selection and experience. We will be launching with a number of industry ‘firsts’ that will lean into the changing nature of consumer and digital viewing habits”.

Blimey, they're coming thick and fast!

https://advanced-television.co…-for-the-performing-arts/

StagePlayer+ is coming to a device near you! It will be very nice indeed to watch theatre productions, concerts, etc from the comfort of your own home!

It will be interesting to see the cost of accessing this service. I expect there will be a subscription and that many events on there will be pay-per-view.

Freeview and Freesat to merge.

https://www.digitaltveurope.co…and-freesat-to-integrate/

Freeview operator Digital UK will integrate with free-to-air satellite platform Freesat.

Digital UK, which is run as a joint venture of the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, said that the move will ensure that viewers continue to have access to a range of free-to-view TV services in the UK, while also benefiting from technical innovations and developments across the two businesses.

The merger is conditional on regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the coming months.

Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Digital UK, said: “We welcome this opportunity to work more closely with Freesat whilst continuing to deliver our mission of ensuring everyone in the UK can access a high quality TV service for free. The combined entity will promote the very best of free-to-view content whilst reflecting the changing nature of consumer consumption.”

Alistair Thom, CEO, Freesat, said: “We believe that building on the best that both Freesat and DUK have to offer will ensure that free to air continues to be an exciting and vibrant proposition for UK consumers. This proposition will continue to provide UK viewers with great content however they choose to consume it, whether that is linear or on demand.”

The news comes two months after Freeview founding partner Arqiva announced that it was pulling out of Digital UK, with the relationship officially ending at the end of February. It had been reported that the company stood down as a shareholder over a reluctance to invest further in the HbbTV hybrid platform Freeview Plus.

Yes, saw that on my TV today. No music, just degenerate reality shows. A kind of dumbing down of Hayu.

It’s free until 17 March I think it said. Absolutely awful streamer. Avoid.

Got new updates on my Fire 4k sticks the other day.

Can't say I like it. You have to hunt around for the watchlist now, which is found under Find and all the apps are tiny boxes.

Quote from cheekyangus

That's the general Fire TV interface is it?

Yep. It has been rolled out to all Fire TV devices. It started at the end of last year and the 4K sticks have just got it.

Quote from cheekyangus

It seems a common thing to make finding TV watchlists awkward.

It's the same thinking that supermarkets have. If you already have a predefined list, you may stay on their site less, than if everything is jumbled around and you have to go looking for things.

Quote from cheekyangus

And they often assume you have a massive screen too. Highly annoying for those of us that like the old definition of large TV.

What's irritating is the ads on the home screen are now larger, while the apps, what we actually use, are smaller.

When I say ads, I mean promos for new shows/films/apps etc.

This is what it looks like: