Arqiva is investing £6 million (€7.5m) to launch four new local multiplexes which will bring digital radio to over 1.5 million listeners in the English Midlands. The company is working with the BBC, Global Radio and Oxford’s JACK fm to broadcast on the first multiplexes to launch since the Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Radio switchover was signed in June. [...]
Last week, Liberty Media bought another 31 million shares (0.5 per cent) in Sirius-XM, taking its stake in the pay-radio broadcasters to 49.8 per cent. Liberty Media is awaiting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulatory approval to move beyond the 50 per cent threshold and take full control of Sirius-XM. The FCC is expected to make its decision during the next [...]
French media regulator le Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) has licensed Onde Numérique to broadcast pay-radio in the L-band by satellite over Europe. Transmissions will be made on the Eutelsat/SES Solaris Mobile satellite that’s been in orbit on Eutelsat’s W2A craft since April 2009. This latest scheme is initially focused on French users and will provide for 9 new digital [...]
The UK’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport has revealed findings of a study that suggests the impact of radio spectrum on the UK economy is worth more than £50 billion a year. The Analysys Mason study, commissioned by Government, found spectrum use was valued at £52 billion in 2011, an increase of 25 per cent in real terms since [...]
Satellites, once launched, never return to Earth unless there’s some sort of catastrophe, but pay-radio operator had an unwanted satellite on its hands in the shape of its FM-4 satellite. It stayed on the ground as a spare craft in case of problems with the original trio launched into space to provide programming for the Sirius radio service. The satellite [...]
Pay-radio operator Sirius-XM is on a roll. Its Q3 results show that its subscriber base grew by a record 446,000 to a new record total of 23.4 million. Revenue grew 14 per cent to $867 million. The company paid down $107 million of debt, helping reduce the broadcaster’s overall debt level to the lowest since the merger of Sirius with [...]
Twelve channels of the revived Worldspace Radio format have now been added to Bharti Airtel’s DTH service over India. Now dubbed iMusicSpace the channels cover an extensive collection of latest and retro Hindi songs, as well as regional music channels. Customers can now enjoy 24X7 radio on their TV in their native dialect be it Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, [...]
Pay-radio service Sirius-XM Radio has announced that CEO Mel Karmazin will be leaving the company on February 1, 2013, following the expiration of his current employment agreement and after a transition period. Karmazin will also leave the Board of Directors at that time. The move comes as John Malone’s Liberty Media is looking to take control of the company. It [...]
Samsung will become the first TV manufacturer to bring music streaming service Spotify to connected TVs with the launch of a new app later this year. Spotify offers on-demand access to a library of more than 18 million songs, and will be available on Samsung connected TVs across Europe through the partnership.
Warner Music-owner Len Blavatnik has invested $130 million in subscription streaming service Deezer. Blavatnik’s Access Industries, which also holds stakes in Top Up TV and digital sports company Perform, has taken an undisclosed stake in Deezer. Deezer, which has its roots in France and counts mobile phone giant Orange as a shareholder, would only say that the deal makes Access [...]
