26/03/2019
Gibsat Ltd - PRESS RELEASE
26/03/2019 - Update on local TV channel availability from Gibsat
Some popular TV channels, available for over 25 years in Gibraltar, will soon be disappearing from the screens of most residents in Gibraltar. Since the introduction of a "fully licenced" entertainment product early in 2018, broadcasters and content owners have been encouraged to pursue the closing down of various popular channels in Gibraltar from providers including Gibsat and U-mee.
We regret the inevitable inconvenience that this will cause our existing customers as well as the wider community - however, this is not due to any action we have taken and we very much regret the consequences.
Residents in Gibraltar have for many years enjoyed viewing a large number of TV channels at very low cost compared to other countries around the world. These channels have historically been provided by local companies and various estates. This has largely been possible, because broadcasters and content owners have taken little interest in Gibraltar due to its size. In addition, formalising agreements would, in any case, for most broadcasters not be possible. Due to the complexity of content rights, only a very limited number of channels can be made available on a licensed basis to Gibraltar.
For now Gibraltar stands to lose many of its favourite channels. Gibsat are however looking at alternative channels and will continue to improve their offering.
As a result of recent technological developments the future lies in streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV as well as other streaming - and download services, and we expect the move towards individual subscriptions for premium content to continue unabated. Such online TV streaming services hugely benefit from a high-bandwidth reliable fibre broadband service for stable viewing, especially when compared to ADSL/VDSL products.