Global citizens movement Avaaz has launched what it describes as an “unprecedented” public interest legal challenge to Britain’s broadcasting regulator, filing papers in court seeking a judicial review of Ofcom’s decision to clear the proposed takeover of Sky by 21st Century Fox. In June 2017, Ofcom found that if Sky was fully owned by Fox, […]
Portuguese operators NOS and Vodafone Portugal have opposed the planned acquisition by Altice Group of Media Capital. According to Madalena Sutcliffe, director of regulation of Vodafone Portugal, the operation cannot be approved by national regulators ERC and the Competition Authority “not even with compromises because it creates so many problems of pluralism”. Sutcliffe pointed out […]
Nielsen has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Visual IQ, an independent provider of multi-touch attribution (MTA) modelling of advertising on digital platforms that helps improve ROI for brand marketers. With this transaction, Nielsen will acquire Visual IQ’s industry-leading MTA software platform, along with the underpinning data, technology and intellectual property. The acquisition of […]
India’s Economic Times newspaper says that DEN Networks, one of the country’s largest MSOs is again involved in bid talks. The would-be acquirer is Reliance Industries, which operates a 4K cellular service in India under the ‘Jio’ brand, has been working on the launch of home broadband and cable TV services for quite some time […]
Vimeo, the ad-free open video platform, has confirmed an agreement to acquire Livestream, the live video solution that powers over 10 million events a year. Vimeo has also rolled out its own Vimeo Live product, offering live streaming capabilities directly through its platform for the first time. Following completion of the acquisition, Livestream’s offering will […]
Procera Networks, a global player in Network Intelligence, has announced the completion of the acquisition of Sandvine Corporation, a provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for fixed and mobile operators. The combined company will operate under the Sandvine name, and the executive management team will be led by Lyndon Cantor as President and Chief Executive […]
Google has agreed to take over staff and assets of smartphone maker HTC for $1.1 billion. Google said the takeover will strengthen its hardware business, including the Pixel smartphones on which HTC already cooperates. HTC will continue to make smartphones and VR devices under its own brand. Google also receives a non-exclusive licence to HTC’s […]
Karen Bradley, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has referred Fox’s proposed takeover of Sky to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on public interest grounds. The CMA will now examine how the deal would impact media plurality and broadcasting standards in the UK. Media plurality means that a diversity of […]
Portugal’s National Communications Authority (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações [Anacom]) has rejected the proposed acquisition by global telecom operator Altice of Portuguese media company Media Capital. The regulator stated that the deal may create “significant barriers to effective competition in the various electronic communications markets”. According to Anacom, “given the size of the parties involved in […]
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has completed its acquisition of the Ten Sports channels owned by Zee Entertainment Networks (ZEEL). Sony paid $366.3 million overall and the latest payment obligation concludes the transaction. The final amount paid is also $18.7 million less than first announced. The difference is because a building in Dubai, leased by […]