Kuwait’s KIPCO conglomerate, which amongst other investments owns a major (60.5 million) stake in Dubai’s pay-TV operator OSN, saw its Q1 profits jump 13 per cent, with a net profit of $44.7 million ($40 million same period last year). KIPCO’s published quarterly statements do not break out its divisional performances, but its 2015 Annual Report, […]
India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) is trying a new strategy to win viewers on its DD National channel. According to India’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the broadcaster will open up key primetime slots for sale to outside content producers. The Minister said that the current pattern […]
Emil Rensing, chief digital officer at EPIX, has been charged with wire fraud over an alleged $8 million theft from the premium TV channel. Cable TV broadcast network EPIX, owned by Paramount, MGM and Lions Gate, shows movies, original documentaries and music and comedy specials. New York-based, it offers 4 channels which are available to […]
A+E Networks is increasing its stake in its existing Japanese joint-venture with Super Network/Tohokushisha (TFC) and restructuring the ownership of its joint venture with Super Network and The History Channel Japan (THCJ). A+E is to increase its stake in the j-v from 50 per cent to 80 per cent. “The new investment marks a significant […]
The FCC and Justice Department are set to approve Charter Communications’ acquisition of Time Warner Cable following the circulation of an Order by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for an FCC vote to support the deal. Wheeler has imposed conditions that he says “will directly benefit consumers by bringing and protecting competition to the video marketplace […]
Orange Spain has reversed 27-months of declining revenues and has significantly increased its subscribers. In the first quarter of the year, the company managed gained 1.8 per cent in revenues to €1.189 billion. By comparison, in the last quarter of 2015, Orange had a 0.7 per cent decline in revenues and a fall of 1.7 […]
SES will unveil its Q1 results on April 29th. Giles Thorne, equity analyst at investment bank Jefferies, suggests that 2015 was definitely a year to forget given the slew of financial headwinds suffered by the satellite operator. Thorne suggests that 2016 will start on a ‘solid footing’ but that growth for SES will be back-end […]
SpaceX has a full manifest of satellite launches including a craft for JCSAT (likely on May 3rd), a Eutelsat (117 WB) and ABS-2A which will launch together in late May, plus other planned satellites for Thaicom, Amos, and SES. The Elon Musk-backed operation is likely to win a few more contracts following on from its […]
Altice owner and CEO Patrice Drahi is about to consolidate all the group’s media activities into its SFR telecom subsidiary. According to French Sunday newspaper JDD, the reorganisation, set to be announced April 27th, will also lead to the launch by affiliate group NextRadioTV of two pay-TV sport channels called SFR Sport. Those new channels […]
Amid growing opposition from a range of public and industry advocacy and trade bodies, the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) proposal to free up the set-top box market is an example of a one-size-fits-all tech mandate that rarely if ever works in practice and should be scuttled, according to tech advocacy group CALinnovates, in its filing […]