Advanced Television

Funding

BBC DG calls for new investment

BBC Director General Tony Hall has suggested the Corporation needs new investment to enable it to continue to provide distinctive programmes and products, that reflect Britons’ experiences and outlook on life, made available and relevant to everyone – of all ages and demographics. Addressing the RTS London Conference 2018, Hall, elements of whose speech were […]

September 18, 2018Colin Mann @ RTS London

Valence Media invests £45m in Fulwell 73

Valence Media has finalised an approximately £45 million (€50.5m) investment comprised of cash and Valence equity for a significant minority stake in Fulwell 73, the British independent production company run by partners Ben Winston, Leo Pearlman, Gabe Turner, Ben Turner and James Corden. Under the terms of the deal Fulwell 73, based in London and […]

September 17, 2018

Sky invests $2m in SDVI

Sky has invested $2 million (€1.73m) in SDVI, a provider of content supply chain management solutions for the media and entertainment industry. The investment is part of Sky’s ongoing strategy to invest in innovative companies that can bring new ideas, insight and services into Sky’s business. SDVI provides a cloud-based service that helps media companies […]

September 11, 2018

21st Century Fox invests $100m in Caffeine

21st Century Fox (21CF) and Caffeine, the next-generation social broadcasting platform for gaming, entertainment, and other creative content, have announced that 21CF led a round of funding, which also included participation from existing Caffeine investors Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners, and other undisclosed partners. Caffeine has additionally announced a content agreement with Live Nation to bring […]

September 6, 2018

Sky adds start-up funds in Europe and Israel

Sky has announced plans to increase the reach and scale of its start-up investment and commercial partnership activity with the opening of a new office in Berlin as well as a $4 million (€3.4m) commitment to Israeli venture capital fund, Remagine Ventures. Sky says the the office will give them a local presence in Berlin’s […]

September 3, 2018

Nokia: €500m EU 5G research financing

Communications technologist Nokia has signed a €500 million loan transaction with the European Investment Bank (EIB), supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), a key element of the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker Plan. Nokia will use the loan to further accelerate its research and development of 5G technology, […]

August 28, 2018

Labour wants FAANG tax to fund BBC

UK’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has proposed a tax on firms such as Facebook, Google and Netflix, to subsidise the BBC licence fee. He declared a “few tech giants and unaccountable billionaires will control huge swathes of our public space and debate” and that intervention is now required. In a speech at the Edinburgh […]

August 23, 2018

Katzenberg raises $1bn for smartphone ‘New TV’

Jeffrey Katzenberg has successfully raised funding to create a ‘next-generation’ HBO or Netflix — with bite-size original programming designed for smartphones. WndrCo, the holding company Katzenberg co-founded, announced that it has secured a $1 billion seed-funding round for ‘NewTV.’ Backers include: Disney, 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Viacom, AT&T’s WarnerMedia, Lionsgate, MGM, ITV […]

August 7, 2018

Hyperoptic raises £250m for gigabit growth

UK gigabit broadband provider Hyperoptic has completed a debt raise of one quarter of a billion pounds (€280m) from eight leading international banks to extend its full fibre optic network to 50 towns and cities across the country by 2019. It claims this is the largest single investment in the UK for a full fibre […]

August 7, 2018

Intelsat raises $1.25bn

Intelsat is talking about raising an extra $250 million in fresh borrowing, over and above the $1 billion announced last week. The cash raised is in the form of 2023 Senior Notes, priced at 9.5 percent. Intelsat says it expects to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes and other available cash […]

August 6, 2018By Chris Forrester