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RCS&RDS accused of money laundering

Romanian and Hungarian cable operator RCS&RDS, and some key officials, have been accused of alleged money laundering offences. The company’s parent, Dutch-registered Digi Communications, in a statement, says that an investigation by the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Directorate and previously reported to the market in April, “that, on 25 July 2017, RCS & RDS S.A. (the […]

August 1, 2017By Chris Forrester

Discovery welcomes LA Olympic bid proposal

According to Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav, the proposal among the IOC and the Bid Committee for Los Angeles, to declare the city’s candidature to host Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028, together with Paris’s candidacy for 2024, creates a win-win-win scenario for the cities, for fans across the globe and for the Olympic […]

August 1, 2017By Colin Mann

Sony road to recovery?

Sony has posted a quarterly profit at the top of analyst estimates on demand for smartphone camera chips, good music business and PlayStation 4 consoles and games. Operating profit was 157.6 billion yen (€1.18billion) in the first quarter ended June. Sales rose 15 per cent to 1.86 trillion yen, topping predictions. After a year that included […]

August 1, 2017

DStv hit by 180m Rand penalty

South Africa’s Competition Commission has levied a Rand 180 million (€11.4m) penalty on pay-TV operator DStv. The case has been rumbling on for some years following a 2011 examination by the Commission into how DStv, via Multichoice, which handled its advertising sales, admitted colluding with certain media groups on how ads were sold, the discounts […]

August 1, 2017By Chris Forrester

Nigeria inaugurates anti-piracy committee

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has inaugurated the Anti-Piracy Committee, charged with tackling the piracy of creative works in the country. The inauguration followed last week’s visit to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, by the Minister to solicit the support of the Police in the fight against piracy. Members […]

August 1, 2017By Colin Mann

Sony Pictures takes majority stake in Funimation

Sony Pictures Television Networks has reached an agreement to acquire a substantial majority stake in Japanese anime distributor Funimation, subject to regulatory approvals and certain other closing conditions, valuing the company at approximately $150 million. Gen Fukunaga, CEO of Funimation, will retain a minority stake in the business and remain CEO. With a catalogue that […]

August 1, 2017

Discovery to acquire Scripps for $14.6bn

Suggesting that the combination will accelerate growth across linear, digital and short-form platforms around the world and create a global leader in real life entertainment, Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive, have signed a definitive agreement for Discovery to acquire Scripps in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $14.6 billion (€12.44bn) or $90 per share, based on Discovery’s July 21st closing price. The purchase price […]

July 31, 2017

SpaceX valued at $21.2bn

SpaceX has just raised $351 million (in its Series H fund-raising operation) and this values the rocket business at an impressive $21.2 billion (€18.06bn), a significant 76 per cent increase in value since its previous round of cash-raising, back in 2015 when the business was valued at “just” $12 billion. The details were published by […]

July 31, 2017By Chris Forrester

MPs call for poor broadband service compensation

The British Infrastructure Group of MPs (BIG) has called for UK Government to introduce legislation setting the terms for a broadband Universal Service Obligation, and for comms regulator Ofcom to consider fixed broadband speeds in a new system of automatic compensation. The recommendations are contained in Broadbad 2.0, a comprehensive investigation into broadband customer services […]

July 31, 2017By Colin Mann

Telefónica reverses pay-TV sub decline

The launch of new convergent packages on Movistar Plus is reversing the downward trend in subscribers to Telefónica’s IPTV service. In the second quarter of the year, its pay-TV gained 51,000 subs versus a loss of 41,000 the previous quarter, reaching 3.666 million subscribers at the end of June. The growth was boosted by new […]

July 31, 2017From David Del Valle in Madrid