His venture and another upstart by a rival group of investors will challenge the BBC and Britain’s efforts to guard against political bias in television news.
Dan Fahy is promoted to SVP, head of emerging business and will “spearhead a revenue growth strategy for all ViacomCBS Networks U.K. streaming platforms.”
Exclusives
Vice may need to recheck its hipster calibrations: Viceland, its TV network that has barely made a tremor on U.S. television, has landed in the U.K. with just as minimal an impact. The channel debuted with an average audience of 5,500 from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. according to Barb data.
The number of homes in the United Kingdom with a TV has fallen for the first time, as viewers turn to alternatives including tablets and smartphones to watch programmes. Ofcom said that after years of consecutive growth, the number of households with a television set fell from 26.3 million at the end of 2012 to 26.0 million at the end of last year. The media regulator said that nearly one million homes have a broadband connection, but no TV, indicating that other Internet-connected devices are being used to view content.
The deal will add 16 channels to the company’s U.K. portfolio, making SPT the No. 5 cable/satellite/multichannel player in the U.K. market in commercial ad views.
Even though it has flourished in America, people argue whether it has a future in Britain. Either way, local TV is setting up shop in the United Kingdom. From reporters live at the scene of a fire to the familiar faces of anchors and other area-specific programming, the U.S. model of local TV has managed to grab, and keep, the attention of swathes of viewers.
Brands spent more money advertising on the Internet in Britain than they did on TV for the first time in the first half of 2011, as companies moved online to reach the millions of Britons using social networks and watching videos.
