Latest news with #PaoloPescatore
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Millions of Sky and Virgin customers warned of four TV changes coming to screens ahead of major channel closure
SKY and Virgin customers should expect a number of changes coming to the TV guide this week - right before a major channel closure happening next month. The line-up is routinely overhauled to make way for closures, new arrivals, as well as rebrands. Advertisement 1 ITVBe, home to TOWIE, is closing next month Credit: ITV On Tuesday, more than Later this week, there are yet more changes on the way for some Sky and Virgin viewers, depending on your subscription. And early next month there's a channel closure that will impact all platforms. Advertisement Read more about TV This week's changes take place on Friday and affect Sky Cinema. Sky Cinema regularly changes up the channel names to reflect special themes and events. From Friday, there are four to watch out for. Sky Cinema Hits, Sky Cinema Action, Sky Cinema Drama and Sky Cinema 80s will all disappear temporarily. Advertisement Most read in Tech Exclusive They'll be replaced by Sky Cinema Blockbusters, Sky Cinema Karate Kid, Sky Cinema Pride and Sky Cinema Romance respectively. For those who need a reminder of the channel numbers, they are as follows: Sky Cinema Blockbusters - Sky 303 / Virgin 403 Sky Cinema Karate Kid - Sky 307 / Virgin 407 Sky Cinema Pride - Sky 310 / Virgin 410 Sky Cinema Romance - Sky 302 / Virgin 402 The 1% Club players stumped on tricky maths question as 13 players pass - but could you have got it right- Channel closure Early in June a channel will sadly close after more than 10 years on air. Fortunately, a replacement has been lined up already. Advertisement Reality TV destination The biggest ITVBe shows, like Meanwhile, ITV is filling the vacant slot with a new channel called ITV Quiz. ITV shows a number of popular game shows such as The Chase, Tipping Point, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, The 1% Club and Deal or No Deal - though it's not clear which will appear on ITV Quiz. Advertisement ITV has confirmed to The Sun that ITVBe will close and be replaced by ITV Quiz on June 9. More channel closures 'inevitable' An industry expert told The Sun that more channel closures are likely in 2025 and beyond. "This is inevitable, more broadcasters will cull broadcast/linear TV channels as viewers are flocking to streaming services," Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight said. "The big TV switch off is around the corner, with all programming set to be delivered via the internet. "Viewers are now spoilt for choice with how and where they watch the TV shows they love across a range of connected devices. "To respond, broadcasters need to be prepared and work more closely with telecom providers to ensure a seamless experience for users." Image credit: Getty
Scottish Sun
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Millions of Freeview watchers must re-scan their TV boxes to receive new movie channel and more big changes
Find out why a TV expert believes its inevitable more channels will close soon below TUNE IN Millions of Freeview watchers must re-scan their TV boxes to receive new movie channel and more big changes Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THREE big changes are happening on Freeview this month including the arrival of a new channel. To take advantage of updates - and to ensure you're not missing your favourite shows - you might need to re-scan your TV or box. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Freeview makes monthly changes to the channel line-up Credit: Alamy Freeview is used in around 16million homes across the UK. And much like Sky and Virgin Media, the line-up of channels is constantly evolving. Last month we saw the arrival of a new music channel, as well as a news channel and another dedicated to religion. For April, there's just one new channel joining the TV planner and it's dedicated to movies. The channel is called Nolly Africa which showcases the best in Nollywood cinema. It's been around as part of the Channelbox service on 271 for sometime now but this month it'll have its own dedicated slot on Freeview. Viewers can find it on 593. However, it remains a streamed channel rather than needing an aerial, so you'll need to ensure your Freeview TV or box is connected to the internet via a broadband ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. Elsewhere, Christian radio station Trans World Radio has left Freeview. This means the slot it occupied at channel 733 is now empty. More channel closures 'inevitable' An industry expert told The Sun that more channel closures are likely in 2025 and beyond. "This is inevitable, more broadcasters will cull broadcast/linear TV channels as viewers are flocking to streaming services," Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight said. "The big TV switch off is around the corner, with all programming set to be delivered via the internet. "Viewers are now spoilt for choice with how and where they watch the TV shows they love across a range of connected devices. "To respond, broadcasters need to be prepared and work more closely with telecom providers to ensure a seamless experience for users." Image credit: Getty Finally, RXTVInfo reports that Alaraby Network has made some technical changes to its broadcasting. This means that it will have less coverage across the country than it did before. For those where local TV services are available, you can still find Alaraby Network on channel 264.
The Irish Sun
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Millions of Freeview watchers must re-scan their TV boxes to receive new movie channel and more big changes
THREE big changes are happening on Freeview this month including the arrival of a new channel. To take advantage of updates - and to ensure you're not missing your favourite shows - you might need to re-scan your TV or box. 1 Freeview makes monthly changes to the channel line-up Credit: Alamy Freeview is used in around 16million homes across the UK. And much like Sky and Virgin Media, the line-up of channels is constantly evolving. Last month we saw the For April, there's just one new channel joining the TV planner and it's dedicated to movies. Read more about TV The channel is called Nolly Africa which showcases the best in Nollywood cinema. It's been around as part of the Channelbox service on 271 for sometime now but this month it'll have its own dedicated slot on Freeview. Viewers can find it on 593. However, it remains a streamed channel rather than needing an aerial, so you'll need to ensure your Freeview TV or box is connected to the internet via a broadband ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. Most read in Tech Elsewhere, Christian radio station Trans World Radio has left Freeview. This means the slot it occupied at channel 733 is now empty. More channel closures 'inevitable' An industry expert told The Sun that more channel closures are likely in 2025 and beyond. "This is inevitable, more broadcasters will cull broadcast/linear TV channels as viewers are flocking to streaming services," Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight said. "The big TV switch off is around the corner, with all programming set to be delivered via the internet. "Viewers are now spoilt for choice with how and where they watch the TV shows they love across a range of connected devices. "To respond, broadcasters need to be prepared and work more closely with telecom providers to ensure a seamless experience for users." Image credit: Getty Finally, This means that it will have less coverage across the country than it did before. For those where local TV services are available, you can still find Alaraby Network on channel 264. Which channels could be axed next? Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun The BBC announced in 2022 that CBBC and BBC Four would disappear as traditional linear channels in a few years and go digital only via iPlayer. However, the pair may have had a bit of a reprieve for now, after the BBC's head of children's programmes, Patricia Hildago, recently said "it's really important… that if children still need us on a linear network, we're going to be there for them". When Channel 4 announced the closure of The Box and other music channels it owned last year, the broadcaster hinted that more could come. At the time the company said it was proposing to "close small linear channels that no longer deliver revenues or public value at scale, including the Box channels in 2024 and others at the right time". So which could the "others" be? It really depends what Channel 4 considers "small" but its other channels include More4, E4, E4 Extra, Film4 and 4Seven.
The Sun
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Millions of Freeview watchers must re-scan their TV boxes to receive new movie channel and more big changes
THREE big changes are happening on Freeview this month including the arrival of a new channel. To take advantage of updates - and to ensure you're not missing your favourite shows - you might need to re-scan your TV or box. 1 Freeview is used in around 16million homes across the UK. And much like Sky and Virgin Media, the line-up of channels is constantly evolving. Last month we saw the arrival of a new music channel, as well as a news channel and another dedicated to religion. For April, there's just one new channel joining the TV planner and it's dedicated to movies. The channel is called Nolly Africa which showcases the best in Nollywood cinema. It's been around as part of the Channelbox service on 271 for sometime now but this month it'll have its own dedicated slot on Freeview. Viewers can find it on 593. However, it remains a streamed channel rather than needing an aerial, so you'll need to ensure your Freeview TV or box is connected to the internet via a broadband ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. Elsewhere, Christian radio station Trans World Radio has left Freeview. This means the slot it occupied at channel 733 is now empty. More channel closures 'inevitable' An industry expert told The Sun that more channel closures are likely in 2025 and beyond. "This is inevitable, more broadcasters will cull broadcast/linear TV channels as viewers are flocking to streaming services," Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight said. "The big TV switch off is around the corner, with all programming set to be delivered via the internet. "Viewers are now spoilt for choice with how and where they watch the TV shows they love across a range of connected devices. "To respond, broadcasters need to be prepared and work more closely with telecom providers to ensure a seamless experience for users." Image credit: Getty Finally, RXTVInfo reports that Alaraby Network has made some technical changes to its broadcasting. This means that it will have less coverage across the country than it did before. For those where local TV services are available, you can still find Alaraby Network on channel 264. Which channels could be axed next? Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun The BBC announced in 2022 that CBBC and BBC Four would disappear as traditional linear channels in a few years and go digital only via iPlayer. However, the pair may have had a bit of a reprieve for now, after the BBC's head of children's programmes, Patricia Hildago, recently said "it's really important… that if children still need us on a linear network, we're going to be there for them". When Channel 4 announced the closure of The Box and other music channels it owned last year, the broadcaster hinted that more could come. At the time the company said it was proposing to "close small linear channels that no longer deliver revenues or public value at scale, including the Box channels in 2024 and others at the right time". So which could the "others" be? It really depends what Channel 4 considers "small" but its other channels include More4, E4, E4 Extra, Film4 and 4Seven.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alexa+ is Amazon's AI-powered revamp of virtual assistant Alexa
Amazon (AMZN) has unveiled a new, smarter version of its virtual assistant Alexa which has a range of fresh AI-powered features built in. The tech giant has been one of the last big firms to embrace the generative AI boom, despite having had the most widely used AI assistant – Alexa – before the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 kicked off the current tech arms race. At an event in New York, the US firm unveiled Alexa+, which the company says has undergone a 'complete rearchitecture' in order to become a smarter personal assistant. It will begin rolling out from next month, initially in the US, costing 20 US dollars (£15.75) a month as part of a new subscription system – but will be free to those with Amazon Prime, and will work with 'almost all' existing Alexa-powered Amazon Echo devices. As part of the upgrade, users can now more intelligently move between different apps and services to complete requests – for example users can ask Alexa to find a local restaurant, book a table, add it to the family calendar and text a babysitter about the plans, and the assistant can move between all the different apps required and complete the task. In addition, Amazon announced that users will now be able to upload documents to Alexa, and ask it to summarise key details from it, setting reminders or adding dates to calendars if needed. This move mirrors generative AI-powered summarisation tools that fellow tech giants Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Samsung ( have added to their smartphones over the last year, enabling users to have their emails and files summarised for them. Amazon also confirmed that the new Alexa+ will include AI agent capabilities, meaning users can give it a specific task and Alexa can browse the web autonomously on their behalf to complete it. In a demo on-stage, the tech giant showed how a user could tell Alexa their oven was broken and to find a repair service, with the AI assistant then searching the internet for a nearby appliance repair service, confirming with the user, then booking an appointment to have the device fixed. Amazon said the new Alexa was using a range of AI models to carry out all these new tasks, including its own new model, Nova, and AI firm Anthropic's – which Amazon is a major investor in. Industry expert and analyst Paolo Pescatore, of PP Foresight, said Amazon's announcement was a significant moment given the prevalence of Alexa-powered devices in homes already, saying it was 'taking AI to the masses'. 'There's a lot riding on this revamp service given the lengthy delays and to justify the huge investments poured into AI and everything else,' he said. 'We are now starting to see meaningful developments in the world of AI that promise to offer users a personalised experience. 'The biggest question is whether users are ready, given their early experiences and concerns around security and trust. 'These factors still remain huge barriers to wider adoption. 'If executed well, it should resonate with customers rather than getting users to fork out for another additional monthly fee. 'All of these latest moves reinforce the importance of Prime and providing users with a one-stop shop for nearly everything.'
