Advanced Television

Joint Venture

Virgin Media, O2 merger talks confirmed

A filing made by Telefónica to the Spanish media regulator May 4th confirms that its O2 cellular operator in the UK is in formal talks with Liberty Global-backed Virgin Media. As is usual in these cases, the filing stresses there is no certainty of the talks leading to a successful outcome: “The process started between […]

May 4, 2020By Chris Forrester

Analyst: Virgin/O2 talks ‘bolt out of the blue’

Although raising the possibility of such a move nearly a year ago, Paolo Pescatore, TMT Analyst at PP Foresight, has nevertheless described the possible merger of Liberty Global’s UK multiplay operator Virgin Media with Telefónica’s O2 mobile telco in the UK as “a bolt out of the blue” and an intriguing move that is more […]

May 4, 2020By Colin Mann

Virgin Media to merge with O2?

Numerous reports suggest that John Malone’s Liberty Global is in talks with Spanish telco Telefónica about merging its UK multiplay operator Virgin Media with Telefónica’s O2 mobile business. Bloomberg and Reuters are reporting that Telefónica has been weighing options for the mobile business since 2016 when a previous £10.3 billion deal takeover of O2 by […]

May 2, 2020By Chris Forrester

EC OKs Canal Digital, Viasat Consumer pay-TV merger

The European Commission has approved the previously-announced combination of Canal Digital, Telenor Group’s satellite pay-TV business, with Viasat Consumer, Nordic Entertainment Group’s satellite pay-TV and broadband-TV business, into a new joint venture company. Telenor Group and Nordic Entertainment Group will each hold 50 per cent of the shares of the new company. The Nordic consumer […]

May 1, 2020

Altice: Fastfiber launch, Morgan Stanley partnership

Multiplay operator and media group Altice Europe has established Fastfiber (formerly known as Altice Portugal FTTH), which it says is the largest FTTH wholesaler in Portugal with some four million FTTH homes passed at year-end 2019. Fastfiber comprises of all operator MEO’s fibre assets in Portugal including FTTH and dark fibre. Fastfiber is the result […]

April 20, 2020

Sharp and NEC to combine 8K+5G display division

Japanese electronics giants Sharp and NEC are to create a joint-venture by combining NEC’s Display Solutions (NDS). The pair say the joint ventire will allow both companies to build upon their strengths and address the visualisation needs of their global customers, and will help bring 8K+5G products to market. The agreement sees NEC transfer 66 […]

March 26, 2020By Chris Forrester

OneWeb confirms layoffs

Would-be global satellite broadband supplier OneWeb has reportedly laid off 10 per cent of its workforce amidst reported – but unconfirmed – plans that include Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The news comes as OneWeb reported the successful orbiting of 34 satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 21st on a Soyuz rocket organised by […]

March 23, 2020By Chris Forrester

Yahsat, Hughes launch satellite JV in Brazil

Hughes Network Systems, a specialist in broadband satellite networks and services, and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), a global satellite operator based in the United Arab Emirates and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company, have announced the commencement of a joint venture to provide satellite broadband services in Brazil. The new venture is now […]

December 6, 2019

BritBox launches with C4, BT & EE

BritBox, the SVoD service created by UK PSBs the BBC and ITV, has opened for business, bringing what it describes as the greatest collection of British boxsets with the finest homegrown talent to viewers for £5.99 (€6.95) a month in HD and across multiple devices. BritBox has signed a partnership deal with fellow PSB Channel […]

November 7, 2019By Colin Mann

Discovery, Cyfrowy Polsat OTT service

Multichannel programmer Discovery and pay—TV operator Cyfrowy Polsat have signed a joint venture agreement to create a video streaming platform which will operate in Poland and international markets. The new OTT service will give viewers a single destination to access the best of Polish content including movies, series, documentaries, sports and entertainment. The new service […]

October 25, 2019