News

Entertainment and celebrity channel, E! is now available in high definition to viewers in Germany and Austria from the Sky Deutschland pay-TV platform. The female-skewed channel mixes locally produced shows, such as Fulminant, reporting on German events and celebrities, with international shows such as Live from the Red Carpet, Fashion Police, and The Saturdays – The Way Up.

Despite the availability of online TV and on-demand services, nearly a third of German viewers regularly ‘time shift’ broadcast TV – record a show to watch at a later date – according to research from German trade association, Bitkom.

According to the SES`annual market research study "Satellite Monitor" in conjunction with the Establishment Survey and conducted by GfK Ukraine, 22% of all households in the Ukraine now receive satellite TV, with 98% of them watching channels from ASTRA satellites, principally those at the ASTRA 5°E and ASTRA 31.5°E orbital positions, where the Viasat Ukraina and Ukrkosmos platforms broadcast.

Spin-off channel H2 (History Two) has launched in the UK as part of the Sky pay-TV platform. H2 was introduced in the US in September 2011 and the UK version will show home-grown and bought-in documentaries and reality series on ancient history, modern history, science and technology.

Programmes include Serial Killer Earth, Ancient Aliens, History of Britain, and Ultimate Soldier Challenge. H2 replaces the Military History channel, and broadcasts from the Astra 28.2°E satellites

Visit www.history.co.uk/h2 for more information

TV buyers in France, Germany, Italy and the UK are increasingly looking for big screen connected TVs according to research by comparison site Idealo. Analysing 8 million price and product comparison searches during 2012, Idealo has uncovered the preferences of would-be TV buyers in the four countries. The popularity of TVs with a screen size of 42in (106cm) or larger has increased from 38.8% in 2011 to over 54% at the end of 2012, when more than 80% of available TVs offered internet connectivity.

Samsung is by far the most popular TV brand, chosen by nearly 42% of searchers, well ahead of nearest rivals Philips (17.2%) and LG (12.4%).

Visit www.idealo.com for more information

Discovery Networks will launch its TLC channel in the UK and Ireland on April 30, broadcasting SD and HD versions from Astra 28.2°E as part of the Sky UK pay-TV platform. Aimed at women aged 25-49, Discovery has described the lifestyle and entertainment channel as ‘playful, humorous and passionate’.

A report from Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK, has revealed that watching traditional ‘linear’ TV, such as the DTH satellite broadcasts from Sky and Freesat via ASTRA 28.2°E, is still the mainstay of UK TV viewing. In 2012 British viewers each day watched an average of 4 hours 1 minute of linear TV on a television screen (the third consecutive year the figure has remained above four hours a day), despite the growth in viewing on other devices and from other sources.

Over 3.1 million smart TV sets were sold in Germany in 2012, according to a report from the German consumer electronics association Gfu (Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Unterhaltungselektronik) and over a third of all flat screen TVs sold in Germany were equipped with internet connectivity.

Two new channels have joined the Freesat free-to-air DTH satellite platform for the UK. Viva and Travel have both been previously broadcasting from ASTRA 28.2°E free-to-air and as part of the Sky UK platform, and have now joined the Freesat EPG.

English Club TV, the English-language teaching channel, has launched a high definition version of the channel available to viewers in the Ukraine and CIS and Baltic countries. ECTV is aimed at viewers of all ages who want to learn or improve their English. The channel broadcasts from the ASTRA 4A satellite at 5°E and as part of the MagtiSat platform from ASTRA 1G at 31.5°E.

Visit www.english-club.tv for more information