Eurobites: SVoD's UK reach exceeds 20 million

The number of UK homes with access to a subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) service rose above 20 million for the first time in the second quarter of 2024, with Netflix, Amazon Prime and Discovery+ all making gains but Disney+ and Apple TV stalling. The new figures, from ratings company Barb, show that Netflix still rules the roost, with a presence in 17.1 million homes, up from 16.7 million in the previous quarter. The Netflix ad-supported tier is continuing to attract new viewers, reaching 2.88 million in Q2, up from 2.12 million in Q1. It will be interesting to see Barb's next set of figures, as they will include the Olympic Games fortnight – expect to see a surge in the reach of Discovery+, reflecting the company's offer of exclusive access to wall-to-wall coverage of the Games (yes, even the break-dancing) at a knockdown price.

Austria's competition authority has given its approval to A1 Austria's takeover of NTT Austria, which will see the telco taking on an additional 100 employees. A1 hopes its acquisition of the IT services provider will boost its appeal to businesses, bringing managed infrastructure services into its armory.

Figures from London-based research firm STL Partners reveal that network virtualization activity has slowed in Q2 2024, with just 12 new telco cloud deployments being recorded during the period. According to STL, there are 61 uncompleted telco cloud deployments so far in 2024, including many previously announced 5G standalone (5G SA) implementations.

One Albania says it has increased network capacity to all of the country's popular coastal destinations, as well as providing coverage within the Llogara tunnel, in preparation for its peak vacation season. According to the operator, data traffic on its network in July increased by 40% year-over-year.

Never mind the view, is the Wi-Fi any good? That, it seems, is the question uppermost in Brits' minds when they are booking a vacation rental in the UK. This is according to new silly-season research from Virgin Media O2, which found that 85% of parents consider reliable connectivity "crucial" for keeping children entertained when it's not fit to hit the beach. More than half (52%) of Brits would rather get lost on a hike than face the misery of a poor broadband connection, apparently.