Rocket launch company Arianespace is reported to be anticipating a one-year delay in the readiness of its much-needed Ariane-6 vehicle. The concerns come from a risk analysis carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA). Currently, the rocket is expected to make a test-flight around 2020, but an authoritative report in French business daily La […]
Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has lost his latest court battle against extradition from New Zealand to the US. New Zealand’s Court of Appeal upheld the decision that Dotcom, founder of the controversial file-sharing website Megaupload, along with three others can be extradited to stand trial for copyright infringement. Megaupload allowed millions of people to share and […]
BBC Studios, the production and commercial arm of the BBC, has bought the 51 per cent stake in UK production company Lookout Point that it didn’t already own – in line wih an option agreed in 2016. Lookout Point, which was behind dramas including Ripper Street and the War & Peace adaptation, as well as […]
The early exit of Spain’s National team is having a hugely negative impact on Mediaset Spain which hoped to benefit from the World Cup TV rights. The company paid over €40 million for FTA broadcast rights all the matches. It aimed to get between €2.5 and 3 million per broadcast match of the National team, […]
The introduction of 5G in Portugal will lead to changes in the frequency spectrum now used for DTT broadcasts, starting from the fourth quarter of 2019. This follows the presentation of a roadmap by Portugal’s National Communications Authority for the release of the 700 MHz frequency band, which will no longer be used for DTT […]
Consultancy firm EY has published the second edition of its study on online content piracy in France (Piratage en France), which aims to assess the shortfall related to the illegal consumption of audiovisual content in France. The study quantifies the impacts of piracy on the state budget, direct jobs, the financing of creativity and lastly […]
Netflix is testing a new, expensive subscription tier. The streaming giant is giving some users the offer to join an ‘Ultra’ service, which costs between €16.99 and €19.99, in tests that are running across Europe. A basic subscription currently costs €7.99. The new tier offers all potential subscribers 4K content, HD audio and streaming across […]
England’s World Cup penalty shootout victory over Colombia on July 3rd was watched by 23.6 million viewers on ITV, according to overnight figures. More people tuned in for the nail-biting climax between 9:50-9:55pm than at any other time since the 2012 Olympic closing ceremony. At this point in the game, 81 per cent of people […]
US broadcast station mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volume reached $5.11 billion (€4.38bn) in the second quarter of 2018, as tracked by Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. This is the largest quarterly deal volume since the second quarter of 2007. Ninety-eight per cent of the volume ($5.01 billion) is attributable to […]
Under London stock exchange takeover rules EchoStar has until July 6th to make a formal bid for London-based satellite operator Inmarsat, or walk away. With the US on holiday today (July 4th) some observers expect a statement – or action – tomorrow. A bid by EchoStar on June 8th was rebutted by Inmarsat, although it […]